2010 CHEVROLET CAMARO ORDERS ARE STARTING TO FLY

2010 Chevrolet Camaro

A few weeks ago, Chevy dealers began ordering the new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro.  The biggest worry GM dealers are having now is not whether they can sell the Camaro, but rather, whether they will be giving enough of them to fill their sold orders.

The new Camaro starts under 23,000.00 USD and under 27,000.00 CND.  Sounds inexpensive doesn’t it?  It is tremendous value when you find out that the standard features include a 304 HP 3.6L V6,  Stabiltrak, 18″ Wheels, XM Radio, OnStar, Remote Vehicle Starter, Air Conditioning, Power Window and Door Locks, Keyless Entry, Four Wheel Anti-Lock Brakes, and many more options.

What Is An E-REV?

This article is from a General Motors Media site.  For more information about the Chevrolet Volt, visit

http://media.gm.com/volt

WHAT IS AN E-REV?

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt is a front-wheel-drive, four-passenger Extended-Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV) that uses electricity as its primary power source and gasoline as its secondary power source to propel the vehicle. 

An E-REV like the Chevrolet Volt represents a significant departure from conventional hybrids. In a E-REV, the wheels are turned by an electric drive unit, whereas in conventional hybrids the wheels are turned by an electric motor, a gasoline engine, or both.  For short trips, E-REVs will run on battery power alone. For longer trips, additional electricity can be supplied by an internal combustion engine or a fuel cell. The battery and propulsion systems are sized so that when sufficient energy is available from the battery, the engine (or fuel cell) is not required for operation.  During this electric only phase of driving, the battery, motor, and power electronics are designed to deliver full performance, acceleration, top speed, hill climbing on electric power alone.

HOW VOLT WORKS:
Energy is stored on board in a 16-kWh, “T”-shaped lithium-ion battery pack. The battery pack powers the electric drive unit, which is capable of meeting full vehicle speed and acceleration performance while driving the car electrically for up to 40 miles (64 km) (based on EPA city cycle) without using a drop of gas. For longer trips, the Volt’s on-board range-extending engine is used to drive an electric generator when the battery’s energy has been depleted. The range extender, which can be powered by gas/E85 Ethanol, is able to generate additional electricity to power the car for hundreds of miles.

A new and distinct propulsion system category that would comprehend E-REVs has been proposed by the California Air Resources Board, which GM expects that the Chevrolet Volt will become the first to qualify.  Other government agencies are also considering the unique benefits of E-REVs.

BENEFITS:
There are many benefits of an E-REV like the Chevrolet Volt. The main benefits include energy diversification, reduced oil consumption, and reduced emissions.

According to a Society of Automotive Engineers study published by GM in April 2008, an E-REV will consume, on average, less than half of the gasoline compared to a plug-in hybrid and substantially reduce regulated emissions resulting from initial trip starts. According to a 2003 Omnibus Household survey by the U.S. Department of Transportation, nearly 80 percent (76 percent) of U.S. drivers commute 40 miles or less daily. 

GM estimates that the Chevy Volt will save about 500 gallons (1,892 liters) of gasoline based on 40 miles of daily driving and 15,000 miles annually. For drivers that commute 60 miles (96 km) per day or 21,000 miles annually, about 550 gallons (2,081 liters) of gasoline could be saved.

As a baseline comparison, GM estimates that the cost per mile to operate an E-REV like the Chevy Volt is approximately two cents per mile electrically versus 12 cents per mile using gasoline priced at $3.60 per gallon.

NOT A “HYBRID”:
In practice, hybrid vehicles typically require both sources – engine and battery – to provide full vehicle performance capability. In a hybrid vehicle, the combustion engine is typically the larger of the two propulsion sources, and provides most of the power during high power vehicle maneuvers like off-line starts and freeway cruising. A plug-in hybrid operates the same way, but can be recharged by plugging in. Even with useful energy in the battery, the engine will often be operating to achieve vehicle peak loads. An E-REV like the Chevrolet Volt is unique from a hybrid or plug-in hybrid in that the vehicle’s wheels are always driven electrically by an electric drive unit.

Download the MS Word version of this page.

2011 Chevrolet Volt Propulsion System Image

Jeremy Lloyd – Jay the Car Guy

Bancroft Motors LTD

http://www.bancroftmotors.ca

j.lloyd@bancroftmotors.ca

GM – Chevrolet – Buick – Pontiac – GMC – Corvette

The Case For GM – It’s Not What You Think

This information came from www.imforgm.com. You will be able to find more information about what GM is doing and has done, at that site.

The global credit crisis has now placed the auto economy front and centre in economic discussions in the United States, Canada and indeed worldwide. There are two important questions we have been receiving more than any other: What can struggling auto companies do to change and become sustainable? And how did we get to this? The largely under-reported (or ignored) answer is that a profound, massively expensive transformation has taken place over the past 2 years at GM that now sees us offering more new hybrid models in the 2009 model year than any other auto manufacturer, leading on R&D and the introduction of electric cars, winning many prestigious new car and green technology awards and, most important, placing GM’s cost structure (including our labour and legacy costs) on track to be among the lowest of any global auto manufacturer. That transformation continues with enormous investment and not a small amount of pain. At GM we are focusing our resources on our new fuel efficient vehicles and advanced environmental technologies – and a new sustainable, profitable global business model for the future.

So then, how did we get to today’s discussions about the sector needing loans to keep operating? How is it that we suddenly appear to have literally hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake? Put simply, while we have invested in massive change, the sudden credit crisis (that has now left over 3.5 million homes in the US without owners) leaves many auto companies without access to the cash or credit needed to ride out what has become the worst US new vehicle market decline in 25 years. Having made massive investments in new technologies and in our own transformation, GM now faces a US market decline that in just one year is larger than the entire Canadian auto sector. Put another way, you could now close down Canada’s entire auto production and there would still be oversupply in today’s US market.

The US economy and auto market will eventually recover. Until it does, auto companies need to keep employing, purchasing, researching, developing and building the cars of the future. Public and pundit perceptions of GM have understandably not caught up with changes that have and are being made in GM’s business model. Consider that:

In the 2009 model year, GM offers more hybrid vehicle models than any other auto company•

GM Canada was the first auto company in Canada to build hybrid and fuel cell vehicles•

GM does more R&D in Canada than the rest of the auto industry combined•

GM Canada sells the most small cars of any automaker in Canada (more than Toyota, Honda, Mazda or Nissan n 2007)

GM won North American Car of the Year in each of the past 2 years (Chevy Malibu 2008, Saturn Aura 2007)•

GM won the best new small car in Canada in each of the past 2 years (Pontiac Vibe 2009, Saturn Astra 2008)

GM is on track to sell the Chevy Volt extended range electric vehicle starting in 2010

GM will close 4 large truck plants in North America and increase production of new small fuel efficient cars

And GM has made (and continues to make) cuts and changes that put us on track to reduce our global cost structure to among the most competitive in the industry by 2010. And we will continue to do so beyond that date.

GM and others in the industry need to complete the job in this credit crisis. We need to keep employing, supporting suppliers and dealers and developing the cars of the future. Canada needs us to do that too. That’s what the public expects from car companies. And that’s exactly where we are driving at GM.

Visit: http://www.imforgm.com