Tag: concept cars

Gm Electric Car ‘Not Just Pr Stunt’

  • A view of the Chevy Volt, which could be in showrooms in the next few years. (Photo courtesy of GM)

General Motors killed their last electric car
in the 1990s. Now the automaker is working on a new
car that could go 40 miles on electricity alone. The
car could be in showrooms in two to three years.
Dustin Dwyer visited the shop where
the new Chevy Volt is being designed:

Transcript

General Motors killed their last electric car
in the 1990s. Now the automaker is working on a new
car that could go 40 miles on electricity alone. The
car could be in showrooms in two to three years.
Dustin Dwyer visited the shop where
the new Chevy Volt is being designed:


Inside the design studio, a milling machine grinds away at a clay model of the Volt.
GM first introduced a concept version of the car last year. Now, designers and engineers
are working on a production version.


The Volt would basically be a hybrid. But it’s different than hybrids on the road today,
because the gas engine would just be a backup. Much of the time, the electric motor
would power the car on its own.


People at GM hope the Volt can improve GM’s image on the environment.
Bob Boniface of GM says the Volt is the real deal:


“This is not just a PR stunt… this is a real program, it’s got real engineers, real designers and obviously a real
building dedicated just to this car.”


Boniface says development of the Volt has been more public than most projects, and that
puts the pressure on for the company to get it right.


For the Environment Report, I’m Dustin Dwyer.

Related Links

Automakers Unveil Green Concept Cars

Ford and General Motors each plan to unveil new
environmentally friendly concept cars at this year’s North American
International Auto Show in Detroit. The cars are the outgrowth of an
initiative between the federal government and the big three auto
companies to develop a car that could fit a family of five but get 80 miles
to the gallon. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Edelson Halpert has more:

Transcript

Ford and General Motors each plan to unveil new environmentally friendly concept cars at this

year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The cars are the outgrowth of an

initiative between the federal government and the big three car companies to develop a car that

could fit a family of five but get eighty miles to the gallon. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s

Julie Edelson Halpert has more:


A mid-sized vehicle that triples the fuel economy of today’s cars. That was once only a pipe dream

for domestic auto makers. But after six years of research, they’ve done it. Using a combination

diesel and electric engine, Ford and General Motors have developed cars that get gas mileage up to

eighty miles per gallon. Jeff Coleman is a spokesman for General Motors. He says GM’s car, the

Precept, makes great environmental strides. but one big obstacle remains: cost.


“Many of the technologies that are on the GM Precept are not in high volumes today, and so you’d

expect the vehicle to be quite expensive. And the job over the next few years is to learn more

about these technologies, put these into use in real vehicles that are on the road today.”


Coleman says that as the technologies become more widespread, costs will come down. The auto

companies hope to develop an affordable high mileage car by 2003.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Julie Edelson Halpert.