Remember General Motors’ all-electric plugâ''in vehicle, the EV1? It went to market in 1997, mostly in California, became a Hollywood and media darling, and Âvanished without a trace six years later after a paltry 1000 eâ''cars were leased. Depending on your Âpolitical persuasion and Âtolerance for conspiracy theories, the car-killing forces included fickle consumer interest, poor battery life, corporate greed, global oil agendas, and government ineptitude. Who Killed the Electric Car? , a 2006 Âdocumentary, cinematically indicted all of the above, and more, for terminating interest in electric-Âvehicle programs worldwide.
Well, despite all the postâ''EV1 talk that America’s Âpremier Âautomaker had Âcynically Âjettisoned its electric and Âalternative-fuel dreams to Âpursue gas-Âguzzling SUV cash cows, GM seems never to have Âabandoned the e-car game. This time the autoÂmaker’s back with some Âeconomical gas/electric hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles, including a fuel-cell SUV. But the big news is GM’s snappy new hybrid plug-in Âtechnology, used in the Chevrolet Volt Âconcept car, which some are touting as the Toyota killer.
Responding to Âheightened global concerns about Âgreenhouse-gas emissions—and a new Washington Âmandate requiring cars to Âaverage 35 miles per Âgallon (6.7 liters per 100 Âkilometers) by 2020—both GM, the No. 1 Âautomaker, and Toyota, the heir Âapparent, have said they hope to have Âdifferent but Âaffordable, Âefficient plug-in hybrid Âvehicles (or PHEVs) on the lot by 2011 [see my article "Top 10 Tech Cars" in this issue to learn more about what's Âhappening this year]. In the looming plug-in battle royal, whose electric/combustion Âtechnology will carry the day?
Toyota has bet 10 years, untold billions, and its future product direction on what’s called the power-split hybrid. It has essentially the same design as mechanical-drive cars but uses both combustion and electricity for power, optimized by Âcontrol algorithms. Toyota’s plug-in version of the powerâ''split hybrid has a bigger battery and can be recharged from a regular household power outlet. It runs short distances on electricity only, and then the combustion engine switches on, powering the car along with the batteries.
GM, on the other hand, is staking its long-term direction on the series hybrid, which can also be recharged from a wall outlet. The car runs on full electricity until its batteries are nearly empty, and then its combustion engine starts up to run a backup generator that recharges the batteries. Unlike the power-split hybrid, its combustion engine only charges the batteries and never actually powers the car itself.
Many of the challenges that thwarted the EV1 are still in play. These cars will use advanced large Âlithiumâ''ion batteries, so battery life and safety remain serious concerns. And some new studies suggest that plug-in hybrids could pose significant pollution and resource problems of their own, largely depending on how the electricity to recharge them is generated.
As always, problems present opportunities, such as new roles for electrical engineers in power-train technology and in finding unconventional ways to support the modern auto’s power-intensive onboard electronics. EEs have already edged into mainstream auto design as regulations have called for the sophisticated electronic control of everything from combustion management to vehicle stability.
Silicon Valley has joined the fray. Bellwether Google has a project to convert hybrids to plug-in hybrids. Other Valley-based start-ups are making high- and low-end all-electric cars.
So perhaps the world’s car culture is now ready to head for greener car Âpastures, Âparticularly if those Âpastures are filled with affordable, easy-to-use alternatives.
Both Toyota and GM plan to lay out their plug-in Âpositions at the SAE 2008 World Congress, in Detroit, later this month (see https://www.sae.org/congress). For the auto Âindustry, Âpicking the winner is critical. Tens of billions of dollars, and Âperhaps even world Âautomotive domination, are at stake.