Article View: ca.environment
Article #6254GM/Saturn announcement
From: Robert Ward
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 1996 00:00
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 1996 00:00
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7271 bytes
TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE, SATURN CORP.-GENERAL MOTORS CORP.:
Saturn Corporation will team up with General Motors to distribute and
market GM's first consumer-available electric passenger vehicle.
Scheduled for introduction in the fall of 1996, the vehicle will be
available in select western U.S. markets. The announcement was made
today at a press conference i n conjunction with the Greater Los Angeles
Auto Show.
Pre-production examples of the vehicle will be on display at the Los
Angele s show and at the North American International Auto Show in
Detroit. Both s hows open to the public on Saturday, January 6. Named
"EV1" (EV, numeral on e), the two-passenger coupe is an evolution of
GM's Impact development vehi cle. Although marketed by Saturn, it will
carry the GM badge, reflecting it s design, engineering and
manufacturing heritage, and the partnerships invo lved in bringing this
electric vehicle to the consumer.
GM Chairman John F. Smith, Jr. says "the EV1 will be the first
modern-era p assenger car developed specifically as an electric vehicle
and brought to m arket by a major automaker. Saturn's unique brand
marketing and customer e mphasis will certainly help to successfully
launch GM into this new segment ." Smith said it was "time to get
electric vehicles out of the lab, into th e showroom and onto the road."
The two-seat EV1 -- first vehicle in the company's history to carry a
Gener al Motors designation -- will be marketed this fall by Saturn
retailers in four western markets: Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and
Tucson. "While the EV1's market initially may be limited in scope, we
are expansive in wha t we believe this car says about the kind of
company GM is going to be," Mr . Smith said. The EV1 is equipped with
dual airbags, anti-lock brakes, a CD player and cruise control. "Most
important, it's a car designed for peopl e -- to commute, to shop, to
run around town. And it's a car for people who never want to go to the
gas station again," Smith said.
"Saturn is pleased to be the marketing partner in this exciting new
vehicle category," notes Don Hudler, president of Saturn. "We're ready
to help GM expand its technological leadership and to maximize the
opportunities to de velop this market. We have every intention of
matching our uniquely success ful Saturn philosophy with the
capabilities of GM's EV1 to meet or exceed t he needs and expectations
of the customer."
"GM recognizes the potential environmental and energy benefits of EVs,"
say s Bob Purcell, executive director of GM Electric Vehicles. "General
Motors has every desire to make a business out of electric vehicles
through the in novative technology demonstrated in the EV1, and is
making the right invest ments to make them a market-driven success."
The EV1 by GM will initially be introduced through Saturn retail
facilities serving the Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and Tucson market
areas. These areas afford the topographical and climatic conditions most
favorable to e lectric vehicle operation. GM's production of the EV1
will take place in a portion of the Lansing Craft Centre in Lansing,
Michigan. Pricing has yet t o be finalized, but is expected to be in the
mid-$30,000 range and will rep resent a fair market value to the
consumer.
Designed by GM specifically as an electrically-propelled passenger
vehicle (thus its "purpose-built" designation), the EV1 has a bonded and
welded alu minum spaceframe structure to which composite exterior panels
are attached. Overall length is 169.7 inches, wheelbase is 98.9 inches
and width is 69.5 inches. Its teardrop shape and other aerodynamic
features yield a signifi cantly low 0.19 coefficient of drag. Weight of
the EV1 is 2,970 pounds, wi th the batteries accounting for
approximately 1,175 pounds of that total.
The battery pack consists of 26 12-volt valve regulated lead acid
modules c apable of carrying 16.2 kilowatt hours of energy. A three-
phase AC motor delivers 137 horsepower to the front wheels. Battery
charging is accomplish ed through an inductively coupled system. Unlike
conductive systems, there is no metal-to-metal "plug-into-socket"
connection in the transfer of elect ricity from a permanently wired
power source. Rather, the electricity is tr ansferred via magnetic flux.
AC power from the charging unit's weatherproo f paddle is converted to
battery-charging DC power through the vehicle's on -board charge port.
Approximately 3 hours are required to reenergize the battery pack's
state o f charge from a 15 percent level using a 6.6kw charging unit
running off a 220-volt (30 amp) power source. Use of a 110/120-volt (10
amp) 1.2kw conve nience charger stored in the trunk requires
approximately 15 hours to resto re the battery pack back to full charge.
Driving range per charge can be 70-90 miles depending on a number of
factor s: terrain, temperature, accessory use and driving style.
General Motors' EV1 Specifications
OVERALL LENGTH - 169.7 in. 4309 mm
OVERALL WIDTH - 69.5 in. 1766 mm
OVERALL HEIGHT - 50.5 in. 1281 mm
WHEELBASE - 98.9 in. 2512 mm
TRACK (Front) - 57.9 in. 1470 mm
(Rear) - 49.0 in. 1244 mm
CURB WEIGHT - 2970 lbs 1350 kg
FRONTAL AREA - 1.89 sq. m.
DRAG COEFFICIENT - 0.19
TIRE SIZE - 175/65R14
RATED MOTOR POWER - 137 hp 102 kW
RATED BATTERY CAPACITY - 16.2 kW-hr
- 26 Modules / 312 Volts
- Battery Pack Mass - 1175 lbs 533 kg
- Battery Module Mass - 1078 lbs 489 kg
RECHARGE TIME (from 15% to 95% state of charge)
- 220 volt / 6.6 kW - Approx. 3 hours
- 110 volt / 1.2 kW - Approx. 15 hours
RANGE (85% depth of discharge)
- EPA City Schedule - 70 miles
- EPA Highway Schedule - 90 miles
0-60 MPH ACCELERATION - under 9 seconds (when fully charged)
TOP SPEED - 80 mph (electronically regulated)
GM will also market an electric pick-up truck nationwide in 1997 for use
in commercial fleets. The truck -- the Chevrolet S-10 -- will be built
in Sh reveport, La. and will use the same technologies as the EV1.
"These pick-up s will be especially appropriate for predetermined routes
where the truck c omes back to the garage every night," GM Chairman
Smith said.
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Robert N. Ward * "Last year, more Americans went to
Associate Principal Horn * Symphonies than went to ball games.
San Francisco Symphony * This may be viewed as an alarming
rnward@slip.net * statistic, but I think that both
http://www.slip.net/~rnward * baseball and the country will endure."
* --John F. Kennedy c.1962
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X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 10df74,559b496cf49e911d,start X-Google-Attributes: gid10df74,public From: rnward@slip.net (Robert Ward) Subject: GM/Saturn announcement Date: 1996/01/04 Message-ID: <rnward-0401961701030001@eb224.slip.net> X-Deja-AN: 133929085 organization: San Francisco Symphony newsgroups: ca.environment