Spurred by factory incentives, replenished stocks and the relative freshness of several models, sales of hybrid-electric cars and SUVs soared in October, easily outperforming the market as a whole.
Compared to October '08 - a month with six fewer hybrid models available - sales of Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota hybrids were up 12.1 percent, while sales of conventionally powered cars and trucks were flat.
The one-month picture was even rosier, as October hybrid sales jumped 22.5 percent from September's, versus a 12.1 percent hike in sales of conventional models.
Nissan, which has only one model - the Altima hybrid, - and sells it in just the nine states with the toughest emissions standards, was the only hybrid maker to record a sales decline for both periods, dropping 46 percent from a year earlier and 13 percent from September.
As with most hybrids - Toyota's Prius excepted - Nissan's actual numbers are quite small because of low sales volumes. October's sales drop represented just 46 fewer Altima hybrid sales than in September.
Toyota's redesigned 2010 Prius, sweetened by a small factory incentive, remained by far the segment leader, accounting for 55 percent of all hybrid sales for the month.
General Motors, concerned that the departure of Volt development leader Frank Weber will worry the faithful - and mindful of its long-ago and well-kept promise to open the doors on the program - is hosting a live Web chat at 4 p.m. Eastern time this afternoon (1 p.m. Pacific) to answer questions and explain how the change in Volt leadership will, or won't, affect things.
Weber himself, along with Doug Parks, who will be replacing him in the Chevrolet Volt program, are hosting the chat.
We're providing a platform, so sign up below for a reminder and come back at the appointed time to follow along and ask questions of your own.
Automaker Says Departure Part of Long-Planned Shift of Duties; Volt Still on Schedule
GM is losing the longtime head of it's Chevrolet Volt extended-range, plug-in hybrid development team but says the departure of Frank Weber (left) to its German subsidiary, Opel, is part of a long-planned leadership shuffle.
Weber, 43, is returning to Opel, where he previously was a top product developer, after heading the Volt project since March 2007.
He is the second top member of GM's vehicle electrification team to depart in recent months.
Bob Kruse, executive director of vehicle engineering for hybrids, electric vehicles and batteries, left in September to start a consulting firm and was replaced by GM engineering veteran Micky Bly.
Doug Parks, chief engineer for GM's compact car programs in Europe, will replace Weber, who is returning to Opel Dec. 1 in a still undefined "senior leadership" post.
Weber's shift comes just as a post-bankruptcy GM, looking for cash and ways to refocus itself on its core products, is scheduled to close its deal to sell majority interest in Opel to a group headed by Canadian tier-one components manufacturer Magna International and backed by Russia's Sherbank.
The Chevrolet Cruze compact that was supposed to get General Motors off to a good start in the 2010 summer selling season will be a late starter instead.
The automaker has decided to push back the Cruze launch date until at least early July.
Initially, GM has planned to start production in April, with sales to follow soon after. But that was an artificially compressed schedule, according to spokesman Klaus Peter-Martin.
It would have meant, among other thing's that the only engine available at launch would have been the a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder fuel economy engine, capable of delivering an EPA rating, GM insiders suspect, on the order of 40 MPG or more.
Why, we ask, is that such a bad thing? (We know, variety is the spice of life.)
We're sure they've got an in-house name for it, but GM says it will give consumers a chance to come up with the official name for the Chevrolet Volt's initial exterior color - a silvery hue that has a slight color-shift toward emerald when the light hits it just right.
Killerwatt?
The automaker will fly three finalists in the Volt color naming contest to Los Angeles for the 2009 LA Auto Show in December (there are worse places to be that time of year) - they will also get a $400 gift card, two nights at an LA hotel and admission to the show's initial media preview day on Dec. 2.
ElectroLicious?
The finalists will be announced Nov. 16 and the public will be asked to vote on the best name from then until Dec. 1 on a special GM website.
Names can be submitted on the contest site until the evening of Dec. 1, when the winner will be announced.
Shockingly Silver?
In addition to the trip and show, the winning contestant will get the opportunity to test drive a pre-production Volt.
GM says it will spend $202 million to ready its Flint Engine South site to build the 1.4-liter four-cylinder engines that will be used as on-board generators in the Chevrolet Volt extended-range hybrid .
The company originally had planned to spend $359 million to build a new factory on a nearby site at its Flint campus, but its reduced financial circumstances have led it to settle for renovation of an existing plant there.
As has always been the plan, the factory also will build the engines for use in a conventionally-powered small car, the Chevrolet Cruze, which is scheduled to launch in the U.S. in late spring next year. The Volt won't go into production until almost the end of 2010.
The Flint plant, which GM first announced last July, then suspended amidst the financial tumult that led the the automaker's short bankruptcy and taxpayer rescue, is slated to produce 40 engines per day when production starts late next year. Production will hit 800 engines a day by fall 2011, GM officials said.
Pre-production Chevrolet Volt (left) on display at GreenHouse in Virginia; Studio shot of Chevrolet Cruze compact (right).
Because the cars will launch before the factory's running at full capacity, engines for both - a turbocharged 1.4-liter for the Cruz and a normally aspirated version for the Volt - initially will be imported from a GM plant in Austria, a company spokesman said.
Volt test car passes UPS truck on Interstate 80 near Toledo, Ohio, during 2-day engineering development drive.
An engineering team for the Chevrolet Volt - the highly-touted plug-in hybrid General Motors Co. plans to launch around this time next year - is on the road for a 1,200-mile test in a fleet of eight pre-production Volts and pulled off to the side of the road today for a brief chat with journalists.
The big story for Volt skeptics may be the report from engineers that they don't see any problem achieving the car's targeted 40 miles of all-electric driving range.
The Volt's lithium-ion batteries are performing well and chief engineer Andrew Farah said he has "no concerns about being able to get up to 40 miles" with production Volts.
The team (left) departed the the Detroit area Tuesday and was in West Virginia this afternoon, about halfway through the Volt test drive.
Overnight, half of the test fleet got battery charges and half didn't, the better to replicate real-world driving in which some drivers may not have access to the overnight recharging that would allow resumption of battery-only operation.
The cash for clunkers frenzy that pulled many hybrid shoppers into the market earlier than they'd intended in July and August caused a big letdown in September as sales of gas-electric cars and trucks, which had been rising steadily all year, plunged 48.4 percent.
Only 19,977 hybrids were sold in September, down from 38,701 in August. The sales slide was the first in several months and was worse that that of the far larger conventional vehicle segment, which dropped by 40.9 percent from August.
Falling sales of the Toyota Prius - they were down 42 percent for the month - contributed heavily to the numeric decline although almost every hybrid model lost ground.
On a month over month basis there were no corporate winners in the hybrid segment as even Toyota - the industry leader with three out of every four hybrid sales - saw a 39.7 percent decline in its Toyota and Lexus hybrids.
And that was the segment's best performance.
Lots of Losers
Nissan, which has been on a tear with its single offering, the Altima hybrid sedan (helped by generous incentives in recent moths), saw its hybrid sales plunge 89.1 percent in September; Honda, the number two hybrid company, saw sales fall 61.6 percent; Ford, which had been rising since the March introduction of its Fusion hybrid sedan, was off 54.5 percent, and GM's hybrid sales fell by 40.8 percent.
Compared to sales at the end of the third-quarter last year- when the financial industry collapse began and the bottom fell out of the auto market, the picture was a little better as hybrid sales last month were down just 4.1 percent from September '08.
In contrast, conventional car sales fell 22.5 percent in the September-September comparison.
Bob Kruse, who recently led a team that played a key role in the development of the Chevrolet Volt and who crafted the automaker's long-term electric-vehicle strategy, has resigned effective today.
Kruse, executive director of global vehicle engineering for hybrids, electric vehicles and batteries since early last year, left to focus on an EV consulting company he founded last month.
He will provide automotive and vehicle electrification expertise for companies looking to seize a piece of more than $1.3 billion in federal grants available to Michigan and Detroit's major automakers.
"My departure from General Motors has nothing to do with my view of the future success for the Volt," Kruse said. "I've left on very good terms. I have a lot of respect for the leadership of General Motors."
GM spokesman Rob Peterson told Green Car Advisor that Kruse's resignation, coming only 13 months before the Volt's scheduled production launch, "won't have any impact" on the gasoline-electric hybrid sedan.
"There's never a good time to lose good people, but there's a deep bench with the Volt and that team was working together before Bob joined and they will continue to march on," he said.
Kruse's resignation comes at a crucial time for GM, which is banking on the Volt extended-range electric vehicle to help it meet stringent new government fuel-economy rules and to change the public's perception of the company as being an electric-car killer and a proponent of gas-guzzlers.
The second-generation hydrogen fuel cell system (pictured) in development by General Motors Co. is half the size, 220 pounds lighter and uses less than half the precious metal of the current generation in the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle.
And, the production-intent fuel cell powertrain can be packaged under the hood in about the same space as a four-cylinder engine, GM announced in a statement today. It contains GM's fifth-generation fuel cell stack, which the company said could be commercialized in 2015.
Hydrogen-powered fuel cells are a few years away from widespread commercial use because of the need for additional investment and partnership, along with expanded availability of hydrogen fueling stations.
In a statement, Charles Freese, executive director of GM's fuel-cell program, said GM has invested more than $1.5 billion in fuel-cell technology and is committed to continuing to invest, but "we no longer can go it alone... We will require government and industry partnerships to install a hydrogen infrastructure."
Through Project Driveway, a demonstration fleet of more than 100 hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric Chevrolet Equinox crossovers has amassed more than 1 million miles of every-day driving by ordinary citizens, celebrities and others since late 2007.
In recent weeks, a consortium of the German government and leading industrial companies has announced plans to build up to 1,000 hydrogen fueling stations by 2015, about the time several automakers expect to have hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for sale. Earlier, a group of 13 oil and gas companies in Japan announced similar plans.
"Failure to act will insure the U.S. cannot meet its long-term fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction objectives," Freese said. "We know what needs to be done. Now is the time to get started."
General Motors and India's Reva Electric Car announced today that they will jointly produce a battery-powered vehicle for South Asia based on the Detroit carmaker's best-selling mini-car, the Chevrolet Spark (pictured).
Under the alliance, GM will provide the vehicle platform and manufacturing facilities for the zero-emissions car, which will begin production next year, while Reva will supply the technology for the battery, electric drivetrain and power management systems.
They did not provide forecasts for production, but GM has the capacity to produce 225,000 vehicles of all types at its two plants in India and has plans to scale up its factory in Maharashtra state by an additional 160,000 vehicles.
GM, which is also due to launch its plug-in Chevrolet Volt in the U.S. next year, joins a growing list of the world's major carmakers that are due to launch electric cars over the next three years as part of their carbon-cutting strategy.
Some, including Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, have already launched them.
Last week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault announced that it was launching four electric vehicles in 2011-12. Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz showed planned battery-powered luxury models.
General Motors announced today that it will create a laboratory in Shanghai to contribute to technological innovation in a number of automotive-related fields for GM both domestically and on a worldwide basis.
The announcement came less than a month after GM disclosed that its sales in China in the first eight months of this year increased 49.6 percent on an annual basis to 1,111,401 vehicles.
The China Science Lab (pictured) will be the first major laboratory established by a global automaker in China. In a statement, GM said the lab's initial focus will be on research related to advanced propulsion technology and joining technology.
But the lab will also focus on battery cells, megacity safety research, advanced vehicle development, and light materials. It will engage in additional activities in accordance with market conditions and its own research capability as it ramps up.
The lab will also carry out collaborative work with universities and government-run scientific institutions across China. It is expected to employ up to 100 staff during its early stage of operation. No specifics were provided regarding the lab's scheduled construction and opening dates or its cost.
Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the GM China Group, said that through the lab, "we will leverage the country's outstanding research talent together with GM's extensive resources to come up with new innovations for the benefit of vehicle users around the globe."
Environmental car data released by a new automotive Website today shows that the latest 2010 range of new cars available in the U.S. is 6.6 percent greener than the 2009 model-year range.
The data supplied by WhatGreenCar also demonstrate that the shift to green is gaining pace. To date, this year's 6.6 percent reduction is more than three times last year's improvement of 2.1 percent.
Comparing model year 2009 cars with the latest model year 2010 line-up, 10 volume automakers are now offering a new model range above the average improvement of 6.6 percent.
The top 10 manufacturers achieving this are: Chevrolet (20.3 percent improvement), General Motors (15.3 percent), Mercedes-Benz (13.6 percent), Lexus (13.2 percent), Mercury (11.6 percent), Kia (11.0 percent), Ford (10.4 percent), Acura (8.0 percent), Volkswagen (8.0 percent) and Suzuki (7.7 percent).
The tables below are self-explanatory, and can be enlarged by clicking on them.
After wavering awhile, Mazda has decided to jump into America's rapidly growing small-car segment with the company's fuel-efficient Mazda2 model.
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Right, the current Mazda2. The U.S. version will debut in L.A. in December. ----------
The five-door hatchback, which is currently sold in Europe, will begin appearing in U.S. showrooms during the fall of 2010, company officials told Mazda dealers at the automaker's annual meeting this week.
The vehicle will share a platform as the Ford Fiesta, which is scheduled to launch in America next summer. In addition to the Fiesta, the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and Chevrolet Aveo will provide the Mazda2 with some stiff competition.
The U.S.-spec Mazda2 will be unveiled at the Los Angeles auto show in December. The current version of the Mazda2 has been on sale in Europe and Japan since 2007. In Japan, it is known as the Demio.
In Europe, the Mazda2 is offered with several gasoline and diesel engines. The U.S. edition will feature only a gasoline-powered, 1.5-liter four-cylinder.
That version in Europe delivers 103 horsepower and 101 pounds-feet of torque. It propels the Mazda2 from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 10.4 seconds while delivering 41 miles per gallon in Europe's combined driving cycle test; in the more real-world American combined driving cycle test, fuel economy should be 35-38 mpg.
