Saab BioPower 100 Reinforces Technology
By Jay Spenchian
Saab USA General Manager
Maybe it’s in our DNA, but people at Saab take a lot of pride in giving our customers exciting new technologies. Among other things, we’ve given the world the cabin air filter, the Traction Control System, the CFC-Free air conditioning system and one of the industry’s strongest side-impact protection systems.
Last month at the Geneva Auto Show (and this week and next in New York), we did it again.
Saab has unveiled the BioPower 100 concept vehicle. It’s the first production-based turbo engine designed to run on pure bioethanol, also known as E100.
The engine delivers 300 horsepower while greatly reducing the CO2 impact on the atmosphere. I think the performance we’re getting from this engine is great, but the real story here is that alternatives to petroleum-based are viable, powerful and environmentally friendly.
Now THAT’S exciting!
It’s not really surprising to us at Saab, though. We’re Europe’s leading player in the continent’s emerging market for FlexFuel vehicles that can run on either ethanol or gasoline — our 9-5, for instance, is the best selling FlexFuel car in Europe. We see the BioPower 100 as just the latest step in our evolution.
We believe the performance of the Saab BioPower will appeal to the U.S. market. And we think that as ethanol becomes more available here, cars like the Saab BioPower will become more popular, which will help the nation’s energy security and its environment.
Right now, ethanol isn’t as widely available as we’d like in the U.S., but GM is working to improve the situation. We have agreements with companies like grocery store chain Meijer to help them add ethanol pumps at existing facilities.
We’re certainly not saying that ethanol is the only way to reduce our dependence on oil. Still, it is an important part of a range of solutions that GM is working on. Energy diversity is needed, because it allows for regional solutions (ethanol or hydrogen could be used in areas where they are already available) and for a wide range of consumer choice in alternative fuels.
After all, if consumers can’t find what they want in alternative-fuel vehicles, they’ll buy what they already know–the petroleum-powered vehicle. My colleagues at Saab — and across GM for that matter — are working every day to give car buyers those alternatives.
To see more of the Saab BioPower 100 Concept, take a look at:
- Posted in Auto Shows
onell
GM might make this car 20 years from now. They will wait Toyota first to bring this kind of car in the market. Just like the 2-mode hybrid, GM make a pure hybrid 5 years after Toyota! GM always do the concept and Toyota will make it into production.
André
GM already makes E100-ready FFV and didn’t need to wait for Toyota to do this… well, we’re talking about Brazil, where all its locally-made Otto lineup can burn anything from E25 to E100. Even the trucks can do this (recently, they released the S10 and the Blazer with a 2.4 Family II engine). Yes, it’s great to see something like this and I don’t have any doubt that General Motors do Brasil gave a huge hand to make this possible.
As Saab isn’t sold here, what we wait is for this FFV into the next Aussie Omega (a rebadged VE Commodore). It’s reasonable to imagine this because Saab’s V6 belongs to the same HF family that already powers this car. If we can have Argentinian-made FFVs here in Brazil, why not a Aussie one?
A doubt about the BioPower 100 is: can it cold starts on E100 without needing any gasoline? I say that because all Brazilian FFVs have a small gasoline tank that injects fuel in some occasions (when the outside temperature is below a level defined by the automaker), but the suppliers (Bosch and Magneti-Marelli) are researching cold-start systems able to turn a car on 100% ethanol.
Finally, another question: as we know, butanol can be obtained from the same fonts of ethanol and has the advantage that can be used in a gasoline-powered engine without modifications (go to http://www.butanol.com and see a 1992 Park Avenue being ran on 100% butanol). So, it would turn even a muscle-car or a 19th century Olds into something more eco-friendly without changes. Is GM researching biobutanol in its cars? Hey, as a fan of vintage rides, I’d love to have one (gasoline powered, because of its better cold start and lower fuel consumption) and know that it can be used in the same closed carbon cycle started here in 1979 with the first ethanol. Hey, biobutanol is a better solution than ethanol because every car would be more green by just filling its tank, avoiding a huge mass-replacement of vehicles and consequently huge scrapyards. Would you love ride your 1964 Impala knowing that wouldn’t pollute the air with lead, sulphur and other things? I would…
Patrick
Onell, you’re completely wrong on this one. First of all, Toyota doesn’t have a two-mode hybrid. That’s why the Prius isn’t much a highway fuel-saver. Second, GM is already far ahead of Toyota in Flex-Fuel vehicles. These aren’t a GM fan’s biases, either: these are facts.
noel park
I will not be driving a Saab in this life or the next.
Paul
While you’re busy with these concept cars, other companies are putting actual models in actual showrooms.
