General Motors went par for the course when it announced plans for an all-electric future earlier this month. The announcement follows numerous other automakers, which all stated future vehicles would feature some sort of electrification.
Although we won’t know GM’s specifics for some time to come, we have the general plan. The automaker will roll out 20 battery-electric cars by 2023—that’s significant since GM committed to fully electric cars, not 48-volt hybrid systems or plug-in hybrids. And it means GM is serious about a fully-electric future.
In the short run, GM will introduce two battery-electric cars in the next 18 months to kick things off. With that in mind, we ask: how do you feel about GM’s electrification announcement?
Of course, we know there will be a crowd that’s not so pleased with the idea of more electric cars, but as global markets move away from fossil fuels (read: China), automakers have no choice but to adapt if they want to remain competitive. However, the other side of the announcement is rather significant.
Although other brands committed to electrifying their vehicle lineups, that doesn’t mean they will introduce purely electric cars. “Electrifying” or “electrification” is a broad term and can simply mean more mild-hybrid systems attached to internal-combustion engines. In GM’s announcement, it made no mention of mild hybrids and only focused on battery-electric cars. Additionally, fuel cells will play a major part of the automaker’s powertrain strategy. GM also revealed SURUS last week, a platform for future fuel cell trucks. As we said, GM is serious.
Let us know, are you ready for GM to go all electric?
Comments
I’m ready for it. It’s going to make the world a safer place. Electric Cars and Safety go hand-in-hand. There are things you can do in an electric car, that you wouldn’t be able to do in an ICE. The world is ready. No more transmission, oil changes, car smelling garage. Say goodbye to your gas station attendant(if applicable). The convenience is going to be awesome. Soon, you’ll be able to plug in and charge just about anywhere. Your garage, outside your house, Outdoor Shopping Malls.
Yup. put the emissions somewhere else, LOL, someone has to generate emissions to make the batteries, SOLAR or wind? somewhere there are emissions generating the power to build all of that. Also, no one, at least the general public, thinks of the life cycle of electric vehicles. Battery disposal will be necessary and have environmental costs and risks. Oil changes were mentioned. it may cost more to change out the batteries than to change oil periodically. People, naturally, think of themselves first, like no smell in garage, when there could be larger issues, but created and occurring elsewhere. That said, while maybe not good for the environment in whole, i like the electric motor torque and power. As an all V* owner (my personal 3 cars) i look forward to adding a high performance electric vehicle, even if it costs more to provide it electricity than gas for the V8s.
CEO of Ferrari just said what i am saying, need full analysis before one thinks electric cars will save the planet.
I’ll believe it when I see it. They also said they had something like 12 performance vehicles, and the Camaro was 7 of them (RS, SS, ZL1, and the convertibles of each). So with 20 Electric Vehicles, I assume 8 of them will be variants of the Bolt EV. Still, I’m willing to see what they are bringing to the table. I’d like to see more performance hybrid stuff; like Malibu but with performance chops. I personally want to see a nice performance car that is useable and isn’t $100k.
Electric is the way of the future. GM has the scale, manufacturing, and engineering to make these profitable. I have a soft spot for Tesla, but if they cannot keep a competitive advantage, GM and others will soon push them out of the market.
As far as products, 250 miles of range and reasonable prices will keep these cars moving. AWD is a must. FWD cannot be the only option for people in the Northeast. The first two models in the next 18 months that I would like to see are an Equinox sized SUV and a full-sized sedan/sportback (Impala/Model S). Compact SUV are all the rage, and a full-sized sedan could be a good hedge against a shift back to sedans by consumers. It would also offer utility with a sportback, good design, and allow GM to experiment with driving dynamics in electric applications. Time will tell.
It was already announced that one of the two will be a Buick version of the Bolt similar to the Encore. Yes, one of them being a sedan would be logical.
I would prefer to see more diesel options. Electric isn’t ready to go live. Especially for those in the north during the winter months. They can’t afford to lose half the battery charge just because it’s cold outside.
