The Consumer Electronics Show is a big deal in the consumer electronics industry. With the expanding integration of advanced electronics into cars it has become a high-profile venue for auto manufacturers as well, with automaker CEOs giving keynote addresses and auto press conferences growing in volume. Most of these involve connectivity, autonomous driving, and other advanced on-board systems. But the scope is expanding significantly as CES is growing ever-brighter on the automakers’ radar.
A case in point is Chevy’s move to provide a sneak peek of its all-new 2016 Chevy Volt extended range electric car at 2015 CES. This preempts the official debut of the new Volt at the coming North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, one of the auto industry’s premier events.
The ‘peek’ was just that – a teaser showing the new Volt’s front end and a bit of the driver’s side, with the rest blocked with purposeful positioning and a strategically placed speaker tower. Still the front end view showed a handsome evolutionary design with the partial profile that could be seen indicating a somewhat smaller model with a redefined roofline and window design. It has been previously disclosed that the 2016 Volt will use a new 1.5-liter engine-generator, a bigger battery pack, and offer additional range.
Do extended range electric cars and plug-in hybrids really save energy and make an environmental difference like all-electric vehicles? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’ if enough zero-emission miles are driven. To that end, the latest news from Chevrolet is encouraging: Since Chevy’s Volt extended range electric was introduced in 2010, Volt owners have reportedly driven more than a half a billion all-electric miles, resulting in no localized emissions over those miles and a pretty huge petroleum offset. In fact, Volt owners are spending some 63 percent of their time in EV mode.
All electric miles are even higher in an independent study managed by Idaho National Labs and conducted during the last half of 2013. Volt drivers participating in the Department of Energy’s EV Project totaled 1,198,114 vehicle trips during the six month period from July through December, 2013, with 81.4 percent of these trips completed without use of the Volt’s gasoline-powered generator.
Battery-only driving range is also proving to be better than projected. A GM study conducted over 30 months that focused on more than 300 Volts in California shows many Volt owners are exceeding EPA’s estimates of 35 miles of EV range per full charge. About 15 percent are surpassing 40 miles of all-electric range. GM data also illustrates that Volt owners who charge regularly typically drive more than 970 miles between fill-ups and visit the gas station less than once a month. The 2014 Volt features EPA estimated 98 MPGe fuel economy when running in electric mode and 35 city/40 highway on gasoline power.
Some interesting trivia: Since the Volt’s launch in 2010, more than 25 million gallons of gasoline have been saved by Volt drivers. Chevy also likes to point out that 69 percent of those buying a Volt are new to the GM brand and of those trading in a vehicle during purchase, the most frequent trade-in is a Toyota Prius. The Volt was named Green Car Journal’s 2011 Green Car of the Year®.
In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama set a goal of having one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. The million EVs would include plug-in hybrids, extended range electric vehicles, and all-electric vehicles. Now that we’re roughly at the halfway point for the 2015 goal, what is the scorecard?
It’s important to note that the goal was rather naively – or perhaps intentionally – based on manufacturer- and media-supplied data on how many electric cars could be built and not from projections of how many people would actually buy them. Unless we’re talking very hot-selling items like the latest Apple iPhone or iPad, sales projections are usually based on projected sales and not made on potential production.
The estimate actually projected 1,222,200 EV units produced including 13,000 commercial vehicles (Ford Transit Connect, Navistar eStar EV, and Newton EV). Another 252,000 included Fisker Karma and Nina models and the Think EV). Think is no longer producing cars and Fisker Automotive has ceased production, although it should reappear because of it's just-announced bankruptcy sale to China's Wanxiang Group..
Sales of the four EVs and PHEVs to date have been far lower than their target numbers, with the Tesla S a lone exception. The million EV goal looks far from being achievable by 2015.
Electric vehicle models not included in President Obama’s estimates, but now on sale, are the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Honda Fit EV, Fiat 500e, Chevrolet Spark EV, Toyota RAV4 EV, and smart electric drive. Of these, only the i-MiEV is available everywhere in the country. Some others can be considered ‘compliance vehicles’ since they are only offered in very limited ways with the intent to comply with California’s ZEV mandate, which aims at putting over 1.4 million zero emission vehicles on the road by 2025.
Part of the government’s strategy to reach this goal is to offer substantial tax credits to encourage sales. Typically, this includes a federal credit of $7,500 plus state incentives. As of November 2013, 40 states and the District of Columbia have monetary incentives including electric vehicle tax credits and registration fee reductions ranging from $1,000 in Maryland to $6,000 in Colorado. Even with incentives, though, electric sales are not keeping pace with President Obama’s ambitious goals.
Bill Siuru is a retired USAF colonel who has been writing about automotive technology for 45 years. He has a Bachelor degree in automotive engineering, a PhD in mechanical engineering, and has taught engineering at West Point and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Getting around Hawaii is a study in diversity. Hang around the islands and you’ll see folks moving about on trolleys and buses, in cabs, rental cars, scooters, and of course on foot. We prefer staying planted at the Hilton Hawaiian Village with its array of interesting sites, nightlife, and of course its desirable stretch of Waikiki Beach. Walks to downtown Waikiki are a must to experience the vibrant activities there.