Maybe you should focus on actually giving people what they want rather than dangling it in front of them and promising them the moon.
Andrew
I’ve been a Saab nut forever, but I’m sorely disappointed with the way GM seems to be taking Saab. I can forgive vehicles like the 9-7x and the 9-2x… they’re made to help keep the brand afloat. But to take Saab’s core models, the 9-3 and 9-5, and stick things like the GM generic stereo head unit in them? Come on, GM. While I’m sure that’s a great design, you have got to keep your core products differentiated from one another- a Saab should not be visibly connected to a Cadillac in any way. People are smarter than you think… we notice these things.
I also wish GM would do something about the dismal resale value of the Saab brand. I’m certain that a carmaker can have some control over resale values. That said, a 2004/5 9-5 represents an amazing value… it’s an overpriced car when new, but for $20,000 or so, you can pick up a certified pre-owned off-lease 9-5 that’s likely been fully serviced since the basic maintenance is included with new car purchase. There’s no way to spend $20,000 on daily transportation… none at all.
Brian
I think it makes no sense to pursue ethanol or hydrogen as alternative fuels. It takes more energy to make them, and so becomes a net loss. The most efficient way to power our automobiles is the electric car. I hope GM will focus all its energy on producing viable electric cars in the near future (the Volt is a good start). Once electric cars are mainstream, maybe we can start using “renewable” fuels like ethanol and hydrogen to produce electricity. It seems to me that it will be much easier to control emissions from a centralized plant than from millions of individual vehicles.
Gereon Langlitz (Germany)
“I think it makes no sense to pursue ethanol or hydrogen as alternative fuels. It takes more energy to make them, and so becomes a net loss. The most efficient way to power our automobiles is the electric car.”
Brian,
propulsion ALWAYS takes energy, regardless, whether this has to be used for the production of ethanol, hydrogen or… electricity. That’s going far beyond the responsibilities of the automotive industry alone. It’s the task of all industrialized countries to strive for energy sources, which lead to a minimum in pollution and global warming (solar, wind, geothermal, tides, biomass etc.). If hydrogen is produced from electricity, coming out of a solar power-plant, in my opinion, there’s definitely nothing wrong with it.
Rick Lupori
Great to see the SAAB Biopower system get some exposure in the U.S. GM needs to bring this car or the E-85 model to the U.S. market ASAP.
SAAB should also offer the new 2.9L V-6 Turbo Diesel across the 9-3 and 9-5 lineup.
GM needs to mention the innovations SAAB has brought to market in it’s advertisements, and put more SAAB ads on.
SAAB offers two very nice wagons for buyers looking for one with great driving dynamics and a solid feel.
SAAB has safety ratings that are at the top of the industry, but GM never says anything about it. SAAB has great potential for introducing more features like the E-100 BioPower system into the market and hopefully GM will add a Twin Mode Hybrid version (with Plug In option please) to the SAAB line.
onell
Patrick, what I mean is that GM is always ahead in making concept cars but almost always late in bringing the real product to the market. Yes, GM has 2-mode hybrid but Toyota already sold a real hybrid. GM is puting most of their financial resources in making nice concept cars like Camaro that only few can afford (like in the case of SSR). Now, they brought a triplets minicar concept, which is way too late to the party, and GM will wait another year to declare the winning concept, plus another year for tooling the line where the winning car will be manufactured, plus another year of testing, plus another year to wait for another NY autoshow to show the pre- production car. So most probably the winning minicar will be in the market by 2012. But despite of my frustration with GM, I would still wait for the arrival of the Equinox Sport ‘08. I cannot wait for the anymore for the Malibu ‘08. Do you have some inputs Paul?
Drew
Brian, how will the country support one million EVs–if they ever sell that many? The US poer grid has a hard time enough as it is. Bio-fuels would make sense, as they give current fuel producers a renewable product, and Mother Earth something cleaner to deal with. The trouble is that the United States will have to import a large portion of bio-fuels to come close to replacing gasoline.
CaptainDan
Brian,
You are correct that it takes too much energy to make hydrogen, but this is not true for ethanol. I know there were a lot of “internet rumors” going about that say that it uses more energy than you get back, but it is not true. Those rumors were based on poorly done studies from the eighties (all of which are discounted now). Plus, the ethanol making efficiency has DOUBLED since then!
And it takes energy to produce electricity too! Although the biggest drawback to electricity is storing it onboard a car. You need a lot of pounds of battery to store the equivalent of a very few pounds of gasoline with it’s tank. Not to mention the inability to easily “refuel on the go”. Hybrids try to cover this gap, but then you’re saddled with the inefficiency of carrying around two drivetrains.