The Mazda2 is offered as both a three- and five-door in Europe, but only the five-door will be available in the U.S. It comes only with a five-speed manual transmission in Europe, but the U.S. version will be available with a five-speed automatic.
Mazda would not disclose U.S. pricing, but in the U.K. it's priced around $16,750 not including taxes and fees. A Mazda source said the U.S. version will be priced somewhat lower.
Opel debuted the Ampera at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week, but one question lingered when the crowd shuffled off to another unveiling: Would the gasoline-electric hybrid -- the Chevy Volt's European twin -- actually launch?
---------- Pictured, Ampera meets the press in Frankfurt. ----------
Or would it be shelved as a result of a controlling share of Opel being sold to Canadian autoparts supplier Magna International and the Russian financial institution Sberbank?
The answer, we learned today, is that the Ampera program is very much a go.
In an email exchange with Dan Pund, who writes for Edmunds.com's Inside Line, Dave Darovitz said the Ampera is still slated to launch in Europe. As communications manager for the Volt and Chevy fuel-cell Equinox, Darovitz would know.
General Motors last week agreed to sell 55 percent of Opel to Magna and Sberbank in a 50-50 split. GM will keep 35 percent, the biggest single stake in Opel, and Opel workers will hold 10 percent.
The deal still hinges on conditions that could take weeks or months to work out, such as final agreement for government financing and union support for what could be painful cuts.
Additionally, Belgium has asked the European Union to investigate the deal to make sure Germany was not violating antitrust rules.
We strongly suspect the mark had already been passed when GM first started talking about its fuel-cell electric Chevrolet Equinox fleet 'approaching' the cumulative million-mile mark.
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Jeanine Behr-Getz, holding daughter Millicent, logged the millionth mile.
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But we think fuel cell vehicles are important,so we gave 'em some ink earlier in the week, an now we'll do it again as the automaker says it is now official: the Equinox FCEVs have tallied more than one million collective miles since GM's Project Driveway began at the beginning of last year.
GM says more than 5,000 people have been given short-term loans of the crossover SUVs that are powered by electricity generated on board in a fuel cell that converts hydrogen and oxygen to electrons.
The officially recognized millionth mile was driven by Jeanine Behr-Getz, a Greenwich, Conn. children's books author who told General Motors screeners that the hydrogen vehicle "fit my family, groceries, golf clubs and work supplies with no problem and it drove the same as my fossil fuel crossover vehicle."
As a bonus, she said, the Equinox fuel-cell vehicle's zero emissions status meant she was the only parent "allowed to idle my car in the [student] pickup line at school.
General Motors began deploying Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell electric vehicles two years ago as part of its Project Driveway program to test FCEVs in everyday driving conditions, and yesterday the General reported that the vehicles have passed the million-mile mark.
As Mark Vann, Chevy's FCEV deployment manager noted in GM's Fastlane blog, no other automaker comes close to the number of miles they've logged using hydrogen in real-world conditions "with real people driving these Equinox fuel cell EVs."
In case we didn't know what real people were, he goes on to describe them: "These people are teachers, homemakers, accountants, video game designers and people from many other walks of life just like you, and they were selected based on their passion for the environment and new media prowess."
All good. But it's the lessons he and others associated with the project have learned from all those real people that we wanted to know about, and Vann didn't disappoint:
"We've used these experiences to extend fuel cell stack life and improve the regenerative braking system, which benefited our 2-mode hybrid vehicles since it's the same brake system used on the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon 2-mode hybrids. Plus, we've applied what we've learned about fuel cell thermal design to the Volt battery design.
He went on to say that he and his team could have tested the vehicles at GM's proving grounds, but the opportunity to have real people drive these vehicles "gave us a much higher degree of relevant feedback on the vehicle's performance -- and even more important, it gave us a great opportunity to listen to our customers."
Then today, during a Web chat with the public, Vann provided additional information we believe may be of interest to you.
Much fuss has been made this year about General Motors' claim that the Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle due out next year will be able to travel 40 miles on electricity only, and the fact (often heralded by GM) that most American motorists drive fewer than 40 miles a day.
The General hopes you'll connect the dots, but he's been saying it loud and clear for more than a year anyway: Unless you drive more than 40 miles between charges, you probably won't need to put any gasoline in the plug-in automobile.
But if you should happen to go as far as the Volt can take you on a single charge, the General says, don't fret. As an extended-range EV, the Volt is packing a small gasoline-powered engine-generator that can keep juice flowing to the electric motor that propels the vehicle.
Now imagine this: You open a report from the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service on the feasibility of electric vehicles in the USPS and you read that (1) only about 3 percent of the service's 146,000 delivery vehicles travel more than 40 miles a day, and (2) those vehicles average a lousy 10 miles per gallon.
No doubt your heart would race if you read those factoids, just as ours did when we read the 23-page report, released last week with little fanfare.
Perhaps Discussing GM's Silly 230 MPG Claim for Volt Would Have Been More Productive
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Whoops.
Diesel booster and Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen, whose remarks questioning the common sense (or worse) of people who'd pay $40,000 for an extended-range Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid have been all over the Internet today (including an earlier Green Car Advisor piece), says he didn't mean it that way.
In fact, the famously outspoken de Nysschen (left) says in a new posting on Audi's Facebook page that he doesn't recall using the term 'car for idiots' to describe the Volt (what he did say, apparently, is that "there are not enough idiots who will buy" Volts), and certainly didn't intend to disparage electric cars or people who want to buy them.
He'd better hope he hasn't done the latter - Audi is working on an electric-drive car of its own.
In any event, de Nysschen said in his Facebook posting, "if I was unclear on either of those points then I need to eat crow."
What he did want to make clear, he said, is that, in is opinion the Volt, which he believes will be selling for a "50 percent or so price increase...over a similar gasoline car," won't be able to earn back the price difference for owners through fuel savings alone.
In an interview earlier this week, Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen (right) dismissed the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid as "a car for idiots."
He said that few consumers will be willing to pay $40,000 -- the Volt's estimated base price -- for a car that competes against $25,000 sedans and conventional hybrids. Nor, he noted, is the Volt a luxury car whose green-technology costs will be excused because it also delivers prestige or performance.
"No one is going to pay a $15,000 premium for a car that competes with a (Toyota) Corolla" in terms of prestige and performance, he said. "So there are not enough idiots who will buy it."
More than a few people at Chevrolet took offense. In an interview with Green Car Advisor, Volt spokesman Rob Peterson said:
"I'm pretty surprised somebody would make such a bold statement that challenges the intelligence of anybody in the EV movement, and especially those people who are anxiously awaiting the Volt. It just doesn't seem like a real bright statement."
It'll be interesting to see how well the Volt sells. The vehicle is slated to start appearing in showrooms in very limited numbers at the end of next year.
Mercedes-Benz has added a small gas engine to its BlueZero E-Cell electric car concept to turn the limited range battery-electric hatchback into an extended-range hybrid in the manner of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt.
The battery-extended Benz, called the E-Cell Plus, utilizes a turbocharged, 1-liter, three-cylinder engine mounted over the rear axle to serve as a generator feeding juice to the lithium-ion battery pack once the initial charge is depleted.
Mercedes says the E-Cell Plus has a range of up to 600 kilometers - 375 miles - including 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, of all-electric drive from its grid-charged battery before the engine-generator kicks in and starts burning gasoline. The original BlueZero concepts were unveiled at the Deptroir Auto Show in January.
The compact concept car uses the same electric drive system as the non-augmented E-Cell, with an 18 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack feeding a 70-kilowatt sustained output (100 kilowatt maximum) compact electric motor capable of 320 Newton meters of torque (236 lb-ft).
It is capable of pushing the car from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour (60 mph) in "less than 11 seconds" - nothing to write home about unless its way, way less than 11 - and is electronically limited to a top speed of 150 kph (93 mph).
The gas engine in the E-Cell Plus wouldn't improve performance figures as it would be used only to continue generating electricity to extend the vehicle's range to three times the pure-electric model's 200 kilometers, or 125 miles.
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Concept shows 1-liter gas engine-generator through cutout in cargo bay floor.
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Mercedes says that with a special rapid charger the E-Cell Plus' battery can be brought up to half-full n just 30 minutes and to full charge in just under an hour. Charging could take 6 hours or so with standard household current. On-board electronics would support the billing and information systems used by the electric charging stations that are slowly being installed in cities around the globe to accommodate increased use of plug-in electric vehicles.
Nissan Altima hybrid was one of the stars of August, more than tripling sales for the month despite limited availability.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
The federal Cash for Clunkers program may have been good for conventional cars in August, but monthly sales performance was a letdown for hybrids after an explosive July.
Oh, sales of gas-electric cars and SUVs were up last month - a 9.2 percent gain from July, but that pales by comparison to the 35 percent gain the segment recorded in July over June and doesn't stand up well, either, against the 26.6% August increase posted by conventionally powered vehicles (cars and trucks except hybrids).
Overall, however, August 2009 hybrid sales of 38,701 gas-electric cars, SUVS and pickups were up 48.6 percent from 26,044 in August '08 - a significant gain explained in large part by the addition of half a dozen new hybrid models, including the Honda Insight, Ford Fusion and Lexus HS250, that weren't available a year earlier.
Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford (pictured), in an interview with Edmunds.com reporter Bill Visnic earlier today, suggested the EPA's methodology for electric-vehicle fuel economy figures was meaningless.
"This question devolves into madness," he said in response to a question regarding General Motors' and Nissan's recent claims that their Chevrolet Volt and Leaf plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will have government fuel economy ratings of 230 and 360 miles per gallon, respectively.
"The government will have to come up with a meaningful number for customers - a user-friendly label. And I think they will. I can't dispute that number, but I'm not sure it's relevant to the customer either," he said.
GM announced last week that it is investing $43 million in a Detroit-area factory that will make lithium-ion battery packs for the Volt. Asked if Ford intends to make batteries for its EVs, the grandson of the company's founder said, "Initially, we should just buy batteries. We don't have any particular expertise in batteries. We'll probably stick to the vehicle-integration part of the puzzle."
On GM and Nissan huge claims for mpg for Volt and Leaf: "This question devolves into madness. The government will have to come up with a meaningful number for customers - a user-friendly label. And I think they will. I can't dispute that number but I'm not sure it's relevant to the customer either."
As more customers buy cars under the cash-for-clunkers program, General Motors is adding more shifts and offering workers overtime at Ohio and Michigan plants to meet the new demand.
The shifts have been added at plants where the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 sedans and Chevrolet Cobalt (pictured) compact are assembled, GM spokesman Chris Lee said.
GM's sales of cars and light trucks decreased 19 percent in July compared with the same month in 2008. Analysts had predicted the company's sales would fall 24 percent.
Ford Motor Co. announced last week that it would boost production by 26 percent in the second half of 2009.
Fisker Automotive said today that its Karma plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, or PHEV, reached 100 miles an hour without consuming a single drop of gas during the car's public driving debut at Laguna Seca Raceway on Saturday.
The low-emissions, fuel-efficient four-door sedan made only one lap on the famous track Saturday, but CEO Henrik Fisker said today that the lap showed a lot of promise.
"This demonstration represents a significant milestone for Fisker Automotive and PHEV technology. The future of clean cars is bright," he said.
According to him, the Karma will be able to travel up to 50 emission-free miles on electricity from a single battery charge (or 10 miles more than the Chevrolet Volt) and extend its overall range to more than 300 miles with aid from an on-board gasoline-powered internal combustion engine-generator (same as the Volt).
The Karma is scheduled to go on sale in May 2010, with a base price of $87,900.
Only 19 months after being unveiled as a concept car, a prototype of the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid electric vehicle made its public driving debut today (pictured above and below), silently rolling out of a staging tent and onto the track at the legendary Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California.
Under partly cloudy skies, the swoopy luxury-sports sedan accelerated quickly up hill and into Laguna Seca's famous Corkscrew - a plunging left-right corner - en route to making one lap on the 11-turn course before a large crowd that had gathered primarily to watch the annual Historic Automobile Races, held this weekend.
Like the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt, the Karma will be able to travel up to 50 emission-free miles on electricity from a single battery charge (or 10 miles more than the Volt) and extend its overall range to more than 300 miles with aid from an on-board gasoline-powered internal combustion engine-generator (same as the Volt).
Two 201.5-horsepower electric motors send enough traction through a single-speed differential to reach 60 miles per hour in about six seconds and a top speed of 125 mph. Together, these components make up a powertrain exclusive to both Fisker automobiles (the other being the Karma Sunset hardtop convertible).
In press releases, Fisker Automotive has said the powertrain can deliver fuel economy of 100 miles per gallon. Company founder Henrik Fisker told journalists covering today's event that he believed the powertrain would be capable of achieving 140 mpg.
EPA fuel-economy figures for the Karma are likely to be weeks if not months away.
Henrik Fisker said the Karma is still on track for a May 2010 showroom launch. Initial production is anticipated to be 15,000 vehicles annually, with pricing to start at $87,900.
General Motors Corp. announced today that is investing $43 million in a Detroit-area factory that will make lithium-ion battery packs for the Chevrolet Volt and other extended-range electric vehicles.
---------- Right, GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson announcing the new GM Subsystem Manufacturing facility, south of Detroit, earlier today. ----------
It will be the first lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in the U.S. operated by a major automaker and it demonstrates GM's commitment to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The automaker said the plant, which will be located in Brownstown Township, Michigan, will provide more than 100 advanced technology jobs and will be part of a wholly owned subsidiary called GM Subsystem Manufacturing LLC.
Local and state incentives, along with Recovery Act funding announced last week by the U.S. Department of Energy, are helping to make the facility possible.
The investment includes renovation and lease costs for the 160,000-square-foot landfill-free facility, new machinery and equipment, and special tooling.
With the exception of specialized battery machinery and equipment, GM will be reusing equipment from other GM facilities. Equipment installation is under way and production will start in the fourth quarter of 2010 to support the launch of the Volt, GM said.
General Motors is planning on adding electric motor development and manufacturing to its list of electric-vehicle specialities that it hopes to bring in-house, in order to further its expertise in the field as the electrification of the automobile continues.
