Electric COPO and Electric Crate Motors

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by GMC_Typhoon

I for one welcome our robot overlords.

Me too.

I was the Assistant Program Engineer for the Gen I Volt and its derivatives. I managed the 2012 program, plus export/overseas and RH drive (including Opel, Vauxhall and Holden).

As a result I drove a Volt or Opel captured test fleet vehicle for about a four year period. The assembly plant is about 30 miles from my house, which means I could drive all the way there on one charge, top off at the plant and drive all the way home on one charge. The only time I kicked the internal combustion engine on was if I deviated from my normal route, or if we took an extended trip (like going up north).

To me, the beauty of an electric vehicle (besides not getting my clothes all smelly - and the instantaneous torque) is that you have the opportunity to move towards alternative fuel. Wind, hydro, solar, nuclear are all available for the taking. With petrol you are pretty much stuck with petrol (maybe corn).

If you haven't driven one you owe it to yourself to do so. Unexpected benefits were that they were zippy, with a low center of gravity and instant torque, and did surprisingly well in the snow (even though we worked with Goodyear to design tires that were especially low rolling resistance). They even had a "sport" mode, which became my default setting.

Did I mention instantaneous torque?

K

[JKZ27]

I get it. Its coming, regardless. 700hp can be fun no matter what's producing it. The environment, resources, "safety", progress.... I get it. And, I guess I'm ok with it.

But, I have a love affair with machines and harnessed fire, the simplistic beauty of oil bathed metal on metal with no logic other than mechanically operated human input resulting in perfect or imperfect, but direct, outputs. I grew up living and loving this stuff and I can't just "un-love" it now because its being replaced. I make my living working on new cars so I'm quite aware of new technology and its relevance and importance. As of right now, though, if I buy an electric car it will be out of necessity, not because I find them fun to drive.