general motors Archives – The Green Optimistic

GM and Opel Will Part Ways From Now On

Ece Polat — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 20:58:37 +0000

General Motors broke its ties with its European Operations; however, Opel’s CEO will stay in its job, and he is hopeful for the future of the company. Opel’s CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann stated that Opel will continue to design its own cars. Since 2013, Neumann kept his position in Opel and will keep it for the […]

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General Motors to Use Wind Power for Reaching Renewable Energy Goals

Benji Jerew — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 20:10:28 +0000

We’ve been following General Motors’ renewable energy plans for a long time, and this is the first time that we’ve heard of the global company turning to wind power. In addition to recycling and energy-efficiency programs, General Motors has set for itself the goal of 125 MW (megawatts) renewable energy capacity by 2020. For the […]

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New Software Could Improve Conventional Vehicle Fuel Economy by 15%

Benji Jerew — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 16:41:28 +0000

Mechanically-speaking, the internal combustion has changed little in the last century, refinements enabling more power and better fuel economy, but there are limits. The first electronic controls on internal combustion engines appeared some forty years ago, tuning for more refined spark delivery, better power output, better fuel economy, and fewer emissions. Fast-forward forty years, and […]

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Chevy Volt-based Crossover, Chevy Crossvolt, Coming to NAIAS 2015?

Benji Jerew — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 15:25:28 +0000

A few years ago, General Motors filed to protect the name “Chevy Crossvolt,” designated for a crossover sport utility vehicle based on the Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle (EREV). In 2010, General Motors unveiled a crossover EREV concept, the Chevy Volt MPV5. Later, in 2011, the company filed to protect the name “Crossvolt,” which seemed […]

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Long-Range Affordable Electric Vehicles Coming Soon

Benji Jerew — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 23:27:58 +0000

Electric vehicles, if you ask the layperson (• – see note), suffer from a couple of major faults, most outstandingly affordability and range. If we recall, back in 2012, President Barack Obama set the ambitious goal of putting one million electric vehicles on American roads by 2015. In spite of there being about twenty electric […]

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General Motors Expanding Solar Power

Benji Jerew — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 00:59:28 +0000

Cutting into the bottom line and cutting into the carbon footprint, that’s the aim behind General Motors’ continuing solar power expansion at its facilities worldwide. Solar power does have some disadvantages, such as daily and weather intermittency, as well as seasonal variations, but they can still significantly reduce the amount of energy taken from the […]

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Chevy Volt Owners Rack Up Half a Billion Pure Electric Miles

Benji Jerew — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 15:27:23 +0000

The Chevy Volt could be one of the best stepping-stone models between hybrid and electric vehicles (EV), and the miles prove it. While hybrid electric vehicles offer the best fuel economy in a non-plug-in vehicle, they do have the limitation that they cannot run in pure electric mode for more than a couple miles. To […]

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General Motors’ New Chevy Spark EV Battery to be Built In-House

Benji Jerew — Sat, 17 May 2014 00:19:54 +0000

The 2014 Chevy Spark EV is powered by a 20 kWh lithium-ion battery, which General Motors has been outsourcing until now. The Chevy Spark EV was only the beginning of General Motors’ foray into modern electric vehicles, and a good start at that, even beating its conventional sister in Consumer Reports’ estimation. The lithium-ion battery […]

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General Motors Meets the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry

Benji Jerew — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 15:52:50 +0000

The ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry, run by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is an encouragement for corporations to improve efficiency and reduce their impact on the environment. Part of the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry is to reduce energy intensity by 10% over five years, with multiple benefits to environment and industry. Of course, […]

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Chevy Volt V2.0 Gets a Hefty Funding Boost from General Motors

Benji Jerew — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 17:44:56 +0000

The Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) is one of those great stepping-stone vehicles between conventional and electric. Soon, it will be even more capable. Currently, the Chevy Volt has a measly 37-mile electric vehicle (EV) range, but that doesn’t give drivers range-jitters, because of the small gasoline-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) generator. In driving, […]

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Tesla Motors Pushing for Side-View Mirror Elimination

Benji Jerew — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 20:34:29 +0000

Aerodynamics play a big role in fuel economy and, in electric vehicles like those built by Tesla Motors, range, which is why side-view mirrors are such a drag, literally. By law, every vehicle in the US needs to have these side-view mirrors, but at every car show, we see a concept car without side mirrors, […]