---------- Right, a pre-production Chevrolet Volt is loaded with a lithium-ion battery. ----------
GM reps attending the Plug-In 2009 conference in Long Beach, California, this week said the automaker wants to begin making its own electric motors in-house in order to use its own technology to try and save money, weight, and power consumption, while boosting performance.
The first application of the GM-designed and -built motors is likely to be in the Two-Mode hybrid powertrain system for the upcoming front-wheel-drive Buick CUV that was originally slated to be a Saturn.
Breaking With Tradition
Traditionally, automakers have relied on their varying expertise in powertrains to differentiate themselves from one to the other. GM's expertise in automatic transmissions, for instance, or BMW's in straight-six engines has provided notable selling point discriminators between vehicles that companies can point to as sources of excellence when selling a vehicle.
But with powertrains changing so dramatically with the onset of electrification, a whole new skill set must be learned to the point of expertise - and in some ways, GM is behind.
We Deconstruct the Claim; Remember - Your Mileage May Vary
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
I've figured out how to get 230 miles per gallon driving a Chevy Volt around the city.
I've also figured how to go the same distance and get only about 40 mpg, with the same car on the same route.
If that sounds confusing, just wait 'til I try to explain to you how GM came up with its 230 miles per gallon city driving figure for the Chevrolet Volt - apparently with the tacit agreement of the EPA, despite the agency's stated inability to confirm GM's news-making fuel economy claim for its four-place, extended-range hybrid.
First off, though, let's get something straight: That the Volt might or might not get the equivalent of 230 miles per gallon doesn't mean it actually would go 230 miles if you put a single gallon of gas in its tank and sent it out to find its way in the world.
That's preposterous.
Despite what GM calls it, we're talking about a gas mileage equivalency, not real miles per gallon.
Infinity MPG?
Under the rational that GM says the EPA applied to the Volt, an ell-electric car such as the upcoming Nissan Leaf or existing Tesla Roadster would have an official rating of "infinity miles per gallon."
In response to a request from Green Car Advisor seeking clarification and confirmation of General Motors' claim that the Chevrolet Volt extended-range hybrid achieves 230 miles per gallon in city driving using tentative EPA test technology, the agency issued the following statement:
"EPA has not tested a Chevy Volt and therefore cannot confirm the fuel economy values claimed by GM. EPA does applaud GM's commitment to designing and building the car of the future - an American-made car that will save families money, significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create good-paying American jobs. We're proud to see American companies and American workers leading the world in the clean energy innovations that will shape the 21st century economy."
We at Green Car Advisor cannot be certain, but we strongly suspect that the person who wrote that statement was waving an American flag with one hand and holding a humongous slice of apple pie in the other. If the writer had used American in the statement just one more time, he or she surely would have qualified for some type of prize.
But seriously, we're still trying to figure out exactly how GM came to conclude that the Volt will get 230 mpg in city driving. And we're wondering what the automaker will say or do when initial Volt buyers discover - probably, but we're hoping we're wrong - that they aren't achieving anywhere near 230 mpg in city.
It's not as exciting as General Motors Corp.'s announcement this morning that its Chevrolet Volt is likely to win a 230-mpg fuel economy rating from the EPA for city driving, but the automaker's plan for charging the extended-range hybrid may be more meaningful.
---------- Engineer Gery Kissel explains GM's dual charging options to journalists at Plug-In 2009 conference. ----------
GM isn't planning on any sort of widespread public charging infrastructure being ready for the Volt, so it is equipping the four-seat car to be charged "at home" with either 100-volt or 240-volt systems.
The latter, GM executives said at a dinner last night held in conjunction with the Plug-In 2009 conference in Long Beach, Calif., is likely to be offered as an option, to be permanently installed in an owner's garage, carport or even an outdoor location.
GM's spent a lot of time talking about the car, its features and its design, "now here's the rest of it," Volt vehicle line director Tony Posawatz said as he pointed to the display stand on which the two systems were mounted.
A Homebody
"We've geared the Volt to be charged at home...if the infrastructure [for public charging] catches up with it, fine, but it won't be a necessity," he told Green Car Advisor.
An advertisement blanketing billboards across the U.S. that features "230," today's date and a smiling electrical outlet, we can now report, is an attention-rousing teaser referring to GM's announcement this morning of the miles per gallon its engineers expect the Chevrolet Volt extended-range hybrid to achieve in city driving using tentative EPA test methodology.
A General Motors spokesman attending the Plug-In 2009 convention in Long Beach, California, told Green Car Advisor early today that the gasoline- and electric-powered Volt four-door sedan will attain a city fuel economy of "at least 230 mpg," based on development testing using a draft EPA federal fuel economy methodology for plug-in electric vehicles.
GM representatives have repeatedly said that the Volt, which is scheduled to start production in late 2010 as a 2011 model, will be able to travel up to 40 miles on electricity from a single battery charge and extend its overall range to more than 300 miles with its on-board, flex- fuel internal combustion engine-generator.
"From the data we've seen, many Chevy Volt drivers may be able to be in pure electric mode on a daily basis without having to use any gas," GM Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson said in a statement that repeats clams GM executives have been making since the Volt was introduced as a concept car at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show.
However, it's unlikely many of those attending the plug-in convention - ourselves included - place much credence in the 230-mpg figure.
Several engineers and battery specialists asked about the claim Monday - while it was still a rumor - said that the EPA test figures for EVs are unrealistically optimistic.
GM itself dampened the news with a press release that said "Volt drivers' actual gas-free mileage will vary depending on how far they travel and other factors, such as how much cargo or how many passengers they carry and how much the air conditioner or other accessories are used."
On the other hand, Volt drivers who driver sensibly on unremarkable roads without hauling a carload of people or cargo - and who don't exceed 20 or 30 miles between charges - could avoid having to buy any gasoline for the on-board generator. The generator, a four-cylinder gasoline engine, feeds juice to the Volt's electric powertrain after the battery is discharged..
You've likely seen the advertising blitz featuring the number 230 and a friendly electrical outlet.
Below the number appears two more: "8-11."
And if you're of right mind, you've probably asked yourself: "What the heck is that about?"
The folks at Advertising Age did some virtual sleuthing and believe they know the answer.
According to them, the marketer behind the effort is General Motors. But no one at GM is willing to confirm that.
However, AA quotes an ad man for GM agency Starcom as saying, "I'm glad it's getting out there." He would not elaborate except to hint that all would become clear on Tuesday. As in tomorrow. As in August 11. Make that 8-11.
Since Advertising Age came out with that tidbit, bloggers worldwide have speculated that 230 stands for: the 230-volt outlets from which the Volt will get its juice; the miles it can travel on a gallon of gas (and electricity); and last but not least, something having to do with the Volt and Apple.
The suspense is killing us. We've not been this anxious since the "Who shot Mr. Burns?" Simpsons episode.
The public is invited to attend two major plug-in electric vehicle events in California in coming days.
The more newsworthy of the two will likely be the Plug-In 2009 Exposition held at the Long Beach Convention Center. It's there that green-car reporters from around the world will descend for more than three days of speeches, discussions and demonstrations revolving around plug-in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
The public is invited to attend a slice of the event - from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11. The public portion will consist of vehicle displays (Chevy Volt, Ford 550 plug-in hybrid truck, Ford Escape plug-in hybrid, and a plug-in Toyota Prius to name a few), followed by a panel discussion.
Panelists will include: Peter Horton, writer/director, "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Philanthropist"; Bill Nye, "The Science Guy"; Chris Paine, director, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" and "Revenge of the Electric Car"; Chelsea Sexton, founder, The Lightning Rod Foundation and a former General Motors EV1 specialist.
Cost is $10 and tickets can be purchased at the door. Visit the Plug In 2009 Website for additional information.
The lovelier of the two events will be the 2nd Annual Benefit Party for Plug In America, a respected nonprofit organization that promotes PEVs and PHEVs, held this coming Sunday from 4 p.m. till 8 p.m. at the Thomas Fogarty Winery in Woodside.
Among the vehicles on hand will be the pre-production Aptera 2e, a Tesla Roadster, a BMW Mini E, a Tango, a Tzero, an A123 Hymotion Prius conversion, electric motorcycles from Mission Motors and Zero Motorcycles, plus some one-off conversions and plenty of RAV4 EVs.
The event, titled "Plug-Ins, Pinots and Progress," will make for an excellent and informative afternoon-evening and, as benefits often do, will contain a spectacular auctions portion. Among the items that will be going to the block: a week's stay at a Hawaiian resort for 2-3 people, a Zero X electric motorcycle, and an A123/Hymotion L5 Plug-in Conversion Module (a $10,000 value) for all you Prius owners.
Bids can be submitted online. Tickets to the event start at $120. Visit the Plug In America Website for more information.
Toyota's Perennial Best-Seller Records 48% Sales Jump For Month; Honda Hybrids Flat
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
If Cash for Clunkers lit a fire under July's auto dales in the general market, it apparently set off a rocket booster under the hybrid market.
---------- It was blue skies for Toyota as its 2010 Prius rebounded in July. -----------
Sales of gas-electric cars, SUVs and trucks were up an impressive 35 percent in July - for the month and from a year earlier. Almost all hybrid cars best the 22 mph minimum combined EPA mileage that qualifies a vehicle to be purchased using a cash for clunkers voucher. By comparison, sales of conventional new vehicles rose 15.4 percent for the month and were down 13 percent from July '08.
The explosive performance was led almost single-handedly by Toyota's 2010 Prius, which saw its first full month of sales with an adequate supply on hand at dealerships.
"I think hybrids are benefiting from the buzz of new models such as the 2010 Prius and Honda Insight and fresh models in segments other than compact car, as well as from Cash for Clunkers," said Edmunds.com industry analyst Jessica Caldwell.
If C4C Comes Back, Tech Premium For Many Could Be Offset; Manufacturer Rebates Would Do Same
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Got a gas guzzler that would qualify under the cash for clunkers program for a federal credit toward a new, more efficient car or truck? (That's if we still have a cash for clunkers program when the dust settles from Thursday's reveation that the programs's initial funding apparently has run dry.)
The situation's up in the air right now, but if you are in the mood to keep doing research, or perhaps have had the car-buying impulse jump-started and have decided to take the plunge - clunker incentive or no - this is a good time to look at hybrids and diesels.
----------
2009 Camry Hybrid has lowest technology premium, $239.
----------
If Congress keeps cash for clunkers going, or automakers step up with bigger incentives of their own to keep the market moving, the credits - ranging in the C4C program from $3,500 to $4,500 depending on the fuel economy of the new car or truck - could help make a previously unaffordable hybrid or clean diesel a lot more compatible with your budget.
General Motors, a leader in development of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, may have to curtail its cutting-edge work unless it gets another $50 million to $70 million from the government, GM's outgoing research chief warns.
GM just emerged from a painful bankruptcy restructuring in which it cut 1,100 dealers; shed Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn; and lost thousands more jobs. Yet, through it all, GM maintained its hydrogen research program pretty much intact, even though fuel-cell vehicles are still years away from going on sale.
"The program has not slowed down at all," Larry Burns (pictured), GM's retiring vice president of research, said in an interview with USA Today. "The issue is, going forward, do we have sufficient money to operate at that rate?"
You may recall that Burns is one of the auto industry's most outspoken backers of hydrogen technology. He shepherded the Chevrolet Equinox fuel-cell electric vehicle into existence and has helped lead the charge for development of a national hydrogen fueling system to support widespread use of the zero-emissions vehicles.
Trying to seek federal research dollars, directly or indirectly, comes at a sensitive time for GM. As of last month, the automaker had either accepted or been approved for $49.4 billion in government bailout funds. It has not had direct grants from the government for its hydrogen program.
Now, General Motors is in talks with "government and private entities" about grants or partnerships in hydrogen vehicle research, confirms GM spokesman Alan Adler.
Under Burns, GM has become known for its fuel-cell work. "They have done so much original, groundbreaking work in this area," Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, told USA Today.
Burns, 58, says he decided to retire to give the new GM fresh research leadership under Alan Taub, 54, who, he says, will continue with the same direction.
Hydrogen is a zero-emission fuel that emits only water vapor through the tailpipe. But fuel cells are costly, few fueling stations exist, and mass acceptance is considered years away.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu cut $100 million from the $168 million hydrogen research budget to focus instead on battery electric cars, which show more short-term promise. There are moves in Congress to restore hydrogen funding.
"It took over sixty years and six generations of gasoline engines for the Chevy Corvette to accelerate from zero to sixty miles per hour in under four seconds. The first version of the Tesla Roadster, which is the world's first Lithium-ion battery powered car, achieved that feat immediately. Whereas earlier generations of electric cars were plagued by poor performance, high cost, and short ranges, a new generation of affordable, high-performance electric cars is about to enter the U.S. market."
---------- Right, click on the image to enlarge it. ----------
Thus begins a very readable and interesting report commissioned by U.C. Berkeley's Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology entitled, "Electric Vehicles in the United States: A New Model with Forecasts to 2030." Its author is Thomas Becker, a U.C. Berkeley economist who specializes in international and environmental economics.
The paper estimates the rate of market adoption of EVs in the U.S. through 2030 and analyzes the impact of electric-car deployment on the trade balance, business investment, employment, health care costs and greenhouse-gas emissions. And, the paper forecasts three electric-vehicle adoption scenarios based on two oil price scenarios and possible purchase price incentives for electric cars.
Before moving on to a summary of the paper, there are some things we feel you ought to know about it. In response to a query from Green Car Advisor, the university acknowledged that Better Place - a huge advocate of electric vehicles in general and the major proponent of battery switching technology in particular - helped fund the program that conducted the study, which found that the U.S. can greatly benefit from EVs and battery switching.
The study's premise is that electric vehicles would be sold without batteries at a cost similar to conventional gasoline or diesel cars, and the batteries would be leased at a cost approximating the monthly cost of gasoline for a conventional vehicle.
