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By: Dan Hancock
General Motors, Vice President of Global Powertrain Engineering

At GM, we’re intensely focused on developing current and next-generation powertrain technologies that will improve fuel economy and reduce emissions, as well as our dependence on petroleum.

You can see our efforts on the road for the 2008 model year in 17 GM vehicles that get EPA estimated fuel economy of at least 30 miles per gallon on the highway. They include the Chevrolet Aveo at 32 mpg, the Pontiac G5 XFE at 35 mpg, the Saturn Vue Green Line hybrid at 32 mpg and the 2.4L, six-speed-equipped Chevrolet Malibu at 32 mpg. In fact, this Malibu model is the outright leader in highway fuel economy among non-hybrid mid-size cars!

To continue delivering new, fuel-saving powertrains to market more quickly – including the much-anticipated Chevrolet Volt – we’re making sure our powertrain engineering development capabilities are the best of the best. Today we dedicated the new, 450,000-square-foot GM Powertrain Engineering Development Center adjacent to our headquarters in Pontiac, Mich.

This facility is the largest, most technically advanced powertrain development center in the world, and it will allow us to shorten our powertrain development time so that we can design, develop and test more powertrain systems faster than ever before. The Volt’s electric drive unit, motors, power electronics and engine will be tested in this center, along with advanced transmissions and a variety of gas, diesel, hybrid and alternative fuel powertrains.

The facility features two test wings that can accommodate all powertrain configurations, fuels and power levels. The center also features a new test setup area and a quick-change pallet system, which accommodates setups and repairs outside the test cell while other work is conducted inside. It used to be that an engine needed to be moved out of a test cell in order to prepare for a test. This involved unhooking all of the test equipment so that a new engine could be brought in and hooked up to various test equipment pieces. Now, the components are pre-assembled on a pallet in the test prep area, and the pallet is then air-floated into the test cell by using compressed air, much like a hovercraft.

This new process allows a 20-minute changeover in the test cell, whereas previously it took 24 hours. That’s a very dramatic savings by any measure.

The new quick-change pallet system, along with our lab’s test automation and data analysis capabilities, is expected to help us improve our powertrain efficiency by up to 50 percent. These efficiencies slice 10 weeks from our development time for new powertrains.

By: Chris Terry
GMnext Team Member

Ever to take the long view, the Wall Street Journal’s Joe White has a great piece in Monday’s paper looking at the multi-decade quest for one of electrochemistry’s Holy Grails: a viable electric battery pack to replace the internal combustion engine for the automobile.

The search for the über battery isn’t new as White observes the state of battery development through the eyes of Bob Stempel, the man who green-lighted the EV1 for General Motors. Stempel faced the same challenges as today’s executives in the battery development: safety, reliability, energy/power density and cost, to name the most daunting. The challenges haven’t changed much, which is another way of saying that there’s still work to be done (although the Volt provides assurance that we are close.) He characterizes those paying attention to the subject into two groups:

When it comes to the future of cars, it’s Technologists vs. Skeptics. Technologists believe that innovations in battery technology, hydrogen storage, cellulosic ethanol production, water-to-hydrogen systems, and lightweight vehicle design are right around the corner – thanks in part to the digital revolution of the late 20th Century. Technologists acknowledge the cost hurdles confronting alternatives to oil, but insist they will be overcome just as they were for the personal computer.

Skeptics believe that the technology to substantially displace oil-fired mobility will take years, maybe decades, to develop to commercial scale at reasonable costs.

Those who follow this space closely would agree that this is a pretty accurate summary of the thinking on this subject. It would have been interesting if Joe had the space and inclination to remark on the lynchpin of the Skeptics argument: that yes, this stuff may exist, but not “at reasonable costs” (my italics added for emphasis). But what’s reasonable, or more to the point, who can predict what will be reasonable in five or ten years?

Keep that question in mind as you read the following quote from GM’s Vice Chairman of Global Product Development Bob Lutz in today’s Automotive News (subscription required): “At historically $6 a gallon, now $9 or $10 a gallon in Europe, the European equivalent to a Ford Focus, Volkswagen Jetta or Chevrolet Cobalt carries an (average transaction price) of $35,000, $36,000, $37, 000,” says Lutz.

