Volt Birth Watch 171: Weber Bails
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 30, 2009
Frank Weber, the man in charge of GM’s electric vehicle line, will be leaving GM for a senior leadership at the soon-to-be-sold (or not?) Opel. Weber previously worked on Opel’s development of GM’s global mid-size (Epsilon II) vehicle line, before becoming the head of GM’s electric vehicle development program in March 2007. Weber is the second senior executive in GM’s global electric, hybrid and battery development organization to leave in a month, following Bob Kruse’s departure at the end of September. And as with Kruse’s exit, the sound bites coming out of GM seek to portray the loss as no big deal. “There is a huge difference in the Volt program from when I came here,” Weber tells Bloomberg. “The entire organization has inhaled what we do here.” In reality though, Weber’s defection makes the introduction of the Opel Ampera (as the Volt will be known in Europe) even more difficult than it was already shaping out to be.
Posted in Electric Vehicles | Europe | News Blog | Volt Birth Watch | 12 comments 
EV Meets Early Adopter Meets Reality
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 29, 2009
GM-volt.com’s Lyle Dennis finds out that being one of the first 500 Americans to lease a MINI E has its downsides. Especially at $850/month lease cost. At around 5,000 miles, the troubles begin (OK, continue).
As the car is technically a mule or prototype, it is not production-ready and has had some issues. A month or two ago it began popping loudly into neutral whenever the accelerator was floored. The power electronics control unit was replaced and after that it almost never happened (it happened one more time). So I’m gentle with the accelerator.
The other day I was driving to work and went over an unexpected construction zone pothole. The car was jostled and suddenly it went into neutral. After that it could no longer be put into drive. Despite turning it on and off and moving the shifter in and out of drive neutral and park several times, that was it, dead. A tow truck was called and off it went to the dealership for a MINI “flying doctor” to come and repair it. After a few days I found out it was the power electronics control unit again which was again replaced.
Posted in Electric Vehicles | News Blog | Quality | 14 comments
What’s Wrong With This Picture: Cars Of Future Past Edition
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 27, 2009
Imagine, for a moment, how different this Curbside Classic would be if Honda actually built this little electric neo-600.
Posted in 3WTP | Electric Vehicles | Heritage | News Blog | 23 comments
Fisker Delaware Plant To Be A Union Shop
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 27, 2009
It gives me great pride to give UAW Local 435 workers the opportunity to partner with Fisker Automotive to create a greener America by building a plug-in hybrid car that will compete globally
So goes the line from Gary Casteel, the new Union boss for Fisker’s new Wilmington, Delaware plant at Automotive News [sub]. Why would the luxury EV startup hitch its wagon to the union that helped bring down Detroit? Was it a condition of GM’s sale of the plant where Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky were once built? Or does Fisker think that running a union shop might help bring in federal dross? Or are projected profit margins so strong that Fisker just doesn’t care? One thing’s for certain: though the UAW has agreed to a number of concessions over the past year, there’s a reason that most new US auto plants avoid union representation like the plague. From VW and Kia to Hybrid Kinetic Motors and Tesla, new US factories are being located in Southern states and California largely to escape the profit and productivity-sapping union. Either Fisker knows something that they don’t, or inviting the union into the new shop was a potential error of enormous magnitude.
Posted in Electric Vehicles | News Blog | Union News | 34 comments
What’s Wrong With This Picture: Historical Reva-sionism Edition
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 26, 2009
Thanks to $7m in state grants and incentives, a $26.5m investment by Bannon Automotive and the promise of $52m in federal loans, Syracuse NY will become the American home of the Reva NXR. The AP (via MSNBC) reports Bannon expects production to reach 15k-20k units per year. But is $25k for 100 miles of charge, a 65 mph top speed and a bit more interior room than an Isetta going to fly in the US market? Oh right, government subsidies don’t care.
Posted in 3WTP | Electric Vehicles | News Blog | 13 comments
Fisker Buying Delaware Kappa Plant
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 26, 2009
Fisker’s first car, the Karma, is being assembled by Valmet in Finland, but Fisker is already looking ahead. Following the Tesla model of offering a second sedan at around half the price of the brand’s flagship nameplate, Fisker is negotiating the purchase of the former Solstice/Sky plant where it plans on building a $48k “family-oriented” hybrid. The WSJ report Fisker is eying up to 100,000 units of production, employing 1,500 workers. Fisker is also following the Tesla example for funding; the EV company will spend most of its $528m in DOE ATVM loans developing its new lower-cost model (the Karma will retail for around $90k) and retooling the Delaware plant. Though companies like Fisker and Tesla surely appreciate these loans, one can’t help but wonder if they encourage an unhealthy level of optimism in a company that has yet to bring a vehicle to market, let alone record a sale. Though it’s understandable that fledgling EV companies would begin with a luxury model and work towards mainstream offerings, shouldn’t there be some indication of the flagship’s success (especially if it involves a more-complicated range-extending ICE) before going full-speed ahead for a 50 percent cheaper model?