That is a big part of Better Place's business model. The company envisions itself as a major battery leasing enterprise and operator of quick-change battery swapping stations.
We queried the university and Better Place after both issued reports Monday that shed an attractive light on electric vehicles. The timing of the reports seemed coordinated; the university and Better Place denied that the same release date was anything more than a coincidence. Click on "5-Nation Survey by Electric Vehicle Backer Shows Strong Consumer Interest in EVs" to read our piece on the report issued by Better Place.
Now, without further adieu, click on the "Continue reading" button, below, to read a summary of the U.C. Berkeley study.
General Motors Corp. is close to announcing its decision to locate a new small-car plant at an existing facility in Orion Township, Michigan, The Wall Street Journal
(subscription required) and The Detroit News
reported today, citing unnamed sources.
GM spokespersons Tom Pyden and Sherrie Childers declined to confirm the location of the plant, but the former said an announcement would come as soon as today.
The automaker had been looking at three plants that were slated to close as part of GM's bankruptcy reorganization: in Orion; Spring Hill, Tennessee; and Janesville, Wisconsin. The Orion plant currently produces Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 sedans.
The Journal said the Orion plant was chosen in part because the region has many displaced autoworkers and because the facility is already a passenger-car plant, rather than a truck factory, meaning it potentially will be less expensive to retool for a small car, said one of the people familiar with the matter.
The News reported that tax breaks, not retooling savings, gave Orion the edge. According to the newspaper, Orion Township officials recently sweetened an offer to GM that includes a 100 percent tax break on new machinery and equipment for up to 25 years - more than double what was offered earlier this month.
General Motors will build the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car in China beginning in 2011 as part of the automaker's plan to roll out its revolutionary technology in a wide variety of vehicles around the world, AutoBeat Asia (subscription required) reports today.
All Volts built in China are to be sold there, according to the newsletter.
But the Volt's chief spokesperson, Rob Peterson, in an email sent to Green Car Advisor minutes ago, wrote:
"The Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera will be produced at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant. There are currently no plans to build the Chevrolet Volt outside of the United States at this time. (Note: Volt launches late 2010 in U.S., Ampera launches in caledar year 2011, Volts produced in D-Hamtramck are exported to China in calendar year 2011.)"
Outside the U.S., the Volt will be marketed as the Holden Volt, the Opel Ampera and the Vauxhall Ampera.
As we've previously reported, the Chinese government is aggressively promoting electric and hybrid vehicles as a way to reduce oil consumption and improve air quality in the country's polluted cities. So AutoBeat Asia's report wasn't far-fetched, even if it proved to be wrong.
China wants to have 60,000 alternative-fuel vehicles on the road by 2012, up from virtually none today. Most of the vehicles will be hybrids, but the government is eager to promote pure electric vehicles.
Fortunately for the Detroit 3, BYD's market right now is limited to China, and after the company unveiled its F3DM PHEV to North America. BYD has since announced that it doesn't intend to export the vehicle to America until 2011.
Chevy Volt Vehicle Chief Engineer Andrew Farah takes the first pre-production Volt for a drive earlier today.
After all the spy pics and autoshow rollouts of the so-called Chevrolet Volt, you might have thought you'd already seen the real deal. More than once probably.
But until today, the closest thing to a Volt that General Motors had unveiled to the masses was a mule - the not-so-flattering reference of an autobody married to a powertrain and other systems that aren't Volt-like at all.
The images you see here are an entirely different matter. They are, in fact, the very first photos of the pre-production Volt gasoline-electric extended-range hybrid.
What you see here is what some of you will get, with the exception of a few chiefly cosmetic items such as light clusters that designers and/or engineers are still tinkering with.
And somewhat remarkably - given all the turmoil GM has been through lately - the vehicle was completed a week ahead of schedule. That's right: GM had a July 4th deadline for the pre-production Volt.
The global economic crisis may force Jaguar to postpone production of its XE two-seat roadster beyond its hoped-for 2011 Geneva show debut, but the sports car will be fitted with a Chevy Volt-like powerplant when it does make an appearance.
That according to a report by Motor Trend, which says an electric motor with an extended-range three-cylinder gas engine is being engineered for the new-age E-Type.
Whether that powerplant would be in addition to Jaguar's conventional 5.0-liter and supercharged 5.0-liter V8s is unknown, as is whether the extended-range XE will make it beyond the concept stage.
Also unclear is whether the electric XE would be in addition to an extended-range electric XJ said to be scheduled for introduction in late 2011 (a year after the conventional XJ's release).
Ratan Tata, whose company bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Company, is said to support the XE's development. His father once owned a Jaguar XK120, and Tata told Autocar earlier this year, "We need to emerge with something shiny and new, which is why we are reprioritizing the roadster right now."
In addition to the Volt, an extended-range electric XJ would likely give the Fisker Karma some competition.
The official word from General Motors is that production of the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu hybrid has been suspended, to allow dealers to clean up a big backlog of the slow-selling model.
No word on how cancellation of next year's model will affect a possible 2011 model, but our best guess is the Malibu hybrid is gone, at least with the present mild or "weak" hybrid system.
It's most likely time to start signing "Bye bye, 'bu 'brid."
But GM spokesman Brian Corbett says that service for the '08 and '09 Malibu hybrids that have been sold "will not be an issue" and that there's an adequate supply of batteries in stock to take care of future maintenance needs for that critical component.
The hybrid system, he said, will continue to be covered by the 8-year or 100,000-mile warranty (10 years on the battery in California), and as (if?) dealers sell more of the '09 models, they'll be able to continue servicing them.
We at Green Car Advisor subscribe to many news services, and every so often one of them publishes a headline that stops us in our tracks.
The headline above, appearing in Wednesday's Automotive News Daily Newsletter, was one of them.
Everyone knows you don't put all your eggs in one basket, right? Everyone but the General, apparently.
Yes, yes, it's been said many times that General Motors didn't make small, gutless wonders (that nonetheless got great gas mileage) for the U.S. market because Americans didn't want them (except during the four months or so last year when a gallon of regular cost $4 or more).
And there's truth to that: As GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has said many times, Americans want big and powerful vehicles. Those that don't want them, he has said, and said, and said, represent a very small minority.
And because the world's largest automaker by volume (formerly) decided not to spend as freely on small-car development as it did, say, on muscle car development and on perks such as private jets and other "necessities" for its executives, it found itself standing and unable to find an empty chair when the music stopped, so to speak.
But now, says the Automotive News report, GM is ready to tackle small cars. Here's the report in a nutshell:
GM thinks it has come up with a factory method it calls "interbuildability" to build small vehicles profitably in North America.
The rest of the world knows the method as "standardization." In this instance, GM is standardizing its factories worldwide so different models on the same architecture will have plug-and-play component modules, such as exhaust systems and front-end modules.
Now here's the good news (the bad news being that GM hadn't considered this well-known method sooner):
Gary Cowger, GM's group vice president for global manufacturing and labor relations, told Automotive News that a new group of mid-sized cars will be the first to demonstrate the system. That group includes the 2009 Opel Insignia and a new Buick Regal that will begin production in the U.S. next year.
The Chevy Malibu hybrid - a hybrid that really wasn't - soon won't be.
General Motors is killing the car, citing slow sales and a hefty backlog, according to the Wall Street Journal, which broke the news Wednesday night in the subscriber-only portion of its online publication.
We can't say we'll miss it.
The Malibu hybrid is what's called a mild-hybrid, too mild in this case. Its small electric motor isn't really used for much, other than providing instant start-up for the gas engine, which shuts down at stop signs and other situations where a conventional car would sit and idle.
The stop-start function saves a tiny bit of gas and helps cut noxious, smog causing emissions, but does nothing to make the Malibu hybrid competitive with cars like the Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry hybrids - cars that should be rivals but are clearly too superior to even be on the same court as the Chevy.
The WSJ report cites an unnamed GM spokesman as saying the company will continue making Malibu Milds for the commercial and government fleet markets, but not for regular consumer - who don't seem to want them, anyway.
Since it's inception last August, sales of the Malibu hybrid have averaged just 388 a month. Its best month was one of its last - May, with 706 sales, and those thanks largely to fleet buying and fairly big incentives. It's worst month was January, with just 145 sales.
One reason the Malibu hybrid did so poorly that that GM failed to make a compelling case for it.
The car, like its conventional Malibu siblings, is a good one - perhaps one of the best sedans GM has turned out in decades.
But a base 4-cylinder 2009 Malibu costs $22,325 before whatever incentives GM and its dealers are throwing on the hood these days. The 2009 Malibu hybrid, with all the same regular equipment and a few upgrades including its petite hybrid system (batteries, electric motor, regenerative braking to charge the batteries and a beefed-up power management computer to make it all work) comes in at $3,950 more.
Worse, the system delivers just 33 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, according to EPA estimates, while the regular 4-cylinder delivers 33 mpg. That's a lot of premium to pay for a 3 percent bump in fuel economy and not much else.
LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's leading producer of chemicals, broke ground today on an $802 million factory that will be used to build lithium-ion polymer batteries for electric vehicles.
The ground-breaking took place in Ochang Techno Park, some 60 miles south of Seoul, with officials from both General Motors Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. witnessing the event.
Robert Kruse, GM executive director-global vehicle engineering, and Yang Woong-chul, Hyundai president of research and development, were on hand as both automakers have contracts with LG Chem to supply batteries for their electric-vehicle and hybrid programs.
LG Chem will begin shipping LPI batteries for GM's Chevrolet Volt program in November 2010, company officials said. A subsidiary of LG Chem in Troy, Michigan, will assemble the batteries into packs for use in the car.
South Korea's Minister of Knowledge Economy Lee Youn-ho told reporters that the "government plans to grow the Korean green-car industry to be one of the world's Big Four by the mid-2010s."
The government will provide research and development funds to LG Chem, he said. No figure was given.
In a regulatory filing, the company said it expects global demand for EV batteries to reach 3.3 million units by 2013 and 4.6 million by 2015.
The company's revenue from battery sales is projected at more than $1.6 billion by 2015, when the global market is estimated to be more than $8 billion, the filing revealed.
Until now the only color General Motors has allowed us to view the production 2011 Chevrolet Volt in is silver.
But John McElroy over at Autoline Daily (subscription required) has managed to take some of the first pics of the Volt in another color, as you can see for yourself.
Complementing the jet-black paint is a stingy (some might say subtle) amount of chrome. Some cars look awesome in black, but we think the Volt looks better in the original color.
General Motors has yet to disclose the various colors the Volt will be available in when it enters the marketplace 18 months or so from now.
Below, we've used a photo-editing tool to show you how the car would look in other paint colors, namely metalic copper, misty green and pale purple. Click on the pics for enlargements.
Plug In Conversions Corp. has completed a breakthrough software upgrade to its plug-in conversion kit that for the first time will allow all-electric mode driving at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour in a converted Toyota Prius.
Previous Prius conversion kits have been limited by Toyota programming to a top speed of 34 mph in all-electric mode.
The software upgrade also will allow Prius drivers with PICC conversion kits to boost highway fuel efficiency to 170 miles per gallon until the rechargeable battery is depleted, as recently measured by Argonne National Laboratory.
Chicago-based Argonne reported even higher all-electric mileage in city driving tests of vehicles equipped with the software upgrade and PICC's nickel-metal hydride battery conversion kit.
"What we're essentially offering is all-electric performance for about 25 miles at highway speeds," PICC President Kim Adelman said Tuesday. "The car is no longer limited to 34 miles per hour, all-electric. This also allows a Prius to perform much like the Chevy Volt, but for a much lower cost."
Fuzzy Math
Not so fast. A 2010 Prius starts at $22,000. Add the cost of the conversion kit ($12,500) and the software upgrade ($2500) and the cost of this impressive Prius starts at $37,000.
The Volt, which won't be available for at least 18 months, is expected to carry a price of about $40,000 before a hefty $7,500 rebate from Uncle Sam, which would bring its price down to $32,500 - or $4,500 less than the modified Prius.
When GreenCarAdvisor reached Adelman by phone Tuesday afternoon to point out the discrepancy, he said that most Prius owners who convert their vehicles don't do so when they are new.
He said their Priuses are generally used and worth $14,000 to $15,000 at the time of conversion, but we don't see how that changes things if the owner paid $22,000 for it new. The car has depreciated, but the out-of-pocket expense remains the same.
Adelman also said he believed that the conversion kit will soon be eligible for a 10 percent rebate, which would reduce its price to $11,250. That would still make the converted Prius $3,250 more expensive than the Volt.
Says Cars Now Dictated by Federal Policy, Not Demand, But Calls Volt Part of the Future
He still comes across as a sort of automotive Neanderthal, convinced that if Detroit just keeps shoving muscle cars out the door people will gobble them up.
But Bob Lutz (left), General Motors' vice chairman and car guy extraordinaire is also the Chevrolet Volt's biggest backer and provided a fascinating look in Sunday's Washington Post at how the Volt came to be and what he thinks of its chances and its ability to help rejuvenate the General.
The lengthy article, well worth reading, explores GM's financial decline, its unwillingness in the early days to see Toyota's funny little Prius as a serious threat and throughout is saturated with Lutz's view of things.
It is, in fact, a fond look at the man who brought us the Dodge Viper as well as the Volt and is preparing to retire later this year at age 77 after 45 years in the auto industry, where he's worked at Opel and BMW in Germany, at Ford, Chrysler and GM, and also spent three years as head of battery developer Exide Corp.
But we digress.
Volt Needed, Not Desired
On the topic of the Volt, Lutz remains insistent that it is exactly the kind of car GM needs to produce right now in order to satisfy political demand for advanced-technology, fuel-efficient cars.
He's not persuaded though, that the Volt or any other green car is what the American consumer is crying out for.
Like an infamous former vice president of the U.S., Lutz divides the country into East and West coast intellectuals and the rest of America, which he says still wants V8 engines and sexy styling.
"When you get out into the marketplace, it's probably just 5 percent of the public that desperately wants something environmentally sound and is willing to pay a premium for it," he said in the interview.
"I would say the East and West Coast intellectual establishment kind of lives in its own world. When you get to the broad American marketplace, excitement [over autos] is still kind of defined in the way it used to be."
General Motors expanded its battery research and development capabilities today with the opening of the largest and possibly most advanced battery laboratory in the United States.
---------- Right, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and GM CEO Fritz Henderson prior to press conference announcing the opening of GM's newest battery lab. ----------
The new Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan, will lead GM's advanced-battery engineering efforts and expedite the introduction of electrical-powered vehicles, including the Chevrolet Volt, as well as plug-in hybrid and hybrid-electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles.
In a statement released today, the automaker described the lab's opening as the latest move in GM's comprehensive battery strategy, which includes ramping up in-house responsibility for advanced battery technology and a broad portfolio of supplier partners.
At 33,000 square feet, the lab is four times larger than the automaker's previous battery laboratory on the same GM campus and will be used by the automaker's thousand-plus engineers assigned to developing advanced batteries and electrically driven vehicles.
Low-cost, lightweight and powerful batteries are widely regarded as the final piece of the puzzle to an affordable all-electric vehicle, so the importance of the lab to GM at a time when the automaker is in deep financial trouble cannot be overstated.
Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday announced that it would begin leasing 500 plug-in hybrids based on the Prius model globally by the end of this year, primarily for government and corporate use.
Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, said in a statement it would lease 200 in Japan and 150 each in the United States and Europe, including 100 in France.
Plug-in hybrid cars can be cleaner than regular hybrids because they can be charged to run purely on electricity, but the need for more batteries makes them expensive. Many companies are working to bring the price of the batteries down, which in turn would reduce the price of the low-emissions, fuel-efficient vehicles.
Toyota's plug-in cars would be the brand's first to employ lithium-ion batteries, which are costly but can store more energy than nickel-metal hydride batteries used in most gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles.
Among other carmakers, bankrupt General Motors Corp. is planning to launch its much-hyped Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid next year.
In the statement, Toyota said it is developing a plug-in hybrid vehicle based on the third-generation Prius and capable of being recharged via external power sources such as household electrical outlets.
A plug-in hybrid vehicle typically operates as an electric vehicle when used for short distances and as a conventional hybrid vehicle when used for medium- to long-distance trips. This means it can be driven regardless of remaining battery power or the availability of a battery-charging infrastructure.
Sales of hybrid cars and trucks outperformed the market in May, giving lie to the belief, popular among mainstream industry analysts and pundits, that Americans are only interested in the gas-electric vehicles when fuel prices are stratospheric.
---------- 2009 Prius was top hybrid with best sales in 7 months. ----------
In a month when sales of non-hybrid vehicles rose 12.9 percent from the prior month, hybrid sales were up 18.2 percent. Incentives were applied liberally to hybrids and conventional vehicles alike during May, reducing the likelihood that cash-back offers or cheap interest rates unfairly boosted hybrid sales.
And while sales of both hybrids and conventional vehicles fell far short of matching year-earlier tallies, hybrid sales were off only 26.7 percent from May, 20008, compared to a 33.5 percent decline for non-hybrids.
At the same time, conventional small car sales fell short of overall market performance, indicating that shoppers had more than just fuel economy on their minds. The hybrid market may be benefiting from increased concern that fuel prices, which have been below $3 a gallon for nearly a year after approaching the $4-per-gallon mark last summer, are on the rise again and may be heading for new highs.
In all, dealers sold 25,693 hybrids last month, up from 21,735 in April but down from 35,042 in May 2008.
With the exception of Toyota's Camry hybrid, the top-selling Prius - which continues to dominate the U.S. hybrid market - and Honda's Civic hybrid, sales of individual models are low enough that it doesn't take much to cause a large jump in percent of increase or decline.
That said, Ford's new Fusion sedan hybrid scored an impressive 75 percent gain from April while sales of the Ford Escape SUV hybrid were up 62.2 percent for the same period.
Downsizing Won't Kill Automaker's Initiatives, but Demand for Quick Profits Could
As General Motors Corp. begins reshaping itself in a complex, government-assisted bankruptcy process that leaves taxpayers as its major investor, one thing remains clear -- the automaker's future depends on its ability to develop cars that are both fuel-efficient and desirable.
To do so in an era of economic uncertainty marked by sluggish car sales, wildly fluctuating fuel prices and consumer confusion about the best car-buying strategies as we wait for the new generation of advanced technology vehicles to appear is going to require a degree of discipline that so far has been woefully lacking at GM and other domestic auto companies.
So it was heartening to see this morning that GM accompanied its filing for a pre-planned Chapter 11 reorganization
with the promise that even as it pares expenses to the bone it would "continue and increase its investment and leadership in fuel economy and advanced propulsion technologies."
---------- Chevy Volt "extended range EV' is one of the cars on which GM is betting its future. ----------
The "leadership" claim is a bit much -- marketing never stops.
But the rest of that vow, contained as it was in a statement undoubtedly edited and approved by the Obama administration, shows that GM so far is on the right path, and is pursuing it with government backing.
The Chevrolet Volt, GM's gamble on a potentially game-changing fuel-efficiency technology, will continue on schedule for launch in late 2010, according to this morning's statement.
Additionally, GM said it will continue development of conventional gas-electric hybrid technology, with 14 models due in the market by 2012, and will continue outfitting cars and trucks with flex-fuel systems so that by 2014 a full 65 percent of its vehicles will be capable of using ethanol or other alternative fuels, such as biodiesel.
We know GM also has been working on battery-electric and fuel-cell electric drivetrains and expect that R&D effort to continue as well.
Go Long
There will be many stumbling blocks to be overcome in the GM bankruptcy, but with the purse-string controlling government so far signing off on the automaker's intent to make fuel-efficiency and the development of petroleum-free powertrains a centerpiece of its recovery effort, things are getting off to a good start.
If the Feds succumb, though, to the cult of immediacy that has hamstrung so much of American industry for so long -- the demand by investors and market analysts for ever-increasing growth and profitability at the expense of solid long-term planning -- then all bets are off.
General Motors Corp., which was going to import a new subcompact car called the Chevrolet Spark directly from China when it goes on sale in 2011, now says it will build them, and at least 100,000 more new small cars each year, in the U.S.
---------- Spark Concept at Detroit auto show. ----------
The decision is being billed as a concession to the UAW to get the autoworkers union to sign off on GM's reorganization plan, and that's likely true.
But we suspect it also is part of GM's response to new federal fuel-efficiency standards and the Obama administration's push to wring more small car production out of the U.S. auto industry - now mostly in thrall to the federal government because it is supplying both GM and Chrysler the cash they need to stay in business.
Whatever the reasons, GM now says it will build up to 160,000 new small cars at a previously shuttered plant that it will reopen and dedicate to small-car production.
The automaker isn't disclosing the location of the plant yet. There are many shuttered locations to choose from and the company probably is asking the various communities to vie for the jobs a plant reopening will bring by offering tax breaks and other concessions that will help cut GM's operating costs.
Nor is GM saying which cars will be built at the plant.
We believe the Spark will be one - but as GM was only planning on annual U.s. sales of 50,000 of the three-door hatchbacks, we expect at least one, maybe two other compacts or subcompact models will be built there.
If you tuned into Late Show With David Letterman
last night you saw the 62-year-old talk show host do a good impersonation of Sam Donaldson, the longtime reporter for ABC News famous for asking hard-hitting questions.
Letterman's subject: None other than Bob Lutz, the 77-year-old vice chairman of General Motors Corp. The interview came three weeks after Letterman had Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk on the show and the two shared considerable laughter at GM's expense.
In perfect Donaldson style, Letterman didn't pull many punches, asking "Maximum" Bob pointed questions such as why GM seems incapable of building a battery-electric car like Tesla's Roadster and why don't U.S. automakers do the patriotic thing and make more fuel-efficient vehicles so we're less dependent on foreign oil. Letterman all but said American troops are dying in Iraq over oil.
Lutz responded with his usual song-and-dance, variously blaming the U.S. government for stupid regulations, and successive administrations for making bad policy -- such as keeping the cost of gasoline in America low and yet expecting Detroit to produce fuel-efficient vehicles when little demand exists for them.
But perhaps sensing that Letterman wasn't about to let him off the ropes, Lutz said something he's not wont to say unless pushed:
"Let's face it. During the '70s, '80s and up through the early '90s, the U.S. car companies built some really bad cars. And a lot of people still have that memory from their family -- 'My dad said don't ever buy an American car because they're all crap.' -- and of course that was true at one point but it's no longer true."
(Note: Updated 5 p.m. 5/7/09 to include link to Hydrogen and Fuel Cell groups' joint statement.)
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
In a huge blow to backers of fuel-cell electric vehicles, the nation's top energy official said today he sees little promise of the technology becoming a significant player in the nation's transportation system within the next two decades.
---------- Honda's FCX Clarity, now being tested in Southern California, uses a hydrogen fuel cell to provide electric power. ----------
As a result, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu is proposing that more than $100 million be cut from the Energy Department hydrogen program in the 2010 budget the administration is submitting to Congress.
The proposed budget slashes hydrogen fuel cell spending by 59 percent to just $68 million and focuses on programs for stationary power generation rather than for transportation.
"We asked ourselves, 'Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will covert to a hydrogen car economy?' The answer, we felt, was 'no,'" Chu said in a briefing today.
The National Hydrogen Association and the U.S. Fuel Cell Coalition quickly issued a joint statement criticizing the program cuts.
A few days ago we moaned that General Motors Corp.'s decision to sell the Saturn brand would kill the company's planned Vue plug-in hybrid and reported that GM people were saying the company didn't have plans to quickly shift the technology to another brand.
We were right about the Vue plug-in, and are now thrilled to report that GM says it will do a replacement plug-in hybrid for either the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac brands (all that will be left after the company completes "Reorganization II: The Come Back").
It will be used on a compact crossover SUV and be entered into fleet service in 2011, according to GM Vice Chairman Tom Stephens, who disclosed the plan Tuesday on GM's FastLane blog.
Stephens didn't say so, but we'd expect retail sales of the new GM plug-in hybrid to follow sometime in 2012 unless the fleet operators have a terrible experience with it.
What he did say was that GM plans to offer 14 hybrid and electric vehicles by 2012 -- the "electric" apparently being the Chevrolet Volt, which GM insists on calling an extended range electric vehicle.
Unlike the Volt, which actually is a type of plug-in hybrid that uses only its electric motor for propulsion, the unnamed 2011 plug-in won't run solely on electric power but will use its electric motor to augment the gas engine (the Volt, due at the end of next year, uses its gas engine as a generator to provide electricity when the battery pack's charge is depleted).
Because it will use a more powerful battery pack than a conventional hybrid carries -- a grid-rechargeable battery pack - the new plug-in also will be able to provide a certain amount of all-electric drive before the battery charge is depleted and it reverts to operating like a conventional hybrid operation until it is plugged-in and the batteries are charged-up again.
Stephens said the plug-in will use a version of the GM dual-mode hybrid system now employed on Chevrolet and GMC hybrid SUVs and pickups.
A gleeful General Motors Corp. says that preliminary tests using the same protocol the EPA employs shows that its redesigned 2010 Chevrolet Equinox crossover SUV will get 32 miles per gallon on the highway.
The figure, moderated by a 30 percent lower city cycle of 22 miles per gallon for overall fuel economy of around 26 mpg, is for the front-wheel drive model equipped with the 2.4-liter direct-injected four-cylinder engine (right)
.
The ailing automaker, desperately in need of new models that will bring buyers into its dealerships, said the official EPA ratings are due "shortly." The 2010 Equinox is scheduled to hit showrooms in June.
The Equinox' chief rivals in the midsized crossover, four-cylinder SUV segment are the 2.4-liter Honda CR-V, which received a 2009 EPA fuel economy rating of 20 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway (23 mpg combined), and the 2.5-liter Toyota RAV-4, with an EPA rating of 22 mpg city and 28 mpg highway (24 mpg combined).
Mindful that growing numbers of shoppers now are demanding fuel efficiency as well as utility in their SUVs - and that it has to meet that demand or die - GM had vowed when it showed the redesigned Equinox at the Detroit auto Show in January that it would get at least 30 miles a gallon on the highway.
Hybrid sales in the U.S. rose in April for the fourth consecutive month and posted the highest monthly volume since October 2008.
---------- Honda's 2010 Insight was one of the bright spots in the U.S. hybrid market in April. ----------
The bump illustrates the influence that novelty and price still have on the market: Honda's new Insight, Ford's new Fusion and a heavily incentivized Honda Civic hybrid overcame slumping sales of many other gas-electric models to account for the gain.
But in a month when car and light truck sales overall still fell well below the one-million mark, the performance of the hybrid segment wasn't much to get excited about.
The month-over-month increase wasn't strong enough, for example, to put April's hybrid sales in contention with April 2008, when gasoline prices averaged above $3.50 a gallon, car buyers were scouring the market for fuel-efficient models and recession hadn't begun wreaking havoc with the economy.
Financially struggling General Motors Corp., interested in getting as much positive press as it can these days, is making a rough draft of its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid available to automotive journalists for limited test drive sessions at the company's research center.
InsideLine's Daniel Pund took a spin the other day and found it to be "more of a progress report than a final assessment."
GM, which has a month to get everyone signed on to its recovery plan if it wants to avoid a government-forced Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, has pinned a lot of its future on thesuccess of the Volt and other alternative fuel vehicles
The car the journos are testing is a modified Chevrolet Cruz (it uses the same platform as the Volt, which isn't slated for production until the end of next year) fitted with the present generation of the Volt's extended-range electric drive system (right).
The test car shows, Pund writes, that "as far as we can tell, development seems to be coming along nicely."
What he tested, he says, is very much "an electric car" with the smooth, quiet operation and impressive low-speed torque that characeterizes same.
Although techniocally a hybrid, the Volt only uses its internal combustion engine to generate electricity when the batteries, initially charged from the commercial power grid, are depleted.
