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June 29, 2007
A Grand Opening
Beth Lowery and Donald Welsh at the E85 pump
By Beth Lowery
Vice President, GM Environment and Energy
This is a blog post about a fuel pump opening. Stay with me, because it’s a bigger deal than it might sound.
E85, in case you didn’t know, is an alternative fuel made up of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. GM has already built more than two million FlexFuel vehicles that run on E85 ethanol – and there’s more on the way. (FlexFuel vehicles are just one of the things we’re doing at GM to help reduce America’s dependence on petroleum.)
So what’s the big deal about an E85 pump opening, you might ask?
We’ve been working with a number of companies who are building the supply infrastructure that will make getting E85 easier than ever. Yesterday’s event was one step further toward that goal. We’ve teamed with VeraSun Energy (a leading supplier of ethanol) and a local retailer to open a new VE85 – that’s VeraSun’s branded E85 ethanol - pump at the Georgetown Chevron in Washington, D.C. It’s the first ethanol pump within city limits that is open to the public.
That’s not all. Enterprise Rent-A-Car joined us yesterday, and announced that their main rental location in the District – just three miles from the Georgetown Chevron station - is now officially an “E85/FlexFuel branch.” They’re offering 50 GM FlexFuel vehicles for rent that are stocked with information on the benefits of E85 ethanol and the location of the Georgetown Chevron station.
These ongoing partnerships with fuel suppliers and retailers are an important part of the process of market acceptance – to get the benefits of an E85-capable vehicle, you obviously have to be able to get E85! — and yesterday’s announcements in Washington brought us closer to getting the infrastructure needed around the country.
Carlos Horcasitas, Chairman and CEO of Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Properties, and May-May A. Horcasitas Vice Chair & CFO, the station owners, went all out for this event, even repainting the entire station in the days before the opening.
And the spiffing up of the station wasn’t in vain. A host of dignitaries attended and spoke at the opening, including representatives from the District, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and me, representing GM.
Yes, there were lots of speeches. (No, I’m not going to recount all of them!) But events like this help to raise awareness about the advantages of ethanol:
- It can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- It helps reduce our dependence on petroleum and creates alternatives for our nation’s energy supply
- It can help improve vehicle performance, because E85 has a higher octane rating than gasoline
- It supports the domestic agriculture industry (from corn to cellulosic)
- GM’s E85 FlexFuel vehicles always allow the choice of using ethanol or gasoline, even allowing mixing in the same tank
- It is a renewable fuel, unlike gasoline.
You might have heard the argument that production of ethanol will threaten the domestic corn industry by driving up prices and diverting corn from food to ethanol. We’ve heard it too. But the thing is… it’s simply not true.
According to the Iowa Corn web site, the production of ethanol from corn uses only the starch of the corn kernel. All of the valuable protein, minerals and nutrients remain once the ethanol has been produced. For example, one bushel of corn produces about 2.7 gallons of ethanol, 11.4 pounds of gluten feed (20% protein), 3 pounds of gluten meal (60% protein) and 1.6 pounds of corn oil.
So what can you do? Find out where E85 ethanol stations are located near you: go to www.e85refueling.com or just press your blue OnStar button and your advisor will tell you where to find one. To find a list of GM’s E85-capable vehicles, check out www.livegreengoyellow.com.
Our commitment to alternatives to petroleum extends beyond GM and includes suppliers, retailers and drivers of Flex Fuel vehicles from all over the country. This is one of the most rewarding programs I’m involved with. Increasing the use of ethanol – and building the infrastructure to support it – is one of many steps we can take to create a greener future in our own communities. What do you think?
Posted by Editor at 9:52 AM
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June 28, 2007
The Ins and Outs of Challenge X
John Mizroch and Larry Burns congratulate Virginia Tech's Kurt Johnson
By Irene Berry
Guest Blogger
Editor’s Note: Last week, we heard from Challenge X winning team Mississippi State University. Today, we take a look at what it was like to participate in this year’s competition by third-place team Virginia Tech.
In the beginning of the Challenge X competition, The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) of Virginia Tech decided to use a split-parallel hybrid architecture that would use E85 fuel in its Equinox REVLSE. To achieve this design, HEVT uses two electric motors. The high voltage belted alternator/starter (BAS) is belted directly to a Saab 2.3-L engine coupled to a five-speed manual transmission to power the front wheels, while a rear traction motor supplies power to the rear wheels in order to maintain all-wheel-drive capabilities and provide performance assist. This setup allows the vehicle to use both motors in parallel power paths to assist the engine, or allows use of a series power path when the BAS is used to charge the 336V NiMH battery pack.
