Currently the United States is in the middle of an economic recession, the three major American car companies are failing, and global warming will soon become a huge problem. I think that if G.M. continues to make fuel-efficient or electric cars like the Volt they can help greatly with all three of these issues.
First of all, by manufacturing and selling these cars, G.M. will work its way out of debt and help the U.S. economy. G.M., as well as Chrysler and Ford, may need government aid to initially switch over to hybrid and plug-in electric cars, but I believe that they deserve a bailout as long as all the money is only spent manufacturing fuel-efficient cars.
Secondly, these cars will greatly reduce pollution generated by the United States. In several years I would expect a large number of wealthy people to switch to the electric cars, and eventually average Americans will also make the transition. I think it would be reasonable to expect, that in about twenty years, nearly all Americans will be driving a hybrid or an all electric vehicle. We will greatly reduce our total production of greenhouse gases, especially if other industrially developed countries such as in Europe and Japan (and maybe even China) switch over to hybrid-electric automobiles.
I predict that in the future these cars will become significantly cheaper as technology advances, production techniques improve, and these cars are manufactured in large numbers. Since the battery accounts for a large amount of the car's cost, and battery prices are expected to fall significantly, the total price will become thousands of dollars cheaper. The Volt will cost about $40,000 initially, but perhaps decrease to $30,000 as lithium-ion battery become less expensive.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
G.M.'s Latest Great Green Hope is a Tall Order (3)
I found this article at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/business/22volt.html?_r=2&emc=eta1.
This past week was the Los Angeles Auto Show where car companies displayed their newest car models. The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in electric hybrid arriving in showrooms in late 2010 with the General Motor's survival depending on its success. In the past GM has lost a lot of money by trying to sell many fuel-inefficient cars that few people now buy. By selling fuel-efficient cars now, GM is trying to convince congress that they are worthy of financial help.
In advertisements that ran this week, the company said: “This is not just a car. It’s a vision of our future.” Another claimed that the vehicle would “completely reinvent the automotive industry.” The Volt is a big long-term bet. New vehicles typically cost $1 billion to develop, and the Volt requires new technology that probably inflated that price tag even more. G.M. says the car, which is scheduled to arrive in showrooms two years from now, will be able to travel 40 miles on a charge, but it will also have a small gas engine to extend the range to as much as 640 miles using both the battery and gasoline. The 1.4 liter, four-cylinder engine is intended to run a generator that will power the car and recharge the batteries once they are depleted.
The Volt is expected to cost about $40,000. Ron Pinelli, president of MotorIntelligence.com, an industry analysis firm, commented, “If you’re Joe the Commuter, you’re not going to spend $40,000 on an electric car. It’s insane.”
Other lawmakers questioned whether G.M. might run short of money for the Volt without federal assistance. But G.M.'s chief executive, Rick Wagoner, said in a television interview last week that G.M. was making sure it had money to keep developing the car.
Jon Lauckner, G.M. vice president for global program management, stated. “We’re moving from a model where the primary power plant is no longer an internal combustion engine. It’s an electric motor.” and also that “It’s a huge change in the whole paradigm of where cars have been.”
Many carmakers, including Mitsubishi, Nissan and BMW, have plug-ins under development. Toyota said last year that it was working on a plug-in hybrid vehicle that would be available by 2010, meaning it could conceivably beat the Volt. Toyota has not said whether it will sell the vehicle to the public or only to fleet customers.
This past week was the Los Angeles Auto Show where car companies displayed their newest car models. The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in electric hybrid arriving in showrooms in late 2010 with the General Motor's survival depending on its success. In the past GM has lost a lot of money by trying to sell many fuel-inefficient cars that few people now buy. By selling fuel-efficient cars now, GM is trying to convince congress that they are worthy of financial help.
In advertisements that ran this week, the company said: “This is not just a car. It’s a vision of our future.” Another claimed that the vehicle would “completely reinvent the automotive industry.” The Volt is a big long-term bet. New vehicles typically cost $1 billion to develop, and the Volt requires new technology that probably inflated that price tag even more. G.M. says the car, which is scheduled to arrive in showrooms two years from now, will be able to travel 40 miles on a charge, but it will also have a small gas engine to extend the range to as much as 640 miles using both the battery and gasoline. The 1.4 liter, four-cylinder engine is intended to run a generator that will power the car and recharge the batteries once they are depleted.
The Volt is expected to cost about $40,000. Ron Pinelli, president of MotorIntelligence.com, an industry analysis firm, commented, “If you’re Joe the Commuter, you’re not going to spend $40,000 on an electric car. It’s insane.”
Other lawmakers questioned whether G.M. might run short of money for the Volt without federal assistance. But G.M.'s chief executive, Rick Wagoner, said in a television interview last week that G.M. was making sure it had money to keep developing the car.
Jon Lauckner, G.M. vice president for global program management, stated. “We’re moving from a model where the primary power plant is no longer an internal combustion engine. It’s an electric motor.” and also that “It’s a huge change in the whole paradigm of where cars have been.”