And GM supplied a "mule" (auto-speak for a test car that uses a different body or platform than slated for the the production model) with fully charged batteries and never let Pund push it to the point that the gas engine/generator kicked in.
The fact that General Motors still makes vehicles sometimes gets lost amid all the news and speculation about the fate of GM as an ongoing business.
But it does make cars and trucks and one of the newest is the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado dual-mode hybrid pickup, which Edmunds.com Engineering Editor Jason Kavanagh recently drove and reports on today in a First Drive review for Inside Line.
We recommend you jump over and give his piece a read, but the short version is that Jason liked it, found that it is a good, full-service pickup with plenty of towing and hauling capacity, great acceleration, good road manners and 20-mpg fuel economy.
The downside is the roughly $4,000 hybrid premium, which would take more than a decade to earn back with fuel savings at today's $2.05 a gallon (national average) gas prices.
The pay-back period, of course, would get shorter as gas prices rise, which we expect will happen.
Besides the economics, there's also the environmental benefit -- harder to measure but worth considering. Driven 15,000 miles a year, the non-hybrid 5.3-liter Silverado annually would burn almost 190 gallons of gasoline more than the hybrid, and would produce about 1.5 tons more CO2.
And that's worth considering when making a choice.
Saturn Vue 2-Mode Hybrid, due this year, and plug-in Vue due in 2011 now appear dead.
GM says it will kill Saturn to help make some of its financial woes go away, and we expect the beleaguered automaker and its federal minders have done the number crunching and know whereof they speak.
But in killing its most fuel-efficient brand, GM also will be ending plans for several new Saturn hybrids, including dual-mode and plug-in hybrid Saturn Vue crossovers.
We figure that with its dramatic new restructuring plan also calling for the end of Hummer, Pontiac and Saab as GM brands, killing Saturn and its hybrids (it already markets the Vue Greenline mild hybrid and the Aura full hybrid sedan) won't damage GM's average fuel economy standing. Loss of the less-efficient Hummer and Pontiac brands will cancel out loss of Saturn and Saab in the annual corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) computation.
But GM tells us that it doesn't have plans to quickly shift the Vue hybrids -- existing and planned -- onto surviving Chevrolet, GMC, Buick or Cadillac platforms, and that's a shame. It would seem to run counter to the government's goal of getting a million plug-ins on the road by 2020.
Automakers Need Rechargeable Hybrids, EVs, Task Force Consultants Say
The Boston Consulting Group, hired by the Treasury Department to analyze recovery plans being submitted by General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC to the administration's Automotive Task Force, says it stands by the accuracy of its January report on the prospects of the electric vehicle segment in coming years.
The global consulting firm's analysis came under fire last week from Felix Kramer, founder of the influential plug-in hybrid and EV advocacy group California Car Initiative, or CalCars.
He said in a lengthy posting on the CalCars website that he feared the consultants had based their finding - that electrified vehicles are too costly still to be competitive with internal combustion engine vehicles without a wide range of government incentives - on flawed data.
Kramer's concern is that while the Obama administration has said it wants to encourage development of plug-in electric vehicles with a goal of seeing a million on the road by 2015, the consulting group seems to be downplaying rather that supporting the idea that such a goal is attainable.
Kramer linked the consulting group's January report to the the task force's finding, when it rejected GM's inital recovery plan last month, that the Cvevrolet Volt plug-in due out at the end of next year will be too pricey to be commerically viable in the early years. He appears to be concerned that this is an indication that the task force is getting advice to tell GM to drop or delay the project.
But GM has said it will move ahead with the Volt and in a short statement provided Green Car Advisor today, Boston Consulting said that its Janauary report did not single out the Volt or any other specific model and that, indeed, it believes rechargeable, or plug-in, hybrids and all-electric vehicles need to be part of every automaker's fleet.
Here's the statement:
"Our January 2009 report, "The Comeback of the Electric Car? How Real, How Soon, and What Must Happen Next," discusses the prerequisites necessary for widespread adoption of electric cars in general, and not of specific models.
"The report's analysis was based on information from a wide range of sources and on a modeling of the propulsion-market evolution in Western Europe, North America, Japan and China, incorporating regional differences in average mileage, carbon dioxide regulations, taxes and likely acceptance of technologies.
"According to our projections, [global] sales of around 3 million electric cars and 11 million hybrids by 2020 are realistic under reasonable incentives and fuel-cost assumptions, with ICE-based cars still making the majority of the market.
As the report makes clear, our view is that all automotive manufacturers need to include rechargeable, or plug-in, hybrid-electric vehicles in their fleets. But unless governments intervene with strong incentives for car makers, power companies and consumers, key auto markets will remain dominated by ICE-based cars.
Since the report's publication, numerous informed parties - including many OEMs, suppliers and battery makers - have reaffirmed the validity of our estimates and conclusions. We will provide future updates as our research unfolds."
Advocacy Group Thinks Panel's Consultants Use Flawed Arguments to Downplay Technology
It's great that the Obama Administration is trying to do something to save the U.S. auto industry, but a bit unsettling that the right hand doesn't seem to know what the left is up to - a common Washington problem in general, we imagine, and in particular a problem in a new administration trying to grapple with half a dozen catastrophic events simultaneously.
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GM's Chevy Volt is seen by consultants as too expensive to be commercially viable in the nearterm.
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The issue we're talking about is the seeming disconnect between the president's oft-stated goal of promoting development of rechargeable, or plug-in, hybrid-electric vehicles - with a goal of having a million of them on the road by 2015 - and the administration's Automotive Task Force's apparent reliance on a consulting group that hasn't seen much future in plug-ins.
Felix Kramer, founder of the plug-in hybrid advocacy group California Cars Initiative, raised the alarm in a piece posted this week on the CalCars.org website.
It seems that the Obama administration, whose task force is charged with helping figure out how to save the U.S. auto industry, has awarded the Boston Consulting Group a contract worth up to $7 million for an analysis of the prospects of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.
Both automakers have said in the restructuring plans they've presented to the government that plug-in vehicles - hybrid and "pure" electric - will play a big role in their futures.
But Boston Consulting, Kramer says, has relied too heavily in the past on "business as usual" assumptions and "flawed data" in assessing plug-ins.
Kramer cites one recent report from the company, co-authored by one American- and four German-based analysts, titled "The Comeback of the Electric Car? How Real, How Soon, and What Must Happen Next." (Click here to download the 10-page report.)
The press release issued by the company to promote the report when it was released in January was headlined "Electric Cars Are Unlikely to Help Carmakers Cut CO2 Emissions Significantly by 2020," a less neutral approach that alerts you to the one of the report's conclusions.
We've no axe to grind with a hard-nosed assessment of the facts, but Kramer argues that the consulting company's analysis of the plug-in EV scene uses outdated, excessively high battery costs and ignores the impact of recent U.S. funding programs for battery development.
Green Car Advisor hopes to get Boston Consulting to comment, but two days after taking our request under consideration (with the remark that it would be unfair of us to write about Kramer's concerns without including BCG's response) the best the company's been able to come up with is a "no comment at this time."
Cadillac Converj concept uses GM 's extended-range plug-in system for all-electric drive.
It's time for the "will they or won't they" game to begin.
Motor Trend magazine says that GM insiders have leaked word that the Cadillac Converj extended-range hybrid has been given the green light for production.
General Motors Corp.'s official response is that the Caddy version of the Chevrolet Volt is still jut a concept undergoing, as do many concepts, ongoing review for production possibilities.
"We'll provide details if the status changes," said GM spokesman Rob Peterson - a statement that could be taken, if you were so inclined, to mean that GM at least is holding out the possibility that the status will change.
(A Cadillac spokesman said approximately the same thing Thursday to Inside Line's Straightline news blog, which interpreted it as an outright denial.)
The Converj, which would use the same "EFlex" extended-range series hybrid system as the Volt, was a big hit at the detroit Auto Show and would give GM the opportunity to sell a premium-priced version of its plug-in hybrid to help recoup come of the development costs.
But, of course, financially crippled GM is still working with the feds on a plan to stay alive and its ability to spend big bucks to get a car like the Converj ready for production is an even bigger question mark than its desire to do so.
If the Converj were to be slated for Cadillac dealers' showrooms, it likely would be a 2012 model, with a hefty price tag: The Volt, due out at the end of 2010, is expected to carry a sticker of somewhere between $35,000 and $45,000 and a Converj could easily double that - or more.
Ford's SmartGauge features a multitude of displays to help people become more fuel-efficient drivers.
By Robert E. Calem, Contributor
Regardless of the kind of car you drive, one of the keys to improving fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is to drive smarter - don't hammer the accelerator pedal, don't brake harshly and do steadily maintain just enough speed to keep up with the flow of traffic without passing everyone in sight.
These often are not easy tasks.
To help, automakers have begun rolling out new features and technologies that call attention to uneconomical driving behavior and offer "rewards" for fuel-efficient driving.
Some of these features are passive, like instrument panels that change color as fuel economy improves.
Others more actively engage with the driver, such as an accelerator pedal that pushes back when pressed too aggressively.
Some automakers are even working on technologies that will be able to take the driver out of the fuel economy equation by allowing the car to practically drive itself with best mileage in mind.
Read on to learn more about the driver training features and technologies in cars you can buy today, and be able to buy tomorrow.
Smart Gauges Make Smarter Drivers
"The whole idea is coaching the driver, but as a good coach you don't want to preach," says Sonya Nematollahi, driver information engineering supervisor at Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, Mich., while describing the "SmartGauge with EcoGuide" instrument cluster in the 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids.
Conceived by Ford in collaboration with IDEO, the design and innovation consultancy that also devised the Swivel 'n Go seating in Chrysler minivans, SmartGauge consists of two 4.3-inch, high-resolution color LCD screens - one on either side of the analog speedometer - that display a collection of digitally rendered gauges accessed through multi-layered menus.
SmartGauge with EcoGuide, fashioned by Ford Design Studio with features input from the industrial design firm Smart Design, uses the menus and gauges to offer increasingly detailed information in four modes: Inform, Enlighten, Engage and Empower.
"Like a good coach, we designed modes into SmartGauge to engage drivers at their experience levels and then guide them to new energy-efficient behavior," says Steve Bishop, global lead for sustainability at IDEO in Palo Alto, Calif.
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Green leaves 'grow' on fusion instrument panel as visual reward when fuel economy improves.
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"Video games engage their users in a similar fashion with levels. In fact, when we observed hybrid drivers, we found they were going for high scores, a gaming behavior that has never existed in cars before. We designed to accommodate it."
Steering-wheel mounted directional buttons are used to navigate through the modes, and the driver can customize the displays in each mode by adding or removing gauges.
It's no secret, hybrids haven't been doing well lately, on dealers' lots, in the media, or in a lot of political arguments. Sales data that comes in on a monthly basis shows hybrid sales sinking faster than auto sales as a whole. And there's nothing pretty about auto sales as a whole.
Indeed, looking at March's tally shows that the 21,433 hybrid cars and trucks sold in the U.S. last month represents a 43.9 percent drop from hybrid sales in March of 2008, while sales of all other types of new passenger vehicles, on a March-vs-March basis, were off "just" 36.5 percent.
So, the argument goes, hybrids can't hold their own, they cost too much and people don't really want them.
---------- Nissan Altima hybrid was one of only two models posting a first quarter gain. ----------
But we've never been big on the idea that a trend can be made, or broken, in a single month.
One could also argue, for instance, that March hybrid sales were up substantially from February and recovered more than did all other segments combined.
On a sales-per-day basis, to account for the shorter February selling period, March hybrid sales were up 20.9 percent, versus an 11.6 percent increase from February in sales of other types of new cars and trucks.
Does that mean that March sales show that people have changed their minds and are flocking to hybrids in droves?
Successfully Restructuring Auto Industry Isn't Something That's Entirely Up to Detroit
There's an old Caribbean folksong in which a son calls his father's effort to explain the birds and bees "as clear as mud, but it covered the ground."
That pretty much describes the Obama administration's early direction to General Motors and Chrysler as it rejected the automakers' initial restructuring plans this morning and said they'd be given financial support for a limited period to come up with better plans.
In both cases, the President said in his televised address on the auto industry restructuring this morning, that means a plan to be economically viable while building and selling "the fuel efficient cars and trucks that will carry us to an energy independent future."
America's automakers, Obama said, should "lead the world in manufacturing the next generation of clean cars."
He covered the necessary ground, but without much clarity in terms of just how those goals are to be achieved. That's to be left it up to the automakers and the administration's auto industry restructuring team.
Hyundai Motor Co. has been green with envy over the success that competitors Toyota and Honda have had in marketing their fuel-efficient cars to consumers.
South Korea's largest automaker has been playing catch-up as it develops a fleet that eventually will include a mix of conventional and plug-in hybrids, advanced-technology gasoline internal combustion engines and fuel-cell electric vehicles.
And, on Monday, Hyundai unveiled plans to expand that fleet with an all-electric, rechargeable car with a range of about 40 miles (62 kilometers).
"We cannot eliminate any technology. We have to keep them all," Hyundai Vice Chairman Lee Hyun Soon told the Bloomberg news service during an interview on Monday in Hwaseong, near Seoul.
"If your commuting distance is short, maybe you can justify using an electric vehicle," said Lee, who serves as research chief for Hyundai and its Kia Motors Corp. affiliate.
Lee did not say when the battery car will go on sale or which markets initially will be targeted.
Upcoming Kia and Hyundai hybrids, as well as the planned Hyundai electric vehicle, will use lithium batteries manufactured by LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's largest chemical company. LG Chem also is supplying lithium-ion batteries for GM's Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, which will go on the market in 2010.
Kia on Tuesday introduced its Kia Forte hybrid, which will be the world's first hybrid-liquefied petroleum gas car when it goes on sale in Korea later this year.
AutoPacific projects a significant increase in sales of compact and mid-size cars, with compacts the volume leader.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Automakers, most of them anyway, have been telling American consumers for years that they didn't want small cars, the bigger was better, and safer, and sexier and more fun to drive.
