GM’s Volt has endured a lot of skepticism. It’s often been criticized for being too expensive, not having enough range and for that darn backseat that just cannot accommodate three people. Ever.
Tags: · Bob Lutz, Electric Cars, GM, plug-ins, production of electric cars, Volt
Imagine if our nation was offered a choice of how to spend half a trillion dollars of our wealth over the next two decades.
One option would be to send $350 billion overseas to the Middle East and other oil exporting countries, and the remainder on increasing oil industry revenues.
An alternative option would be to take that half a trillion dollars and invest $300 billion directly into the U.S. auto industry, put $200 billion back into consumers’ pockets, and create half a million new jobs while cutting emissions of dangerous carbon pollution.
Is this choice just a pipe dream? Is it too simplistic a way to look at things?
Hardly.
Tags: · 2025 mileage standards, American jobs, car manufacturers, Detroit, efficient gas engines, energy security, Ford, fuel economy, Fuel Efficiency, GM, green cars, mileage standards, Natural Resources Defense Council, OtherVoicesBlog, Roland Hwang
From Green Right Now Reports
Even though only about 2,000 of GM’s electric Volt have been sold so far, the company sees a charged market ahead for the newly introduced vehicle, if it can ramp up production to meet consumer desire for the Volt.
To that end, the company will be closing the Volt factory next month to retool.
General Motors’ Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant will close for four weeks starting in June for upgrades that will help speed the rate of Volt production, GM reports. The decision to shut down production, so it can be speeded up later, comes in response to “tremendous consumer demand” for the Volt, said spokeswoman Christi Landy.
The re-tooling also will assist the assembly of the 2013 Chevy Malibu.
Tags: · Electric Cars, GM, greenrightnow.com, hybrid cars, Opel Ampera, Volt
Climate action is so far off the agenda in Washington it may as well be floating on an island of melting sea ice. With dozens of lawmakers expressing doubts about whether climate change is real or is some zany idea cooked up by 10,000 scientists, issues like cap-and-trade have been iced. Even environmentalists now speak about amorphous “pollution” instead of those off-putting greenhouse gases.
Thankfully, though, clean energy, electric cars and high-speed rail – the nuts-and-bolts improvements that could help America build muscle in manufacturing and technology sectors, salvage its remaining natural spaces and reduce “pollution” (wink, wink) — remain firmly on the table.
At least that’s where the president has placed them.
In what may have been his most pointedly green national speech, President Barak Obama called out ambitious, explicit green energy goals in last night’s State of the Union Address. Obama wants a transformed America to be:
Tags: · 2011, BarbaraKesslerBlog, Big Oil, clean coal, electric car chargers, Electric Cars, Focus, Ford, Geothermal, geothermal power, GM, green State of the Union address, greenrightnow.com, high-speed rail, LEAF, lithium batteries, Mass Transit, Nissan, Nuclear Power, Obama, oil subisidies, President Barak Obama, railroads, Solar Power, THINK, Volt, Wind Power
Chevy will showcase the Volt's driving range.
A caravan of Chevrolet Volts will embark on a 3,400-mile, cross-country drive to showcase the electric car’s extended-range capability. The cars will make 12 stops beginning in Seattle and reaching New York City before finishing back in Chicago. The tour, dubbed “Volt Unplugged,” will serve as meet-ups with enthusiasts and will give consumers an opportunity to test-drive the Volt, meet the people behind the development of the vehicles – inckuding Chevrolet’s engineers, designers and others – and participate in activities at each stop.
Tags: · Electric Cars, GM, Volt
Chevrolet said it will offer a standard, eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on the new Volt electric vehicle’s lithium-ion battery. The automaker said it will be the industry’s longest, most comprehensive battery warranty for an electric vehicle, and is transferable at no cost to other vehicle owners.
Tags: · battery warranty, Chevrolet, GM, Volt
From Green Right Now Reports
GM announced today that its new lineup of heavy-duty diesel pickups will run on B20 biodiesel, which is a blend of 20-percent biodiesel and 80-percent conventional diesel that produces lower carbon dioxide emissions.
The announcement was made at the National Biodiesel Conference in Grapevine, Texas.
GM said its new Duramax 6.6L turbo diesel engine has been substantially revised to include B20 capability, as well as meet strict new emissions standards effective this year. The Duramax will power the redesigned 2011 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickups, as well as the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans. Chevrolet plans to unveil the 2011 Silverado heavy-duty trucks at the Chicago Auto Show on Feb. 10.
“B20 capability in our new heavy-duty trucks is the latest addition to a growing number of alternate fuel options offered by General Motors,” Mike Robinson, GM’s vice president of Environment, Energy and Safety Policy, said in a statement. “We are seeking different paths to fuel solutions in order to maximize efficiency, reduce emissions and minimize the dependence on petroleum.”
Tags: · 2011 Chevy Silverado, Duramax 6.6L, Energy and Safety Policy Mike Robinson, GM, GM vice president of Environment, National Biodiesel Conference
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
There’s a chart on fueleconomy.gov that’s a graphic illustration of what happened to GM. The chart is a compilation of 2009 hybrid vehicles. It lists 27 hybrid vehicles in descending order from the highest mileage cars to the lowest.
At the top of the chart, perch some of the highest mileage vehicles available on the market, the Toyota Prius, the Honda Civic and the Nissan Altima. The top two clock in at 40 mpg and up. The Altima at 33-35 mpg.
The lowest mileage vehicles reside at the bottom of the chart. And the bottom five are all GM products: The GMC Yukon, Chevy Tahoe, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Silverado and Cadillac Escalade.
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Tahoe, fueleconomy.gov, gas mileage, GM, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon, hybrid vehicles, SUVs, Trucks
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
You’d expect Doug Fox, the cordial co-chair of the North American International Auto Show, which opens to the public on Saturday, to have some good spin on how this event would rise above the stench of economic panic in the Motor City, and the country.
Not only did he have the goods, by the end of the conversation, I was convinced that this is a pivotal, but not hopeless time for the car industry.
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, BYD, Chrysler, Detroit, Doug Fox, GM, Honda, North American International Auto Show, Toyota
The 2009 North American International Auto Show is showcasing a range of new green models.
Photo: 2009 North American Auto Show
The BYD E6 from China,a pure electric vehicle. All the chemical substances in the battery can be recycled.
Tags: · 2009 North American International Auto Show, 2010 Honda Insight, 2010 Prius, BYD E6, Fisker Karma S, GM, Henrik Fisker, Karma Premium, Lincoln, Rick Wagoner, Saturn EcoCAR, Toyota
By Clint Williams
Green Right Now
Heated and cooled leather seats? Of course.
Touch-screen navigation system? Natch.
Killer Bose sound system? Satellite radio? Blind spot alert?
Check, check and check.
The 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid offers all this and another luxury: a clear conscience.
Tags: · Cadillac, Escalade Hybrid, GM, Green Test Drive
The Escalade Hybrid is billed by Cadillac as the world’s first large luxury SUV hybrid.
Tags: · Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, GM
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift