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GM CEO outlines highlights of fuel economy plan through MY2016: lightweighting; more efficient gasoline and clean diesel engines, electrification

Green Car Congress

Within his talk about the need for a US energy policy at the IHS CERAWeek 2013 energy conference in Houston, GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson outlined some highlights of the company’s fuel economy plan through the 2016 model year. A good rule of thumb is that a 10% reduction in curb weight will reduce fuel consumption by about 6.5%.

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Volt receives EPA ratings and label: 93 mpg-e all-electric, 37 mpg gas-only, 60 mpg-e combined

Green Car Congress

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued its fuel economy ratings and accompanying fuel economy label for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle. The new fuel economy label for the 2011 Volt. All-electric range under the EPA rating is 35 miles; total range for the car is 379 miles.

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Wrightspeed unveils new turbine range extender for medium- and heavy-duty electric powertrains; 30% more efficient than current microturbine generators

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The Route extended range electric powertrains incorporate a range-extending genset designed to recharge the high-power battery pack (currently from A123 Systems) and Wrightspeed’s own geared traction drive (GTD) ( earlier post ). In other words, fuel economy is a significant problem. Weighing in at 250 lbs (113.4

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Ohio State University Takes Top Spot at 2009 EcoCAR Competition with EREV Design

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University students from The Ohio State University earned top honors at the 2009 finals of the EcoCAR : The NeXt Challenge competition in Toronto, Canada for their design of a Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV). The next-generation design predicts a 300% increase in fuel economy over the production 4-cylinder vehicle.

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Simulation study suggests ORC waste heat recovery system could deliver potential 7% improvement in fuel consumption in a PHEV on highway

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Their paper was presented at the ASME Internal Combustion Engine Division 2012 Fall Technical Conference by Marcello Canova, assistant professor at OSU; lead author was Philipp Skarke, from the University of Stuttgart Institute for Internal Combustion Engines and Automotive Engineering. The OSU EcoCAR PHEV powertrain.

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Green and Connected: CAR White Paper Explores Interaction of Vehicle Communications and Electrification of Powertrains

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The purpose of the paper (which Richard Wallace, CAR’s Director Transportation Systems Analysis Group announced during a session exploring the same topic at the Business of Plugging In 2010 conference in Detroit) is threefold.

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GM Expects Chevrolet Volt to Deliver 230 mpg in City Driving Based on EPA Draft Methodology

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Based on the same draft EPA methodology, the Volt would also deliver “ triple-digit ” combined cycle fuel economy along with combined cycle electricity consumption of 25 kWh/100 miles, according to GM. At the US average cost of electricity (approximately 11 cents per kWh), GM calculates that a typical Volt driver would pay about $2.75

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