You have your solutions, and then there are elegant solutions. The “solution” is an electric car itself, such as a Chevy Volt, Spark EV, Nissan Leaf, etc., but the “elegant solution” could be maximizing the value and fleshing out a complete cradle-to-grave and beyond paradigm for post consumer batteries. As a case in point, Nissan
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This week General Motors CEO Dan Akerson said when it’s launched, the revised new Chevrolet Volt will cost less and shed weight. “This next generation, we think we can decrease the price on the order of $7,000 to $10,000,” said Akerson speaking at Fortune’s Brainstorm Green conference in Laguna Niguel, Calif. Previous statements by people
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In the month by month sales performance chronicle of the two electrified cars both launched December 2010, April’s results saw Nissan selling 1,937 Leafs and Chevrolet delivered 1,306 Volts. The cars are only similar; the Leaf is all-electric and the Volt is “extended-range electric,” but we’re keeping the informal progress report going, even though GM
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Citing an anonymous source, on Friday it was reported that GM is considering a proposal to shrink its present range-extending generator in the Chevy Volt and Cadillac ELR to a 1.0-liter or 1.2-liter three cylinder. Specifications for the engine were not given and the story by Edmunds was neither confirmed nor denied by a GM
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I’m not a writer by profession, but was asked to give my story as one who has transitioned my home, business, and the cars my wife Donna and I drive into the most environmentally sound choices possible (also see video below). Actually, I was trained as a mechanical engineer and retired from the Navy after
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My first look at the oil sands was in 1978 when I was still in high school. I was lucky enough to be part of a tour of the then-experimental and heavily subsidized Syncrude operation near Fort McMurry Alberta. Like most Canadians I have been cheering for years for the oil sands to be successful.
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A U.S. Energy Department inspection of LG Chem’s still-under-construction battery plant in Holland, Mich. found trained, but idled workers were paid to play cards, board and video games – and LG Chem billed Uncle Sam $842,000 for tens of thousands of man hours for this. Citing vagaries in the rules, and ultimately blaming the non
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Who says eco cars are mainly about tame pursuits such as maximizing range and efficiency and being so sensible as to receive a gold star from someone like Ralph Nadar? As competitive and fun-loving people are wont to do, owners of electrified cars are also turning up at local drag strips to see what their
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Marketing is often viewed as a necessary evil of doing business; a very real expense with results that can be difficult to quantify. On the other hand, marketing allows for some creative experimentation in order to get the word out about a product or service. General Motors’ Chevrolet division has flexed its creative marketing muscle
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Automakers trying to make already relatively fuel-efficient vehicles even more frugal through electrification have their priorities essentially backwards, says Bob Lutz. The former General Motors vice chairman who pushed the compact extended-range Chevrolet Volt and Ampera sister to market and who now is on the board of VIA Motors says if he was to do
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