GM Set To Design And Build Its Own Electric Motors
General Motors has been accused of a lot of things in the past year, and personally, I feel like that horse is dead, beaten, and buried. For all intents and purposes, it is a new company now. Or at least that is what we are being told.
One very important aspect of the new GM is its commitment to electric vehicles. The Chevy Volt is due out later this year, and the Cadillac Converj is also on the table. Today GM has announced that it was launching a program to start building its own electric motors in house, improving quality while cutting costs. And even better, GM says that the first vehicle to get a GM electric motor will come in 2013, and will be rear-wheel drive.
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This gets me all giddy. The thought of a mass-market, 2-mode hybrid rear-wheel drive car from GM has my mind swirling with possibilities. General Motors used to be the largest company in the world, and they made just about everything. Today, they source out a lot of their work, including the electric motor coming on the Volt. This new initiative will allow GM, with its scope and resources, to make some awesome electric motors down the line while dropping costs and learning more about the technology itself.
GM will invest $246 million into its Baltimore Transmission plant in White Marsh, Maryland to convert it to an electric motor plant. That is a pretty hefty commitment, and makes me wonder what other kinds of electric cars GM has up its sleeves. Perhaps instead of hybrids, we’ll get a real electric muscle car. Sounds like a paradox, but as long as it goes fast, I don’t care.
Source: GM Volt | Image: GM
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January 26th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Electric ENGINE? Isn’t that wrong by definition?
en⋅gine
–noun
1. a machine for converting thermal energy into mechanical energy or power to produce force and motion.
OR
1. a. A machine that converts energy into mechanical force or motion.
b. Such a machine distinguished from an electric, spring-driven, or hydraulic motor by its use of a fuel.
January 26th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Yup, you would be right. It’s a motor, not an engine.
January 27th, 2010 at 7:45 am
Just making sure. It’s a pet peeve I’ve had since I was like 12. ;^) I thought maybe the General finally invented something new … or you were referring to the hybrid platform in a new way. :^)
January 27th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Chris, I’d be a whole LOT more skeptical about anything coming out of GM’s mouth. They’ve made so many empty promises before, only to use the green PR to front production of their gas-guzzling ego vehicles. Case in point? The very day before you posted this article, GM announces they’re increasing SUV production – http://www.hybridcarblog.com/2010/01/gm-increases-large-suv-production.html.
So, Chris, you might want to turn down the giddy-ness factor. GM is NOT going to be a savior, much less a true participant, in the EV revolution.
This is all ye know, and all ye need to know…
January 28th, 2010 at 7:34 am
I’m always skeptical. That being said, there are plenty of people out there already second guessing every move GM makes. I just want me some rear-wheel drive goodness that happens to be fuel efficient.
And the whole SUV thing? Well, GM is making what people are buying. They are a business. They’ve only been out of bankruptcy a few months, so I’ll keep cheering them on until they really, really screw up.