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GM First Car Manufacturer to Speak Out Against Tesla Motors’ Direct Sales Model

Benji Jerew — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:50:00 +0000

The only automaker to stand up to the automobile dealer associations (ADA), the Tesla Motors direct-sales strategy has been welcomed in some states, but obstructed in others. For the most part, the most vocal participants in this struggle have been the ADAs, in whose pocket sit the politicians, and Tesla Motors, the only automaker selling cars directly […]

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Chevy Volt Cost-to-Own is Far Better than Conventional Vehicles

Benji Jerew — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 16:43:19 +0000

The Chevy Volt is a fairly expensive acquisition, but after a year of driving one, how do the numbers add up? According to former General Motors executive Jeffrey B. Cohen, really good. It should come as no surprise that the Chevy Volt is, like most high-tech hybrid and pure electric vehicles (EV), more expensive. True, […]

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Might General Motors Buy Tesla Motors Next Year?

Benji Jerew — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 19:42:28 +0000

One of the most valuable automobile manufacturers in the world, Tesla Motors is valued at around $20 billion, which begs the question, does anyone have the cash to buy such a successful company? Entrepreneur Elon Musk doesn’t hold on to every company he’s created, such as Zip2 and PayPal. Those companies were sold for millions, […]

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Envia Systems Advanced Lithium-Ion Battery Company Faces Legal Problems

Benji Jerew — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 22:06:04 +0000

Of course, A123 Systems was not the only lithium-ion battery company to arise just as plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles were coming onto the market. A123 Systems, an advanced lithium-ion battery manufacturer, and Fisker Automotive, maker of a high-end extended-range electric vehicle, might only be the most famous because of their failures. On the […]

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General Motors Invests in Renewable Energy to Save Money and Reduce Emissions

Benji Jerew — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 17:26:32 +0000

General Motors has been at the forefront of reducing its impact on the environment, from recycling programs to renewable energy investment. Manufacturing, such as that done by plants owned by General Motors, is one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as solid waste that ends up in landfills. General Motors has […]

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Renewable Energy Will Power General Motors’ Detroit-Hamtramck Plant

Benji Jerew — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 20:04:38 +0000

General Motors has been at the forefront of companies making the switch to renewable energy, waste reduction, and recycling programs. For example, around the world, 107 General Motors plants, around the world, are landfill-free, meaning that 100% of the waste is reused on site or recycled. This kind of materials-efficiency is something that not only […]

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Should GM Collaborate With Tesla to Prevent Future Battery-Related Fires in EVs?

Benji Jerew — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 16:20:12 +0000

We’ve already tried to put the recent Tesla Model S fires into perspective, but is there something that another electric vehicle maker can add to the discussion? Tesla Model S really is in a league of its own, but recent lithium-ion battery fires have begun to hurt the company’s reputation. Looking at it one way, […]

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General Motors Super Cruise to Offer Semi-Autonomous Driving by 2018

Benji Jerew — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 19:39:26 +0000

Autonomous driving is no longer the stuff of fiction and, bit by bit, we’re getting closer to seeing fully-autonomous vehicles on tomorrow’s highways. Various automakers, universities, and even technology companies are working on vehicles with autonomous driving modes. Nissan, for example, is currently testing a Nissan Leaf with a new Advanced Driver Assistance System [ADSS]. […]

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General Motors China Unveils Electric Vehicles in Four Flavors

Benji Jerew — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 15:04:46 +0000

China is the world’s fastest growing economy, which means that it has also become the world’s largest consumer of new automobiles. General Motors has its foot in the door already, with three flavors of electric vehicles. “General Motors [GM] is a leader in the introduction of vehicles powered by electricity in China,” said Matt Crossley, […]

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General Motors’ Next Electric Vehicle, Just a Copy?

Benji Jerew — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 21:54:50 +0000

In the automobile market, there are few paths to success. General Motors has been rising in the ranks in the last few years, and there are even rumors that they'll produce another electric vehicle.