Many carmakers, including Mitsubishi, Nissan and BMW, have plug-ins under development. Toyota said last year that it was working on a plug-in hybrid vehicle that would be available by 2010, meaning it could conceivably beat the Volt. Toyota has not said whether it will sell the vehicle to the public or only to fleet customers.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tesla Roadster--Response (2)
This was an interesting road-test article of the Tesla Roadster. I first saw this car in a movie called Batteries during Chemistry class.
Many people have concerns and questions about fuel-efficient and alternative energy cars. They are very comfortable with gasoline powered cars, but suspicious of new technology. From the articles I have recently viewed regarding fuel cell and electric cars, differences in performance are relatively minor. Both of these types of cars seem competitive with many gasoline-powered automobiles.
I thought it was amazing how the Tesla Roadster can travel over 200 miles on a single battery charge, and its only costs two dollars to recharge the battery. These cars are very expensive, though recharging is so inexpensive compared to gasoline, they might become cheaper than conventional cars, particularly if the price of gas climbs again.
There is one problem with these cars compared to fuel cell cars. They do use electricity which mostly comes from power plants that burn coal, oil and natural gas. In the future, maybe these greenhouse-gas producing plants will be replaced with wind, hydro or solar energy.
My two topics of fuel cells and electric cars could possibly be combined with stations run by fuel cells to replace gas stations. These stations could either recharge your car (which would probably take a few hours) or the stations could accept discharged batteries and some money in exchange for a recharged battery. Batteries would have to be standardized for this idea to work.
In the coming weeks I will be looking for articles about how electric batteries will be recharged and how hydrogen for fuel cells, might be distributed.
Many people have concerns and questions about fuel-efficient and alternative energy cars. They are very comfortable with gasoline powered cars, but suspicious of new technology. From the articles I have recently viewed regarding fuel cell and electric cars, differences in performance are relatively minor. Both of these types of cars seem competitive with many gasoline-powered automobiles.
I thought it was amazing how the Tesla Roadster can travel over 200 miles on a single battery charge, and its only costs two dollars to recharge the battery. These cars are very expensive, though recharging is so inexpensive compared to gasoline, they might become cheaper than conventional cars, particularly if the price of gas climbs again.
There is one problem with these cars compared to fuel cell cars. They do use electricity which mostly comes from power plants that burn coal, oil and natural gas. In the future, maybe these greenhouse-gas producing plants will be replaced with wind, hydro or solar energy.
My two topics of fuel cells and electric cars could possibly be combined with stations run by fuel cells to replace gas stations. These stations could either recharge your car (which would probably take a few hours) or the stations could accept discharged batteries and some money in exchange for a recharged battery. Batteries would have to be standardized for this idea to work.
In the coming weeks I will be looking for articles about how electric batteries will be recharged and how hydrogen for fuel cells, might be distributed.
Tesla Roadster (2)
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/convertibles/112_0810_2009_tesla_roadster_one_speed/index.html
This is an article published on November 3, 2008 by Paul Horrell, who normally tests regular gasoline powered cars with a leading American automobile magazine. In his piece, he test drives the electric Tesla Roadster.
Overall he is extremely impressed. It has a single-speed transmission which replaced the previous two-speed transmission. He thought that the acceleration was tremendous. Tesla has tested the car's acceleration at 0-60 in 3.9 seconds. Horrell comments on the acceleration: "And it's not just accurate and progressive, it's instant: as fast as you can stretch your foot, this thing delivers."
The Roadster also function like many hybrid cars in that it recovers energy when braking, but it also recovers energy whenever the accellerator is not being pressed. This is because the car partially brakes, causing resistance and energy which is stored in the battery.
Horrell gives many compliments about how well the car handles. He mentions how precise the steering is and that the car has excellent traction control. Traction control is actually easier to attain in an electric car, according to Horrell, compared to gasoline-powered cars.
The car has a range of over 200 miles before a recharge is necessary. It takes 3.5 hours to recharge the lithium ion and this equates to about two or three dollars. This is the equivilent of about 105 miles per gallon. This is pretty good considering it goes 125 miles per hour.
This is an article published on November 3, 2008 by Paul Horrell, who normally tests regular gasoline powered cars with a leading American automobile magazine. In his piece, he test drives the electric Tesla Roadster.
Overall he is extremely impressed. It has a single-speed transmission which replaced the previous two-speed transmission. He thought that the acceleration was tremendous. Tesla has tested the car's acceleration at 0-60 in 3.9 seconds. Horrell comments on the acceleration: "And it's not just accurate and progressive, it's instant: as fast as you can stretch your foot, this thing delivers."
The Roadster also function like many hybrid cars in that it recovers energy when braking, but it also recovers energy whenever the accellerator is not being pressed. This is because the car partially brakes, causing resistance and energy which is stored in the battery.
