Chevy Volt is to be cloned
GM’s clever extended-range electric
vehicle known domestically as the Chevrolet Volt will also
be pitched at the Euro market wearing Opel Ampera badges. GM
has already confirmed the Volt electric car will also be
sold in Australia from 2012 wearing Holden badges.
Chev
Volt in disguise
The Opel Ampera, with a different bodywork from the Chev
Volt will make its debut at the Geneva motor show (March 5
to 15). I would also be hopeful of the Volt being shown at
the Bangkok International Motor Show (March 26 to April 6).
The Europe-focused concept retains the five door, four seat
configuration of the Volt, but this disguised shot indicates
the Opel will be distinguished by a different nose with a
grille and headlight treatment that are unique to the car.
For short trips up to 60 km, the Ampera runs only on
lithium-ion battery power charged via a standard 230v
outlet, and the range is extended via a 1.4 liter four
cylinder petrol engine that drives a 53 kW generator which
subsequently sends charge to the batteries or the electric
motor. The petrol engine does not directly drive the wheels.
Opel
Ampera in disguise
GM argues the Ampera will be well suited to the daily
driving schedule of most European customers, and points to
the statistic that approximately 80 percent of German
drivers travel less than 50 km daily.
“With the Ampera, Opel will be the first European automobile
manufacturer to provide customers several hundred kilometers
of non-stop electric driving,” said GM Europe chief
marketing officer Alain Visser.
The Chevy Volt goes on sale in the US next year wearing a
sticker price in the region of $US40,000, so it won’t
exactly be a high-volume proposition, but it’s shaping up as
a significant vehicle nonetheless. Of course, if the price
of crude spikes again to $146 per barrel, electric cars will
be cheaper in the long run, by a country mile.
Meanwhile, you can expect to see more of the car in the
upcoming Hollywood blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the
Fallen, in which it plays an autobot character named Jolt.
Batteries not included?
Better believe that the future is electric.
Despite the current price of oil being down from the
ridiculous $146 a barrel a few months ago, the world it
seems has become tired of the pimps at the pumps, and is
‘revolting’ against the OPEC oil countries.
Not only is GM well down the electric track (see the item
above) but it has also announced that it plans to make its
own lithium-ion electric-car battery packs at a new plant in
the US from 2010.
GM’s new battery plant will be in Michigan and, while
negotiations are still continuing with state and local
authorities, the company is confident that facility
preparation will begin in the next couple of months, with
production tooling to be installed mid-year and output
starting in 2010.
Volt prototypes will continue to be tested using lithium-ion
battery cells supplied from South Korea by LG Chem (though
GM conveniently refers only to an LG subsidiary based in
Michigan).
Although GM likes to call the Volt an electric car, it does
have a petrol engine that acts as a “range-extender”. When
the car’s batteries run down (after about 65 km), the engine
fires up and acts as an electric generator for the
batteries, rather than driving the wheels directly, as do
most previous hybrids, though Dr. Porsche’s original designs
of 1902 worked on that principle where the petrol engine was
merely a battery re-charger.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked why was a Packard
tourer disguised as a police open Lincoln in Chicago, and
when? The answer was that it was the car used in the St.
Valentine’s Day massacre, 14th February 1929. However, I
have to say that some authorities say it was a Cadillac, and
others that it was a Peerless.
As none of us were around at that time, and the cars used in the massacre
were chopped up afterwards, I doubt if we will ever know.
Interestingly, none of the killers were ever brought to
justice.
So to this week. I am sure you are all aware of the
Gobron-Brillie and the Delaunay-Belleville, which had four
pedals, instead of three. What were the pedals, and why did
it need four? To make it easier, some Mercedes models also
had the four pedal arrangement.
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Gobron-Brillie
Toyota is the world’s
new number one
Toyota is now the undisputed world leader, after
knocking at the door for a couple of years, after it
displaced Ford in the number 2 slot. It officially became
the global best seller as General Motors 2008 figures
slumped with the general auto industry crash in America,
following the financial debacle.
The official GM sales total last year was 8.356 million
vehicles, while the Toyota tally was 8.972. This result ends
71 years at the top for GM, which had been the leader ever
since it overtook Ford during the depths of the Great
Depression.
It has all been downhill for the US auto industry. GM’s
sales figures were down 10.8 percent from its 2007 result of
9.37 million, and at home in the USA its result was down
21.1 percent to 3.56 million.
Under normal circumstances, you would have expected Toyota
to be trumpeting this from the rooftops, but it is a much
subdued Toyota at the top. It has recorded its first
downturn in 10 years, as it also heads towards the first
trading loss in company history. Toyota has already shut 10
of its 11 factories in Japan, and all its other plants are
on slowdowns, or temporary closures.
For those with an interest in the stock market, the poor
showings in the auto sector is reflected in share prices. GM
shares fell 14 cents, or 4.1 percent, to US$3.36 in the US,
while Toyota’s US. shares rose 80 cents, or 1.2 percent, to
US$66.68. Toyota is number 1 everywhere.
Natter Nosh and Noggin
The monthly car enthusiasts meeting will be at
Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR next to the Nova Park
development. The car (and bike) enthusiasts meet on the
second Monday of the month, so this time it is Monday
(February 9) at Jameson’s at 7 p.m. This is a totally
informal meeting of like-minded souls to discuss their pet
motoring (and motorcycling) loves and hates. Many
interesting debates come from these evenings. Come along and
meet guys who have a common interest in cars and bikes, and
enjoy the Jameson’s Steak night special, washed down with a
few beers. Last meeting we had some ex-Lotus and Lola
engineers who had much to tell the group.
The end of the Honda
S2000
After 10 years, and multiple awards, the Honda
S2000 sports car has been canned by Honda. Another victim of
the world economic downturn, and cost-cutting at Honda.
The last ever car rolling off the line at Suzuka, Japan will
be in June 2009. Honda UK said, “It was only ever designed
as a limited edition to celebrate Honda’s 50th birthday in
1999, and now it’s time to focus on new technologies and the
sporty derivatives these can offer.”
The S2000 has always been a driver’s car, hailed for its
engaging drive on and off track, both of which are reflected
by the numerous awards the car has won. Its 2 liter engine
remains one of the highest output per liter and one of the
highest revving engines ever made. In recognition of this it
has won the International Engine of the Year five times in
its lifetime, as well as Auto Express Best Sports Car for
three consecutive years plus a whole host of other awards.
Another nail in the coffin of exciting motor cars, I am
afraid.
Has F1 priced itself
out of the market?
With the news that the Royal Bank of Scotland is
asking for a bail-out from the British government, what is
going to happen to the sponsorship it has provided to
Williams F1?
With the news that the ING Dutch bank is asking for a
hand-out from the Dutch government, what is going to happen
to the sponsorship it has provided to Renault F1?
You don’t need a degree in higher maths to work out that the
annual budget is going to be decreased for both of those
teams. And, if you look further, there will be many other
sponsors tightening the drawstrings on the money wallets.
That includes the manufacturers in manufacturer teams such
as BMW.
KERS
unit
We had ‘shock, horror’ headlines in the media before Xmas
2008 screaming that Honda had withdrawn from Formula 1.
Which it had, time frame immediately. As I write this,
nobody has stepped up with a concrete plan of a takeover.
We’ve had lots of media smoke and mirrors, but nothing yet
in the way of rebranding. Times are tough.
Much is being made of ‘cost cutting’ by the FIA and the
teams, but whilst they have limited testing and said that
engines have to last longer, they have on the other hand
introduced the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) which
will cost an arm and three legs to design, test, retest and
make work. The KERS is expected to take off around 0.3 of a
second per lap when it is used for the seven seconds before
it is exhausted, but it is still in the very experimental
phase. The very expensive experimental phase, and that
certainly does not go with cost-cutting.
In reality, F1 is not sustainable, and in fact has been
unsustainable for years. It has inflated its value to
potential sponsors, who now no longer have cash reserves
they can throw about, and to F1 in particular. The simple
business model of income and expenses has been in the red
for years, when you take away ‘false’ income from sponsors.
Any dip in sponsorship exposes the real situation. And that
is what we have now.
So, is this the end of F1? Is this the end of motor sport?
No it is not, but it is the end of unbridled spending.
I am old enough to remember motor racing before sponsorship
was allowed on the cars, before Lotus painted their cars
red, white and gold, having received backing from Gold Leaf
cigarettes in 1968. Motor racing was alive and well in 1966,
with many teams and many different engines used. These
included the Europeans Ferrari, Lotus, Cooper, BRM, the
American Eagle, the Australian Repco-Brabham, the NZ
McLaren-Ford and Honda (yes, the same Honda as has just
pulled out - again). The engines ranged from four cylinders
to V12, to H16 and included turbocharged engines, rotary
Wankels and even turbines. Engineers enjoyed
experimentation, and diversity was the result.
No, with tighter budgets, we might see some diversity again,
if the FIA leaves the formula alone. Let us hope so, for all
our sakes, in Europe and Asia.
