Is GM's EV1 Still the Best Electric Car Ever?

Saw this in one of my engineering journals. The solely battery -powered cars
were never a fit for me but it IS a part of Saturn history.

Full story and comments at
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp...&doc_id=234251

Even today, if you want to make an engineer's blood boil, there's a good
chance you can do it by mentioning General Motors' EV1, produced from 1996
to 1999. For many, the subject conjures up images of truckloads of cars
being needlessly hauled off to the crusher.

A significant number of engineers, who have torn down and evaluated electric
cars, see the EV1 as a monument to the art of automotive engineering. If it
used today's lithium-ion batteries, they say, no electric vehicle ever made
could touch it.

"When it comes to pure electric vehicles, the EV1 is still the best that's
been built in the last 15 years," noted one engineer, who didn't want to be
named for competitive reasons, but who has torn down and evaluated every
production EV that's been made since the early 1990s. "The EV1 was a
fully-developed, all-around vehicle. Today, no one has the resources to do
what GM did."

For those who don't remember it well, here's a short primer on the EV1.
Introduced by General Motors (GM) in 1996, the EV1 was a two-seat electric
coupe that was designed from the ground up with the best technologies
available at the time. It was one of the first vehicles to use an aluminum
spaceframe, which made it about 40 percent lighter than steel.
Engineers then joined the frame with aerospace-grade structural adhesives,
thereby eliminating many of the welds. They also made body panels from
composites -- again, to cut weight -- and added a lightweight suspension
with help from Lotus Engineering. Moreover, the vehicle had the most
advanced power electronics available at the time, and GM engineers spent
thousands of hours matching the EV1's AC induction motors to the vehicle.

Materials weren't the only way of boosting the EV1's energy efficiency,
however. Design engineers used low-rolling-resistance tires and sculpted the
body down to drag coefficient of 0.195, which is still considered by
Wikipedia to be the lowest in the history of production cars. By comparison,
the Chevy Volt reportedly has a Cd of 0.28 and the Nissan Leaf, 0.29. Both
of those figures are better than the auto industry's average of 0.35 to
0.45, but still far short of the EV1's.

The result was that a modified EV1 captured an electric vehicle speed record
in 1997, hitting 183mph.

"It's better than the Leaf," our contact told us. "And the Tesla -- which is
certainly faster but costs $120,000 -- still is far less sophisticated that
the EV1."

There is, of course, the issue of the battery. The EV1's Gen2 version
employed a nickel-metal hydride pack, which had an energy density of about
90Wh/kg. In comparison, today's lithium-ion batteries reach 140Wh/kg. The
higher energy density enables today's EVs to cut weight.

Even there, however, is still a small debate. The EV1 supposedly offered 160
miles of range (a doubtful figure, by today's EPA criteria), but even if we
cut that down to 100 miles, it's still more than Nissan Leaf's. What's more,
many engineers don't like the Tesla Roadster pack, which employs 6,800
"18650" batteries (each slightly larger than an AA), connected in series.

Either way, they say, the EV1's supremacy would be beyond debate if it had
today's battery packs. "The new battery would mean the EV1 could be about
500 lbs lighter (than the others) for the same range," our contact said.
"But aside from that, the EV1 wouldn't need to change. It was that
advanced."

To be sure, not everyone agrees with that assessment. As late as 2008, Time
Magazine placed the EV1 on its list of "The 50 Worst Cars of All Time."
What's more, many EV1 detractors have reasonably pointed out that GM spent
between $80,000 and $100,000 per vehicle, which is a debatable figure, but
one that nevertheless suggests that a comparison of the EV1 and the Leaf
isn't appropriate. Finally, there's the issue of size -- the EV1 seated just
two people.

Still, it's hard to argue that the vehicle's engineering was far ahead of
its time.

"Microelectronics, miniaturization, better batteries -- all of those things
have happened since the introduction of the EV1," our contact said. "But the
results don't indicate that we've gotten that much out of it. Yes, we've got
better batteries today, but imagine what the EV1 could have done with those
batteries."

Also see "Who Killed The Electric Car"
a 2006 documentary - widely available.
John T.