During Challenge X 2007, HEVT placed third overall while winning awards for best written technical reports and lowest well-to-wheels petroleum energy use. Here are four days of competition from HEVT’s perspective:
Day 1: We arrive at Milford at 7 a.m. to tackle the list from technical and safety inspection. After spending way too long welding, unwelding, and finally bending the exhaust to meet 7-inch ground clearance, we finally start the engine and it won't do anything except idle: time for Controls Team to break out the magic screwdrivers and start freaking out. They kick us out at 8:00 a.m. Plus, we find out that Rick Wagoner is supposed to drive our car at noon the following day.
Day 2: We get in at 7 a.m. with a list of things to check. Finally, at 8:20 a.m., we find the problem and are on the road. Wagoner is going to drive our car, not Wisconsin's. Unfortunately, the car stalls in the middle of a driving circle while he is driving. When keying-start doesn't work, he keys-off, the battery disconnects, and we're stuck there for three minutes. The good news is that Wagoner is a really nice and down-to-earth guy. “Driver error,” he says. Afterward, the driver information center and data acquisition computer stopped working. We throw together a LabVIEW data logger, and are off to the braking and acceleration events.
Day 3: We get through the traction, AVL Drive Quality event, noise, and handling events. The car seems to be running fine, until we realize the clutch sensor is failing. We fix that, then end the day realizing that the idle-stop wiring is messed-up ... again.
Day 4: Three of us get in at 7 a.m. with a plan: Instead of debugging further, we rebuild a slight adaptation of the idle-stop wiring using the National Instruments CompactRIO instead of a relay. By 7:30 a.m., we're done and the car is off to the fuel-economy event. Next is emissions. The driver for the event finds the car CD and listens to “Tech Triumph” and the “Hokie Pokie” the entire time. Towing is the final event: 16 percent grade with 2,500-pound tow. The car does awesome until a front halfshaft breaks at the very top of the hill.
Posted by Editor at 11:16 AM
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Photo of the Day: 1967 Cadillac
Today's photo comes from the albums of geraldloidl.
Be sure to look at all of geraldloidl's photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with "gmfyi."
Posted by Editor at 11:12 AM
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June 27, 2007
DARPA Urban Challenge
By Varsha Sadekar
GM Program Manager, Urban Challenge
We’ve all cheered for family, friends or our favorite sports as they compete. But when was the last time you rooted for a robot? That was the scene last week in Pittsburgh as “Boss,” the self-driving vehicle developed by our Tartan Racing team, completed an important milestone on the journey toward competing in DARPA’s Urban Challenge.
Boss’ big test has been one of the main things on my mind for the past few weeks. In order to move on to the November competition, our autonomous Chevy Tahoe, named after GM Research Founder Charles “Boss” Kettering, needed to successfully maneuver through several challenges such as passing a stopped vehicle and recognizing the right of way at a four-way stop—not an easy task for a driverless vehicle that can not be remotely controlled. (For more on DARPA’s specific requirements, check out this site.) Our team, which is made up of representatives from GM, Carnegie Mellon University, Caterpillar, Continental and a handful of other organizations, has been closely monitoring the reports of qualifying events of our 52 competitors over the past few weeks, waiting for this opportunity to show what Boss can do.
I arrived at the event site Monday morning with a nervous energy – the feeling that comes with 13 months of anticipation. As GM’s Program Manager for the Tartan Team, I’ve been involved with this project from day one, long before the vehicle had a shape or a name. But my nerves settled as I saw the confident faces of my teammates and watched our creation begin to navigate the test track. We had been preparing for this day and we were ready. More importantly, Boss was ready.
For us at GM, the Urban Challenge is much more than an exercise of creativity. When we look at Boss, we see the future of the automobile. Autonomous driving is not a technology for our children’s children – it’s a reality that will, at least in part, be reflected in our own lives in the near future. We will soon begin to see some driving tasks shared between driver and vehicle. Sound far-fetched? Consider these Boss-like elements that are already available on some of our vehicles:
- OnStar’s GPS positioning capabilities
- Adaptive cruise control
- StabiliTrak
- Lane departure warning
- Side blind zone alert
While DARPA will not announce the official results until August, we’re proud to say that Boss completed every challenge at the qualifying event. Check back here for updates on our progress in the coming months as we continue preparing for November.
