AD #2259 – GM Pulls the Plug on the Volt, ZF Uses Blockchain For Car Sharing, Can Tesla Hit Its Goals?
December 22nd, 2017 at 11:47am
Runtime: 8:54
0:27 GM Pulls the Plug on the Volt
1:08 All About That BAS
1:55 Who Leads with AEB?
3:22 ZF Uses Blockchain For Car Sharing
4:18 ZF’s Clever Autonomous Showcase
5:22 Can Tesla Hit Its Goals?
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On today’s show…GM is going to pull the plug on the Volt plug-in…ZF develops new technology for car sharing and autonomy…and can Tesla meet all of its goals? All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the show for enthusiasts of the automotive industry.
GM PULLS THE PLUG ON THE VOLT
Is General Motors going to cancel production of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in? That’s what Autoforecast Solutions is reporting. The data house says the Volt will go out of production in 2022 at GM’s Hamtramck plant in Detroit. It appears that instead, GM is going to put all its efforts behind its aggressive plan to intro 20 battery electric cars by 2023. Even though the Volt was completely redesigned last year and sales shot up 60%, it didn’t last. This year sales of the Volt are down over 12% and fell 33% last month. Looks like GM decided it was time to pull the plug on its plug-in.
ALL ABOUT THAT BAS
Meanwhile, FCA is going almost across the board with 48-volt hybrid technology on most of its light vehicles. It’s a belt-alternator-starter, or B-A-S system with a 48-volt lithium battery and a heavy-duty alternator which does double duty as an electric motor. At least some of these systems will be supplied by Continental. The BAS (bass) provides stop-start capability and provides some torque to the engine in low speed situations. We drove the new Jeep Wrangler with a 3.6-liter V6 without the BAS, and another a 2-liter turbo with it. The 2-liter with the BAS was two seconds faster in 0 to 60 runs and delivered 2 more miles per gallon in our real-world driving.
WHO LEADS WITH AEB?
Twenty automakers have made a commitment to equip Automatic Emergency Braking on virtually all new vehicles by 2022. The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety along with NHTSA, just released a report on how the industry is making progress equipping the technology in cars. In terms of number of vehicles, Toyota leads the way with 1.4 million or 56% of its 2017 models with the feature as standard. GM is next with over 550,000 models or 20% of its line-up, followed by Honda with 492,000 models, which is 30% of its fleet. But it terms of proportion, Tesla leads the way with virtually all of its models equipped with AEB. Mercedes is next with 96% and Volvo rounds out the top three. The IIHS estimates that AEB can help prevent 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries a year by 2025.
The supplier ZF has its eye on a car-sharing and autonomous future. More on that, right after this.
ZF USES BLOCKCHAIN FOR CAR SHARING
One of the big fears with mobility services is keeping data and financial transactions secure, which is why supplier ZF developed Car eWallet. It’s an automotive transaction platform for mobility services based on blockchain technology. Blockchain is the underlying technology behind Bitcoin. A customer would first pair their car to the eWallet app. That gives them keyless access to the vehicle. From there they would be able to complete a number of financial transactions from the app, like paying a toll before ever reaching the both, which means never having to stop to wait for the barrier to rise or they could even pay for a parking space. And the great part about that is, only having to pay for the exact amount of time the vehicle is parked. No more overpaying to cover your butt. If you need more time just buy more from the app.
ZF’S CLEVER AUTONOMOUS SHOWCASE
And speaking of ZF, it’s going to have a very interesting display at CES this year. A vehicle equipped with its complete autonomous package and artificial intelligence system, called ProAI that it developed with NVIDIA will sit stationary at its booth. Another vehicle that’s nearly 6,000 miles away doing a live test drive will send sensor data back to the stationary vehicle in Las Vegas, giving it the ability to interpret the data as if it were driving the route, including steering, braking and accelerating. That means a vehicle could be trained to learn traffic situations without actually having to be on the road.
Coming up next, can Tesla reach all of its ambitious goals?
CAN TESLA HIT ITS GOALS?