On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:04:27 -0500, "Oppie" > wrote:

>Saw this in one of my engineering journals. The solely battery -powered cars
>were never a fit for me but it IS a part of Saturn history.
>
>Full story and comments at
>http://www.designnews.com/author.asp...&doc_id=234251
>
>Even today, if you want to make an engineer's blood boil, there's a good
>chance you can do it by mentioning General Motors' EV1, produced from 1996
>to 1999. For many, the subject conjures up images of truckloads of cars
>being needlessly hauled off to the crusher.
>
>A significant number of engineers, who have torn down and evaluated electric
>cars, see the EV1 as a monument to the art of automotive engineering. If it
>used today's lithium-ion batteries, they say, no electric vehicle ever made
>could touch it.
>
>"When it comes to pure electric vehicles, the EV1 is still the best that's
>been built in the last 15 years," noted one engineer, who didn't want to be
>named for competitive reasons, but who has torn down and evaluated every
>production EV that's been made since the early 1990s. "The EV1 was a
>fully-developed, all-around vehicle. Today, no one has the resources to do
>what GM did."
>
>For those who don't remember it well, here's a short primer on the EV1.
>Introduced by General Motors (GM) in 1996, the EV1 was a two-seat electric
>coupe that was designed from the ground up with the best technologies
>available at the time. It was one of the first vehicles to use an aluminum
>spaceframe, which made it about 40 percent lighter than steel.
>Engineers then joined the frame with aerospace-grade structural adhesives,
>thereby eliminating many of the welds. They also made body panels from
>composites -- again, to cut weight -- and added a lightweight suspension
>with help from Lotus Engineering. Moreover, the vehicle had the most
>advanced power electronics available at the time, and GM engineers spent
>thousands of hours matching the EV1's AC induction motors to the vehicle.
>
>Materials weren't the only way of boosting the EV1's energy efficiency,
>however. Design engineers used low-rolling-resistance tires and sculpted the
>body down to drag coefficient of 0.195, which is still considered by
>Wikipedia to be the lowest in the history of production cars. By comparison,
>the Chevy Volt reportedly has a Cd of 0.28 and the Nissan Leaf, 0.29. Both
>of those figures are better than the auto industry's average of 0.35 to
>0.45, but still far short of the EV1's.
>
>The result was that a modified EV1 captured an electric vehicle speed record
>in 1997, hitting 183mph.
>
>"It's better than the Leaf," our contact told us. "And the Tesla -- which is
>certainly faster but costs $120,000 -- still is far less sophisticated that
>the EV1."
>
>There is, of course, the issue of the battery. The EV1's Gen2 version
>employed a nickel-metal hydride pack, which had an energy density of about
>90Wh/kg. In comparison, today's lithium-ion batteries reach 140Wh/kg. The
>higher energy density enables today's EVs to cut weight.
>
>Even there, however, is still a small debate. The EV1 supposedly offered 160
>miles of range (a doubtful figure, by today's EPA criteria), but even if we
>cut that down to 100 miles, it's still more than Nissan Leaf's. What's more,
>many engineers don't like the Tesla Roadster pack, which employs 6,800
>"18650" batteries (each slightly larger than an AA), connected in series.
>
>Either way, they say, the EV1's supremacy would be beyond debate if it had
>today's battery packs. "The new battery would mean the EV1 could be about
>500 lbs lighter (than the others) for the same range," our contact said.
>"But aside from that, the EV1 wouldn't need to change. It was that
>advanced."
>
>To be sure, not everyone agrees with that assessment. As late as 2008, Time
>Magazine placed the EV1 on its list of "The 50 Worst Cars of All Time."
>What's more, many EV1 detractors have reasonably pointed out that GM spent
>between $80,000 and $100,000 per vehicle, which is a debatable figure, but
>one that nevertheless suggests that a comparison of the EV1 and the Leaf
>isn't appropriate. Finally, there's the issue of size -- the EV1 seated just
>two people.
>
>Still, it's hard to argue that the vehicle's engineering was far ahead of
>its time.
>
>"Microelectronics, miniaturization, better batteries -- all of those things
>have happened since the introduction of the EV1," our contact said. "But the
>results don't indicate that we've gotten that much out of it. Yes, we've got
>better batteries today, but imagine what the EV1 could have done with those
>batteries."


--- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to ---

Good DVD. Even the extra features were good.
If you can't find the DVD, Here's a peer to peer link (requires bit torrent
client)
magnet:?xt=urn:btih:162cd044a4d8616a290688c5ebebe9 cd94f381a4&dn=WHO_KILLED_THE_ELECTRIC_CAR.ISO&tr=u dp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.openbittorrent.com%3A80&tr=udp% 3A%2F%2Ftracker.publicbt.com%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ft racker.ccc.de%3A80