Posted by Editor at 12:18 PM
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Photo of the Day: Classic Front End
Today's photo comes from the albums of sheogre.
Be sure to look at all of sheogre's photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with "gmfyi."
Posted by Editor at 11:20 AM
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June 26, 2007
Listening to the Experts
By Alicia Dorset
Blog Editor
It was a full house at the Power Center on the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus when members of the automotive world joined forces to discuss a topic on everyone’s minds right now — alternative-fuel cars.
Recently, I had a chance to attend TechKnow: Alternative Fuel Cars, and I’m glad I did. I sat among engineers and students, local residents and environmental activists. We all had the same question: How will we successfully reduce our dependency on foreign oil?
GM’s Larry Burns was just one of the panelists that evening; he was joined by Chuck Gulash (Vice President of Research and Materials Engineering for Toyota), Nancy Gioia (Director of Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Vehicle Programs for Ford), and David Cole (Chairman for the Center for Automotive Research). With varying members of the auto industry represented, I knew we were in for a good discussion.
Each member of the panel began with a quick overview of what their respective company is currently trying to do to bring more alternative-fuel cars to the market. Larry discussed some familiar names that we’ve written about here on FYI and over on FastLane — the Volt, the Equinox, and the Sequel. Larry talked about how each vehicle varies from the next, but I was glad to hear him talk about the bigger picture 151; that we need to diversify our energy sources. While cars like the Volt will change the way we drive in the future, Larry’s points reminded all of us in the audience just how fragile our current energy situation really is.
The question-and-answer session allowed us to ask Larry and the other panel members some of our burning questions. Topics ranged from how global warming impacts our buying habits when it comes to cars, to more technical questions, such as if the towing capacities change on hybrid SUVs.
A big question asked to the panelists was what can be done to accelerate battery technology for electric cars. Larry reminded the audience that GM is working hard to find the right technology, and used a good example to illustrate why some current, familiar batteries can’t be used to power a sedan: You can’t power your car with a laptop battery. Batteries that will be placed in electric cars must be able to perform in extreme conditions (cold mornings in your garage, or idling on the highway on a hot summer day, for example).
While each panel member had updates on what their companies are working on, everyone came back to the same point — alternative-fuel cars are here to stay.
Posted by Editor at 2:17 PM
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From the Archive: 1953
By Alicia Dorset
Blog editor
This week's find from the GM Media Archive is a photo of a 1953 Corvette.
Posted by Editor at 2:12 PM
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June 25, 2007
Photo of the Day: Stingray
Today's photo comes from the albums of Gr8 Big C.
Be sure to look at all of Gr8 Big C's photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with "gmfyi."
Posted by Editor at 11:54 AM
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June 22, 2007
Tiger Woods and Buick
By Jim Bunnell
General Manager, Buick-Pontiac-GMC
Recently, it was reported by some media that Buick is "ending its contract" or "rethinking" its association with Tiger Woods. That's not true — but it does make for sensational headlines. I'm writing to set the record straight.
Tiger is a strong spokesperson for Buick, and it's precisely because of his strength as a celebrity that we want to broaden his role within GM. Tiger continues to be an invaluable partner to Buick and to General Motors. He will continue to be associated with the Buick brand in the traditional sense, but we'll also use him in other areas such as OnStar. And if there was any doubt about that, the OnStar advertisement we showed the media yesterday had Tiger standing next to one of our new crossover vehicles. Yep, you guessed it, it was a Buick — the exciting new Enclave.
The fact there is so much attention being paid to Tiger and his relationship with GM illustrates his value as a partner for our products and services. We wish Tiger the best as a new dad, and continue to value his membership in the GM family. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding.
Posted by Editor at 12:17 PM
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Photo of the Day: XLR on the Road
Seen while driving through Shaniko, OR
Today's photo comes from the albums of silverxraven.
Be sure to look at all of silverxraven's photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with "gmfyi."
Posted by Editor at 8:53 AM
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Video of the Week: Cadillac XLR
This week's video comes from fanfan199191.
If you'd like to see your YouTube clip featured as our Video of the Week, tag it "gmfyi" on YouTube and we'll find it.