Posted in Electric Vehicles | Industry | News Blog | 17 comments
Deal Of The Day: $42k Off A Tesla Roadster?
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 23, 2009
That’s right. Buy a $110,000 Tesla Roadster, and according to the Denver Post, the state of Colorado will give you $42,000 in tax breaks. That’s 85 percent of the premium over a Lotus Elise. Colorado’s alt-fuel and zero-emissions tax credit system gives between 50 percent and 85 percent of the premium over a comparable gas-burning car, but as a zero-emissions vehicle only the Tesla can claim the full 85 percent discount. “Most of them are (Toyota) Priuses and hybrid vehicles,” say CO revenue department spokesfolks. Still, the colossal incentive on the two-seat Roadster was enough for the state legislature to limit discounts to no more than $6,000. But that limit doesn’t go into effect until January. Between now and then though, there’s practically no reason to buy an Elise in Colorado… unless you want to be able to fill up at a gas station. [Hat Tip: Freedmike]
Posted in Electric Vehicles | Incentives | News Blog | 9 comments
Quote Of The Day: Extension Cords Bad, Home Inspections Good Edition
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 21, 2009
Aldo: Hi Mr. Posawatz. I will be buying a Volt and wanted to know if an extension cord could be used to increase the reach for recharging, or if we are going to be limited to the length of the cord that comes with the car. Thanks!
[Chevy Volt Vehicle Line Director] Tony Posawatz: The EVSE or charge cord will be about 25 feet and designed to all relevant codes. We do not recommend extension cords but rather that when you have your home inspection, you reposition your outlet/charging station approproiately [sic].
From a recent Fastlane livechat on the Chevrolet Volt, ironically titled “Making Electric Vehicles Attractive to Consumers.” Which would you prefer?
Posted in Electric Vehicles | Marketing | News Blog | Quote of the Day | 30 comments
EV Success: It’s The Price Point, Stupid
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 21, 2009
Actually, that’s not the equivocal message we might have expected from a University of Michigan study on electric vehicle (EV) viability [via Green Car Congress]. Instead, the money quote reads:
The data provide strong evidence that a combination of economic and social incentives may be most effective in successfully introducing these vehicles.
The study’s baseline shows that, given no increase in fuel costs, 42 percent of those surveyed would consider buying an EV. But with every doubling of a hypothetical price premium, the probability of purchase fell by about 16 percent. At a $10k premium, only 14 percent said they would consider purchasing an EV. Which is enough to conclude that the “social incentives” of EV ownership are enough to create a certain level of demand for even uncompetitively-priced vehicles. And that seems to indicate that breathless green marketing is here to stay. In fact, if the image after the jump is anything to go on, this eco-toehold in the minds of some consumers will likely be exploited with ever-more breathtaking shamelessness.
Posted in Electric Vehicles | Green | Marketing | News Blog | 12 comments
It’s Official: Three-Wheelers Are Cars Too. For Subsidy Purposes.
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 19, 2009
Congress has passed legislation qualifying three-wheeled vehicles for federal subsidies by classifying them as advanced technology vehicles. According to Automotive News [sub], the legislation has passed the House and Senate and should be signed by President Obama by week’s end. The classification is crucial for firms like Aptera to secure the federal Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program funds that have been critical for firms like Tesla, GM and Ford. Aptera has asked for $75m, but efforts to include the three-wheelers like Aptera’s 2e have been criticized by GM, which is waiting on $10b in Department of ATVM funding. So, on the one-hand you have self-interested, tax money-bloated firms like GM who want the money for themselves, and cottage industry EV freaks who call their three-wheeled designs “innovative.” But not only are three wheeled designs far from unique (they tend to show up in every major recession), they also aren’t cars. If the Feds are going to give money to to the makers of three-wheelers, which have to be licensed as motorcycles, they should have to allow electric motorcycle firms like Brammo and Zero to apply as well. After all, a $10k motorcycle isn’t any less ridiculous than a $45k Volt or a $40k Aptera.
Posted in Electric Vehicles | Government | Green | News Blog | 27 comments
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