Plugs and Cars

FEBRUARY 4, 2009

Tags: GM ev1 regenerative breaking battery electric car.

GM 100

GM EV1 Electric Cars Cars 100

Plugs and Cars

MARCH 23, 2007

"GM tries to unplug Volt hype" is not the headline I've been hoping to see out of Motor City this spring. GM continues to spread the gospel of the Volt. Is GM just looking for its halo or a future? Tags: GM electric car plug-in hybrid chevy volt fuel cell. But there it is in a Detroit News Autos Insider piece today.

Volt 100

Volt GM Plug-in Plug 100

Plugs and Cars

JULY 17, 2007

GM's European chief Carl-Peter Forster is said to mention the EV in an excerpt from tomorrow's Auto Motor Sport magazine. Thomson Financial reports in Forbes that General Motors Corp unit Opel plans to bring out an all-electric car at the end of 2010.

2010 100

2010 GM General Motors Electric 100

Plugs and Cars

NOVEMBER 29, 2006

GM) Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said Wednesday that the U.S. Wagoner said GM is using the Saturn Vue hybrid sport utility vehicle to develop a plug-in hybrid, which can be re-charged from a standard electrical outlet, and will offer biofuel-capable Hummer SUVs. Tags: GM plug-in hybrid Saturn. for complete story: [link].

Saturn 100

Saturn Hummer Plug-in GM 100

Plugs and Cars

JANUARY 6, 2008

CNNMoney.com reports on an online chat with GM CEO Rick Waggoner. GM has already started to build advertising campaigns around the Volt, even though in the best-case scenario it is years away from production. If GM wants to be believed, they need to do more than flap their lips, run hopeful ads and buy dinner for bloggers.

Volt 100

Volt GM EV1 NiMH 100

Plugs and Cars

NOVEMBER 30, 2006

Lots of ink on GM's plug-in hybrid announcement. With headlines like "GM Promises Plug-in Hybrid," Waggoner's statement in LA moves plug-in cars back into the public discussion of petroleum alternatives. Irony abounds. George Bush, oilman, seems to understand the commonsense benefits of plug-in hybrids.

Plug-in 100

Plug-in GM Plug Hybrid 100

Plugs and Cars

APRIL 23, 2007

Tags: joseph romm GM chevy volt fuel cell hydrogen.

Volt 100

Volt GM MIT Hydrogen 100

Plugs and Cars

APRIL 24, 2011

And GM has extended the electric range expectation for a plug-in hybrid before Toyota's even in the game. Toyota has passed on the opportunity to be the plug-in leader, given up the lead they'd accrued from the RAV4 EV and the Prius as much as GM postponed its rendevous with destiny when they jettisoned the EV1.

Prius 220

Prius Plug-in Plug EV1 220

Plugs and Cars

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

To Dr Lyle Dennis, a NY physician, the GM Volt seemed a good idea so he started a website, gm-volt.com. He has even come to be a citizen-envoy to GM. Tags: dr lyle dennis gm-volt.com tesla roadster tesla motors. It's become a big deal, although I doubt he's quitting his day job.

Volt 100

Volt Tesla GM Tesla Motors 100

Plugs and Cars

MAY 19, 2007

GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz took his promotion for the serial plug-in hybrid Volt to an NPR game show, "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me."

Sierra 100

Sierra Volt GM Plug-in 100

Plugs and Cars

APRIL 30, 2009

Tags: david letterman fuel cell vehicle hydrogen battery electric car elon musk. (..)

Hydrogen 100

Hydrogen GM Electric Cars Fuel 100

Plugs and Cars

MAY 27, 2009

Looks like GM's imminent bankruptcy will result in the US government holding a 70% stake. Tags: GM auto bailout.

GM 100

GM Auto 100

Plugs and Cars

MARCH 24, 2009

GM took the distinctive Swedish brand into the toilet, and is now preparing to cut it loose. Tags: saab sweden GM. Unlike other countries, including the US, the conservative government in Sweden is opting to let Saab sink or swim without government aid. Read Sweden Says No to Saving Saab in the NY Times.

Sweden 100

Sweden GM Corporation 100

Plugs and Cars

AUGUST 6, 2007

Seventeen years ago GM could imagine, and then produce, an electric car. Check out this 13 minute GM video on the car that became the EV1. Commenting on its technological achievements, John Zwerner, GM Advanced Product Engineering, says "we wanted to drive a stake in the ground.as He's now working at Tesla.

Volt 100

Volt EV1 GM Personal 100

Plugs and Cars

DECEMBER 11, 2007

I gather GM really did destroy the molds and sever relationships with suppliers, but it is so clear that if they simply re-released the EV1 today it would still be a show stopper. Who thinks that GM couldn't sell 5-10,000 EV1s for between $50,000 and $75,000? Tags: GM electric car ev1 alexandra paul.

