Future Mobility

Future Mobility

US car giant is providing the media with a glimpse of what the world could be driving in the new decade

• Published: 12/11/2010 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: Motoring

Acknowledging the assembled media, Michael Albano takes off his hat and gets behind the wheel of the new baby from General Motors. He has volunteered to drive the Chevrolet Volt because his audience wants him to show how this new Chevy runs on electricity. Over lunch that day GM's director for communications had told reporters the car could run even on depleted battery.

It was the same white vehicle some reporters had been test-driven that morning when it's still cold. We were at Nine Dragon Hill in Zhejiang, a Chinese coastal province south of Shanghai.

During the morning session everybody wanted to get a feel of the car whereas this one, after lunch, with Albano at the helm was more of a technology demonstrator for we wanted to see the technology behind the console that made the Volt, in the words of GM, "an electric vehicle without range limitations."
The Volt headed to the road with battery already low so Albano only had to drive a few rounds to use it up. He then pointed to a screen on the dashboard that indicated as much.
"Internal combustion now begins to recharge the battery," he said, pointing to the power flow on the screen which showed electricity being produced and fed to car, derived from its petrol engine that automatically works as a generator.
This unique feature gives GM confidence to distance the Volt from other hybrid cars and market it as a vehicle that runs wholly on electricity. The Volt debuted in the US earlier this week, most importantly as the first in a family of electric cars that would hit the road in the next 20 years.

The plug-in Volt in front of the Chinese Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo.

Next on the list is a fuel cell-powered SUV Equinox to be commercially launched in 2015, and a plan to make a futuristic Electric Networked Vehicle (EN-V) by 2030, a semi-autonomous driving car which offers the driver a sense of being "fun and connected."
To power the Volt you only need to plug it to a 120V socket at home for 10-12 hours, but you can cut that time to four hours if you take the car to a charging starting where 240V are on tap for its lithium-ion battery.
The car accelerates from zero to 100kph in 9sec with a top speed of 160kph. The 16kW battery will power the Volt for the first 40-80km, then the baton will be passed on to the petrol engine-transformed generator which will allow the car to run on electricity for another 500km.
The test drive at Nine Dragon Hill gave us an opportunity to take a closer look at its performance. Smooth run, low noise and reliable brakes were qualities most easily noticeable, and to which most drivers agreed.
During the test, a colleague of ours nearly crashed the car into a saloon coming from the opposite direction because of the unfamiliarity that comes with the shifting from right-hand to left-hand drive in China.

He managed to jam the brakes just in time and the car came to a screeching halt, followed by pin-drop silence when all conversation stopped. Even Albano, explaining to reporters the finer points of the Volts, froze in his tracks. The spell was broken by a colleague who yelled, "Nice brakes," but the GM staff remained sullen and poker-faced.
But brakes are not the centrepiece of this new family of GM cars. More importantly this GM car is less dependent on petroleum and it is more friendly to environment because it gives off little or zero emissions.
"The Volt was the focus of attention of journalists from many countries. They raised their hands asking for a demonstration of the car in their countries," said Susan Docherty, GM vice-president for international operations sales, marketing and aftersales.
"Thailand is on the list," she told reporters from Thailand, where the government, is keen to promote electric vehicles now that many hybrid car manufacturers are showing interest in the country.
However, more jobs, including investment in electricity grids and tax incentives are needed to ensure smooth progress down this road.

In the US, the Volt is being sold at $41,000 (nearly B2m) and tax rebates are being offered to stimulate their sales, according to Docherty.
Facilities for refuelling, electricity in case of the Volt, and hydrogen for the other member of this line of vehicles _ the Equinox _ is also crucial in deciding the fate and future of such cars. Electrification and other relevant facilities must go hand in hand, said George Hansen, GM's director for fuel cell commercialisation.
He and his team plan a commercial launch of the Equinox in the next five years during which they hope to trim down its weight and dimensions by half compared to the current version. Electricity comes from a chemical reaction, between hydrogen and oxygen, with steam the only by-product.
Equinox technology was on show at the Shanghai Expo that ended on Oct 31. GM employed it to shuttle VIPs at the exhibition whose theme was "Better City, Better Life."
GM also showed off the EN-V, coiled like strands of DNA at the same event. Expected to come on stream around 2030, GM sees it as a choice of vehicle for people living in densely-populated cities. This compact two-seater with a maximum speed of 40kph, would first run on "dedicated roads" or on university campuses, or in selected parts of cities to avoid big cars, said Christopher Borroni-Bird, director of GM's Advanced Technology Vehicle Concepts.

With a maximum range of 40km and making good use of sensors to avoid collision, EN-V is designed such that it can driven manually or be programmed to drive on its own.
Responding to worries that sensors and technology were someday going to drive away the human factor and with it the fun of driving, replaced by automatons, Borroni-Brid said:
"It's not enjoyable for people to drive through traffic in city centres. People also have to tend to other things, like answering their mobile phones or eat a meal."
The wireless communication technology in EN-V will allow them to connect with families and friends and have fun at the same time in a vehicle free of emissions, said the GM executive.
Test drive of the EN-V, in both manual and automatic mode, drew a mixed bag of reaction drivers which ranged from "not bad" to "can't wait to drive it again".
GM designs its steering wheel in rectangular shape because it allows for clear display of driving information and entertainment menu. With two buttons on either side, only thumbs are needed to drive the car forward, which is "similar to the console while playing computer games," said one of test drivers.
Reactions from drivers are important to GM. Docherty said she was always eager to know what people thought driving GM electric cars.
"I can say all the nice things about them, but it is up to you guys to get in the car, drive it and prove me wrong," added Hansen.

About the author

Writer: Ranjana Wangvipula

Position: Writer