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GM executive chief EV engineer says reducing cost of plug-in vehicles is 'huge priority'

As we know, another major automaker investing heavily in electrified vehicles is General Motors, and it's doing things much differently than rivals BMW, Ford or Nissan. The Chevrolet Volt extended-range EV is a modest seller at its $35,000 sticker price but a huge hit with owners. The Chevy Spark BEV, still in limited availability, puts smiley faces on its owners and drivers. The just-introduced Cadillac ELR, a sharp-looking, fun-driving $76,000 luxocoupe take on the Volt's EREV mechanicals, has admittedly low sales expectations. With this interesting trio in showrooms and much more in the works, the third vehicle electrification leader I collared for an interview at Detroit's North American International Auto Show (see #1 and #2) was Pam Fletcher, GM's executive chief engineer, Electrified Vehicles. ABG: Why do your EREVs need four-cylinder power to extend their range when BMW's i3 makes do with an optional 650 cc two-banger? "We designed [the Volt and the ELR] to go anywhere, any time" - Pam Fletcher PF: I get that question all the time: why not something smaller? You don't really need that much. You use the electric to its ability, then you just need to limp. But we designed those cars to go anywhere, any time, and we don't want their performance to be compromised. If you're driving through the mountains, we don't want you to be crawling up grades, or to be limited on any terrain. So it's optimized to be able to travel literally the biggest grades and mountain roads around the globe at posted speeds. Because what if you can't? Another good reason: when the engine is on, you have to run it wide open throttle, max speed, most of the time. And while we can do a lot with acoustics, and the ELR has active noise cancelation, a small-displacement, low cylinder-count engine at high speed, high load all the time isn't something you want to live with. That's how we came up with the balance we did among the key factors of performance, NVH [noise, vibration and harshness] and range. ABG: Where you go from here? Is the range-extender engine due for an update? PF: We know and love the current Volt, and there is still a lot of acclaim about it, so we think it's a good recipe. But we are heavily in the midst of engineering the next-generation car, which I think everyone will love and be excited about.

Autoblog In Cuba: 1957 Chevy Bel Air Review

If you've been following the Autoblog In Cuba series, you may remember that my efforts to rent a car in the country were ultimately unsuccessful. Misinformation, bad planning, and a lack of rental car inventory conspired to disrupt my hoped-for driving adventure. I discovered in my week of exploration, however, that the terrific thing about Havana is that there's always another adventure to be found – if you're willing to look. A car I could drive myself might have been impossible to come by, but a ride to remember was not. After all, even when reviewing a new car, I've found that impressions about the car and the route can be credibly formed from the right seat. Starting from the parking lot of the grand Hotel Nacional, finding an interesting car for hire is as simple as walking up and down the block. Scads of classic American iron wait just outside the hotel gates, in a riot of colors and conditions befitting the tropical climate. Fords from the 1940s are plentiful – more sedans than coupes – and the glory days of General Motors are represented by enough Pontiacs and Cadillacs to fill a Bruce Springsteen B-sides album. But the Chevy Bel Air is the king of the road here, by some margin. View 30 Photos I settled on a burnt orange 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible, in tourist-appropriate condition. I was looking for a hardtop at the request of my crew's audio/video needs, but settled on a burnt orange 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible, in tourist-appropriate condition. This car might look good as a prop in the background on your vacation photos – hair blowing in the breeze with the ocean at your back, parked in front of Che's face in Revolution Square, etc. – but was far from pristine on a closer inspection. A perfect representative of the Cuban average. At least the price was right: $50 for two hours to make it 12 miles to Hemingway's house, and back. My driver was a kid named Daniel who looked to be about 20 years old. The Chevy doesn't belong to him, he co-drives it with the owner, but he was able to give me the basic mechanical rundown. The eight- or six-cylinder engine that Chevy shipped this convertible with was long gone. No surprise there, as nearly every American-made car I'd ridden in so far was powered by some belching Mercedes diesel. Despite it's clattering note, Daniel said the lump under the hood of the '57 drinks gas: a four-cylinder of Russian origins, pulled out of a GAZ Volga as best I can understand.

Opel's version of the Chevy Bolt will confuse people at Paris Motor Show

Two things are now official. First, Opel will reveal the Ampera-e, or the European version of the Chevrolet Bolt, at the Paris Motor Show in October. Second, General Motors has outdone itself in brand confusion, topping the Bolt/Volt ridiculousness. Opel isn't giving a single-charge range for the Ampera-e but the company is promising a "significantly longer range" than other electric vehicles. The Bolt is estimated to have a 200-mile range on the EPA scale, so whatever the Opel achieves on the European cycle will be done with the same batteries and motor as the Chevy. Opel is also looking to appeal to the auto enthusiasts with other factoids, which are basically just Bolt stats translated into metric. For instance, the Ampera-e will be able to go 0 to 50 kilometers per hour (which is 31 miles per hour to us Americans, but we're talking Europe here) in just 3.2 seconds. And for those looking to stay connected, as many as seven mobile devices can attached to the car's wireless hot spot. GM said in February that the European of the Bolt would be available across the pond next year, so the most recent bit of news isn't shocking. Still, General Motors continues to create confusion between all-electric Bolt and the extended-range plug-in Volt. It's already been reported that the Korean symbol and pronunciation of what is "B" in English is identical to the English "V," meaning that there is no difference between "Bolt" and "Volt" in that country (though there are no plans to sell the Bolt in South Korea as of yet). Now, in Europe, they're taking the name they used to use for the European of the Volt — Ampera — and merely adding an "-e" at the end of it. For those looking to be less confused, take a look at Opel's press release here. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Opel Ampera-e: Paris 2016 View 11 Photos News Source: Opel via Hybrid CarsImage Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Green Paris Motor Show Chevrolet GM Opel Electric Chevy Bolt volt ampera opel ampera-e ampera-e