Reviews of New Cars, Trucks, and SUV's by Lary Coppola and Bruce Caldwell, along with automotive industry news, buzz, and occasional opinions. Your comments are welcome.
While the United States is still reeling from a recession that saw the demise of General Motors and Chrysler averted only by massive taxpayer-funded government bailouts, the Chinese continue to breathe down our economic superpower necks with their own foray into the global auto industry.
Leading the way is Shanghai-based Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., which was the first Chinese automaker to exhibit at the Detroit Auto Show — which opened to the press this morning — and is now closing in on the purchase of Volvo Car Corp. from Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford Motor Company.
At the same time, across the big pond, here in America, some 2,000 GM and Chrysler dealers are still waiting to hear the Obama administration’s Car Czar justify why it, and a bankruptcy court, arbitrarily phased them out of business last spring.
In addition to the market introduction of a plug-in hybrid in 2012, work is currently under way on evaluating the viability of an entirely electric-powered car known as a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle). In 2009, a small number of prototype versions of the C30 BEV have been built and tested internally by Volvo. In addition to focusing on performance and safety, much of the focus is on integration of the electric propulsion system with the rest of the car.
"The Volvo C30 is the first model we will try out with electric power. This car's excellent properties in city traffic and its relatively low weight make it particularly suitable, since electric cars are primarily expected to be used in and around cities and for daily commuting," says Lennart Stegland, Director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles.
Volvo C30 BEV is powered with a Lithium-Ion battery that is charged via a regular power socket found in most homes. Recharging an entirely depleted battery via the regular household power supply system (230V, 16A) will take about eight hours. If the car is charged with renewable electricity this means that emissions – all the way from electricity production to its use out on the road – will in principle be non-existent.
The electric motor is housed under the hood, just like the engine in a conventional car. One of the priorities within the BEV project is to find the optimal placing of the battery. Most likely the best places are the prop shaft tunnel and the place where the fuel tank normally is located. These locations are within the car's optimised crumple zone in the most common collision scenarios. Since the car runs solely on electricity, it requires a larger battery with higher capacity (24 kWh) than in the case of the plug-in hybrid (12 kWh).
The C30 BEV is limited to a top speed of about 130 kilometres an hour, which will be more than sufficient for most users of this type of car. Acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometres an hour will take less than 11 seconds. The car will have a range of up to 150 kilometres. This range is longer and far better than the distance 90 percent of all Europe's motorists drive per day.
Volvo imposes the very same high safety standards on all its products irrespective of the type of fuel or power source used. Volvo's safety dedication is always focused on the human being and is based on solid knowhow of real-life traffic situations. What is more, comprehensive in-house tests are carried out both virtually and in Volvo's highly advanced crash-test laboratory. If Volvo chooses to introduce an entirely new type of electric car on the market, it will be just as safe as any other car bearing the Volvo badge.
Volvo has theoretically identified all the electrification-related safety scenarios in the stages before, during and after a collision. After careful study of these scenarios, the company's engineers will create solutions for handling each and every situation identified, guaranteeing that any future electric cars fully match Volvo's renowned safety standards in every respect.
Volvo's' main electrification track over the coming decades is plug-in hybrids. This applies in particular to the company's larger car models. The combination of electric motor and combustion engine is the solution that probably has the greatest potential from both the technical and commercial viewpoints. Plug-in hybrids offer long range, good environmental performance and at the same time limited dependence on expensive battery technology.
Short for "Your Voice," Kia has unveiled the new UVO, powered by Microsoft. UVO is an innovative and intelligent in-vehicle infotainment system that features a breakthrough user interface, providing simple and quick access to vehicle audio systems, music media in various formats and mobile phone content
UVO is the first in-vehicle solution to integrate full Microsoft® intelligent speech engine technology