EV1 100

EV1 GM Gas-Electric Solar 100

Plugs and Cars

JANUARY 11, 2010

BMW has recognized that they simply teed up GM and Nissan to benefit from the MINI E experience. Over at GM , Bob Lutz says an all-electric Volt would be "technologically trivial." Tags: BMW GM RAV4 EV e-tron Bob Lutz fuel cell vehicle toyota audi. No word on when.

Detroit 100

Detroit Mini E Audi BMW 100

Plugs and Cars

MARCH 19, 2011

GM and Nissan production in the US is being disrupted by lack of Japanese parts. Nissan may have to ship engines from Tennessee to Japan. Honda is extending the shut down at its shuttered plants. Worries about Prius supply has already increased the average price by the consumer by $1,800. Source: NYTimes ].

Tennessee 113

Tennessee Prius Nissan Honda 113

Plugs and Cars

JULY 20, 2009

Crying foul, they claim the rebate is back-door support for GM's Volt. Tags: plug-in electric car gm volt lutz toyota battery electric car plug-in car. Ontario has announced a $10,000 rebate for plug-in electrics, and Toyota wouldn't benefit as they delay general release of their own plug-ins. Source: Leader-Post ].

Plug-in 100

Plug-in Toyota Plug Volt 100

Plugs and Cars

NOVEMBER 14, 2007

Bob Lutz of GM is in LA. Tags: gm volt lutz. He's meeting with journalists and electric drive advocates. The first report I've seen from the LA Auto Show regarding the much anticipated Volt, in the UK's Guardian , says Lutz expects to see road-tests of "a street-drivable" Chevy Volt by the end of Q1 2008.

Volt 100

Volt GM 2008 2010 100

Plugs and Cars

JANUARY 25, 2010

Siry notes the different approach being taken by GM for the Volt. I'm giving Tesla and CODA and GM the benefit of the doubt, too. Tags: carlos ghosn toyota rav4 ev GM honda ev+ chevy volt nissan leaf. They reverted to the T-shaped tunnel configuration for the battery used in the EV1. How did that work out?)

Nissan 124

Nissan NiMH GM Volt 124

Plugs and Cars

JANUARY 8, 2007

Paine's words to justify GM killing the EV1. Now Phelan , GM, Paine and Chelsea Sexton, Plug In America's Executive Director, all seem to be on the same page. Paine is convinced GM is serious about the Volt and about making a transition from fossil fuel to electric power for its vehicles. GM is responding to the marketplace."'.

Volt 100

Volt EV1 GM Detroit 100

Plugs and Cars

DECEMBER 3, 2007

GM-Volt.com is reporting on battery announcements at EVS23. Both A123 and LG Chem/Compact Power have delivered packs to GM for testing in the Volt. GM has announced plans for real world testing in vehicles in spring 2008, and with these batteries in hand, they appear to be meeting their announced timetable.

Volt 100

Volt Batteries Battery GM 100

Plugs and Cars

SEPTEMBER 14, 2007

Read about it: Plug-in Hybrids 'Yes,' Ethanol 'No:' Largest-Ever Push Mounted to Drive GM, Ford to Shift From Ethanol to Plug-in Hybrids Take Action: Tell Ford and GM: Ethanol is Not the Answer! Tags: co-op america plug-in hybrid electricity gm ford cellulosic ethanol.

Plug-in 100

Plug-in America Plug GM 100

Plugs and Cars

APRIL 16, 2007

Bob Lutz, GM CEO, sat down to chat with some bloggers at the NY Auto Show, and PODTECH has the video. Lutz responds to the sense that GM might be pulling back from its commitment to the Volt that resulted from Sharon Terlep's Detroit News article a month or so ago. (My GM doesn't need a fancy new package. Well worth a listen.

Volt 100

Volt NiMH EV1 Nickel Metal Hydride 100

Plugs and Cars

JANUARY 6, 2008

An anonymous commenter on my previous blogpost asks, "GM has alway said that the battery might not be ready. GM never lied about it but like always lots of people like to knock GM. But unlike GM, Toyota hasn't promised a plug in car. Needless to say this hasn't proven true in GM's case. They haven't had to.

Toyota 100

Toyota EV1 Prius GM 100

Plugs and Cars

JANUARY 4, 2007

GM today announced two contracts to "design and test lithium-ion batteries" for use in the Saturn Vue Plug-in Hybrid announced last month at the LA Auto Show. Tags: cobasys chevron battery a123 GM plug-in hybrid saft johnson controls Lithium NiMH. A partnership of Cobasys (Chevron/ECD) and A123 got the second.