> wrote in message
...
>
>
> Also see "Who Killed The Electric Car"
> a 2006 documentary - widely available.
> John T.
>
>
>
> On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:04:27 -0500, "Oppie" > wrote:
>
>>Saw this in one of my engineering journals. The solely battery -powered
>>cars
>>were never a fit for me but it IS a part of Saturn history.
>>
>>Full story and comments at
>>http://www.designnews.com/author.asp...&doc_id=234251
>>
>>Even today, if you want to make an engineer's blood boil, there's a good
>>chance you can do it by mentioning General Motors' EV1, produced from 1996
>>to 1999. For many, the subject conjures up images of truckloads of cars
>>being needlessly hauled off to the crusher.
>>
>>A significant number of engineers, who have torn down and evaluated
>>electric
>>cars, see the EV1 as a monument to the art of automotive engineering. If
>>it
>>used today's lithium-ion batteries, they say, no electric vehicle ever
>>made
>>could touch it.
>>
>>"When it comes to pure electric vehicles, the EV1 is still the best that's
>>been built in the last 15 years," noted one engineer, who didn't want to
>>be
>>named for competitive reasons, but who has torn down and evaluated every
>>production EV that's been made since the early 1990s. "The EV1 was a
>>fully-developed, all-around vehicle. Today, no one has the resources to do
>>what GM did."
>>
>>For those who don't remember it well, here's a short primer on the EV1.
>>Introduced by General Motors (GM) in 1996, the EV1 was a two-seat electric
>>coupe that was designed from the ground up with the best technologies
>>available at the time. It was one of the first vehicles to use an aluminum
>>spaceframe, which made it about 40 percent lighter than steel.
>>Engineers then joined the frame with aerospace-grade structural adhesives,
>>thereby eliminating many of the welds. They also made body panels from
>>composites -- again, to cut weight -- and added a lightweight suspension
>>with help from Lotus Engineering. Moreover, the vehicle had the most
>>advanced power electronics available at the time, and GM engineers spent
>>thousands of hours matching the EV1's AC induction motors to the vehicle.
>>
>>Materials weren't the only way of boosting the EV1's energy efficiency,
>>however. Design engineers used low-rolling-resistance tires and sculpted
>>the
>>body down to drag coefficient of 0.195, which is still considered by
>>Wikipedia to be the lowest in the history of production cars. By
>>comparison,
>>the Chevy Volt reportedly has a Cd of 0.28 and the Nissan Leaf, 0.29. Both
>>of those figures are better than the auto industry's average of 0.35 to
>>0.45, but still far short of the EV1's.
>>
>>The result was that a modified EV1 captured an electric vehicle speed
>>record
>>in 1997, hitting 183mph.
>>
>>"It's better than the Leaf," our contact told us. "And the Tesla -- which
>>is
>>certainly faster but costs $120,000 -- still is far less sophisticated
>>that
>>the EV1."
>>
>>There is, of course, the issue of the battery. The EV1's Gen2 version
>>employed a nickel-metal hydride pack, which had an energy density of about
>>90Wh/kg. In comparison, today's lithium-ion batteries reach 140Wh/kg. The
>>higher energy density enables today's EVs to cut weight.
>>
>>Even there, however, is still a small debate. The EV1 supposedly offered
>>160
>>miles of range (a doubtful figure, by today's EPA criteria), but even if
>>we
>>cut that down to 100 miles, it's still more than Nissan Leaf's. What's
>>more,
>>many engineers don't like the Tesla Roadster pack, which employs 6,800
>>"18650" batteries (each slightly larger than an AA), connected in series.
>>
>>Either way, they say, the EV1's supremacy would be beyond debate if it had
>>today's battery packs. "The new battery would mean the EV1 could be about
>>500 lbs lighter (than the others) for the same range," our contact said.
>>"But aside from that, the EV1 wouldn't need to change. It was that
>>advanced."
>>
>>To be sure, not everyone agrees with that assessment. As late as 2008,
>>Time
>>Magazine placed the EV1 on its list of "The 50 Worst Cars of All Time."
>>What's more, many EV1 detractors have reasonably pointed out that GM spent
>>between $80,000 and $100,000 per vehicle, which is a debatable figure, but
>>one that nevertheless suggests that a comparison of the EV1 and the Leaf
>>isn't appropriate. Finally, there's the issue of size -- the EV1 seated
>>just
>>two people.
>>
>>Still, it's hard to argue that the vehicle's engineering was far ahead of
>>its time.
>>
>>"Microelectronics, miniaturization, better batteries -- all of those
>>things
>>have happened since the introduction of the EV1," our contact said. "But
>>the
>>results don't indicate that we've gotten that much out of it. Yes, we've
>>got
>>better batteries today, but imagine what the EV1 could have done with
>>those
>>batteries."
>
>
> --- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to
> ---
>