Please join Troy Clarke, GM North America President, right here on FastLane this Friday, June 19 at 10 a.m. Eastern Time for a one-hour live chat to address questions about GM. He will take as many questions as he can. Looking forward to hearing from you. – Tom Pyden,VP, GM North America Communications
By Tim Herrick
Chevy Equinox Chief Engineer
Last month I told you about the difficulties I was having in keeping the keys to the new 2010 Equinox in my hands. All the folks on my team wanted to get some seat time in this baby, and for good reason.
Today, the news got even better. We had already boasted of hitting the 30 MPG highway fuel economy mark with the Equinox - making it the 9th Chevrolet vehicle to reach that point. Well, we’ve overachieved on this one.
We exceeded our initial estimates, reaching an estimated 32 MPG highway fuel economy with the Equinox. This number is far better than either the Toyota RAV-4 or Honda CR-V, and even better than the Ford Escape Hybrid model. We’re quite proud of this, and we hope and think it will draw even more customers away from the imports and into the Equinox.
By the way, this improved highway fuel economy takes the range of the Equinox to 600 miles! You could drive from Detroit to Washington, DC on one tank of gas.
We have some more great news on this vehicle related to its quietness and other features we’ll talk more about soon. Thought you’d want to know about the great news on the fuel economy. Look for the Equinox in your dealerships next month.
By Tony Posawatz
Chevrolet Volt and Global Electric Vehicle Line Director
It’s a very good question that many are asking and my short answer is: it’s going to take a plug-in ecosystem. One automaker, tech company, research institute, etc., cannot do it alone.
I read a great piece in the December 2008 Harvard Business Review entitled “Reinventing Your Business Model.” It’s an overview of how innovative business models create success, citing Apple’s business model for the iPod as one example.
Everyone knows what an iPod is, but did you know it wasn’t the first MP3 player on the market? Other companies launched similar products in the late 1990s. “Apple did something far smarter than take good technology and wrap it in a snazzy design. It took good technology and wrapped it in a good business model. Apple’s true innovation was to make downloading digital music easy and convenient.” That business model included design, hardware, software, iTunes and service - essentially creating an ecosystem for the iPod.
GM is working with strategic partners to do the same. In order for plug-in electric vehicles to become mainstream, a plug-in ecosystem must be in place when vehicles like the Chevy Volt hit the market.
Since most of us aren’t scientists, you might be wondering what I mean by ecosystem. In simplest terms, an ecosystem is a unit of interdependent entities. In this particular case, we believe there are four pillars that make up a plug-in ecosystem and that must be in place to assure the Volt’s successful commercial launch:
Strategic partnerships with key stakeholders define and create the ecosystem foundation, as well as help contribute to the new “green economy”. Such stakeholders include: local and federal governments, electric utilities, regulators, Clean Cities coalitions, local employers, universities and early electric vehicle adopters.
GM is focused on the first two pillars: plug-in technology leading vehicles and the enabling technologies. In terms of the Volt, we’re working with key suppliers to ensure every system and component on the vehicle is as efficient as possible, from battery cells and electric motors to low-rolling resistance tires and energy-efficient components.
We’re partnering with organizations like the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to focus on electric power generation, delivery and use. EPRI and the utility companies are working together to ensure that plug-in vehicles are seamlessly integrated into the power grid. Together, we’re focusing on addressing issues that ensure safe and convenient vehicle charging, public education, and the public policy requirements to enable a transition from petroleum to electricity as a fuel source.
GM also is working with early-adopter cities, such as San Francisco, to develop policies and enablers to make the community plug-in ready. Some of the challenges that need to be addressed include consumer incentives to make the technology affordable; public and workplace charging options; consumer-friendly electricity rates and renewable electricity options; government and corporate vehicle purchases; supportive permitting and codes for vehicle charging; and other incentives such as high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lane access.
A few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $2.4 billion in economic stimulus funding to produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and batteries in an attempt to have one million vehicles on the road by 2015. Using this plug-in ecosystem business model, GM is aggressively working to garner our share of the total industry volume on the road in that timeframe. The Volt team is clearly focused on delivering the future. Why, you might ask, are we so focused on the future and putting all the right pieces in place? The future is where we will be spending the rest of our lives, and the future will be “electric”.
(Editor’s Note: The following audio clips are excerpts from a recent Web presentation on developing a plug-in ecosystem. The participants are Tony Posawatz, Mark Duvall, with Electric Power Research Institute, and Bob Hayden, a clean transportation advisor with the City and County of San Francisco.)
If you’d like to learn more about out what it will take to make plug-in electric vehicles successful, join us back here tomorrow (April 3) at 4 p.m. EDT to chat with my colleague Britta Gross, our director of electric vehicle infrastructure commercialization. She’ll also field questions and comments from our friends over at EVWorld.com, GreenCarCongress.com and GM-Volt.com. In the meantime, I look forward to hearing from you.