If American consumers are asked to pay more for smaller cars in the future, does a $30K-$40K Volt sound unreasonable? If in the medium to long-term future, fuel in the States approaches European price levels, wouldn’t you pay more upfront to avoid a $100 fill up for your conventionally powered subcompact? What unforeseen event(s) may drive prices much higher?

It strikes me that the two camps could be described another way. The Skeptics might say, “We’ve seen enormous energy spikes before in the 1970s, and then markets settled down and we kept on rollin’. Oil prices remained fairly consistent for 130 years save these two big spikes.” The Technologists might say, “Yes, but this time is really different, if for no other reason than 2+ billion Indian and Chinese citizens aspire to own—and drive—their own cars.”

By: Spencer Chamberlain
GM Global Design Intern

It wasn’t an easy process deciding what 2020 market to design a car for. However, when the opportunity to use Russia for my project came along, it just felt right. In the past, I’ve read a great deal about Russian history, culture, religion, and politics. To gain a fresh perspective, I decided to talk to my brother Darren, who spent two years in Russia, and his friend Nate. Nate is married to a Russian and visits the country regularly.

After speaking with Nate, my eyes were opened to many rich insights about the Russian people - especially their youth. I learned that young people in Russia have a similar passion for social networking sites like their American counterparts. I felt it made sense to focus on today’s youth in my project, because they are the potential car buyers in 2020.

From what I gathered, Russians like to be modern and westernized, placing importance on appearance and status while remaining very prideful of their heritage and culture. I felt it was important to make a car for the Russian market that is very stylish and a little flashy.

I was a bit surprised to learn from Nate how much crime is an issue in Russia. Pickup trucks are not sold in Russia because items get stolen out of the truck beds. To help deter theft, I have made my car totally enclosed, yet storage and utility friendly.

This project has been very fulfilling. I have grown tremendously as a designer during this emerging market project because of its wide scale and the challenge to meet the needs of a country that I have never personally encountered. I have loved every minute of it.

By: Tara Settembre
GMnext Team Member

Chevy has launched a program called Project Driveway, where they are testing a fleet of 100 hydrogen-powered fuel cell Chevy Equinox SUVs in Washington D.C., Los Angeles and New York. Basically, people apply to test-drive the zero gasoline, zero emissions vehicles in the participating cities and if they are accepted, they get to drive the futuristic cars for free for three months!

I recently got a chance to test drive one of these fuel cell vehicles myself at the Project Driveway Enthusiast Event at the GM Training Center in Burbank, California. On a very hot and sunny Saturday, about 150 people who had expressed interest in Project Driveway came to hear a seminar on hydrogen fuel and then test drive the vehicles. I even met one guy who was getting his vehicle in the next week.

The seminar was quite interesting with GM executives discussing how fuel cells works, their plans to bring hydrogen fuel cells to the nation and how they reduce our dependency on oil.

Here are some interesting things I learned:
• There are over 20 hydrogen gas stations in California
• We can make hydrogen here in the U.S. There is no need to use foreign supplies.
• The top speed of Chevy’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is 100 MPH.
• The car only emits water vapor into the air — no harmful emissions, and no exhaust.
• Hydrogen is currently being used to clean the sludgy gasoline that we receive from abroad.
• A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle can go up to 200 miles per fill-up.

After the seminar, I was more eager to ride the vehicle than interview the other participants. Luckily, I was able to do both. When talking with the drivers, it seemed the most common word used to describe the Chevy Equinox Hydrogen Fuel Cell was “smooth.” Most were also impressed with its pick up and said it drove like a regular car.

With a cameraman in the passenger seat, I drove around the test area known as “the loop” — which was several blocks around Burbank. I also thought the car drove smoothly and I couldn’t tell it wasn’t gas-powered. It was a little bit louder than a hybrid — which I think is good — but still very quiet compared to a regular gas-powered car. In fact, it was so quiet that I had to make sure I had turned it on correctly. Also interesting were the display settings that show the fuel cell process happening with an animated graphic.

Overall, I’m eager for the future. Let’s make it happen!

News: Los Angeles Times “Stars test the waters with hydrogen cars”

Tara is a popular lifestyle blogger at When Tara Met Blog and has appeared on GM’s IGotShotGun.com