Posted by Editor at 7:18 AM
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June 21, 2007
Challenge X Talks to Bloggers
A group of bloggers got the chance to interview Mickey Bly, GM Dir. Engineering for Hybrid Vehicles on June 7 during the Challenge X event in Detroit. They talked about the contest, and how it benefits GM. -Alicia Dorset, blog editor
Posted by Editor at 1:20 PM
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The Thrill of Competition
By Amanda McAlpin
Guest Blogger, Mississippi State University
Editor's Note: Recently, GM announced the winners for the ongoing Challenge X. Take a look at what Amanda McAlpin, part of the of the Mississippi State team, had to say about the experience.
What a trip! From the deep South, our Mississippi State University team traveled north to Detroit to compete with our hybrid vehicle against 16 other teams from across North America.
Competition is a fun experience. It's always great to get to see all the students from the other teams. The first day, when all the teams gather for the opening night dinner, is exciting. All the teams come in, usually dressed in their team shirts (with University of California Davis in their hats and Wisconsin with their inflatable cow), and you just get a feeling of excitement. We're all competitive, but there is such a feeling of camaraderie.
Being at the proving grounds was exciting. On the third day of competition, I hopped on board one of the buses to take a tour. It was a fascinating tour. We saw all the roads and courses that GM uses to test their vehicles. To me it's just SO exciting to see this place where vehicles are tested, vehicles that will eventually end up in a car lot near me!
The people at the proving grounds were so nice to us. I’m not exactly sure I would be happy if my work space was suddenly invaded with 300 students, but everyone seemed happy that we were there. Our mentor from GM, Bill Beggs, is also just a ton of help. He inspires our whole team to keep trying to do our best.
The first few days of competition were busy with making the last few changes after the safety inspection. Then we were able to get going on the vehicle dynamic events. Stephen, a grad student on our team, was our driver for most of these events, and he was awesome.
Our vehicle architecture is a through-the-road parallel hybrid. We use a turbo diesel engine which allows us to get about 28% better fuel economy. We also use a six-speed manual transmission and a Michelin run-flat tires which give us an additional 5% increase in fuel economy. Overall, we're getting a 48% improvement in fuel economy over the stock Chevy Equinox.
On day three, our big crisis of the competition came; our clutch began slipping. There was nothing to do but replace it. Wisconsin came to our aid by getting their university to send down the part. We knew we didn’t have much time to replace it, so the team just got straight to work. We pulled out the engine and replaced the bad clutch in less than eight hours. It drew quite an audience of onlookers, surprised that we were doing it so quickly.
At the awards ceremony, when they announced us as winners, we were completely surprised. We felt we had a great vehicle, but in competitions like this, every little point counts. Walking up on the stage was a great feeling. It’s such a rush of relief, excitement, happiness, and a whole lot more emotions all coming together.
Our team also took first place for our outreach program. We talk to community groups and K-12 students about the need for more fuel-efficient vehicles, and alternative fuels. We also took home awards for acceleration, consumer acceptability, on-road energy use, and best engineering/fabrication workmanship.
Now that we’re back, we’re getting a lot of media coverage. I’m the outreach coordinator, so I’ve been really busy doing radio interviews, talking to newspapers, etc. Three of our team members graduated in May, and they have taken jobs they got through Challenge X contacts, two of them with General Motors. They are off to take on the real world!
But we’ve still got another year! I’m so excited about year four of the competition. We will get to travel (so much fun!) to several different places and show off our vehicle. And with a winning vehicle, we really feel that we have something to show off!
Check out this video to see the participants in action.
Posted by Editor at 12:26 PM
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Photo of the Day: Jimmie Johnson
Today's photo comes from the albums of Cobby17.
Be sure to look at all of Cobby17's photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with "gmfyi."
Posted by Editor at 11:52 AM
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June 20, 2007
Continuing Our Commitment on the Riverfront
Detroit's riverfront
By Matt Cullen
General Manager, GM Economic Development & Enterprise Services
Editor’s note: You might remember a post from Matt Cullen last May talking about GM’s commitment to Detroit and the city’s riverfront, where its global headquarters inside the Renaissance Center are located. The Rivard Plaza recently opened on the RiverWalk, a sign of the continued development progress on the riverfront. Not only may visitors now enjoy a carousel and park, but plans are also underway for the International River Days on June 22, sponsored by GM. Take a look at what Matt has to say about the event and how it reinforces GM’s pride in Detroit.
This summer, more than two and a half miles of the East Riverfront RiverWalk walkway will be complete, along with bike rentals, a river carousel, and butterfly gardens as part of the first two public plazas and pavilions along the river. We’ll celebrate this achievement with a six-day festival, the first-ever Detroit International River Days festival.
