GM, Power Companies Join To Make Plug-In Vehicles Work

GM, Power Companies Join To Make Plug-In Vehicles Work

The automaker wants to be leading the pack when electric cars reach the nation's roads.

By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
July 22, 2008 03:10 PM

General Motors on Tuesday said it plans to collaborate with the Electric Power Research Institute, a non-profit research group funded by the electric utility industry, to help bring plug-in electric automobiles to market.

Raising its bet on electric vehicles -- exemplified by the company's commitment to the Chevrolet Volt and Saturn Vue -- General Motors seeks to participate in the development of the technical standards necessary to ensure grid availability and compatibility when plug-in cars reach the nation's roads.

GM, the EPRI, and the participating utility companies will work together to ensure that charging electric vehicles is safe, market plug-in vehicles to the public, and solicit the support of policy makers.

"Together with EPRI and the utility companies, we can transform automotive transportation as we know it, and get our nation and the world past oil dependence -- and heading toward a future that is electric," said Jon Lauckner, GM VP of global program management, in a statement. "This group is taking significant steps toward making electric vehicles a reality and in helping our customers enjoy the tremendous benefits these vehicles will provide."

While Japanese automakers have ....

http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/roi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209400661&subSection=ROI/TCO

If they had kept it, they'd be ahead of Toyota by now. But that's water under the bridge, I hope GM does extremely well with the Volt.

Would an electrical outlet need to be modified or installed to provide the charge? How much?

"GM May 1990 Issue Update video about the phenomenal Impact (EV1) prototype development program, testing, and future possibilities for electric vehicles.
The Impact prototype and EV1s had the lowest Coefficient of Drag (Cd = 0.19) of any production vehicle.
Imagine if EV1s had been kept around and upgraded to Lithium batteries we would have 300 mile capable EVs on the road today. "
Imagine The Impact (EV1) I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExTQHhnAVS4&feature=related

Imagine The Impact (EV1) II http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_A98NOWmUw&feature=related


"In this excerpt from Stephen Talbot's "Heartbeat of America" (1993), Christopher Snell explains how GM conspired with oil & tire companies to kill streetcars in cities all across America in order to create an inferior bus system that would guarantee the sale of tires, gas, and bus parts for an eternity.
As Snell explains, "They would go in, buy a street railway system. They'd convert it to General Motors Buses. The General Motors busses would run on Firestone tires. And they'd be fueled by, in the east, Phillips, and in the west, Standard Oil California."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFhsrbtQObI

" Killing the Electric Car - USA "
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AU3_2IT8k8&feature=related