Opel Ampera

[emq]

The Volt's charger is made by Lear. The Ampera likely uses the exact same unit.

I think the max current supported by the on-board charger is 15A, not 16A. I will see if I can verify that.

GSP

2012 Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual
Charging equipment with a rating of at least 240V/20Amp (US EVSE Amperage setting 16A) will provide the fastest charging time to recharge the high voltage battery.
240V/40Amp circuits (US EVSE Amperage setting 32A) provide flexibility for future vehicle charging needs. Contact your dealer for more information.

 

[GSP]

2012 Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual
Charging equipment with a rating of at least 240V/20Amp (US EVSE Amperage setting 16A) will provide the fastest charging time to recharge the high voltage battery.
240V/40Amp circuits (US EVSE Amperage setting 32A) provide flexibility for future vehicle charging needs. Contact your dealer for more information.

Yes, but those ratings are recommended for the EVSE. I am looking for the rating of the on-board charger (which converts AC power to DC). It might be 15 Amp.

GSP

 

[TEG]

This seems only to mention 13A charging:

http://www.freelance.je/uploads/newvehiclebrochures/1174556Ampera.pdf

...driving on electricity from the battery, which you can recharge each day from a 240v 13 amp household electricity socket in less than four hours...

 

[dpeilow]

That's because it is aimed at UK readers where 13A is the norm.

 

[GSP]

SAE's spec for the on-board charger is 15A. See page 14 here:

Vehicle Electrification - November 4, 2010

SAE is maybe 99% accurate with their info, so there is still a good chance this could be wrong. Primary sources are best, but I couldn't find a number directly from GM.

On page 53, SAE says that Delta Electronics supplies the Volt's on-board charger. Other sources say Lear, specifically citing the on-board charger as well as Lear's official GM EVSEs. I don't know who is correct, but probably SAE.

GSP

 

[dpeilow]

TG Awards 2011: green car of the year - BBC Top Gear

 

[widodh]

The first Opel Ampera TV commercials started to show on dutch television. It's the same as in the UK, but it's written in dutch (and spoken as well).

Funny thing is that at the same time VW started a commercial featuring their XL1 and the Golf Blue e-motion (EV).

 

[Mycroft]

You can really tell who reads Top Gear from the comments. They should change the name from Top Gear to Gear Head.

 

[dpeilow]

Island Charging Paradise | Opel Ampera Blog

 

[widodh]

I went to the Opel dealer today for a testride with the Ampera, but it had been delayed due to construction at the dealer. Opel refused to place an Ampera at a dealer who was doing construction work at his site.

It will be there next week, so I'll be able to take a testride in the Ampera Went there with the Roadster today, that raised a lot of questions!

 

[dpeilow]

For the German speakers:

 

[dpeilow]

Opel Ampera modifications | Opel Ampera Blog

“Opel today announced enhancements to the Ampera that are designed to further reduce the potential of a battery fire days or weeks after a severe accident.

The enhancements address concerns raised in the USA by GM and NHTSA about post-crash battery performance of the Chevrolet Volt.

Last year the Ampera already received the maximum five-star safety-rating from Euro NCAP. The enhancements announced today include modifications to the vehicle structure and the battery coolant system, which would provide the battery system with additional protection in a severe side impact.

The modifications in detail:

- Strengthening of an existing portion of the vehicle safety structure
- An additional sensor in the reservoir of the battery coolant system to monitor coolant levels
- A tamper-resistant bracket to the top of the battery coolant reservoir to help prevent potential coolant overfill

“The Ampera has always been safe to drive. Now, our customers will have the additional peace of mind that the Ampera is equally as safe in the days and weeks following a severe crash,” said Karl-Friedrich Stracke, Opel Chief Executive Officer.

The enhancements are being incorporated into the Ampera manufacturing process as production resumes this month after the Christmas break. Cars produced earlier will be retrofitted in Europe, before delivery to customers.

Opel plans to begin delivering the Ampera to customers from February onwards.”

I asked whether the structural modifications require new crash testing.

 

[GSP]

Good info on the battery changes, which GM says will be included in all vehicles produced after the holiday.

GM Announces Enhancements to Chevrolet Volt

GSP

 

[dpeilow]

Vauxhall opened the order books on the Ampera today. As an "e-pioneer", I got an email in advance of the press release:

In advance of the national Press Release being issued, I am pleased to announce that Vauxhall Ampera order banks have opened today, Tuesday 10th January. Detailed Pricing and Specification for the Ampera models, on the road in May 2012 are detailed below.

At launch two Ampera model specifications available in MY12, the Positiv and the Electron. Both vehicles are driven by the same powertrain, have the identical efficiency and only differ in their internal specification. September 2012 will see the introduction of a third entry level Ampera specification, with details of this model available in June 2012.