Whether it’s good or bad, there’s no company in the auto industry right now that can grab headlines like Tesla. The company has struggled building the Model 3. At the same time, it’s introducing new products like the Roadster and a semi-truck. So with all of that on Tesla’s plate, on the new episode of Autoline This Week, John and his journalist colleagues discuss if the EV maker can reach all of its ambitious goals.
(The ATW preview is only available in the video version of today’s show.)
John and his guests also discuss the other big news stories of 2017 in that show. And there was so much to talk about, we have a bonus program with even more analysis for you to watch. You can find both shows on our website, Autoline.tv or on our YouTube channel.
And a programming note here. Autoline Daily and After Hours will be off the air next week as the crew takes a well deserved year end break. We’ll be back here again on January 3rd.
But that’s it for today’s show, thanks for watching and happy holidays!
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
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Comments (27)
December 22nd, 2017 at 12:22 pm
Merry Christmas !!!
December 22nd, 2017 at 12:29 pm
Merry Christmas and Happy New Years.
December 22nd, 2017 at 12:29 pm
Thanks Jesse and right back at ya.
December 22nd, 2017 at 12:30 pm
Same to you, Lambo.
December 22nd, 2017 at 12:36 pm
To John, Sean, Gary and all the Autoline crew: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours.
December 22nd, 2017 at 12:43 pm
To all of the Autoline crew: Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The same goes to those of us who frequent this site.
PS: @ Sean,made a new years resolution to start working on your pan? ;}>
December 22nd, 2017 at 12:51 pm
On the Chevy Volt… I think terms like “pull the plug”, granted a nice play on words, and “cancel” are a little harsh if the plan is to continue production of the Volt until 2022. It sounds like to me that GM has just decided to not invest in developing a third-generation Volt. Platforms and technologies come and go and it sounds like GM has decided by 2022 that pure-EVs will have advanced enough that a dual-powertrain vehicle is no longer warranted. The Volt has always been looked at as a transitional vehicle and stepping stone to pure-EVs until their the range of EVs could become cost competitive. And it may be that GM could still offer a plug-in version of some of their other hybrid vehicles, just not on a dedicated platform.
December 22nd, 2017 at 1:12 pm
Happy holidays to the Autoline crew and enjoy your time off!! It is well deserved.
December 22nd, 2017 at 1:12 pm
I always felt the Volt was the perfect hybrid as it is an EV but with onboard generator. I’ve wanted to start a business that makes small trailers with a Generator that would provide pure EVs the needed KW to have unlimited range. Then you could buy an EV that serves your purpose 90% of the time without the extra weight and complexity of a dual system, and when you want to take a trip you attach the trailer and have all the range you need.
December 22nd, 2017 at 1:14 pm
Oh and with that set up the “trailer generator” would not have to meet the emissions regulations either and could be diesel, gas, NG etc.
December 22nd, 2017 at 1:26 pm
Team Autoline, many thanks for another great year of reporting and content. Enjoy the holidays!
December 22nd, 2017 at 2:05 pm
To Chuck, G.A., Jeff and Roger – Thanks from everyone! Hope your holidays are well and enjoy the time off.
December 22nd, 2017 at 2:18 pm
Tesla needs to pull the plug on the batwing, terrible idea to start with, & I think the day of 1/2 ton batteries will eventually fade into the sunset. another mfgr is joining the 48 volt parade
December 22nd, 2017 at 4:06 pm
Happy Holidays, Autoline!
December 22nd, 2017 at 4:10 pm
Merry Christmas Sean/John and staff. Enjoy your time off and the holidays.See you next year, cheers!
December 22nd, 2017 at 4:15 pm
Happy Holidays, Kurt
December 22nd, 2017 at 4:16 pm
Thanks merv. Happy holidays and see you next year.
December 22nd, 2017 at 7:59 pm
Regarding the trailer generator, I think that is an interesting idea. But there is no way you can do it without emissions regulations. Both the US-EPA and California CARB have emissions regulations for portable generators.
