Chevy Volt prototype runs on lithium ion batteries for first time!
By Matt Jansen
Until now, the Chevy Volt prototype has used various combinations of electric and gas energy, but now Chevrolet has demonstrated that it can power the Volt using the latest battery technology. That’s a landmark win because the battery technology behind EV1, GM’s first electric car, was a major factor in its failure.
Bob Lutz told the Detroit News in an interview that “we’ve got the first car running (with lithium-ion batteries) … and what the guys get on ’sightings’ is a picture of an old Malibu with black wheels and a very long extension cord.”
Here’s an image of the 2005 Malibu for reference:
It’s obvious Chevy is learning from some of its past mistakes and doing some things right with the Volt. Lutz emphasized that when he said “the only things that were wrong with the EV1 was that it was way too expensive to make; it was only a two-passenger; and the battery technology was not ready. It was a noble effort, but it was a technological force job and at a time when nobody cared. We could not find more than 800 buyers for that thing no matter how hard we tried or no matter how much we dropped the price. Finally we had to lease them out.”
It’s encouraging to see Chevy making strides forward in meeting expectations from customers, now if the Volt earns gold stars in its reliability I’ll be even happier.
“We have gasoline and 350 to 400 volts (of electricity) in the same vehicle and we have to be careful about it,” Lutz said.
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May 12th, 2008
I do not see how you can spout the same old lies from Lutz without calling him on them. The only thing wrong with the EV-1 was the Delco batteries. The Panasonic Lead-acid replacements and the Ovionic NiMH batteries were great. The EV-1 was NEVER offered for sale. I was turned down twice for a lease and once for a sale of the EV-1 in 2000 because I was not a California resident.