After arrival at Honolulu International Airport and a requisite lei greeting, there are plenty of choices available for getting to Waikiki and elsewhere on the island. Popular options include cabs and town cars or shared rides aboard courtesy vehicles from some hotels, on-demand SpeediShuttle, and the island-wide TheBus service.
What about rental cars? Not really on our radar unless a day trip to the North Shore is on the agenda. Typical of others, we’ve rented cars when visiting in the past, but the car was parked more than it was used. Still, what about those interesting places in the guidebook that call to you…those farther than a pleasant walk but not really distant enough to warrant the cost and hassle of a conventional rental car?
That line of thought spelled opportunity for Justin MacNaughton and Warren Doi, founders of GreenCar Hawaii, a by-the-hour ‘green’ car share service on Kauai and Oahu. Choices vary by location but include the Nissan LEAF, Chevy Volt, hybrids, and efficient gasoline models. Our plans on this trip included visiting Honolulu’s Chinatown and hiking the Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail, with a trailhead some 15 miles from our Hilton Hawaiian Village base.
Since GreenCar Hawaii had a rental outlet at the nearby Doubletree Alana Hotel, we walked over to the Doubletree to pick up a Nissan LEAF there. We figured...if we're going to travel with a light eco footprint, why not go zero emission with a popular electric car?
The process of renting a vehicle from GreenCar Hawaii is simple and can be done online, by phone, or through a kiosk at the hotel. If the reservation was made ahead of time, a credit card is swiped at the kiosk as a reservation identifier, details for the car-share rental are shown, and a reservation check-in is printed out. Present this to the hotel’s valet parking and the car is brought up by an attendant, no different than if you were a guest at the hotel with a car in valet parking.
We knew the drill with electric cars and made sure our travels wouldn’t take us farther than the LEAF’s available range. All told, our plotted routes would consume about 60 miles so we were good to go. Those wishing to go farther than the range of the rental LEAFs can opt to charge up at numerous 240 volt Level II chargers on the island or at a handful of available fast chargers.
Picking up our LEAF from the valet, we headed out on city streets and then H1 East and HI-72 East toward the Makapu’u Point State Wayside, where visitors park their cars before heading out on the hike. The half-hour, 15 mile drive was pleasant and uneventful, the LEAF performing as expected with plenty of power and a comfortable ride.
The guidebook described the hike as ‘easy and breezy’ along a two mile paved trail. While short and do-able, it’s also a bit steep at times and warm as well as breezy. The bonus: It's good exercise and the views are unbeatable. Reaching the summit provides a great view of the Makapu’u lighthouse and two small islands nearby – Manana and Kaohikaipu. We've hiked Diamond head before and recommend this as a nice follow-up after that trek up the famous dormant volcano. Following our hike was a drive to Honolulu’s Chinatown and a quick visit to Hilo Hattie’s for souvenirs to bring back home.
Returning the LEAF to the Doubletree Alana Hotel was simple, with a swipe of a credit card at the kiosk identifying our rental details, processing the $15 per hour charge for our four hour rental, and printing out a receipt. Keys were handed over to valet parking and we were off on a walk to Cheeseburger Waikiki for loco moco and then back to the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Easy breezy, as they say.
It’s interesting to chart the growing sales of hybrids and other clean vehicles today. What’s really enlightening, though, is to understand how these vehicles are being used and what their implications are for our driving future.
That’s where cutting-edge demonstration projects like Austin’s Pecan Street bring great value to urban and transportation planners, by providing a real-life example of how far we can take sustainable, low-, or no-carbon transportation and daily living with currently available technology.
Austin’s Pecan Street, Inc, the country's first non-profit research and development consortia focused on energy, wireless, and consumer electronics technology, recently joined with GM subsidiary OnStar to collect and analyze real-world energy consumption through driving and charging data patterns. Thanks to the GM/OnStar partnership, the Pecan Street project now includes the Chevy Volt for gaining critical real-life usage data for the use and charging of extended-range electric vehicles. Chevrolet made 100 Volts available for priority purchase to residents participating in the project last September.
Among the grid-relieving solutions developed by OnStar are charging with renewable energy, energy demand response, time-of-use-rates, and home energy management. The partnership with Pecan Street is enabling OnStar to test these smart grid services in realistic, everyday scenarios. Additional partner companies like Sony, Whirlpool, Oncor, and Intel are also providing residents with smart grid and clean energy products and services, such as photovoltaic panels for generating power, batteries to store energy, and smart grid tools to help make everything work in unison.
The final goal of the project is to help consumers make the best possible use of energy for daily life, and specifically for charging their plug-in hybrids and other electric vehicles. The hope is that research resulting from the project will help speed up the innovation cycle around smart grid and consumer electronics technology. This is important since electric vehicles add significantly to a home’s energy profile. Understanding how, and when, consumers use their electric vehicles and keep them charged is critical information.