Hurdles remain for GM’s pioneering electric car

TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (AP) — Early versions of the Chevrolet Volt’s battery packs are powerful enough to run the high-stakes rechargeable car, but dozens of issues remain before General Motors Corp. can start selling the revolutionary vehicle in 2010 as planned.

The Volt’s chief engineer is on a tight schedule to figure out how the car will handle the batteries’ weight, dissipate their heat and mechanically transfer their power to the wheels.


… They must figure out how to keep the battery cool and adjust the car’s suspension so it performs well while carrying a 400-pound battery pack.

“All those things result in lots of other mechanical parts and bits and pieces that have nothing to do with electrical energy,” Farah said. “So we’ve had some issues there.”

Simultaneously, other GM workers are testing batteries to make sure they last at least 10 years or 150,000 miles. It would cost more than $10,000 to replace them.

Other workers are making the Volt more functional, giving it the room and feel of a regular car “such that the vehicle is not just a battery on wheels,” Farah said.

AP