AJC CAR NEWS
Chrysler explores all-electric territory
CEO: Company has duty to make ‘environmentally friendly’ autos
San Antonio Express-News
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Chrysler upstaged General Motors and other automakers with its announcement recently it will introduce a group of electric vehicles for the consumer market beginning in 2010, including a version of its popular Town & Country minivan and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited four-door sport utility vehicle.
The third vehicle will be a high-performance Dodge sports car based on the architecture of the Lotus Elise sports car from England. That vehicle also is the basis for a new electric-powered sports car now being sold by the California-based Tesla Motors (www.teslamotors.com).
Chrysler/Chrysler
Bob Nardelli, Chairman of Chrysler LLC, introduces the Jeep EV and Dodge EV at the Company’s World Headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. The Dodge EV is an all-electric sports car. The Jeep EV is a Range-extended Electric Vehicle with Wrangler capability.
GM/General Motors
GM Vice President Ed Welburn and the production version Chevrolet Volt - a vehicle that delivers up to 40 miles of gasoline - and emissions-free electric driving, with the extended-range capability of hundreds of additional mile.
The Tesla Roadster, which sells for $109,000, goes from zero to 60 mph in less than four seconds, and according to Tesla, can travel up to 220 miles between charges of the advanced lithium-ion battery pack. It is all-electric, however, and must be recharged from an outside power source when the batteries run down.
At least some of Chrysler’s electric vehicles, however, will be so-called plug-in hybrids, which have an onboard gasoline engine whose sole purpose is to recharge the battery pack while the vehicle is moving.
That way, the car doesn’t have to stop for recharging when the batteries run down, but the car also can be recharged from an external power source.
That’s similar to the drive system of the Chevrolet Volt, which General Motors showed recently in its production form. The Volt, which also is scheduled to go on sale in 2010, is built on a specially designed chassis and does not have a gasoline-only equivalent.
Chrysler said it chose to develop electric versions of its minivan and Jeep models to give consumers vehicles that they are familiar with and that are more practical for everyday use than some of the other electric vehicles that already have been produced, such as GM’s discontinued EV1, and some that are on the horizon, such as the Volt.
GM’s initial reports indicate that the Volt, a five-passenger compact about the size of the Toyota Prius hybrid, could cost up to $40,000.
Chrysler hasn’t mentioned prices for the electric minivan or Jeep, but they could come in at about the same price as a Volt. And the theory is that they would be more acceptable to consumers because they are based on the designs of vehicles that already are popular and practical for everyday use.
The automaker said that one of the electric vehicles would be available in 2010, although which one that will be hasn’t been announced yet. The minivan might be the best choice, as it would have seating for up to eight people and give big families an electric-powered transportation alternative.
Chrysler said the under-floor storage area of the current minivans is able to accommodate the large battery pack.
The Wrangler would be a good choice for several reasons. First, it would be an SUV with an economical drive system, but it also would allow off-road aficionados to drive on electric power in sensitive environments, using zero-pollution propulsion.
Jeep introduced the four-door version of the venerable Wrangler off-road vehicle two years ago, and it has become one of the brand’s best-selling vehicles ever.
“We have a social responsibility to our consumers to deliver environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient, advanced electric vehicles, and our intention is to meet that responsibility quickly and more broadly than any other automobile manufacturer,” Chrysler Chairman and CEO Bob Nardelli said during an announcement of the electric-vehicle plans.
“The introduction of the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge electric vehicles provides a glimpse of the very near future and demonstrates that we are serious and well along in the development of bringing electric vehicles to market,” he said.
Chrysler said its electric vehicles will have three primary components: an electric motor to drive the wheels, an advanced lithium-ion battery system to power the motor and a computerized controller to manage energy flow.
But the minivan and Jeep also will have a small gasoline engine that would be used to extend the range of the vehicle beyond the limits of the battery pack. They would be able to drive on battery power for up to about 40 miles, but after that, the gasoline engine would come on to run a generator that would charge the batteries and would provide electricity to keep the vehicle moving for up to 400 miles or so.
The Dodge EV sports car, though, would be electric-only so it would have to be recharged from an outside source. That’s the way the Tesla model works, as well.
“This [electric-only] technology provides customers with a vehicle that has zero tailpipe emissions and a 150- to 200-mile driving range — far exceeding most Americans’ daily commutes, as nearly 80 percent of Americans drive less than 40 miles per day, or 14,000 miles per year,” said Frank Klegon, Chrysler’s executive vice president for product development.
The extended-range vehicles with the auxiliary gasoline engine, though, will be an easier sell in the American market. Studies have shown that many Americans are wary of vehicles that can be recharged only from an outside source, a process that can take several hours.
While most people do have relatively short daily commutes, they often use their vehicles for extended family weekend and vacation trips with distances that would be farther than the range of a vehicle’s batteries.
Plug-in hybrids are designed to be recharged overnight at home using a standard 110-volt power outlet, and that charge would be sufficient for most people’s daily commuting needs.
Making electric vehicles with extended-range capabilities, and using designs such as minivans and
SUVs that are popular with consumers, could go a long way toward persuading Americans to switch from today’s gasoline-only vehicles to ones that can take advantage of propulsion systems that are less dependent on imported oil.
