News
As the Volt Turns: GM Exec Says Battery Will Recharge While Driving
DETROIT — Remember when we wrote, "For the record: the Volt's gas engine will not recharge its batteries."
Turns out, that wasn't at all true.
The erroneous information provided by Chevrolet yesterday was today contradicted by John Lauckner, GM's VP for Global Program Management, who says that the 1.4-liter gasoline engine does in fact send whatever surplus power it makes to the lithium-ion battery. The gas engine will never come close to recharging the battery to its operational maximum, however.
According to Lauckner, the battery will receive power from the gas engine when load conditions are light (as in, not under acceleration). When the battery comes back up to a certain level of charge (that figure is still the subject of development at GM), the gas engine can cycle off and the Volt can run for an unspecified period on the stored battery power.
This strategy of cycling the gas engine on and off is diametrically opposed to the information from Chevrolet officials who said that once the 40 miles or so of electric-only range was used up, the gas engine would run until the car could be plugged back into the grid for a full recharge.
What this means to you: Caveat Emptor — old advice that has never been more valuable than now in an increasingly complex automotive world. — Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
Turns out, that wasn't at all true.
The erroneous information provided by Chevrolet yesterday was today contradicted by John Lauckner, GM's VP for Global Program Management, who says that the 1.4-liter gasoline engine does in fact send whatever surplus power it makes to the lithium-ion battery. The gas engine will never come close to recharging the battery to its operational maximum, however.
According to Lauckner, the battery will receive power from the gas engine when load conditions are light (as in, not under acceleration). When the battery comes back up to a certain level of charge (that figure is still the subject of development at GM), the gas engine can cycle off and the Volt can run for an unspecified period on the stored battery power.
This strategy of cycling the gas engine on and off is diametrically opposed to the information from Chevrolet officials who said that once the 40 miles or so of electric-only range was used up, the gas engine would run until the car could be plugged back into the grid for a full recharge.
What this means to you: Caveat Emptor — old advice that has never been more valuable than now in an increasingly complex automotive world. — Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
Add A Comment »