A serial PHEV is basically an electric vehicle
with a range extender engine that recharges the
batteries rather than powering the wheels
directly. Integrating the two drivetrains can
result in greater efficiency in the long run, but
it's an easy way to get PHEVs on the road.

<http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ev9nov09,1,4658690.story?coll=la-headline\
s-business&track=crosspromo>

GM to unveil electric car prototype
The vehicle would use an onboard engine to
produce power to extend battery range.
By John O'Dell, Times Staff Writer john.odell@...
November 9, 2006

General Motors Corp., vilified by
environmentalists for killing the electric car, is hoping to bring one back.

But the new electric won't be an emissions-free
vehicle, unlike the initial GM electric, the EV1.

The new car, to be unveiled as a prototype early
next year, would use an onboard
internal-combustion engine as a generator to
produce electricity to extend the range of the
vehicle's rechargeable batteries.

The idea was greeted enthusiastically by Chris
Paine, director of "Who Killed the Electric Car?"
The recent documentary took GM to task for
creating and then abandoning the first production
electric vehicle since the early 1900s.

"Bring it on," he said, noting that he has never
doubted GM's ability to produce an
environmentally friendly electric vehicle but has
criticized its commitment to marketing one.

"I hope this one can get from concept to showrooms," Paine said.

Some environmental activists also seemed
intrigued by the idea, noting that though it is
not a "pure" electric vehicle like the
battery-powered EV1, a generator-driven hybrid
electric car would still consume far less fuel
than a vehicle that relied on a larger, thirstier
gasoline or diesel engine for propulsion.

"We shouldn't make 'perfect' the enemy of 'good,'
" said Roland Hwang, Berkeley-based vehicle
policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"If it helps reduce global warming emissions and
dependency on oil, then it is a plus," he said.

GM "apparently recognizes that it is falling
behind in the race for a piece of the 'green'
vehicle market … and needs something it can get
out there and sell in substantial numbers," Hwang said.

He remained skeptical, however, saying that GM
"is fond of showing us things it never brings to
market. The question is whether this will be just
a prototype for public relations or a real effort."

GM won't talk openly about its new electric
vehicle — first hinted at in an interview Vice
Chairman Robert Lutz granted industry trade
publication Automotive News this week.

But a knowledgeable person within the giant
automaker's technology division confirmed that GM
had developed a prototype that would run
initially on power provided by rechargeable
lithium-ion batteries, switching to electricity
provided by the onboard gasoline- or
diesel-fueled generator when the battery charge was depleted.

Filmmaker Paine said he was in regular contact
with GM engineers who support work on electric
vehicles and had been told that the automaker
planned to unveil the new model in early January
at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Rick Wagoner, GM's chairman and chief executive,
is expected to discuss the company's
environmental vehicle programs in a Nov. 29
speech at the Los Angeles Auto Show, but sources
said he was unlikely to talk about specific
models such as the extended-range electric vehicle.

The new car, if developed as a production model,
would be recharged daily by owners and probably
would deliver sufficient power from the batteries
to cover the typical daily commute of 20 to 30
miles before depleting the battery charge and
switching to electricity generated onboard.

It could be plugged into a home charging unit or
into a publicly available recharger such as those
deployed around California at shopping centers
and public facilities when the EV1 and other
electric vehicles were on the road in the late 1990s.

The cars were initially developed because of
California air quality regulators' demand for
limited numbers of zero-emission vehicles.

That demand was subsequently modified when GM and
other automakers complained that the electric
cars were too expensive to make in limited
numbers and delivered too little range on each
battery charge to make them acceptable to most drivers.

The EV1 was introduced at the 1997 Los Angeles
Auto Show and leased to selected customers,
including high-profile opinion leaders such as
actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr.

It was "a brilliant piece of engineering," Paine said.

But GM pulled the plug on the project in 2002,
saying there was insufficient public support for
the sleek, silent two-seat coupe.

The automaker subsequently collected and
destroyed almost all of the 1,000 or so cars,
prompting Paine's film, which was released this
summer to wide acclaim from environmentalists and
others concerned about the country's dependence on oil.

GM also continues to work toward development of
an electric vehicle that uses a clean,
hydrogen-powered fuel-cell system to provide the electrical power.

The idea of an electric vehicle that burns
gasoline or diesel fuel to produce juice for the
electric drive system is not new.

A Southern California company, AC Propulsion
Inc., developed a speedy electric sports car in
the late 1990s, the tZero, that had an optional
gasoline generator — pulled on a small trailer —
to extend its range. It typically delivered 35 to
40 miles per gallon of gas when the batteries were depleted.

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Felix Kramer fkramer@...
Founder California Cars Initiative
http://www.calcars.org
http://www.calcars.org/news-index.html
http://www.hybridcars.com/blogs/power
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