2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Lt on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Recharge Wrap-up: Chevy Volt's new, improved powertrain; Inabikari wants to build Tesla Model X fighter

We knew the 2016 Chevrolet Volt's new powertrain would provide more range, but we didn't know how much. According to GM's Executive Director Larry Nitz, it is about 12 percent more, overall. "I can't think of a powertrain we've re-engineered more extensively within a five-year period than this one," he said. The battery, electric drive system and gasoline generator have all been reworked to allow for an overall driving range of up to 425 miles, with electric range speculated to reach 42 miles or more. The new Volt will also benefit from 20 percent quicker low-end acceleration, weight reductions and improvements in NVH. Read more at Hybrid Cars and at the SAE website. Hyundai's FCEV research and development boss, Dr. Sae-Hoon Kim, is optimistic about the future of hydrogen mobility in Japan. With the Tucson Fuel Cell already in production ahead of Toyota's FCV, Hyundai has a foothold in the hydrogen car scene. Kim believes that since the Fukushima disaster, Japan's attitudes toward energy make it friendly to a growing hydrogen economy. He also says that hydrogen won't be limited to Hyundai, with Kia getting all the battery EVs. "Both types are for both companies," Kim says. "For the moment, volumes are small and it is not wise to have Hyundai and Kia competing." Read more at Just Auto. The Latvian/German startup Inabikari is using crowdfunding to build an electric crossover for Europe. The Rev.01 EV hopes to compete with Tesla's upcoming Model X with a range of over 400 miles and a five-second 0-60 time. The group currently is trying to raise initial funds through an Indiegogo campaign, with hopes of more investment in the future and sales beginning in 2017. See the video below, and read more at Hybrid Cars and at the Inabikari website. Fuel economy and emissions regulations could lead to some interesting design changes to automobiles. The World Light Duty Test Procedure, set to replace the New European Driving Cycle in 2017, will push automakers to find new ways to reduce drag on their vehicles. For better aerodynamics, we could see traditional side-view mirrors replaced by cameras that display what they see on screens inside the vehicle. Another likely change will be the introduction of smaller, narrower wheels. Improving the average drag coefficient from 0.32 to 0.20 could reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 20 percent. Read more at Automotive News Europe.

GM to build next-gen Chevy Cruze in Mexico

As one of its global products, General Motors builds the Chevy Cruze for local consumption at assembly plants around the world: in Australia, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, China, India, Kazakhstan, Russia, Brazil and Ohio. The automaker is expected to trim those locations for the next generation of its compact sedan, but its latest announcement has it adding a new site to the list: Mexico. As part of a $350-million investment, GM's plant at Ramos Arizpe in Coahuila will gear up for production as one of several sites that will be charged with building the next-gen Cruze. The General has yet to announce just which plants those will be, but it has confirmed that the Lordstown, Ohio, site will once again be among them. The plant in St Petersburg, Russia, which has produced the current Cruze, is being shut down, as is the Holden plant in Elizabeth, Australia. The Ramos Arizpe assembly plant currently puts together the Chevy Sonic and Captiva as well as the Cadillac SRX, but has over the course of its 34-year history handled a variety of models for the Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, Saturn, Opel and even Saab brands. The site handles a quarter of GM's production in Mexico, and exports 87 percent of its capacity to other markets. Invertira GM 350 mdd en Ramos Arizpe para fabricar siguiente generacion de Chevrolet Cruze 2015-03-23 - Se consolida GM de Mexico como el sexto productor global de vehiculos para General Motors Company Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila - General Motors de Mexico anuncio este dia que invertira 350 millones de dolares en su Complejo de Manufactura Ramos Arizpe, para fabricar en estas instalaciones la siguiente generacion del modelo Chevrolet Cruze. "Esta inversion, que forma parte de los 5 mil millones de dolares anunciados en diciembre pasado para todo el pais, fortalecera la presencia de GM Ramos Arizpe en la produccion de nuestra compania a nivel mundial y, por supuesto, consolidara a Mexico como el sexto productor de automoviles para GM Company, con el 7% de la produccion global", informo Ernesto M. Hernandez, Presidente y Director General de GM de Mexico. En una reunion de trabajo en la que participaron Ruben Moreira, Gobernador del Estado de Coahuila y Rogelio Garza, Subsecretario de Industria y Comercio del Gobierno Federal, el Presidente de General Motors en el pais aseguro que el Complejo GM Ramos Arizpe se ha consolidado como un iman para las inversiones de la compania a nivel global. Adicionalmente, Ernesto M.

Recharge Wrap-up: U of M wins Solar Challenge, family attempts record-breaking e-bike ride

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team has won the 2014 American Solar Challenge. It is the team's eighth national championship, its fifth in a row, and its first using Siemens' product lifecycle management (PLM) software. The race took place over 1,722 miles and seven days traveling across eight states. The team's car, called "Quantum," outpaced the nearest competitor by four hours. Looking forward, Michigan Solar Car Project Manager Pavan Naik says, "The switch to Siemens tools will give us the ability to model and simulate everything and truly allow us to optimize the performance of our new vehicle. As we start on our quest to win the World Solar Challenge in 2015, we'll be leveraging a full complement of PLM solutions." Read more in the press release below. The EcoCar3 competition, in which teams will convert Chevrolet Camaros into hybrid electric cars, begins in September. The various college teams will have four years to lessen the car's environmental impact as much as possible while maintaining performance and, of course, that cool Camaro design. EcoCar3, which is put on by the US Department of Energy and General Motors, kicks off with a workshop in Novi, Michigan from September 16 - 18. Read more at the DOE website at the dedicated EcoCar3 site or watch the announcement video at our previous post. Zap and Jonway Auto are shifting to a high rate of EV production. Zap already has two lines creating the Urbee EV to met demand, and is switching over a third to make electric minivans and SUVs. The company aims to produce 30,000 EVs by 2015 for the Chinese market. Zap says it has a backlog of 25,000 Urbee orders. Read more in the press release below. A family of four hopes to make a world record-breaking, 6,000-mile electric bike journey this fall. The family, which recently drove from Argentina to Montana in a pickup with a camper, will ride from Montana to Maine, then down the East Coast to Florida in an attempt to break the record for longest electric bicycle ride. They'll use two bikes. The Father, Thomas, will ride one of the bikes carrying one of the children, while the rest of the family rides in a support vehicle, with the mother, Dylan, riding the second bike when they can find others to drive. They have started a crowdfunding campaign for some of the equipment needed to document the trip. See the video below or read more at Treehugger.