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Opel Ampera

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dpeilow

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May 23, 2008
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Europe's Volt - on show at Geneva...

Opel Ampera: New Electric Car Features "Voltec" Technology

Opel To Reveal Ampera Electric Car At Geneva Motor Show


Rüsselsheim. Opel has announced Ampera as the name of its revolutionary extended-range electric car. The five-door, four-seat Opel Ampera will be revealed at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show (March 5-15).

“With the Ampera, Opel will be the first European automobile manufacturer to provide customers several hundred kilometers of non-stop electric driving,” said Alain Visser, GM Europe Chief Marketing Officer.

GM’s ground-breaking electric propulsion technology, called Voltec, operates differently from other advanced propulsion systems. For short trips up to 60 km, the Ampera will run only on lithium-ion battery power charged via a standard 230v outlet. For longer distances, the car will continue to drive on electricity that is generated by a small internal combustion engine.

The Ampera will be well-suited to the daily driving schedule of most European customers. For example, approximately 80 percent of German drivers travel less than 50 km daily.

Additional information on the Opel Ampera will be released March 3 at the Geneva Motor Show.
 
More details and pics: Vauxhall stunner charges in | Auto Express News | News | Auto Express

Notice only the first one is the (Photoshopped) Vauxhall, the rest are the Volt.


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Interesting because I think that photoshoped Vauxhall looks really ugly while I think the Volt actually looks very good on pictures. I couldn't stand the Volt concept car while the production model looks very nice. Depending on what happens to the Model S, I might actually end up with a Volt.

Cobos
 
Hey ! Stop hitting that car with that stick. Yes I know it's an ugly stick but no need to go on hitting the car, you've obviously already done your work....

Is all I've got to say about that :)

Cobos
 
British-built electric car to rival Tesla S | ETA

A British-built electric car with a range of 300 miles looks set to provide stiff competition for the eagerly-awaited successor to the Tesla Roadster electric sports car – the Tesla S saloon.

This 'electric car with 300 mile range' line that GM are touting and the journos are swallowing is ridiculous. I mean, if I stick my car in gear and turn the key, I get about 10 feet of electric motoring before the range extender cuts in and I go about 400 miles. Start comparing apples with apples...
 
I am a bit confused by the "300 mile range" they tout as well.

The press generally treat the series hybrids as if they were gas cars. You fully charge the car, you fully gas the car, you go 300 miles. Then you run to the gas station and refill the car to go another 300 miles, just like a regular ICE.

But I was under the impression that during the "range extending" portion of the trip, the car is still using battery power because the engine is not powerful enough to recharge or maintain the battery at highway speeds. When you get to the 300 miles, you have no gas and no battery and you will be unable to go farther at highway speeds until you recharge the battery just like a regular EV.

Do I have that wrong?
 
I'm pretty sure the engine/generator on the Volt is powerfull enough to let you at least do highway cruising while the battery is "empty". An empty battery though still means you've got about 6kWh left for hard acceleration. But calling this is a 300miles EV is simply not true. Or at least bending the truth into a pretzel...

Cobos
 
I'm pretty sure the engine/generator on the Volt is powerfull enough to let you at least do highway cruising while the battery is "empty". An empty battery though still means you've got about 6kWh left for hard acceleration.

Oh, I agree -- perhaps I didn't phrase it properly. When the Volt's battery gets "empty" after 40 miles of EV travel, it still has quite a bit of charge in it. However once the range extender kicks in, I do not believe the gas engine has enough power to maintain that charge at highway speeds. Therefore the volt gets "emptier" after 40 miles while traveling on gas alone, eating into its reserve power. Once you get to a certain point in time (probably the reported range of "300 miles") I believe the battery to be drained enough that you will not be able to go further at normal speeds without a recharge.

I recognize when it says "empty" it isn't really empty. And there may be several definitions of empty. My point is that the press treats the Volt as if it is a gas car and supposedly has quite the advantage over a full BEV because when you are empty, you can just fill up at the next gas station and keep going. I do not believe that is actually true. At some point, you will not be able to just put more gas in and continue to go down the highway - you will have to recharge just like a regular BEV.

If this is the case, the main advantage of a series hybrid like the Volt of fast fill ups at the pump might not be as big an advantage over a full BEV which already has a range of 300 miles like the Model S. (Well, other than that huge price difference)
 
At some point, you will not be able to just put more gas in and continue to go down the highway - you will have to recharge just like a regular BEV.


Where does this myth come from? It has been stated that the Volt will have a 53 kW generator. This is several times the capacity needed to keep the Volt moving at highway speed. You could drive the Volt as long as you wanted to without ever plugging it in.
 
Ampera boost for UK | Auto Express News | News | Auto Express

The innovative drivetrain features a 150bhp motor running off a 16kWh battery. When this runs flat, a 75bhp 1.4-litre diesel kicks in. Vauxhall has promised that the advanced lithium-ion cells will take three hours to charge from a household socket, and will be guaranteed for up to 10 years.

First time I have heard about diesel in the production version.


Vauxhall also says it needs a Government-led effort to expand the network of roadside charging stations so the Ampera can realistically run on electric.

That I can support.