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General Motors Says A Cadillac Electric Vehicle Could Compete with Tesla Model S

Benji Jerew — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 19:48:20 +0000

Tesla Motors is the target that automakers are reaching for, judging from this recent announcement, concerning a possible Cadillac electric vehicle, from General Motors CEO Dan Akerson: “If you want to compete head-to-head with Tesla, and we ultimately will, you want to do it with a Cadillac electric vehicle,” says General Motors CEO Dan Akerson. […]

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Vehicle Emissions Numbers Misrepresented in India, General Motors Sacks Those Responsible

Benji Jerew — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 15:00:00 +0000

General Motors is setting the bar high for employee accountability. “Your Mileage May Vary” is not enough when someone purposely misrepresents vehicle emissions data. What most of us perceive as fuel savings when we look at fuel efficiency, fuel-vs-distance [mpg, ℓ/100km, etc], is really just another way of determining vehicle emissions. After all, the less […]

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Toyota Prius v Competition – General Motors Working on Small Hybrid MPV

Benji Jerew — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 12:52:24 +0000

Hybrid MPVs are a particularly rare breed and, at least in the US, but you may be familiar with the two most well-known models, the Toyota Prius v and the Ford C-Max. If Toyota Prius v is king of the hill, then Ford C-Max would probably be considered the main challenger in the small hybrid […]

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Tesla Motors – GM’s Newest Threat, According to Dan Akerson

Benji Jerew — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:21:31 +0000

Tesla Motors has been success after success, and this young company has started to attract the attention of long-established automakers, like General Motors, who have been around for over one hundred years. Despite this long history in the United States, General Motors hasn’t maintained any kind of lead in sales or innovation, especially since the […]

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Why the Sudden Interest in Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles?

Benji Jerew — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 13:25:53 +0000

Well, hydrogen fuel cells have been around for a long time, and vehicles powered by them have been in the works for decades. Is “Now” the right time? Even in his 2003 State of the Union Presidential Address, US President George Bush called for $1.2 billion in funding to develop hydrogen fuel cell technology. The […]

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Electric Vehicle Pricing Wars: Chevy Volt Joins the Fray

Benji Jerew — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:39:30 +0000

Chevy Volt may have been ahead of the game when it started, but as more plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles have hit the market, sales haven’t been increasing as fast as General Motors would like. With so many electric vehicles on the market today, competition is stiff, and the sales numbers so far this year […]

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Chevy Cruze Turbo Diesel Fuel Economy Rated at 46MPG

Benji Jerew — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:48:36 +0000

Perhaps you may know the Chevy Volt for being a remarkably fuel-conscious vehicle. Engineers at General Motors have produced a remarkable diesel-powered vehicle with some impressive fuel economy ratings. If you’re interested in reducing your vehicle emissions, you’ve got a lot of choices. With the introduction of hybrid electric and electric vehicle technology, you might […]

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Chevy Volt Batteries to be Manufactured by LG Chem in July, Finally

Benji Jerew — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:58:13 +0000

Sales of the Chevy Volt extended range electric vehicle [EREV] has been slow, but steady, meaning that support companies like battery suppliers aren’t as productive as they could be. True, the market for electric vehicles as a whole hasn’t been enough to justify handshakes and champagne. Much to the contrary, aside from dashing success Tesla […]

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Cadillac ELR Extended Range Electric Vehicle, No Stepping Stone to Electric

Benji Jerew — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:14:11 +0000

The Cadillac ELR is an extended range electric vehicle [EREV] with some very cool features, but doesn’t seem to be a stepping stone to a pure electric vehicle for the near future. The Cadillac ELR is based roughly on the same technology as the Chevy Volt, including a battery pack, electric motors, and a gasoline-powered […]

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General Motors’ Opel Diesel Hybrid Coming Soon to Europe

Benji Jerew — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 02:53:43 +0000

It may come as a surprise that Opel’s current engine lineup is already ready to meet European automobile emissions standards for 2015, but for 2020? Unless they go diesel hybrid, not so much. According to the European Commission, by 2015, automobile manufacturers have to produce vehicles with average carbon dioxide emissions or 130g/km, which is […]

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General Motors Long Term View of Vehicle Electrification

Benji Jerew — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:52:40 +0000

Here are some highlights of this great interview covering General Motors’ long term view of vehicle electrification. General Motors chief technology officer John Lauckner and global electrification director Larry Nitz were both on hand this year at the Detroit Auto Show, and were able to give some insights into the future of vehicle electrification technology. […]

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GM VP Sparks Speculation: Next Chevy Volt With Smaller Battery?

