GM Didn’t Kill It: The Future of the Electric Car
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Back around 1997, General Motors introduced the EV1. The EV1 was a marvel of engineering, absolutely the best electric vehicle anyone had ever seen. It held out the promise that soon electric cars, charged from the grid with wind and solar energy could replace the traditional internal-combustion vehicle. Battery technology at the time was nowhere near ready to replace the piston-powered engine. The early car’s lead-acid batteries couldn’t supply the range or durability required by the mass market. The car itself was a tiny, super-light two-seater, not exactly what American consumers were looking for. And the EV1 was hugely expensive to build, which was why GM’s execs terminated the program. This is how they became known as the company that “killed the electric car.”
Fast-forward to summer of 2008. GM has unveiled the very real Chevy Volt, a Lithium Ion powered car. Mike Davidson of Newsvine asked Bob Lutz if GM is looking at various ways to recharge the new Volt batteries. With ever-increasing electricity costs, even homes are being built with more solar-powered capabilities to save people money. How then, will the Volt be able to save money and power?
Bob was quick to assuage fears in this capacity. The Volt may be programmed with a local schedule of when power is cheapest. The car’s computer would know that, thereby only charging the car during off-peak times and costs. It wouldn’t matter if you leave your car plugged in all day long. The car would only charge itself during those cheaper times.
Lutz also stated that during the first full year of production in 2011, they are realistically planning to manufacture about 10,000 Volts. In the next year, they’ll be up to 60,000. Demand will obviously drive how much manufacturing is done. Of course, you always have to worry about any production problems. You could have supply problems.
Bob has also stated that the pricing for the Volt is going to be around $40,000.00. Even with such a high price tag, the demand is extremely high. People are chomping at the bit wanting this car.
Another question raised dealt with service for the Volts at local dealerships once they hit the market. Will staff be trained properly to work on these completely different cars? Will the quality of the Volt’s be maintained in a way that leads to a happy customer experience? Unfortunately, GM only has a modest amount of control at the retail level. They cannot force a dealership to train their employees for anything specific. They have tried, and failed, in the past to create a standardized method of training and customer service. The dealers have ultimate control over what goes on in their company. Bob pointed out that this is an industry-wide problem, though, not specific to GM.
GM didn’t kill the future of the electric car. They just put it off a little bit.
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8 Comments
Revelations From An Unwashed Brain
June 21st, 2008
at 7:07am
Chris PirilloGM Didn’t Kill It: The Future of the Electric CarCar Batteries: Acid-Lead vs. Lithium Ion Gas Tax: Have Americans been Spoiled? The Car Community Interviews: Bob Lutz of General Motors Free Exchange Monitor Tool
GGCO
June 21st, 2008
at 4:27am
We need to get serious about building an electric car. Americans are so A.D.D. sometimes! Back in the 70s when Jimmy Carter was president we were having the same oil crisis we are having now. Back then we started to get more energy independent, but when gas prices fell we when back to our old ways. We need to stick to it this time!
mpgomatic
June 21st, 2008
at 6:02am
Having just spent a couple of days in Washington DC at the Google/Brookings Plug-in Electric Vehicles conference, I’ve come to a bit of a different conclusion.
The electric car revolution is happening, but the leaders are coming from the small garages, with the funding a direct result of the wealth created by the Internet boom.
If you haven’t seen “Who Killed the Electric Car,” put it at the top of your list. It’s quite thought provoking.
EV1Defender
June 21st, 2008
at 7:03am
Oh man, that quote by the car industry is garbage, the EV1 in fact was actually perfect. GM took them back and destroyed them because they worked too well. See movie “Who killed the Electric Car”. What car company recalls and forces recalls of a popular vehicle and makes owners return it?? And the fact that it was gutted before being placed in the automotive history museum just screams something, but I won’t say cover-up…
Alex
June 21st, 2008
at 3:55pm
In the 1930s the auto manufacturers were experimenting with the electric car. The oil companies saw a threat to their profits then and found ways to talk the auto manufacturers away from continuing.
In the 1940s many of the cities had electric public transportation. It was efficient and very cheap. It was the oil companies in cahoots with GM that killed the electric cars. GM needed to sell their diesel driven busses.
Kevin Turner
June 21st, 2008
at 9:32pm
Bob had some very good points. In a way I am a fan. I also like his opinions on Gas Tax!
Jerry
June 22nd, 2008
at 10:13am
Don’t let them fool you
When I was 8 years old and lived in Toronto our milk was delivered in a electric van the driver was a friend of my fathers
and would take us for a ride around the block it would go very fast about 45 miles per hour which would scare us a bit
That was over [70] years ago
Regards
Jerry
Forian
June 24th, 2008
at 9:03pm
No, they did not kill it. They only locked it up for a good decade to earn some dirty cash from gas consumers.
Forian