200-Mile Chevy Sonic EV Coming In 2016

Chevy Sonic Z Spec Concept

The source, The Truth About Cars, is known for sometimes being highly speculative and for starting some rather crazy rumors, so take this as unconfirmed at this point in time:

“The upcoming pure electric vehicle being discussed in the wake of the Opel Ampera’s demise will also be sold in the United States, in the form of a Chevrolet Sonic.”

“The Sonic-based EV will reportedly have a 200 mile range, which will presumably come from the new battery that LG Chem (battery supplier for the Volt) is working on right now.”

If true, then we’ll see a 2016 Chevrolet Sonic EV with 200 miles of range.  This EV will presumably be sold in the U.S. and abroad and it’ll be manufactured in Michigan.

There’s some evidence that The Truth About Cars could be on the right track here.  Remember that LG Chem 200-mile battery announcement?  It’s linked to the graphic below.  Notice the 2016 U.S. OEM notation?

LG Chem’s HEV/PHEV/EV RoadMap

And think for a second or two about the previous 200-mile EV comments made by ex-CEO of General Motors Dan Akerson.

So, maybe The Truth About Cars is actually onto something here.

Thoughts on the possibility of a 2016 Chevy Sonic EV with 200 miles of range?

Source: The Truth About Cars

Blast From the Past - A Steam-Powered Chevy Chevelle

The recent obsession with alternative fuels is nothing new, and can actually be traced back to America’s first fuel crisis in the early 1970s. Automakers saw this problem coming, but were still poorly prepared to respond to a jump in gas prices at a time when most cars averaged, at best, 10 MPG. This led so some far-out solutions and ideas, almost none of which made it past the pen-and-paper phase.

However, in 1969 GM commissioned Bill Besler to build a steam-powered Chevy Chevelle…and he did, sawing a 305 V8 in half and stuffing a steam setup under the hood. The engine was converted into a double-acting piston valve setup based on the 1920 Dober concept (explained in this video by Jay Leno) but only produced about 55 horsepower, as the small boiler was also stuck under the hood. Besides being underpowered and lacking air conditioning though, the test car rain admirably, racking up some 5,000 test miles before being donated to Harrah’s car museum in Las Vegas.

The Chevelle SE-124 was built as a cost of between $100,000 and $125,000 at a time when the top-of-the-line Chevelle SS with the 396 V8 could be had for around $5,000. In other words, like many alternatives, it just wasn’t affordable enough to be practical yet. The two-minute warm-up procedure was also inconvenient compared to conventional gas engines, making it a non-starter even if it was affordable.

Not that that has discouraged other automakers or entrepreneurs from attempting to make steam power viable. The Cyclone Power steam engine has made great progress in recent years, and the long-standing speed record for a steam-powered car was finally beaten. As for the Chevelle SE-124? It supposedly still runs, and may even get a bigger boiler for more power and driving range one of these days. It may not technically qualify as a piece of steampunk, but it’d make a great end-of-the-world ride, that much is for sure. There was also a Pontiac Grand Prix called the SE-101 commissioned with a 160 horsepower steam engine, but the setup weighed in at a tremendous 450 pounds heavier than the V8 engine, and with half the horsepower. Suffice to say, it was a non-starter.

As far as the viability of steam power is concerned though, I think it’s better as a conversation starter than a replacement for petrol.

 

Source | Images: KimmelSteam

Plug-in Pickup: the Chevy Watt Daydream

Bob Lutz has gone on record as saying the Chevy Volt should have been a pickup, and he takes every chance he can get to talk up his latest venture, plug-in hybrid pickup builder VIA Motors. Eventually, somebody will build a plug-in hybrid pickup, but what would such a truck be called?

Well some dreamers over at the GM-Volt forums have come up what they’re calling the Chevy Watt, a Chevy Colorado pickup with the drivetrain of the Volt plug-in hybrid. I’d buy it in a heartbeat, as long as the price was right.

After all, think of all the advantages to a plug-in hybrid pickup, and I don’t just mean fuel economy (which would be stellar, mind you). The proposed Chevy Colorado-based Watt could serve as an on-site power generator, running things like air compressors and flood lights without the need for long and dangerous extension cords. Even with an electric range of just 20 miles, fleet operators would see fuel savings on the scale of thousands of dollars every year, per vehicle, assuming average gas mileage in the mid-30s.

Unfortunately, the American pickup market is dominated by conservative suits who don’t want to rile up their bread-and-butter basket of status quo buyers. Sure, Ford is building an aluminum F-150, and Ram now offers 28 MPG diesel engine. But to many pickup buyers and enthusiasts, “hybrid” is a dirty word they want nothing to do with. So for now, the only dealership we’ll find the Chevy Watt at is in our dreams.

Will GM continue to lead the plug-in charge and be the first to market with a plug-in pickup, or will another (possibly foreign?) automaker swoop in and steal their thunder?

Originally published on EVObsession.