Benji Jerew — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:07:52 +0000

Everyone likes to have options, so could the next Chevy Volt have different battery options to change the price? Of course, the Chevy Volt is only available in one configuration, but wouldn’t be nice to be able to get it customized? The only reason we bring this up is because of a recent AutoExpress interview […]

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General Motors Developing a High Range Electric Vehicle for 2014

Benji Jerew — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 20:37:30 +0000

Automobile technology is continually evolving, and one rumor we’d like to see come true is General Motors high range electric vehicle that’s actually affordable. It’s no secret that the typical electric vehicle is rather pathetic when it comes to range. Of course, you could always install bigger batteries, but this pushes the price out of […]

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Bob Lutz on E-REV Technology – “I Should Have Started Bigger”

Benji Jerew — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:14:15 +0000

I’m not sure how to take this, really, but Bob Lutz isn’t too impressed with the vehicles he pushed into production a couple years ago, namely the Chevy Volt with extended-range electric vehicle [E-REV] technology. “If I had my time again at GM then I would have started with the Cadillac Escalade for the range-extender […]

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Startup Elio Motors to Buy GM Plant for Building 60 mpg Car

Leigh Hutchens — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 21:13:59 +0000

Elio Motors in Shreveport, Louisiana wants to by a former General Motors plant in order to manufacture and sell their low-cost, high MPH car. One green automaker, Bright Automotive, has already gone under in Shreveport while waiting for Federal funding. Bright Automotive had hoped to build a green, high MPG van, but could not hold […]

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General Motors Opens New R&D Facility in China

Benji Jerew — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:44:00 +0000

Advanced technology may be made up of new materials and processes, but the one thing that drives any advance in any field is talent. If a company wants to design the next new widget, better than all the rest, it can bring new talent to the company, or the company can go to the talent. […]

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General Motors Boost EV Sales With New Smartphone Apps

Mila Luleva — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 15:56:55 +0000

General Motors decided to increase their range and sales of Electric vehicles by introducing new Smartphone Apps that will bring down the cost of charging. The company has set a target to sell 500,000 EVs annually by 2017. They are convinced that this will be achieved by including smartphones apps in the equation. Two of […]

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Chevy Spark EV – Just the Beginning, says General Motors

Benji Jerew — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 20:26:56 +0000

General Motors [GM] has a number of electrification projects currently in production, including the light hybrid eAssist system, such as found on the Chevy Malibu Eco, full hybrid system, such as the Chevy Silverado Hybrid pick-up truck, and extended range electric vehicle [EV] technology, such as found in the Chevy Volt. So far this year, […]

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How General Motors Plans for an Electrified Future

Benji Jerew — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:18:58 +0000

While pure electric vehicles [EV] are having somewhat of a difficult time hitting their market stride, electrified vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles [HEV] and plug-in HEVs [PHEV], are having no such problems. They aren’t excessively priced, and they offer fuel economy ratings up to 100 mpg-e, which is very attractive to the fuel-conscious consumer. General Motors […]

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Magnesium Sheet Metal Could Be Key to Better Fuel Economy

Benji Jerew — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:45:50 +0000

Modern auto manufacturers have a number of objectives they need to achieve in order to build and market a successful vehicle. At times, some of these objectives seem to be at odds with each other. Engine Power and Occupant Space are always at odds with Fuel Economy. Fuel Economy is always at odds with Occupant […]

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Chevy Volt Sales Numbers Disprove Naysayers

Benji Jerew — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 05:25:21 +0000

Paying attention to supposed ‘news outlets,’ one might come to the conclusion that General Motors [GM] is losing out big-time on a nationwide publicity stunt, and GM is using ultra-low leasing prices to lure consumers into buying the new, domestically manufactured, extended-range electric vehicle. According to James McQuaid, a GM-Volt.com user, the reality is that, […]

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GM to Use Envia’s Breakthrough EV Batteries for 100+ Miles EV Range

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:23:58 +0000

Envia Systems is GM’s newest “protegee” in what their interest in EV battery in concerned. Envia has recently announced a breakthrough in a battery that’s as cheap as the ones used nowadays in the Volt and also has a high energy density. Dan Akerson, GM CEO, said “I think we’ve got better than a 50-50 chance […]