That, said the likes of Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Chrysler, is why they weren't making them - that and the problems they had making small cars that could compete in price and quality with those coming over from Japan.
After a while, even the Japanese pretty much gave up on small cars, shifting their attention to the big SUVs, pickups and luxury and quasi-luxe sedans that the American public had been persuaded were safer and brought more status to the table than compacts.
That started changing as fuel prices began soaring a few years ago, and the pace of change has accelerated as the economy has sunk into a deep recession.
Compacts have replaced mid-sized cars as the volume leader in new car sales, and many analysts believe that's not going to change even when the economy turns around.
California-based AutoPacific, for instance, is projecting that compact sales volume will grow much faster than mid-size volume through 2010 and then maintain an annual lead of 250,000 or so sales over midsized cars well into the next decade.
Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell agrees, adding that while fuel economy and lower purchase prices are a big reason for the growth in the segment, today's compacts also come loaded with standard equipment and options packages that were unheard of in the segment a few years ago.
Redefining Small
But wait!
There's a complication in the small car vs midsized car analysis, and a reason other than economy that American car buyers have begun favoring compacts.
"Today's compacts are as big as yesterday's midsized cars," says Dan Hall, AutoPacific's marketing vice president.
"While today's Honda Civic is definitely smaller than an Accord, it is about the same size as a mid-'90s Honda Accord," says Ed Kim, AutoPacific's industry analysis director.
The wheelbase of the present-generation Civic - the area in which the passenger cabin fits - is less than half-an-inch smaller than the 1997 Accord. Overall lengths of today's compacts are shorter than previous-generation mid-sized cars, but that's mainly because design changes have made engine compartments and trunk overhangs much shorter.
It's not so much that we've overcome our national preference for mid-sized cars and begun gravitation to the small car, Kim says, its just that the nomenclature has changed.
We've never been enamored of the California legislation that opened its carpool lanes to solo drivers of certain high fuel-economy hybrids and clean-burning natural gas vehicles.
(Not that our principled stand is enough to stop Green Car Advisor's senior editor from driving solo in the HOV lanes when he's in Edmunds.com's state-credentialed, natural-gas burning Honda Civic GX.)
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States with carpool lanes usually require vehicles to have two or more occupants, unless vehicle is a 45-mpg hybrid or a specially designated clean-air vehicle.
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So we were planning a modest celebration for New Year's Day in 2011 when the special dispensation was set to expire and carpool lanes were to be handed back to carpoolers. Something along the lines of a mass chuckle as solo greenies sadly rejoined drivers of fuel-guzzling sedans, sport utilities and pick-up trucks that never escaped the hoi polloi lanes.
Imagine our disappointment then upon learning that California Assemblyman Ted Lieu (D, Torrance) has introduced legislation to extend the HOV Lane special dispensation to 2016. His bill, AB 1500 could surface in a committee hearing as early as March 30.
We think it's a bad idea to breathe new life into a bad idea.
General Motors, fighting to persuade federal watchdogs that it can survive with a lot of help from taxpayers, is hoping to repay some of the debt it owes us by launching the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid on time and following up that achievement with a few more extended-range EVs.
That was the word Wednesday from a phone-in press conference held by GM's top battery and plug-in hybrid gurus.
There was no big news in the 75-minute event, but GM did release some crash-test photos to reassure us that the Volt's batteries would survive a 35-mph frontal crash, and provided some additional info about the battery pack for the 4-seat car.
Bob Kruse, GM's executive director for global hybrid, electric vehicle and battery engineering programs, assured reporters that the Volt was on schedule for a November 2010 launch - as a genuine retail vehicle, not a limited-production, test-program car.
GM crash test photos show little damage to orange-colored Volt battery pack after a 35 mph frontal collision.
Kruse also said that while the economy is in the trashcan and car sales are slower than they've been in decades, GM remains confident that, helped by the $7,500 federal tax credit the car is supposed to qualify for, Volt sales will meet the first year-goal of 50,000.
He also repeated earlier comments that GM is working on next generation versions of the Volt (or similar vehicles using the newly named Voltec powertrain). And not just Generation 2 vehicles, but Generation 3 as well.
Sales of hybrid cars and SUVs continued falling in February but their plunge was slowed somewhat by a strong updraft of incentives.
---------- Camry hybrid sales were down 50 percent from February '08 but with incentive spending rose 82 percent from January ----------
While new car sales overall were down 41 percent from a year earlier, hybrid sales were off just 28.5 percent with 16,020 vehicles sold, down from 22,411 in February 2008.
The gas-electric cars cost more than their conventional counterparts and haven't been doing well as the economy tanks and gas prices remain relatively low.
Sales also have been slowed as interested consumers hold off in anticipation of the new Honda insight compact 5-passenger hybrid and the redesigned 2010 Toyota Prius, both due to hit showroom floors soon.
One Gainer
February saw only one gain - the Lexus RX400 hybrid crossover SUV was up 31 percent from a year earlier - but several models posted smaller declines than the segment as a whole.
The Lexus RX400 hybrid was helped by significant incentive spending, as Toyota's luxury division poured an average of $6,338 into each vehicle, according to Edmunds.com's True Cost of Incentives data. That was up from just $503 per vehicle incentive spending on the RX400 hybrid a year earlier and was $1,300 more than Lexus was spending on RX400 incentives in January.
Both the Ford Escape hybrid and the Toyota Camry posted big gains for the month. The Escape, with 1,172 sales, climbed 55.6 percent from January and the Camry, with 2,080 sales, was up 82.3 percent.
Camry sales really show the power of incentives: the car was among the worst performers in comparing February '08 and '09 sales, down almost 50 percent.To get the big January to February improvement, Toyota pumped up incentive spending on the model to $1,495 per vehicle from "virtually nothing in January," said Edmunds.com industry analyst Jessica Caldwell.
Our recent article on GM's new dual-mode hybrid full-size pickups didn't explain the extent of the differences in standard features between the conventionally powered Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT crew cab and the Silverado (right) and GMC Sierra hybrids when questioning the economic justification for the pricier hybrids.
In addition to standard equipment they have in common with the LT 1500, the hybrids come with 18-inch wheels, a towing package, side-curtain airbags, a soft tonneau cover and GM's "EZ lift tailgate," as well as the automatic climate control and Bluetooth features mentioned in the article.
A Silverado 1500 LT with the base 4.8-liter V8 engine and all of these options checks in at a shade over $33,000 (before destination charge.)
That compares more favorably with the hybrid's approximate base price of $38,000 that the $31,000 unadorned LT 1500 were used in our original comparison.
Throw in the hybrids' $2,200 federal tax credit, and their $5,000 premium over the comparably equipped conventional 4.8-liter LT 1500 shrinks to less than $3,000.
The typical conventional full-size truck buyer probably wouldn't require all of the add-ons, but even if the options are limited to significant functional upgrades - towing package, side-curtain airbags and special tailgate - the 1500 LT comes in at over $32,000, narrowing the pre-tax-credit gap to about $6,000.
The Devil's in the Dollars With '09 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra Dual-Mode Hybrids
GM's hybrid pickups can tow and turn in good mileage -- for trucks -- but cost thousands more than conventional models.
(Note: Please see updated cost-comparison information, here.)
ByJosh Sadlier, Associate Editor
There's something undeniably impressive about a 5,341-pound pickup that can accelerate to 29 mph solely on electric power. That's just one of the neat tricks packed into GM's new-for-2009 two-mode hybrid trucks, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid and the GMC Sierra 1500 Hybrid.
Equally impressive are EPA fuel-economy estimates of 21 miles per gallon in the city, 22 on the highway and 21 mpg combined for the two-wheel-drive models, a 4-6-mpg improvement over their conventionally powered GM brethren and an unprecedented achievement for full-size trucks.
That's the good news.
The bad news is the bottom line. These crew-cab-only hybrids start at $38,000 and change, although a $2,200 federal tax credit will help -- a little.
Big Price Spread
Their closest non-hybrid relative, the Silverado 1500 Crew Cab LT with a 4.8-liter V8, goes for just over $31,000, and if you miss the hybrids' standard dual-zone climate control and Bluetooth, they can be added to the LT for a pittance.
In other words, unless gas prices get really high and stay there, there's no economic argument to be made in the hybrid trucks' favor.
The $7,000 price difference (before tax credits) would take 12.5 years to earn back if gas stayed at $2 a gallon, and 7.8 years to recoup with gas at $4 a gallon. Payback periods for trucks purchased with the hybrid tax credit would be 8.6 years with $2.50-a-gallon gas and 5.4 years with gas at $4 a gallon.
What's more, the conventional LT's 10,600-pound towing capacity dwarfs the hybrids' 6,100-pound rating.
Dull Interior
You can't argue that the hybrids are more pleasant inside, either, unless you're talking about the absence of engine noise in electric mode.
General Motors unveiled the European version of its Chevrolet Volt at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show today and all we can say is how come they get the best-looking sibling!
The two extended-range, plug-in hybrids are the same under the skin, but the Opel Ampera, well, a picture really can be worth a thousand words. Take a look at both (that's the Volt below) and we'll bet most of you agree with us that, from the front at least, the Opel is by far the better-looking car.
It will be sold in most of Europe starting in 2011 while Vauxhall, GM's British unit, will build and market a right-hand-drive version for the U.K. starting in 2012 (providing GM and its European marques are still a team and still around then). The Volt is slated to launch at the end of 2010.
Weight, Price Penalty for 40 Miles of All-Electric Range Is Prohibitive, Researchers Say
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
In a report sure to be a blow to GM's hopes for its upcoming plug-in hybrid, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have found that the extra cost and weight of the
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Researchers say vehicles like the the Chevy Volt may be too much of a good thing.
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batteries a vehicle such as the Chevrolet Volt must carry to achieve its targeted 40 miles of all-electric range make it too expensive to be cost-effective transportation for most people.
The report, to be published in a future issue of the journal "Energy Policy," doesn't identify the Volt by name but compares a plug-in hybrid with its basic characteristics to conventional hybrids, other plug-ins with less electric range, and even conventional vehicles.
"Large-capacity PHEVs sized for 40 or more miles of electric-only travel are not cost-effective in any scenario," the report's authors insist.
Bloomberg News issued the first report on the study today.
Fuel Savings Not There
General Motors Corp. has designed the Volt to travel up to 40 miles on a fully charged battery pack before its auxiliary gasoline engine-generator kicks in.
The automaker says that because the average American drives less the 40 miles a day when commuting or using the vehicle for normal household errands, the Volt will be highly fuel-efficient and will run as a zero-emissions vehicle for much of its time on the road.
That may be true, the Carnegie Mellon researchers say in their study of plug-in hybrid cost-effectiveness, but if an owner hopes to recoup ownership costs from fuel savings, a rechargeable hybrid vehicle capable of that much all-electric range isn't the answer.
"Forty miles might be a sweet spot for making sure a lot of people get to work without using gasoline, but you're doing it at a cost that will never be repaid in fuel savings," Jeremy Michalek, an engineering professor who led the study, told Bloomberg News in an interview.
Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid is among the green stars of the upcoming Geneva auto show.
By Nick Kurczewski, Contributor
When the Geneva auto show opens its doors to the media March 3, the exhibition halls will be jammed with a wider range of smaller, smarter and more fuel-efficient cars than ever before.
Green vehicles were once a sideshow, with headline-grabbing debuts of outrageous supercars and luxury sedans in the main ring at Geneva. But like easy credit and cheap gasoline, those days are gone.
Intelligently designed, fuel-efficient, low-emission vehicles are now the key to survival for the world's car manufacturers.
Even high-end manufacturers like Bentley Motors are getting in on the act. Rather than its usual lineup of sport-tuned touring cars that gulp gasoline the way a band of rugby fans down lager at a pre-game fest, the English luxury brand will unveil a bio-fueled concept -- albeit one with more than 600 horsepower.
Other stars of the show will include the Opel Ampera, the European version of the Chevrolet Volt; Mitsubishi's i-MiEV Sport Air, an electric sports car concept; and the shape-shifting Rinspeed iChange electric vehicle.
Green Car Advisor offers an advance look at these and other soon-to-be-unveiled eco-stars of the Geneva show.
Opel Ampera
As General Motor's European subsidiary, it makes sense that Opel would get a version of Chevrolet's much-hyped Volt hybrid.
Luckily for Opel, the Ampera also seems to have gotten the good looks in the GM family tree. While the Volt has been criticized for a somewhat bland exterior, the Ampera has a more aggressive and modern design that better lives up to the promise of the state-of-the-art drivetrain.
Like the Chevrolet Volt, the Ampera will be capable of running up to 40 miles on electric power alone, before switching to a small internal combustion engine that recharges the battery pack.
Opel says that the Ampera's lithium-ion battery pack can be charged from a standard European 230-volt outlet.
The Volt slated to arrive in U.S. showrooms near the end of next year, so expect the Ampera to make its European debut in 2011.
Mitsubishi i-MiEVs
Mitsubishi will debut a European version of the i-MiEV electric car it expects to launch in Japan later this year. Both are based on the Japanese company's tiny "i" city car.
The i-MiEV uses a 47-kilowatt (62-horsepower) electric motor that draws power from a 330-volt lithium ion battery pack. Range is estimated at 100 miles.
The European model will be slightly wider than the Japanese model, and perhaps a bit more powerful -- to cope with European safety standards and higher speed limits.
A U.S. version of the i-MiEV, if we get one -- and we think we will -- is likely to be based on the Euro model.
A sport version of the i-MiEV will also break cover in Geneva.
Very little is known about the concept, called the Sport Air, though we expect it likely will be a closer-to-production version of the huggable-cute i-MiEV Sport concept seen at the Tokyo auto show in 2007.
Chevrolet Spark
Not every important green car in Geneva will have an electric motor or hybrid power plant under its hood.
At first glance, the Chevrolet Spark looks like another sharply styled little Euro-hatch.
That's the point.
Frugal and attractive small cars like the Spark are key to the survival of General Motors -- and to weaning many American car buyers from opting for the super-size option in their dealers' showrooms.
