GM CEO: Consumers Have 'Range Anxiety'

This "old guy" will explain control cost. The controls for the electric drive mode are what allow the car to go 120 miles on a charge instead of maybe 40 miles. Driving the electric motor very effidiently does not just happen. Electronic comutation and backing off the drive power to just hold the speed selected is part of it, switching off the drive when the pedal is released just a bit is part of it, and using regenerative braking is also part of it. Not only that, but the controls package also needs to decide when to ask the gas engine to help. On the opposite end, the controls also need to handle the charging so that we can get maximum life from the $30,000 battery pack. If you think replacing a failed engine is bad, just consider the price to replace a failed or worn-out battery pack. That is a real heart-stopper. And, all of these controls "must not fail at any time, under any condition", since drive control is a safety thing, big time.

I’m going to do the unpopular thing and take Mr. Henderson’s side. For many, the EV1’s range wasn’t enough as a primary family car, and its price tag was too high for a second car. The published figures for the EV1 with nickel-metal hydride batteries was 100-140 miles. Even today, with lithium-ion batteries, the so-called “Sadoway rule” (named for Donald Sadoway of MIT) contends that each W-hr/kg of specific energy tranlates to one mile of range (if 30% of the car’s mass is tied up in the battery). That means that a good lithium-ion battery (150 W-hr/kg) will get around 150 miles of range. At the same time, that same good lithium-ion battery in a six-seat sedan could cost upwards of $30,000. We know there are many people who only plan to drive their EVs to work and back. For them, an EV may be a sensible car. But I think Henderson’s concern over consumer “range anxiety” is natural and understandable. Many consumers want greater range.

TO ANOTHER GUY: I can understand why there’d be confusion about whether Mr. Henerson is referring to EVs or hybrids, especially since the reference comes from GM-volt.com. In this case, though, he’s referring to pure electric cars. You’re right, there would be no issue with range on a car that has a gas tank, like the GM Volt.

GM’s continuing problem is that the people running it now are the same folks who ran it into bankruptcy; a genial idiot, such as Fritz, is completely incapable of understanding technical issues and anything else more complicated than a ledger book.

The ones doing the layoffs should be the first ones FIRED, and I’d fire Fritz, Bob and the rest of their brown-nosing crew. Get some good managers in there, or shut it down.

As usual, GM is L Y I N G. THE DRIVERS HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH RANGE!!

It’s just not true. The EV1 had up to 160 miles range, just fine for driving around two counties (L.A. and Orange) to get permits!

And for driving to work, I used the 100 mile range lead-acid version or the 120 mile-range HondaEV and now, the 120 mile range RAV4-EV.

HENDERSON IS A LIAR!!

It seems that people are talking about the hybrids like they are electrics only. They are getting preoccupied with how far they can go before they have to use the gas tank. And the “range anxiety” issue implies that they are forgetting that they have a gas tank and supplemental power in the first place. Ultimately the range on these vehicles is not in how big the battery is, but how big the gas tank is and how efficient the gas to electric conversion is.

I understand the first two things in Mr. Henderson’s list, but I am not sure of the third. What are control cost? Perhaps an example for this old guy.