So ethanol is looking like an excellent short term alternative (not to replace gasoline, but to supplement it), while hydrogen COULD be the ultimate fuel only if some future improvements can be invented to make THAT process more efficient (I won’t be holding my breath waiting for THAT though!)
Electricity isn’t viable as a fuel at all, but it could (and very probably will) be used to transmit whatever fuel’s power to the road to improve efficiency. Whether that be gas, diesel, ethanol, or hydrogen burned in an engine (in a hybrid type usage, preferably like the Volt), or in a fuel cell (which produces electricity on demand (no battery needed!) from hydrogen fuel.
Ming
Introducing this powertrain in the U.S. market would do much to silence the anti-Ethanol naysayers.
The problem with E-85 now is that you have an engine like the 3.5LVVT OHV that was designed to run on gas and tolerate Ethanol.
It was not designed to run on Ethanol first. So the fuel economy is poor, and there is no significant power bump to offset it.
Kudos to Saab for making Ethanol make sense.
Brian
CaptainDan:
I think you are looking too near-term on this. The on-board storage capacity for ethanol, gasoline, diesel, etc. is pretty much maxed out right now. MAYBE we can figure out a way to store more hydrogen on a vehicle, but I doubt it would be worth it.
Electricity, on the other hand, is not near its potential for energy density. Who knows what advances will be made in bateries, ultracapacitors, etc.? And I think as a renewable energy source (think wind and solar) electricity is much more viable than ethanol, because ethanol still has to be processed and trucked around.
You may be right about ethanol being the best bet for the next ten years or something, but in the long haul I think purely electric cars will easily win out over all the others.
Eric Andersen
So is GM letting you Saab guys tell the truth about the 9-3 Hybrid Biopower yet? That the vehicle is also a plug-in hybrid. Or is that still under wraps?
Scott
With regard to the Volt concept car… has GM considered incorporating photoelectric cells in various locations on the car to provide a trickle charge to the batteries? This may increase its range beyond the estimated 40 miles.
Perhaps they could be mounted on the roof or any other location behind smoke-tinted glass; wherever a black accent strip would be aesthetically pleasing.
Just a thought.
(This is all assuming that the lithium ion batteries you are currently sourcing will live up to expectations)
economist
Ming - introduction in the US market to silence “anti-ethanol naysayers”? Nice spin. I’m not anti-ethanol, but I see it as a short term agricultural prop in the US that’ll drive up the price of chicken. But I do understand that GM has a global market. That’s why the e-flex is so beautiful as a platform.
Gereon - If you use electricity to produce hydrogen, why not skip a step and save a bundle of money by using the electricity directly and storing extra off-peak capacity in ev car batteries?
CaptainDan - For most mere mortals, electricity is an energy carrier, not a fuel source. What creates our grid electricity is the fuel source and that can be many things. That’s the whole point and another beauty mark of e-flex. Storage of electricity on-board evs is a strength, not a weakness, for V2G. Or do you like blackouts, which evs will reduce, and limited resources in times of natural disasters?
Drew - The current grid could handle 84% of all vehicles becoming plug in hybrids right this second, according to a recent national study. Most charging would be done during low demand times (overnight). People tend to use their cars most when demand is highest, rather perfect timing.
Scott - Photovoltaics the size of a car would be an expensive and fragile way to provide additional range (you need more than 640 miles with the genset? Fill it up.) But expand your thinking to returns of scale. Panels on your roof or large scale (> 400 acre) solar concentrating plants in the sunnier (and emptier) parts of the US would give you way more bang for your buck. If the under development forever lithium batteries don’t live up to expectations, GM could just use existing ones. Just a thought.
If General Motors (not Engines) is going to start living up to its name, it better start having some comments that show some electrical savvy.
funky_brass
Bob,
I hope you go with that riv prototype. Here’s my little picture of a 67 Toronado on a 350z or solstice body. It could be flipped to a 67 riv look by getting rid of the lights. http://www.simgeek.com.. but I’m not a designer I was just fooling around. Man I’m really excited about gm these days. Your doing it all over again like u did at Chrysler on a bigger scale. Buick could look cool. I always thought they should go after the jag designs but they’re coming up on their own look now. -Thanks Bob ! It’s rockin over there at GM.
Wayne Routly
Recently I read an article that said Buick sales in North America have dropped from 1,000,000 units per year to 250,000 units per year.Currently my wife is driving a Lucerne and it is truly a wonderfull vehicle. What we don’t understand is why we don’t see the Buick product line being advertised in the newspapers,T.V.etc.How are you going to sell a product when it isn’t advertised. There is a great story here.
We live in Courtice, Ontario, Canada next to Oshawa where the small Buick is built.We find this all very strange.