GM Says Reports of Big Change to Volt/Ampera Powertrain Not True
By John O'Dell June 30, 2010
A number of reports have surfaced in the wake of an Opel Ampera program in London claiming that GM is changing the powertrain setup in the Chevy Volt (right) and its European cousin (below) to permit the on-board internal combustion engine to directly drive the rear wheels under certain conditions.
A number of bloggers are running with this - worrying that the Volt powertrain will no longer be a true electric drive system and that it has problems delivering decent high-speed performance - but we've not seen much in the way of comment from GM.
So we thought we'd ask.
"Not true," says spokesman Robert Peterson, although there apparently was reason to wonder.
A technician at the Ampera event did tell reporters that the engine/generator would kick on during the initial 40 miles of travel to assist with high-speed performance, Peterson said. That would represent a huge change as GM has always insisted that the first 40 miles would be covered in silent, all-electric mode.
"We had a very misinformed technician," Peterson told us in a brief interview this morning. The information, he said, is simply not true. "There are no changes to the propulsion system" and no concerns at GM about high speed performance capabilities, he said.
The Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera, Peterson said, are and will remain cars that are driven solely by their electric motors, with the engine serving only as a power generator to supply electricity when the rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack is depleted.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
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They should listen to the technician. Allowing the generator to kick in earlier when the motor is drawing high current would greatly increase the all electric time available.
Electric cars use up range fast on the hwy and during hard acceleration. If you could have the generator on then you would be able to save power for stop and go driving where electic cars thrive.
The present set up sounds like it's been chosen more for marketing then for engineering reasons.
"and no concerns at GM about high speed performance capabilities, he said"
Until the battery is discharged and the car has to rely on the power of a 1.4 litre engine to propel it down the highway... at less then high speeds.
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