Monday, June 23, 2008

Guess McCain Won't Let Foreigners Compete for $300 Million Auto-Battery Prize

According to the article, McCain offers $300 million for new auto battery, amounts to:

The prize would equate to $1 for every man, woman and child in the country.

McCain offers $300 million for new auto battery
Jun 23, 12:00 AM (ET)
By GLEN JOHNSON

PHOENIX (AP) - Sen. John McCain hopes to solve the country's energy crisis with cold hard cash.

The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting thinks the government should offer a $300 million prize to the person who can develop an automobile battery that
leapfrogs existing technology.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080623/D91FI1EG1.html


Is the battery system already developed and used by GM Chevy Volt in the running? Oops. And furthermore, what about discussions like the following which point to technology not yet scooped up by the big "oil companies"?

Just wondering as it seems really odd fiscal conservative John McCain would propose doling out taxpayers' monies for auto-battery technology that's already being pursued... where're John's wife's stock investments again?

Don't miss this discussion.

Electric Car Recharges In 10 Minutes?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Environment, Money, Science

http://donklephant.com/2006/12/27/an-electric-car-recharges-in-10-minutes/


The auto-car battery wars...

Net the Truth Online

If you aren’t familiar with the Volt, here’s a short introduction: it’s a plug-in electric hybrid vehicle, capable of 40 mile trips before relying on a small internal-combustion generator to repower the battery system...

http://gas2.org/2008/01/14/chevy-volt-where-is-gms-electric-car/


Chevy Volt: Traveling Public Roads and Hitting Its Mark
May 14, 2008 By Michelle Krebs

WARREN, Michigan -- General Motors inched closer to making the Chevrolet Volt a reality in November 2010 as the vehicle's innovative gas-electric powertrain is being test-driven for the first time on public roads and is hitting its target of 40 miles on pure electric power.

http://www.autoobserver.com/2008/05/chevy-volt-traveling-public-roads-and-hitting-its-mark.html


It was a concept, now it's reality.

Volt will be powered entirely by an electric motor and have a battery that can be charged through an ordinary power socket. The Volt's on-board engine will be used only to power the battery on longer trips, GM has said...

All-electric Chevrolet Volt on track for 2010 launch, says GM
June 04, 2008
Wilmington, 04 June 2008: General Motors Corp said that its all-electric Chevrolet Volt was on track for a launch in 2010 after the company's board approved funding for production of the high-profile plug-in vehicle.

"The Chevy Volt is a go," GM Chief Executive, Mr.Rick Wagoner told reporters ahead of the company's annual meeting with shareholders in Wilmington, Delaware.

http://autos.sify.com/News/auto-news-india1089.html


2011 Chevrolet Volt Review and Prices
by Chris Poole

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt will differ markedly from the Prius and other gasoline/electric hybrids. It will also differ in many ways from the racy-looking Volt concept unveiled at the January 2007 Detroit Auto Show. Since that big-buzz reveal, GM has gone out of its way to keep the media fully briefed on the production car’s progress. As a result, we now have a good many specifics about this “extended-range electric vehicle” or E-REV, as GM terms it, though important questions remain.

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2011-chevrolet-volt.htm


Various reports indicate that electronic controls in the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will fire up the gas engine once the battery pack runs down to 30-percent power, then keep cycling the engine to maintain power within a specified band. GM estimates the Volt’s total driving range at 640 miles, which is about double that of most conventional hybrids.

GM also claims the 2011 Chevrolet Volt can run solely on electric power for 40 miles with a full battery charge. That’s in line with studies showing that most Americans drive only about 40 miles a day, so in theory at least, a Volt could go for weeks without using a drop of gas or spewing any CO2...

2011 Chevrolet Volt Review and Prices by Chris Poole


Search volt

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22volt%22+car&btnG=Google+Search

Archive for June, 2008
Video: The Latest With Bob Lutz on the Chevy Volt - Photovoltaic Roof After All?
Posted in: Production, Video
GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz sat down with some bloggers recently and as readers on this blog have pointed out, the videos are on You Tube. This 10 minute segment below had some interesting details about the Volt

http://gm-volt.com/2008/06/


What major issues are keeping the Volt from an earlier release date (I’ve been told 2010):

Posawatz: GM is relatively certain it will be the first auto manufacturer to produce a plug-in hybrid model (regardless of the actual release date), but we want it to be right. The two major factors holding back the Volt’s release are extensive testing requirements and lithium ion battery technology. The batteries aren’t cheap, and they’re produced out of country. They also require extensive testing both in and out of the car before things go into production. Basically, GM won’t release the Volt until it’s proven safe and the batteries work.

The Lithium Ion Batteries:

Posawatz: GM has been pursuing battery technology from two different partnerships with two different chemistries: lithium ion phosphate batteries from the same group that manufactures Black and Decker, and lithium manganese batteries from from another supplier. GM looked at 27 different battery companies before choosing to work with these two, and it’s important to understand that not all lithium ion battery technology is equal. For example, Tesla Motors is using the same type of battery that you would find in a laptop, but GM decided to take a different route to avoid the prohibitive cost of this system.

http://gas2.org/2008/01/14/chevy-volt-where-is-gms-electric-car/


BREAKING: GM awards two battery development contracts for Chevy Volt
Posted Jun 5th 2007 9:30AM by Sam Abuelsamid

This morning during the General Motors annual shareholder meeting Chairman Rick Wagoner made an announcement that will be music to the ears of everyone who is looking forward to seeing a production car based on the Chevrolet Volt concept. Thirteen suppliers had submitted bids to General Motors to supply battery systems for the Volt and GM has now awarded two battery development contracts for the E-Flex program.

The contracts are with Continental Automotive Systems and Compact Power Inc (CPI). The two companies are acting as the battery systems integrators for this program. Continental will be using lithium ion cells provided by A123 Systems while Compact Power is using LG Chem cells. CPI is the North American subsidiary of South Korea's LG Chem...

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/06/05/breaking-gm-awards-two-battery-development-contracts-for-chevy/


An Electric Car Recharges In 10 Minutes?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Environment, Money, Science
That’s the claim for this pretty cool looking “Sport Utility Truck.” And you can go 130 miles on that single charge. Not too shabby.
From TechEBlog:
Powered by the revolutionary Altairnano NanoSafe™ battery pack, Phoenix Motorcars’ zero-emission, all-electric Sport Utility Truck (SUT) can cruise on the freeway at up to 95 m.p.h. while carrying five passengers and [...]

http://donklephant.com/2006/12/27/an-electric-car-recharges-in-10-minutes/

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