By Larry Burns
GM Vice President, Research & Development
Amid growing concerns about the economy, our long-term energy security, driving cars that have less of an impact on our planet, and ever-expanding urban congestion, we all seem to be coming to the conclusion that the automobile as we know it — powered by a combustion engine — must eventually go the way of the horse and buggy. It is simply not sustainable.
Last Sunday at the North American International Auto Show, GM unveiled the Cadillac Converj Concept, which features our revolutionary Voltec electric propulsion system. While I am proud of this exciting step toward transforming the automobile, we still must look further ahead. We need to put this technology into widespread, high volume production. However, there are significant challenges. And that is why I make this plea: we must work together to overcome those challenges and make this technology a reality.
One major challenge we face is ensuring that U.S.-developed technologies are the industry standard when the demand for advanced technology vehicles reaches a commercial “tipping point.” The solution lies in sharing the public/private risks and rewards – possibly creating a partnership between the U.S. government, auto manufacturers and suppliers, the energy and infrastructure industries, and other key stakeholders focused on transforming the automobile.
The good news is that we do not need to invent anything for this to happen! We just need to act with a collective will to accelerate the use of the technologies we already have.
A new automotive technology partnership could help create these alternative-energy technologies as well as the next generation of high-efficiency vehicles. It could also set the framework for supply and demand in the early years of the market for these vehicles. Finally, the partnership could deliver a broad set of societal benefits, including enhanced energy security, sustainable mobility, increased competitiveness and significant economic and jobs growth.
I can’t help but be excited about this extraordinary opportunity to revolutionize the way we live in the United States. We must take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Most importantly – we must jump at the chance to lead what will be a global transformation by supporting the effort here at home.
For jobs, our economy, for technological advancement, for the environment, for national energy security and the way we live, this is the right thing to do.
For more information on this topic, take a look at the presentation I gave today at the Transportation Research Board in Washington, D.C. “Converging on Sustainability: The New DNA of the Automobile,” or read my remarks.
Head over to FYI for a follow-up to Jamie Hresko’s post on “One Million Miles and Counting” and meet Mike Popescu, owner of the Chevy Express 3500 cargo van, for yourself.
Steve Letarte recently passed the one-year mark of taking over as crew chief for the No. 24 Chevy Monte Carlo SS team and driver Jeff Gordon. With a less-than-desired finish in Charlotte now in the rearview mirror, Gordon, Letarte and crew head to Martinsville where the team placed second in the spring race.
In this podcast, Letarte talks about the three keys to winning at Martinsville, how each of the Chase for the Championship race venues are “wild card” races, the importance of a solid qualifying run at Martinsville, plus a more personal perspective after one year leading the team.
By Alba Colon
GM Racing program manager for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
Throughout the NASCAR Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship I will be writing a weekly blog post about the latest happenings in the NASCAR garage.
As some of you may know, GM Racing’s role is to provide our Chevrolet teams with the engine parts, engineering technology and the know-how to ensure our drivers have the best possible performance in the Nextel Cup Series in their Chevy Monte Carlo SS race cars. During the Chase for the Championship, one of the responsibilities of GM Racing will be to make sure the parts we are supplying to the teams are in good supply and of the highest quality. It’s critical that we make sure our teams competing in the Chase do not experience any performance issues due to parts.
The new Opel Corsa was unveiled at the British International Motor Show recently. In this video podcast, Niels Loeb, chief designer, discusses the car’s design:
Niels Loeb, chief designer, Corsa Studio: “It’s OK to be daring, especially when it’s our striking new coup√©-like three-door Corsa. And look at its face — bright eyes with a cheeky grin. That’s just what we wanted the design to be — unique both inside and out, giving the owner a lasting sense of feel-good factor. It just cries out to be driven.”
Corvette Racing’s victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans was the result of planning that rivals the precision of a missile launch and the determination of the D-Day invasion. This time-lapse video shot in Corvette Racing’s headquarters in New Hudson, Mich., documents the team’s final preparations for the assault on Le Mans as tons of equipment and the two Corvette C6.R race cars were prepared to be airlifted to Europe for the world’s most prestigious sports car race. Be prepared; it will take your breath away!
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The 74th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s greatest sports car race, is now in the record books. Corvette Racing scored its third straight victory in the GT1 class (and its fifth win in six years) against world-class competition in this grueling twice-around-the-clock endurance race in France. You can hear the comments of driver Oliver Gavin, who piloted the No. 64 Corvette C6.R to victory with his teammates Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen, in his audio podcast review of the race. Check out his podcast here.
For a different perspective, read driver Johnny O’Connell’s personal blog that he wrote after a star-crossed race in the No. 63 Corvette C6.R that finished seventh in the GT1 division.
Check back to Fast Lane for more Le Mans recaps soon.