December 22nd, 2017 at 8:04 pm
Happy holidays to the Autoline staff, and to all of the comment contributors.
December 22nd, 2017 at 8:33 pm
Sean, John and all,
Merry Christmas to you all. I truly enjoy watching/learning from your programs. You are a gift that I enjoy year-round.
All the best to you and hope you have a great Holiday.
December 22nd, 2017 at 9:22 pm
Merry Christmas to John, Sean, and the entire Autoline staff. Enjoy your well deserved holiday and time off.
December 22nd, 2017 at 11:52 pm
I think we’ll have the mainstream buyer considering an EV by mid-2020s but I am surprised there will be no next gen Volt since this would be the platform to conquer the remaining market. Volt sales dropped because I presume the first gen Volt buyers moved to EVs.
Don’t under estimate the value of Tesla’s supercharger network. Even the mighty competitors of Tesla lack the commitment to get a robust charging network in the wild, and this is a key differentiator. Tesla is the only EV band I would consider as my only vehicle because I find the current public charging network rather useless: Slow, inconveniently located and unreliable. If Tesla gets to crank out enough model 3s to pay their bills they will be fine longer term.
December 23rd, 2017 at 10:56 pm
Volt: How does a drop in sales give any indication of GMs decisions for its future (other than the fact that I’ve seen no TV ads)?
December 24th, 2017 at 8:58 am
If you want a plug-in car that is pure electric until the battery runs down, an then has decent range on gas, the Volt is that car. If you don’t mind a little gas engine operation when you “get on it,” even with a full battery, a Prius Prime makes more sense. It costs less, and gets better mpg on gas than the Volt.
December 26th, 2017 at 3:37 pm
We will all miss our daily dose of Autoline, but I’m glad you get to have some time off to be with your families. Merry Christmas to the whole McElroy family, all AD staff, & regular contributors. Here’s to a great 2018!
As entertaining as AD is, it wouldn’t be the same without the regular commenters. I will continue to check here as well as watch AD reruns for the next week so I don’t go through withdrawals!
December 29th, 2017 at 1:50 pm
Re:48 VDC Power: In my opinion, the only reason to consider 48 VDC power is the reduced contact potential (voltage) for safety of personnel working on the vehicle. Voltages in excess of 60 VDC may be considered to be hazardous. Note: “Orange colored” insulated cables for the wiring are used in current hybrids & EV’s to indicate dangerous potential voltages. 746 watts are required for a one horsepower (HP) load, which would means ~15.5 Amps at 48 VDC. A 50 HP “load” would require ~777 Amps DC. Conversely, For example, 50 HP at 470 VDC requires ~79.4 Amps. Heating of the power conductors (copper) and junction points becomes very critical at high current – hence, the possibility of fire due to poor connections and/or insulation failure. Heating of conductors is a function I^2(t) – (Amps squared X Time (sec)). Peak demands on the batteries become more critical when continued thermal stress is already high. The continuous thermal stress at a higher DC voltage is substantially reduced at constant load. Over-current conditions are much easier to address with lower current using simple circuit breakers/fuses, etc. Spraying water on a battery fire with an internal short circuit is the worst thing you can do! – e.g. lithium-ion battery fire issues (ask Tesla and Boeing!). However, potential arcing is higher with higher VDC system vs a low-voltage DC, such as 48 VDC.
In summary, given the choice of hi-voltage DC vs. 48 VDC (low voltage) for hybrid/EV powering, I would prefer to take my chances w/higher voltage and lower current technology!Do not forget the cost of the “copper” and added weight to handle the higher current with the low-voltage system.
December 30th, 2017 at 2:45 pm
The 48 volt systems being discussed are generally “mild hybrid” systems, similar to ones GM used years ago. They use a belt driven motor-generator which seamlessly starts the gas engine in a start/stop setup, and produces a small amount of power, and a small amount of regenerative braking. These systems do not provide nearly the efficiency gain of a serious hybrid, like Prius, Fusion and others, but is much less expensive, and provides some fuel economy improvement.