The five-door Spark hatchback first appeared as the Beat concept car during the New York auto show in 2007.
The production version looks almost identical to that concept. When it goes on sale in Europe in early 2010, the Spark will feature a choice of economical 1.0- and 1.2-liter 16-valve engines.
U.S. sales are to follow in 2011.
Tata E-Nano?
A spokesman for India's Tata Motors told us to expect a surprise in Geneva.
Known for basic and cheap economy cars, Tata -- India's largest auto manufacturer -- is unlikely to pull a dust cover off some supercar.
Our guess: the top-secret news is the unveiling of an electric-powered version of the company's subcompact Indica hatchback, or the Nano city car (left).
Tata Motors has been working hard on developing electric versions of its current lineup for the European market. The company last year bought a majority stake in Miljo Grenland Innovasjon, a Norwegian company specializing in electric car technology.
The collapse of the global auto industry has hit Tata Motors hard, especially now that it owns struggling British luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover, but we're not counting it out of the electric car sweepstakes.
The four-door Nano hatchback will be the cheapest car in the world, priced at roughly $2,000 when it goes on sale in India later this year.
A low-speed battery-electric version suitable for urban centers or gated communities could be just what Tata needs to get its toe into the European or U.S. markets.
Rinspeed iChange
Rinspeed's annual dream machines in Geneva have been capable of hovering above land and water, tilting, running on bio-waste, and adapting the cabin environment to match a driver's state of mind.
The wacky Swiss company is now ready to debut its latest crazy creation, a shape-changing electric car called the iChange. Power comes from a 130-kilowatt electric motor.
This concept car's most intriguing feature is the adaptable seating arrangement. The iChange has what Rinspeed refers to as "1, 2, 3 seating," courtesy of an "electronic trick tail."
The exterior body-panels of the iChange can be reconfigured depending on how many passengers are on board.
Rinspeed says the result is not only a zero-emission car, but one whose ultra-low aerodynamic drag helps reduce power consumption from the electric motor to give it more range. Details to come at the show, we hope.
Bentley BioFuel Car
Bentley couldn't simply unleash a bio-fuel car onto the world. It had to make it the fastest Bentley ever.
We can live with that, considering the speed and grace of this strangely alluring yet contradictory concept. Sneak preview photos provided by Bentley show a car very much resembling its current gas-powered Continental GT.
Larger lower intakes and outlets in the hood now feed extra air to the W12 engine, reconfigured to run on a mix of gasoline and ethanol.
Oomph is estimated to be well in excess of 600 horsepower.
Ethanol helps raise the octane level of the fuel, which boosts power and gives this bruiser Bentley the performance credentials needed to keep its blue-blood clientele happy.
If the ethanol comes from biowaste instead of valuable food crops, those Bentley bluebloods may even be able to claim they are turning blue-green.
EDAG Light Car Open Source Concept
German engineering firm EDAG will display a high-tech car that is completely recyclable, electric powered and featuring state-of-the-art LED technology.
From the sneak peeks of the car we've seen, the finished product looks great. Too bad EDAG slapped a painfully awkward name onto this otherwise very promising concept car.
The body of the Light Car is constructed of lightweight basalt fiber. As strong as pricey carbon fiber commonly used in race-car construction, the basalt-fiber platform is cheaper to produce, provides high levels of occupant safety, and is entirely recyclable.
Power for the Light Car is provided by small electric motors located in each wheel.
The car's headlight and taillight housings aren't real hardware but instead are projected onto the exterior using LEDs. According to EDAG, owners can customize the shape and size of the lights (though there was no word as to the legalities of this clever option).Here's a company video animation that explains how it would work.
LEDs in the tail provide vehicles that are following the Light Car with information that could include driving tips like the Rinspeed's braking force (back off, I'm hitting the brakes HARD) and public service info like real-time traffic updates.
Peugeot 3008 Hybrid
French automaker Peugeot will show its new 3008 MPV, a small crossover that employs a 2.0-liter diesel-electric hybrid powertrain and four-wheel drive. The system should be available in European models of the 3008 by 2011.
Sized to compete with small sport-utes like the Nissan Rogue, the 3008 hybrid will combine 36-hp electric motor with the diesel engine. The electric motor will provide power to the rear while the engine drives the front wheels.
Peugeot has no sales presence in the States, but we wouldn't be shocked if the 3008's hybrid system shows up here in another automaker's cars someday.
Keep in mind, the standard gas-powered version of the 3008 (above, left) uses the same 1.6-liter motor as the BMW Mini Cooper. A hybrid/all-wheel-drive version of the Mini Crossover Concept (a Mini-based sport-ute shown at last year's Paris auto show) sure makes sense to us.
The all-new Chevrolet Spark, which will make its world premiere at the Geneva Auto Show in March, will launch in Europe featuring 1.0- and 1.2-liter, 16-valve four-cylinder double-overhead-camshaft gasoline engines, the automaker announced today.
Chevy would not discuss the vehicle's fuel economy, other than to say that both engines deliver "excellent fuel efficiency and low emissions."
Spark will be available in European dealerships in early 2010, followed by the United States and other countries.
The car was inspired by the Chevrolet Beat Concept, the most popular of a trio of mini-car concepts that has toured international auto shows since 2007. Chevy said a clear majority of the 1.9 million Internet voters said it was the car they wanted produced.
Safety equipment will include driver and passenger front air bags, front side airbags, roof rail head curtain airbags, antilock brakes and electronic stability control. Other safety features will include pre-tensioners for front seat belts and three-point belts in the rear.
The crisp lines of the five-door hatchback provide the wedge-like profile common to so many small cars these days. Below the two-tier grille and pointy headlamps, the shape of the fog-lamp housings and the "floating" lower air intake are intended to convey the sense of forward movement.
An uncommon feature is the motorcycle-inspired instrument cluster. Mounted on the steering column, it provides easy-to-read information to the driver utilizing a combination of analog and digital displays.
Price, mileage and emissions information will hopefully be forthcoming in Geneva next month.
No surprise, hybrid sales in January went down the drain along with the rest of the industry.
The gas-electric cars, pricier than their conventional counterparts, typically don't do well when gas prices are cheapish, as they are these days.
---------- Lexus RX 400h was one of only two hybrids to post a gain over January '08 sales. ----------
Add in a recession teetering on the edge of depression and the picture is grimmer.
Piling on, Toyota and Honda -- the industry's hybrid sales leaders -- have new models coming out in a few months, a situation that doesn't do much to promote sales of models that are soon to be outdated.
The only good news is that, as a percentage of an overall abysmal market, hybrids gained in January, rising to a 2.33 percent market share from 1.97 percent in December and 2.14 percent a year earlier.
In terms of market share, January was the seventh-best month for hybrids since the first model went on sale in the U.S. in 1999.
Good market share in a bad market isn't much to cheer about, though. In terms of sales volume, January was the worst month for hybrids in almost three years.
Total sales of 15,393 hybrid cars and SUVs were down 12.8 percent from December and plunged 31.2 percent from a year earlier.
The last time sales were lower was February 2006, when only 14,957 hybrids were sold.
Gains
As usual, Toyota's Prius was the month's volume leader with 8,121 sales -- almost 53 percent of the total.
The Prius also was one of only five hybrid models of the 16 tracked by Edmunds.com to post a gain from December, up 3.3 percent. Prius sales were down 28.6 percent from a year earlier, though.
The other January gainers were:
The Lexus 400h crossover hybrid, up 6.3 percent with 1,556 sales;
Toyota's Highlander hybrid SUV, up 10.6 percent with 984 sales;
Honda's Civic Hybrid, up 3.8 percent with 1,076 sales; and
The Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUV from Ford Motor Co., up 19.8 percent with 127 sales.
Despite the one-month gains, the Civic Hybrid was down 38.3 percent from January '07, the Mariner was off 28.7 percent from a year earlier, and the Highlander was down 54.1 percent.
Potential buyers holding back in anticipation of the improved 2010 Prius and Honda's new 2010 Insight Hybrid, both due later this year, didn't help any of the January-over-January sales comparisons, said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds.com's manager of industry analysis.
"Hefty price tags combined with the promise of newer, more-efficient models to come within the next few months have really hindered hybrid sales in January," she said.
Two hybrid models did post gains from their year-ago, marks, though.
---------- Nissan Altima Hybrid joined Lexus in winner's circle with an increase from January '08 sales. ----------
The Lexus 400h was up 28.3 percent from 1,211 sales a year earlier -- the only model to gain for the month and the year -- while Nissan's Altima Hybrid, with 644 sales last month, was up 36.1 percent from 473 sales in January '07.
Big Losses
The rest of the pack lost ground, although most are such low-volume sellers that the losses didn't make much impression on January's total sales picture.
General Motors Corp.'s hybrid cars and crossovers were the biggest losers, percentagewise, all but one falling more than 50 percent from December (none were in the market a year ago, so there are no January '07 numbers to compare to).
The Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid SUV was hit hardest, down 69.5 percent with 299 sold versus 981 in December.
The Chevy Malibu Hybrid sedan was a close second in the loser column, its 145 sales a 68.1 percent decline from 454 sales a month earlier.
The GMC Yukon Hybrid SUV (a twin to the Tahoe) was down 62 percent to 168 sales from 442 in December; Cadillac Escalade Hybrid SUV sales fell 56.8 percent to 132 from 306; the Saturn Vue Greenline Hybrid crossover was off 54.7 percent with 153 sales, down from 338; and the Saturn Aura Hybrid sedan was down 44.1 percent to 19 sales from 34 in December.
Sales of Ford's Escape Hybrid SUV fell 27.9 percent from December, to 753, and were off 41.9 percent from January '07, and Toyota's Camry Hybrid sedan dropped 39.6 percent from December, to 1,141 sales, and was down 49.7 percent from a year earlier.
In Toyota's luxury stable, the Lexus LS 600h L hybrid sedan posted 33 sales, down 34 percent from December and 68.6 percent below January '07 sales, and the Lexus GS 450h crossover hybrid dropped 19.6 percent from December, to 41 sales, and was off 35.9 percent from a year earlier.
Although the new models from Toyota and Honda could pump a little excitement into the hybrid market later this year, Caldwell and other analysts don't expect much improvement before the latter part of the year.
It's no big secret that GM needs to score a hit with its Chevrolet Volt right out of the gate, so it is no surprise that the financially ailing automaker is using a launch strategy of "wealthy coastal areas first" for its much-hyped plug-in hybrid (left).
While details are lacking, the strategy became clear this week as General Motors executives attending the Washington Auto Show said they are working with key players in cities such as San Francisco and Washington to set the state for the Volt roll-out.
No on-sale date has been disclosed for the Volt, which is supposed to be capable of traveling up to 40 miles on its grid-charged batteries before a gasoline-fueled engine kicks in to serve as a generator to provide a continued flow of electrons for the car's electric drive motor.
But GM has vowed, repeatedly, to launch the Volt by the end of 2010, so we're anticipating that at least one retail model will be sold somewhere in the U.S. between November 30 and Dec.31 of that year.
GM says that it is working with government and public utility officials in select cities such as San Fransisco (we're betting that oh-so-green Portland, Or., is in the mix, too), as well as with various state and federal agencies, to make sure that when the Volt is ready, so are things like consumer incentives, public and workplace charging systems, "consumer-friendly electricity rates and renewable electricity options" and government and corporate vehicle purchase programs.
The automaker also would like to see states offer carpool lane access to single-occupancy Volts.
The car already qualifies - if GM's performance claims are true - for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which will help mitigate what is expected to be a pretty steep $40,000-plus retail price.
In San Francisco, which recently helped form a coalition of Bay Area cities intent on becoming ground-zero for encouraging use of electric vehicles, Mayor Gavin Newsom said his city already is working to make sure that it has electric vehicle charging infrastructure up and running when the vVolt and cars like it are ready for market.
The auto industry gets a great opportunity to lobby some key congressional and administration officials this week as the Washington auto show gets underway, and by all accounts industry executives aren't missing a step.
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Rep. Ed Markey sits in Chevrolet Volt display at Washington auto show as Tony Posawatz, the GM executive in charge of the car, fields his questions.
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The theme of the show is "Driven by the Environment," which is a great political promise even if the evidence doesn't always point that way, and there are a host of floor displays pointing out the things automakers are doing to green up their product lines.
Officialdom is using the show's proximity to the Capitol to see first-hand what's up (although, political reality being what it is, the political types will be shown around by auto industry execs and will hear - and see - things through an industry-provided filter).
So far, Rep. Ed Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the select committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming , and Carol Browner, director of the White House Office on Energy and Climate Change both have visited the show and been wooed, especially by General Motors.
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Carol Browner, the administration's energy and climate change guru, listens as GM global design chief Ed Welburn (right) talks about the Chevrolet Spark economy car.
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GM, which soon has to validate its eligibility for billions in federal bailout loans (as will Chrysler) is showing off the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid - for the ten-gazillionth time - and the fuel-efficient Chevy Spark subcompact that made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show.
Also scheduled to walk the show floor this week are Ray LaHood, the new Transportation Secretary, and Lisa Jackson, just confirmed as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
GM Gets Three Models on 'Greenest' List and Tops 'Meanest' Ranking With Hummer H2
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
In an anticlimactic repeat, Honda's natural-gas burning Civic GX topped the annual "greenest vehicles" of the year listing being published this morning by the non-profit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
It is the 12th year the Washington-based environmental and economic lobbying group has published its Green Book Online, which ranks passenger cars and light trucks for overall environmental impact.
Although the list for the 2009 model year contained no big surprises, it was marked by the reappearance of General Motors Corp., with trio of small cars among the dozen "greenest" vehicles in the market - the Chevrolet Cobalt compact and its Pontiac G5 twin placed eighth overall and the Chevrolet Aveo subcompact finished10th.
The GM cars, which were rated highly for their fuel economy, knocked Ford's Focus off the "greenest" list after its appearance there last year as the only domestic car in the top twelve.