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GM Exposes Chevy Malibu Eco's Mild Hybrid Mechanism

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:24:36 +0000

I guess everybody knows by now what a hybrid car is, what it does and how. What most people don’t know, though, is that you can do many tricks with an electric motor and a battery, and it doesn’t have to get even nearly that expensive if you want your car to become a hybrid. […]

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BMW, Ford, GM to Test Thermoelectric Devices on Real Cars This Summer

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:26:52 +0000

Thermoelectric materials are used to convert heat into electricity. These devices have applicability in all kinds of industries and machinery, ranging from cars to coal-fired power plants. The world's greatest automobile manufacturers, BMW, Ford and GM have committed themselves to equip test cars with prototype thermoelectric devices by the end of this summer and see how they'll behave.

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Revenge of the Electric Car: The Most Expected EV Movie Trailer Needs 10,000 Facebook Votes

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 08:42:47 +0000

You remember the movie "Who Killed The Electric Car?," right? We wrote an article about it almost two years ago. Well, if you didn't watch the movie or don't know the idea behind it, at least let me tell you it has a sequel that it's going to debut this spring.

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GM Tours The Volt Throughout The US for Showcasing Purposes

Mike Sandru — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:33:33 +0000

The new Volt electric car will amaze US in the "Unplugged Tour of America", giving everyone a chance to take it for a test drive. With little time left before its roll off an assembly line in Michigan, the ÃƒÂ¢€Ã…â€œprotagonistÃƒÂ¢€ has already been tagged with the price of $41,000.

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Hawaii's Amazing Hydrogen Fuel Project Implemented by 2015

Mike Sandru — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:50:44 +0000

The Hawaiian island of Oahu is about to make a huge progress in the alternative energy field compared to the rest of the country, regarding the creation of a new era for energy infrastructure and environmentally-friendly transportation.

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For Green Geeks: GM Cooperating With Google to Install Android on Volt

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 13 May 2010 19:05:56 +0000

GM is currently in talks with Google for a joint venture to develop an integrated car system based on the Android OS, of which you may have heard lately. They also say Android is going to be animating Chevy Volt's interface.

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GM to Research Shape Memory Alloy for Heat Recovery Systems

Cristi — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:19:54 +0000

GM's R&D has to build a prototype of a thermo-mechanical waste heat recovery system using a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) heat engine to generate electricity from the heat in exhaust. Noticeable is the fact that GM was between the 37 other candidates that received the ARPA-E award.

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HCCI Engine: No-Spark Gasoline Engine as Efficient as Diesel

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:43:59 +0000

If you ever had a diesel car, you know that it's more fuel efficient than the gasoline counterpart. That's because diesel engines use compression to ignite the fuel, and gasoline engines use a spark to do that. Practically, diesel engines could work without any electricity - at all.

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Ford & GM to Share the Same Hybrid Powertrain Platform

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:44:53 +0000

A story in Detroit News says that Ford and GM will unite forces to share the E-Flex powertrain technology that powers their Volt.

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The New York Taxi Fleet to Increase with 300 Hybrids per Month

Mike Sandru — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:02:53 +0000

New York authorities hurry to increase the city fleet taxis with a rate of 300 new hybrid cars per month, announced mayor Michael Bloomberg. Currently, there are already over 1,300 hybrid taxis in the city, each making a saving of $ 6,500 per year. Bloomberg intends to complete 127 of green initiatives to the end […]

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GM Hy-Wire Fuel Cell Vehicle Tested by Top Gear

Ovidiu Sandru — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:18:43 +0000

...and here's the HyWire technology, the one the world has been talking about in the last few months. It's a concept made by General Motors, there is only one example of it made, and it runs on fuel cell power. I mean... hydrogen power.

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General Motors to Open Hydrogen Fueling Station Near LAX

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:00:17 +0000

Despite all the accusations that blame them not caring for, it seems like General Motors is getting more and more involved in the making of a fueling infrastructure for their fuel cell cars. GM has already invested heavily in two different ethanol companies (Coskata and Mascoma). Now they have partnered with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to open a hydrogen fueling station near the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The stationshould be operational by 2008 fall.

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