The festival is going to take place along the Detroit RiverWalk between June 22-27, and we’ll top it off with the 49th annual Target Fireworks. If you’ve never seen Detroit’s fireworks, or haven’t been in a while, this would be a great year to come back for that event.
The fireworks are just one part of the celebration. GM’s “Cool Events” will provide a variety of exciting and interactive activities for festivalgoers to enjoy. For example, check out our Chevy Racing Tour. If you’re a racing fan, you won’t want to miss this. There will be opportunities to get an up-close look at vehicles, as well as a chance on June 26th to have your photograph taken with NASCAR drivers Clint Bowyer and JJ Yeley. And, for those of you who are looking to improve your golf swing, you can head over to the Buick Golf Trailer. Stop by the trailer to have it analyzed or get a virtual photo taken with Tiger Woods.
The fun doesn't stop there. You can test your basketball skills on the festival courts, or stop by to see Duke University Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski conduct an on-court youth seminar on June 26th at the Pontiac Designed for Action Tour. Are you tired yet? We hope not, because the GMC Quarterback Challenge will give you the opportunity to see if you have what it takes to make it in the NFL. If you're into fitness, you can also venture over to Saturn's Health & Fitness Tour, where you can participate in running clinics conducted by the Brooks/Hanson Distance Running Project.
In addition to GM’s Cool Events, River Days has a variety of musicians lined up and family-friendly activities planned, including a carnival. I guarantee there is something for everyone during the International River Days Festival.
Make sure to keep checking the web site for more details as the festival approaches. www.detroitriverdays.com
Posted by Editor at 4:52 PM
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June 19, 2007
From the Archive: 1967
By Alicia Dorset
Blog editor
This week's find from the GM Media Archive is a promotional photo of a 1967 Camaro.
Posted by Editor at 12:03 PM
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Photo of the Day: View From Behind
Today's photo comes from the albums of cadmanof50s.
Be sure to look at all of cadmanof50's photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with "gmfyi."
Posted by Editor at 11:54 AM
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June 18, 2007
Post-Race Results
As the 24 Hours of Le Mans came to a close, take a listen to these post-race comments from GM Racing Director Mark Kent, Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan, and drivers Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen.
Magnussen, O'Connell and Ron Fellows finished second in the GT1 class and sixth overall in the No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R. -Alicia Dorset, blog editor
Mark Kent
Doug Fehan
Jan Magnussen
Johnny O'Connell
Posted by Editor at 7:34 AM
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Photo of the Day: Fin Details
Self-portrait, Stockholm, October 2005.
Today's photo comes from the albums of joevl.
Be sure to look at all of joevl's photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with "gmfyi."
Posted by Editor at 6:15 AM
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June 15, 2007
Checking in From Le Mans, Part Two
Today on FYI, we've got the latest from Thursday night's rain-shortened second qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Steve Wesoloski, GM Racing Road Racing Group manager, and Corvette Racing drivers Ron Fellows, Jan Magnussen and Max Papis discuss the perils of racing in the rain at Le Mans and their outlook for what is predicted to be a wet weekend. -Alicia Dorset, blog editor
Steve Wesoloski
Jan Magnussen
Ron Fellows
Max Papis
Posted by Editor at 4:52 PM
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June 14, 2007
Checking in From France
Check in with a few members of the GM Le Mans crew with four audio interviews from drivers Oliver Gavin, Max Papis, and Johnny O' Connell, as well as Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan. The team is in France preparing for this weekend's race. -Alicia Dorset, blog editor.
Doug Fehan
Johnny O' Connell
Max Papis
Oliver Gavin
Posted by Editor at 3:51 PM
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Photo of the Day: Camaro Re-Visited
Today's photo comes from the albums of subjective_reality.
Be sure to look at all of subjective_reality's photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with "gmfyi."
Posted by Editor at 3:41 PM
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June 13, 2007
From Michigan to Le Mans
Corvette Racing's Motorsports Odyssey
Tom Wallace
By Tom Wallace
Global Chief Engineer for Performance Cars
I've been an amateur road racer since my college days. The one event that I always wanted to attend was the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As a struggling student, I never imagined that I would become the fourth Chief Engineer in the history of Corvette, and I never dreamed that I would go to Le Mans. Well, dreams do sometimes come true, and I'm in automotive heaven.
I'm writing this as the final countdown to the start of the race begins. The only thing better than watching the 24 Hours of Le Mans would be driving in it, but I'll leave that to the professionals.
C6.R #3
