Chevrolet Spark EV

[graham]

This does not sound good:

GM Suspends Volt Engine Plant Construction Earth2Tech

General Motors has put the brakes on construction of a $349 million plant slated to produce engines for the extended-range electric Chevy Volt and compact Chevy Cruze in Flint, Mich. by 2010. According to the Flint Journal, preliminary surveying, property security, and underground work on the site has already been done since GM unveiled plans for the plant less than three months ago.

“It’s temporarily on hold as we assess our cash situation,” GM spokesperson Sharon Basel told the Detroit Free Press today. “I don’t think it’s a surprise that we’re studying and reviewing everything given the position we’re in.” Nor would it be a surprise if GM is using the Flint plant for leverage in its emergency loan negotiations with the White House, as suggested on the GM-Volt blog today:

 

[Norbert]

GM's First New Battery Electric Car: 2013 Chevrolet Spark EV To Launch In U.S.

GM [NYSE:GM] had hoped to announce its latest green vehicle tomorrow morning, at a nice, orderly, staged press event to celebrate Chevrolet's 100th birthday.
But one of its hometown papers jumped the gun and broke the news: The largest domestic car company will launch a small battery electric vehicle in the U.S. market.

Second, the battery Spark will be largely focused on California, and perhaps other states that have adopted its emission standards.

Third, volume will be low, perhaps 2,000 cars a year. This may be just enough for GM to comply with California's unique Zero-Emissions Vehicle mandate.

 

[stopcrazypp]

GM's First New Battery Electric Car: 2013 Chevrolet Spark EV To Launch In U.S. This may be just enough for GM to comply with California's unique Zero-Emissions Vehicle mandate.

Bleh, another ZEV mandate deal. Hopefully it's actually for sale instead of lease.

 

[TEG]

Funny - we speculated before it might be unveiled for Europe at IAA Frankfurt.

 

[vfx]

http://gigaom.com/cleantech/gm-to-launch-all-electric-city-car/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=earth2tech

As lame as this announcement is, there is this:

Tackling an all-electric car is an important step for GM, which until now has focused on its extended range EV, the Volt. GM’s Volt ads, in fact, have concentrated on the freedom and hundreds of miles of range available to Volt owners, compared to the potential “range anxiety” all-electric car owners might feel.

So if they are too scared to put more than their toes in, once the feel the juice, will they run away (Monkeys style) or will they get up the nerve to jump in?

 

[AnOutsider]

No mention of range. If it stays on track, it'll be launching alongside the Model S, though I doubt it'll steal any thunder. One of GM's hands is saying "hey, don't get stranded with a pure electric, try this!" the other "We've got a pure electric here! woo!"

 

[TEG]

But will they let you use the gas station restroom if you drive up in a Spark? :tongue:

 

[TEG]

GM to Produce Chevrolet Spark EV All-Electric Car | Electric Cars Report

...A123 Systems will supply the advanced nanophosphate lithium-ion battery packs that will power the Spark EV.
Details on specific markets, range, quantities and pricing will be announced later.

 

[TEG]

Looks like it intends to (perhaps) be the first vehicle on the market with the new SAE Combo plug:

For J1772 AC charging, & high speed DC...

 

[doug]

GM Announces Spark EV | The Truth About Cars

The only question now is this: how does GM overcome its own “range anxiety” fearmongering? And by doing so, will it hurt the Volt’s marketing?

 

[dpeilow]

Expect to see ads with a two car garage and mom taking the kids to school in the Spark while dad heads off to a meeting 300 miles away in the Volt...

 

[vfx]

It seems few consumers want range-extending gas engines in their electric vehicles.

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/38864/?p1=A1

duh!

 

[Mycroft]

Few Sparks: GM's underwhelming electric car program Miami Herald 10/17/11

It's very hard to get excited about this announcement, because this is no make-or-break Volt program - GM is, instead, doing the bare minimum to get California zero emission credits, building an exceptionally cautious 2,000 cars on an entry-level program. If anyone buys 'em, great, but the company isn't risking much capital or prestige here. Obviously, the failure of the highly touted EV1 looms large.

The announcement on Wednesday was remarkably low-key. "The Spark EV offers customers living in urban areas who have predictable driving patterns or short commutes an all-electric option," said Jim Federico, a Chevrolet global vehicle chief engineer for EVs. If you meet those relatively narrow criteria, have we got a car for you.

According to Green Car Reports, the battery Spark isn't a 50-state car, as the Volt will by the end of the year. It will be targeted mostly at California, and possibly at the 13 states that follow its emission laws. Even without the ZEV laws, California would be the best market for an electric Chevy - it will probably have half or more of the EV volume in the early years.

