What is it?
General Motors Precept
What's special about it?
The Precept is a high-efficiency, five-passenger vehicle built by General Motors. In fact, GM displayed two Precepts at the NAIAS. The first Precept is a fully functional hybrid electric vehicle designed to achieve 80 mpg. Both axles of this vehicle are driven. The front axle features a 35kW three-phrase electric motor. The rear axle is driven by a lean-burn, compression-ignition, direct-injection (CIDI) heat engine. A computer-controlled manual transmission and a multi-purpose unit (MPU) are also located in the rear of the vehicle. The MPU performs many tasks, such as starting the CIDI engine, providing additional power and charging the battery. The second Precept features fuel-cell technology. Over 100 mpg is hoped for with this vehicle. The hydride hydrogen storage system could also power the Precept for up to 500 miles before refueling. Fuel cells use continuous electrochemical reactions to convert chemicals into direct electrical current. They are also ideal energy conversion devices because they have no moving parts and their byproducts -- heat and water vapor -- pose no harm to the environment. Besides the fuel cell and hybrid technologies, the Precept vehicle also showcases many other advances in efficiency. Lightweight materials (like aluminum and carbon fiber) are used extensively for the body and chassis. The Precept's drag coefficient is a super-low 0.163.
Why should I care?
Automotive manufacturers are looking towards hybrid-electric and fuel-cell technologies to power the vehicles of the future. In some cases (like Honda's Insight), these technologies are available today. With its battery-powered EV1, GM has shown that it's willing to explore new methods of propulsion and then offer it to the mass public. A future production version of the Precept is a good possibility.
General Motors Precept
What's special about it?
The Precept is a high-efficiency, five-passenger vehicle built by General Motors. In fact, GM displayed two Precepts at the NAIAS. The first Precept is a fully functional hybrid electric vehicle designed to achieve 80 mpg. Both axles of this vehicle are driven. The front axle features a 35kW three-phrase electric motor. The rear axle is driven by a lean-burn, compression-ignition, direct-injection (CIDI) heat engine. A computer-controlled manual transmission and a multi-purpose unit (MPU) are also located in the rear of the vehicle. The MPU performs many tasks, such as starting the CIDI engine, providing additional power and charging the battery. The second Precept features fuel-cell technology. Over 100 mpg is hoped for with this vehicle. The hydride hydrogen storage system could also power the Precept for up to 500 miles before refueling. Fuel cells use continuous electrochemical reactions to convert chemicals into direct electrical current. They are also ideal energy conversion devices because they have no moving parts and their byproducts -- heat and water vapor -- pose no harm to the environment. Besides the fuel cell and hybrid technologies, the Precept vehicle also showcases many other advances in efficiency. Lightweight materials (like aluminum and carbon fiber) are used extensively for the body and chassis. The Precept's drag coefficient is a super-low 0.163.
Why should I care?
Automotive manufacturers are looking towards hybrid-electric and fuel-cell technologies to power the vehicles of the future. In some cases (like Honda's Insight), these technologies are available today. With its battery-powered EV1, GM has shown that it's willing to explore new methods of propulsion and then offer it to the mass public. A future production version of the Precept is a good possibility.
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