I’m also confused by environmentalists pushing for this when the lithium and battery mining isn’t exactly environment friendly either. Seems to me that making and disposing of used batteries is as much a hazard to the environment as any other car or maybe worse.
The batteries could be lined up and stacked to build Trump’s wall. Of course that would take a few centuries to realize itself — but thanks to fossil fuels we’ll all be dead by then anyway.
Henry Ford and Thomas Edison did not like what they saw in the early 20th Century with the pollution and noise from ICE, and envisioned going all electric. They worked hard to make that happen, but when WWI started the Government needed capable machinery that only ICE could deliver. SO all R & D went to developing and improving the ICE and the oil companies became powerful and kept the momentum going. Too bad – if they had a few more years think of how amazing this planet could be.
The issues of recycling the battery can be tackled – think of what France does with recycling something like 97% of all of their nuclear fuel rods.
We’ve done amazing things over the years, and we can continue to progress and find positive solutions to the ills of the world. I’m all for getting away from engines originally invented over a century ago that are not great for our planet.
They also need to bring more hybrids to the market. The Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue and the upcoming 2018+ CR-V all / will feature hybrid engines and that goes a LONG way to allaying potential buyer’s range anxiety.
I think it’s fine.
Just don’t totally abandon the internal combustion engine.
I still enjoy the sound and the feel of an IC powered car.
You’re not going to duplicate that with electrics.
The nice thing is that most people won’t care what powers their cars.
So only purists and enthusiasts would be seeking IC power.
And that’s not a lot of people. So they wouldn’t be building a lot of them. So few that they would not have any impact on the environment.
I say build ’em both.
Sad ! ! I am not a tree huger .
You’re right. It is sad you’re not a tree huger
Glad they are doing this but the devil is in the details. One of the unique things about Tesla is the ability to customize your vehicle. GM would be wise to follow this method because the dealers don’t like electric cars.
Chassis from the chassis maker, body from the coach works, just like way back in the day. Make mine a ’58 Chevy Delray 2 door.
GM should also have an electric four seat convertible , preferably by Cadillac
I’d only make one alteration to your request.
GM should also have an electric four “American Adult Sized” seat convertible , preferably by Cadillac.
Otherwise they’ll think they can just through some cushions in the back of an Electric Corvette convertible.
MEH. Until they can go 500 miles a day for 4+ days in a row, with 5 minute recharges, they are impractical for me.
Where does one recycle a battery made of lithium? Do they get reused? is the chemical toxic or is it long term bad like nuke waste?? Is there a market for used lithium?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions then maybe you should not be gungHO about battery yet. I like the idea of plugging in and going, but range IS AN ISSUE for a long trip. Something like the auto train would make it better, but that only happens once you get into Virginia…. two days worth.
Just shove it into the back yard or garage for 20+ years to rot like we do now. OOOH, BARN FIND!
General Motors is jumping the gun because any attempt by states like California to mandate electric vehicles will end up in court and drivers will say it’s a hardship for them to walk miles to a recharging station, states like California will need to spend $Trillions in infrastructure as every street will need to be torn up with every parking space becoming a recharging stall and until this is done, it is virtually impossible for any state in the United States to pass a EV mandate especially given the makeup of the US Supreme Court.
One high speed charging station capable of 2000 cars a day would require $24 million to install and 30 megawatts of electricity each day.
http://driving.ca/auto-news/news/motor-mouth-more-inconvenient-truths-on-banning-gas-engines
Electric cars are great, but they’re going to be more expensive to manufacture and I’m not certain they’re not more efficient than gas-powered cars, esp after accounting for the fact that they’re significantly heavier (a Tesla model S weighs 1000lbs more than a typical sedan of that size). Also, are our electrical grids ready? Will electricity become more expensive? How will we meet this demand – by adding more solar/wind or more coal/gas/nuclear? With the constant improvement in fuel efficiency in combustion engines, is a chevy bolt worth much more than a cruze hatchback? Where are these batteries going to be made/disposed?
So, yes, skeptical :p
F***ing CommunistLeftistMarxistSocialists.