VUE 100

VUE Saturn Plug-in Nickel Metal Hydride 100

Plugs and Cars

SEPTEMBER 12, 2007

From the pricey ads in national magazines devoting serious space to the Volt to today's announcement about the plug-in hybrid Saturn Vue, GM is compelling me to take their expressed interest in plug-in cars seriously. As announced in Frankfort and reported in Detroit , GM hopes for a 2009 release of the first Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid SUV.

VUE 100

VUE Saturn Volt GM 100

Plugs and Cars

APRIL 25, 2007

He adds: "I'd probably still have an EV1 if GM hadn't forced me to give it back. Let's not forget, as GM hypes the Volt , 1000 140-range NiMH EV1 electric cars rot in the Arizona sun. Had they not been destroyed they would be driving the roads still, evidence of what electric cars can do, evidence of what GM can do.

EV1 100

EV1 Electric Cars Miles NiMH 100

Plugs and Cars

OCTOBER 24, 2007

Toyota and GM are continuing down their differing hybrid paths. Tags: joseph white honda nissan GM electric car Takeo Fukui plug-in hybrid tokyo motor show toyota. He's in Tokyo reporting from the big Japanese Motor Show. Hybrid or All-Electric? Car Makers Take Sides Nissan-Renault continue talking up small all-electric cars.

Honda 100

Honda Nissan Toyota GM 100

Plugs and Cars

MARCH 27, 2007

Nothing about raising CAFE, or the "electrification of the automobile" much touted by GM's Volt booster Bob Lutz, who wasn't present. Tags: ethanol GM plug-in hybrid cellulosic ethanol Bob Lutz alternative fuels Rick Wagoner biodiesel. The executives spent “very little time” talking about mileage rules, he said."

Alternative Fuels 100

Alternative Fuels Fuel GM Phoenix 100

Plugs and Cars

JUNE 4, 2009

GM may be in bankruptcy but remains unwavering in its commitment to have the Volt in some showrooms by November 2010. GM waxed hot and cold on the EV1. Tags: biofuels nissan GM zev mandate cafe standards barack obama battery electric car. Mitsubishi has begun to manufacture the iMiev in the thousands for the Japanese market.

Plug-in 100

Plug-in Plug Cars Obama 100

Plugs and Cars

JANUARY 9, 2007

Now that the Volt has premiered in Detroit to huzzahs and widespread press, this Saab , yet another GM concept hybrid, has been unveiled, again. Tags: ethanol e85 saab GM plug-in hybrid chevy volt Lithium hybrid. A premature press release identified it as a plug-in, but that was withdrawn and the plug was not to be found.

Plug-in 100

Plug-in Plug Hybrid Volt 100

Plugs and Cars

JANUARY 7, 2007

Amidst the well-deserved hoopla about GM's plug-in serial hybrid Chevy Volt , Ford is touting its own equally ugly plug-in hybrid concept car. GM's vehicle is eminently buildable today, as it relies on two energy sources that are available: grid electricity and gasoline. Ford makes no pretense of its intention not to produce its car.

Plug-in 100

Plug-in Volt Plug Ford 100

Plugs and Cars

FEBRUARY 23, 2007

A123 Systems , a much larger company which is providing batteries to GM for possible use in the Vue and Volt, will be showing off a plug-in hybrid powered by its Lithium batteries. Tags: electric pickup truck GM ethanol myth a123 systems plug-in hybrid phoenix motor cars altairnano. Will Bush get the first view of a plug-in Vue?

Plug-in 100

Plug-in VUE Phoenix Plug 100

Plugs and Cars

JULY 17, 2007

Tony Posawatz, the GM vehicle line director for the Chevrolet Volt is on the press conference line-up as well, so perhaps that's a sign GM means business with the serial hybrid announced earlier this year. Roger Duncan from Austin Energy and Plug-in Partners is participating in the press conference, so the results must be positive.

Plug-in 100

Plug-in EPRI Plug Hybrid 100

Plugs and Cars

JANUARY 6, 2007

With an Auto Show overview article dated tomorrow, Sunday, Jan 7, the New York Times becomes the first publication to name the much-anticipated GM plug-in hybrid vehicle. in Oakland, CA, the Volt might actually be a GM car people would buy. says the Volt, a plug-in hybrid, could deliver the equivalent of 150 miles a gallon.

Volt 100

Volt Chevrolet Plug-in Plug 100

Plugs and Cars

DECEMBER 22, 2006

As underscored last month when GM announced it would build a plug-in hybrid version of its Saturn Vue, the logic of electric propulsion is compelling. Ford and GM, it would seem, need to throw a Hail Mary pass to get back in the game. Perhaps, at long last, truly what's good for GM might be good for America.

Altima Hybrid 100

Altima Hybrid Gasoline-Electric Lithium Ion Plug-in 100