GM shows Chevy plug-in concept / クリッピング CNN Money（GMのプラグインハイブリッド車）

" Starting with a full charge, the car could theoretically operate for about 40 miles at suburban street speeds without needing to burn any gasoline at all. "

-----CNN Money.com,January 7 2007

関連記事
・「北米国際自動車ショー」　ハイブリッド進化競う-----FujiSankei Business i. 2007/1/9

関連サイト、プレスリリース

・Chevrolet Volt - GM's Concept Electric Vehicle - Could Nearly Eliminate Trips To The Gas Station -----プレスリリース / GM,2007-01-07 （imageも）

"The Chevrolet Volt concept sedan, powered by the E-flex System ? GM’s next-generation electric propulsion system ? could nearly eliminate trips to the gas station.

The Chevrolet Volt is a battery-powered, four-passenger electric vehicle that uses a gas engine to create additional electricity to extend its range. The Volt draws from GM’s previous experience in starting the modern electric vehicle market when it launched the EV1 in 1996, according to GM Vice Chairman Robert A. Lutz.

“The EV1 was the benchmark in battery technology and was a tremendous achievement,” Lutz said. “Even so, electric vehicles, in general, had limitations. They had limited range, limited room for passengers or luggage, couldn’t climb a hill or run the air conditioning without depleting the battery, and had no device to get you home when the battery’s charge ran low.

“The Chevrolet Volt is a new type of electric vehicle. It addresses the range problem and has room for passengers and their stuff. You can climb a hill or turn on the air conditioning and not worry about it.”

The Volt can be fully charged by plugging it into a 110-volt outlet for approximately six hours a day. When the lithium-ion battery is fully charged, the Volt can deliver 40 city miles of pure electric vehicle range. When the battery is depleted, a 1L, three-cylinder turbocharged engine spins at a constant speed, or revolutions per minute (rpm), to create electricity and replenish the battery. According to Lutz, this increases the fuel economy and range.

“If you lived within 30 miles from work (60 miles round trip) and charged your vehicle every night when you came home or during the day at work, you would get 150 miles per gallon,” Lutz said. “More than half of all Americans live within 20 miles of where they work (40 miles round trip). In that case, you might never burn a drop of gas during the life of the car.”

In addition, the Chevrolet Volt is designed to run on E85, a fuel blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Using E85, fuel economy of 150 mpg would translate into more than 525 miles per petroleum gallon. 　"

(追加情報発表あり。関連ブログ）

関連記事2
・Detroit Auto Show: It's here. GM's plug-in hybrid is the Chevy Volt Concept-----AutoblogGreen,Jan 7th 2007

・GM Introduces E-Flex Electric Vehicle System; Chevrolet Volt the First Application
-----Green Car Congress,7 January 2007

コメント

　今回デトロイトで発表されたGMのプラグイン・ハイブリッド車、Chevy Volt。まず、デザインが嫌い。アメリカ車の匂いをあえて強調した点がGMのGMらしさなのかもしれないが、、、
　ただ、家庭のコンセントから充電できて、満充電でモーターだけで40マイル走行できるなどの性能を備えているという。また、エタノール対応など”コンセプトカー”としての意欲は見て取れる。
　スペックを見ると、
”Electric mode range: 40 miles ? full electric vehicle (EV) range
Estimated fuel economy @ constant state of charge: 50 mpg during charge sustaining operation ”
　というから、推定のハイブリッド走行での燃費は、21.2km/リットル程度ですか。ガソリン大食いのアメ車が大好きなアメリカ人のための、環境を意識したコンセプト車、というイメージです。ただ、搭載のリチウムイオンバッテリーの研究開発には力を入れているようなので、本気度は伝わってきます。
　推定のお値段がない以上、GMの新型ハイブリッド車は俎上にあがっていないですね、まだ。
　フォードもプラグイン・ハイブリッド車を展示したようです。アメリカで一部の州（カリフォルニア、ニューヨークなど）で要望が強いといわれる環境と石油の値段を強く意識したユーザー向けのアピールということなのでしょうか。となると、リチウムバッテリーの開発待ちという感じで今年はハイブリッド車の動きを見て行きたいです。(t_t)

参考記事
・Toyota confident U.S. hybrid sales will continue rising-----MarketWatch,Jan 7, 2007