Please check out the Ampera section here - Ampera Highlights



Specification Highlights

Positiv trim £37,250 (£32,250 including Plug-in Car Grant)
Choice of 7 Exterior Colours
Interior Leather Seat Facings with Colour Accents coordinated with both dashboard and door trim
Spice Red or Ceramic White Accents
Heated Driver & Front Passenger seats
Portable Charging Cord
4-mode driving choice: Normal, Sport, Mountain & Hold
In-charging Battery Pack and Interior cabin pre-conditioning

7” Central Colour Touchscreen controlling:
· Climate Control
· Charge regime
· Vehicle/Personal configuration
· Colour-coded radio, AM/FM/DAB, CD/MP3, 6-speaker with Aux-in & USB
· Power flow, Energy use and Total Vehicle Life data
· Vehicle use energy saving tips
Embedded Mobile Phone System including Bluetooth
Full Colour Driver’s Vehicle Cluster including:
· Battery Condition/Range
· Extended Vehicle Range
· Compass
· Speedometer
· Open Door/Boot/Bonnet open warning
· PRNDL transmission indication
· Efficiency gauge
· Multi-function Trip Computer including Tyre Pressure Monitoring (TPMS)
Rake & Reach Leather Steering Wheel with Infotainment Control
Electric Power Steering
Cruise Control
Power windows front & rear
Electrically heated & adjustable door mirrors
LED Daytime Running and Rear Lights with Energy Efficient Halogen Headlights
Alloy wheel 17" with Tyre 235/65 R17
Emergency Tyre Inflation Kit
Driver & Co-driver frontal, side thorax and knee airbags
Full size side curtain airbags
Driver, Front and Rear Passenger Smart seat belt reminder
Electric Park Brake – with drive-off facility and Hill-hold Assist
Regenerative braking system
Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), Traction Control (TC), Electronic Stability Control (ESP)
Thatcham Approval Category 1 vehicle alarm system


Electron trim adds: £38,995 (£33,995 including Plug-in Car Grant)
7” Central Colour Touchscreen controlling:
· Navigation, UK & European street level mapping
· Bespoke Bose® Energy Efficient Series sound system
· CD/MP3/DVD-audio/DVD-video
· 30GB HDD storage with MP3, MP3-Pro,WMA, Audible.com, M4A format capability
· Voice controlled Navigation, Telephone, Music systems


From June 2012, an additional entry level model will be available to order at a price of £29,995 (inclusive of the £5,000 PiCG). However, this will be available to you as an ePioneer (in 2012 only) at the original launch price of £28,995 (inclusive of the £5,000 Plug-in Car Grant).* We would expect deliveries of this model to commence in September 2012. Full specification details will be available in June 2012 (*Subject to availability. Orders of the entry level must be received by 31/12/12 in order to guarantee £28,995 (incl. £5,000 PiCG) price point ).

If you intend to purchase the entry model, please tell us now so we have a record of your intention to order for when they become available.




Ampera Launch Retailers
During the initial launch phase for Ampera a selected number of Retailers across the UK will be able to deal with customer orders and servicing work. These “Hi-Voltage” trained Retailers are listed below:

Name	City
Autovision	Inverness
Peter Vardy	Edinburgh
Arnold Clark	Glasgow
Charles Hurst	Belfast
Bristol Street Motors	Newcastle
Pentagon Sheffield	Sheffield
Arnold Clark	Manchester
Greenhous	Telford
Lookers	Birmingham
Skurrays	Swindon
Hutchings	Pontypridd
Seward	Poole
Eden	Exeter
Perrys of Canterbury	Canterbury
EMC	Eastbourne
Marshall	Peterborough
Drive Leicester	Leicester
York Ward & Rowlatt	Wellingborough
Motorbodies	Luton
Bristol Street Motors	Ilford
Underwoods	Colchester
Now	West Hendon
Phoenix	Wimbledon

This is basically Vauxhall "doing a Tesla". Until as recently as a month ago we were told that the spec now known as positiv was going to be the £28995 model. Now it's over £3k more. Furthermore the wording of the email doesn't rule out the future 3rd model having a less sophisticated drivetrain.

Also there is a huge gap on the south coast. Poole to Eastbourne basically leaves out my whole area - the whole county of Hampshire with 1.7m people.


Here's the new brochure.

 

[Robert.Boston]

This is basically Vauxhall "doing a Tesla". Until as recently as a month ago we were told that the spec now known as positiv was going to be the £28995 model. Now it's over £3k more.

They're keeping their word in providing a trim level at £28995, but it's (presumably) not as good as the positiv trim. Sounds worse than anything Tesla did re the Model S.

From June 2012, an additional entry level model will be available to order at a price of £29,995 (inclusive of the £5,000 PiCG). However, this will be available to you as an ePioneer (in 2012 only) at the original launch price of £28,995 (inclusive of the £5,000 Plug-in Car Grant).*

 

[dpeilow]

If you try to spec either Lithium White or Crystal Red, that's another £995.

 

[surfingslovak]

For the German speakers...

Nice video, thanks for posting.

 

[dpeilow]

Now the main website configurator is live: Vauxhall Ampera | Extended-Range Electric Vehicle - Vauxhall Motors UK

I couldn't see one mention of the UK's £5,000 "plug in car grant" on here, neither on the home page nor on the price breakdown when you finish specifying. No wonder people are saying it is £37,000 base.


That smells fishy to me. Together with Renault suddenly bringing their car forward, I wonder if word is out that it won't get renewed after March?

 

[dpeilow]

Also Vauxhall in clear after Ampera advert challenge


Speculation is that the anonymous blogger and journalist was our old friend Zuffle...

 

[dpeilow]

http://electric-vehicles-cars-bikes.blogspot.com/2012/01/vauxhall-ampera-electric-car-now-on.html

Offered in three trim levels - Standard, Positiv and Electron all Amperas get a DAB radio, 7-inch touch-screen control monitor, cruise control and alloy wheels. Prices start at £29,995 which includes a £5,000 government plug-in car grant.

The mid-range Positiv adds leather interior, heated front seats, parking sensors and a rear view camera with prices set at £32,250.

Top-of-the-range Electron models feature a state-of-the-art infotainment system with colour touch screen, sat-nav, Bose audio system, DVD player, 30GB hard-disc and voice control. The Electron is priced at £33,995.