My problem with the urban EV deal has to do with charging. Yes, sub-100-mile range suggests a bopping around the neighborhood, not taking a lot of range-robbing highway trips. But plugging in will actually be much easier in the suburbs, where people have garages. The city-based EV charging network is still under consideration, with companies just starting to wire parking garages and commercial lots. Forget about curbside parking in dense, high-rise cities like New York.

It's like GM is trying the old slight of hand again. See California, nobody wants our EV, so just ease up on your emission restrictions. However, unlike the EV1, the Leaf and soon, the RAV4 and Model S is going to make them a laughingstock.

 

[Ardie]

For those who insist upon bashing GM about their schizophrenic marketing plan to build both the Volt and the Spark, they can also bash just about every other manufacturer with idiotic plans to build not just one single car to fit everybody, but to build *dozens* of car models with *dozens* of options to fit just about anybody. 2-seat, 4-seat, 5-seat, and 8-seat vehicles, with 5, 6 or 8 cylinder engines. Convertibles, sports cars, hatchbacks, sedans, crossovers, SUVs, pickup trucks. Economy or Luxury. Choice of colors, too.

There will always be, for the next few decades, motorists who will need, er, *want* a car that does not require a lag time during recharging / refilling. For those, there is the Volt. For others, there will be the Spark, or its progeny.

If you drive an 18-wheeler, you may need to travel upwards of 1,000 miles a day. I don't see a battery doing that kind of distance anytime soon, nor do I foresee the technology capabile of refilling a battery of that kind of size in less than 20 minutes. So a hybrid that uses some kind of liquid fuel-burning engine to supply the electricity to motivate the vehicle seems like the proper stepping stone until such technology arrives.

The Spark may not be for me either (I think Tesla's Model S is more my style), but I will welcome them to bring it on anyway.

-- Ardie

 

[Mycroft]

I don't think the author had a problem with GM bringing out an EV in addition to the Volt. I think the problem is that the Spark is such a totally lame EV!

 

[AnOutsider]

For those who insist upon bashing GM about their schizophrenic marketing plan to build both the Volt and the Spark

I don't think it's just about having different options. GM has been pretty hostile to pure EVs with their volt ads, so for them to introduce one, especially one so subpar, is more hypocritical than anything.

 

[stopcrazypp]

For those who insist upon bashing GM about their schizophrenic marketing plan to build both the Volt and the Spark

I think your reaction is a bit off base. I don't think people are criticizing them for the fact they make both an PHEV and a BEV. Otherwise any mainstream automaker deserves criticizing too (they all make ICE cars, some make hybrids, and might make PHEVs and BEVs too).

People are criticizing the way GM chooses to market the PHEV at the expense of the BEV. And there's contention about the type of public policy they push for (for example California AB475 and its effects on plug sharing). I don't think any other manufacturer is doing the same type of marketing (and it seems kind of ironic it is an ad for a plug-in that is the first to focus on negatives of BEVs). There are CEOs (like Audi's) that like to publicly bad mouth BEVs to push other tech (like diesel), but they haven't done actual marketing to this effect. Toyota also has a PHEV they are selling, but their ads focus on the benefits of the PHEV over a gas car and not a PHEV over a BEV.

I just feel sabotaging the BEV movement to sell a PHEV to be especially wrong. I actually don't feel as strongly when a backer of another technology (like diesel, biofuels, natural gas, hydrogen) criticizes BEVs because I expect them to do so anyways. And I'll admit I have a BEV bias (don't feel as strongly when BEVs are marketed at the expense of PHEVs because PHEVs are a subset of ICE cars and when you are criticizing ICE cars as a whole, PHEVs are sometimes included).

 

[Doug_G]

I just feel sabotaging the BEV movement to sell a PHEV to be especially wrong.

Totally agree. I've had quite enough of GM's marketing BS at this point. Enough so that I'm adding them to my black list. (That makes two. Ford was already on that list for selling me an utterly unreliable pile of... well that's another story.)

 

[EVNow]

For those who insist upon bashing GM about their schizophrenic marketing plan to build both the Volt and the Spark, they can also bash just about every other manufacturer ...

But noone else tries to patent "Range Anxiety" or says your child will die because you won't be able to take him to the hospital.

 

[Lloyd]

Actually it is the opposite as you are filling your battery every evening, and always have a full range, or close to it available. Your gas car is limited to when you filled it last. I don't fill my ICE cars until they are less then 1/8 tank, so you may not be able to make that trip depending on when you visited the gas station last!