Horrell gives many compliments about how well the car handles. He mentions how precise the steering is and that the car has excellent traction control. Traction control is actually easier to attain in an electric car, according to Horrell, compared to gasoline-powered cars.
The car has a range of over 200 miles before a recharge is necessary. It takes 3.5 hours to recharge the lithium ion and this equates to about two or three dollars. This is the equivilent of about 105 miles per gallon. This is pretty good considering it goes 125 miles per hour.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Early Tests for Fuel Cell Cars--Response (1)
I found this article interesting because it gives examples of fuel cells being used in the real-world by average Americans and not merely tested in laboratories by scientists.
I wonder why some technical problems in one car were not problems in the other, and vice versa. For example, the air compressor was quiet in the Equinox though the battery cooling system was loud, while in the Clarity the air compressor was loud and the battery cooling system quiet. It seems like the next prototypes should be able to solve these problems.
The performance of both cars sounds like it will be acceptable to most Americans. I suspect that some stubborn people may not find these cars adequate in terms of power or speed. There will always be people who do not care about fuel economy or enviromental effects especially if it is at the cost of power.
I wonder if the current economic difficulties faced by Americans, and in particular, American car companies, might limit the ability of American car companies to research and develop fuel cell cars.
I wonder why some technical problems in one car were not problems in the other, and vice versa. For example, the air compressor was quiet in the Equinox though the battery cooling system was loud, while in the Clarity the air compressor was loud and the battery cooling system quiet. It seems like the next prototypes should be able to solve these problems.
The performance of both cars sounds like it will be acceptable to most Americans. I suspect that some stubborn people may not find these cars adequate in terms of power or speed. There will always be people who do not care about fuel economy or enviromental effects especially if it is at the cost of power.
I wonder if the current economic difficulties faced by Americans, and in particular, American car companies, might limit the ability of American car companies to research and develop fuel cell cars.
Early Tests for Fuel Cell Cars (1)
http://libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=34375922&site=ehost-live
Healey, James R. "Fuel-Cell Cars" Scientific American Oct. 2008: 80-81.
This article describes the early testing of two models of hydrogen fuel cell cars developed by GM and Honda. They "are putting close to 300 street-legal, full-featured, hydrogen fuel-cell machines into the hands of individual American drivers for use in the real-world conditions"(Healey, 80-81). The article describes the testing of these two models.
GM has created the Chevy Equinox and given them to consumers to use for three months. The company pays all the bills and the drivers receive a short training class. The drivers pump their own hydrogen at GM selected sights. James Healey was impressed that the air compressor that feeds oxygen into the fuel cell was so quiet though the fans that cool the battery pack were too noisy. He liked the strong torque of the electric motor at low speeds. Though the car was less responsive at medium and high speeds. Healey mentions, "When I nailed the throttle at highway speed, little punch was left. Passing on two-lane roads can be done only with careful consideration"(Healey, 80-81). This car had 120 horsepower and a one-speed transmission. He would have preferred a continuously variable transmission like in hybrid cars to better leverage the motors power.
Honda is producing the Clarity and leasing them for $600 a month over a three year lease. This car had a louder air compressor though quieter battery cooling compared to the equinox. The car had good acceleration and was better that the equinox. He thought the car handled well, given that its features were designed for good economy rather than performance.
After testing both of these new street-legal, full-featured, hydrogen fuel-cell machines, James Healey concluded these cars were quite similar to regular, gasoline-powered cars.
Healey, James R. "Fuel-Cell Cars" Scientific American Oct. 2008: 80-81.
This article describes the early testing of two models of hydrogen fuel cell cars developed by GM and Honda. They "are putting close to 300 street-legal, full-featured, hydrogen fuel-cell machines into the hands of individual American drivers for use in the real-world conditions"(Healey, 80-81). The article describes the testing of these two models.
GM has created the Chevy Equinox and given them to consumers to use for three months. The company pays all the bills and the drivers receive a short training class. The drivers pump their own hydrogen at GM selected sights. James Healey was impressed that the air compressor that feeds oxygen into the fuel cell was so quiet though the fans that cool the battery pack were too noisy. He liked the strong torque of the electric motor at low speeds. Though the car was less responsive at medium and high speeds. Healey mentions, "When I nailed the throttle at highway speed, little punch was left. Passing on two-lane roads can be done only with careful consideration"(Healey, 80-81). This car had 120 horsepower and a one-speed transmission. He would have preferred a continuously variable transmission like in hybrid cars to better leverage the motors power.
Honda is producing the Clarity and leasing them for $600 a month over a three year lease. This car had a louder air compressor though quieter battery cooling compared to the equinox. The car had good acceleration and was better that the equinox. He thought the car handled well, given that its features were designed for good economy rather than performance.
After testing both of these new street-legal, full-featured, hydrogen fuel-cell machines, James Healey concluded these cars were quite similar to regular, gasoline-powered cars.
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