Your Electric Car Is Here. Is It As Good As Promised?
How do you sell a sporty two-seat automobile with a driving range roughly equivalent to that of a car with a two-gallon fuel tank?
That's the question General Motors must effectively answer with its fall introduction of the EV1. The corporation will sell its high-tech electric car exclusively in the Western market through Saturn dealers in Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, and Tucson, Arizona.
With a range of just 70-90 miles, depending largely on topography, driving style, and ambient temperature, to the rest of the automotive world the EV1 looks like a handicapped mode of transport. But don't dare suggest that to Bob Purcell, executive director of GM Electric Vehicles. Purcell firmly believes his vehicle will find its niche and eventually compete against any of the world's best $30,000-plus two-seaters. It simply has to find its proper place in people's lives.
And he's quick to point out the positive aspects of this four-wheel appliance. "There are no tuneups," boasts Purcell defensively. "There are no oil changes. It's powered by an electric motor and you don't service electric motors. There's none of that stuff. So if you want a car in the household that represents a real time savings, this is it. You use it just for short-distance driving. And you don't have to put a whole lot of attention into it. You bring it home at night, and you plug it into the charger, and you go out the next morning and drive it. Then, you come home at night and put it back on the charger. You never stop at a gas station. So you're not going to drive it to Aunt Martha's two states over, obviously. That's what kind of product it is."
Without question, the EV1 is GM's highest-technology product. This 137-horsepower, two-seat electric toothbrush has a bonded and welded 295-pound aluminum space frame with plastic body panels, stop-by-wire brakes, and electric steering. Its mostly aluminum and composite-plastic suspension weighs 25 percent to 40 percent less than a conventional steel counterpart. The EV1's 0.19 drag coefficient is about 30 percent slicker than any production car's and is about the same as that of a fighter plane.
But will the EV1 fly in the marketplace?Using the power of the electron to propel cars isn't a new concept to General Motors; between 1912 and 1916 it built 682 electric trucks, which ultimately couldn't compete with the power and range of gasoline-fueled trucks. Through the years, GM has continued development of its technology, constructing not only limited runs of electric Corvair and Chevette test cars, but also by building the Lunar Rover vehicles for NASA. GM's latest application dates back to the 1990 Los Angeles Auto Show, when it introduced the Impact electric vehicle, which after five generations serves as the basis for the new EV1.
The EV1 is approximately the size of a hypothetical two-person Saturn SC2 coupe. Strictly coincidentally, the EV1 has similar wheelbase, height, and track dimensions, but with a five-inch-shorter overall length and two-inch-narrower width than the production SC2. GM engineers designed an all-new chassis to integrate the large 1175-pound lead-acid battery as a large T-shaped structural component. The battery's presence is indicated only by a large center-console hump that separates driver from passenger.
A key EV1 design feature is its swoopy, teardrop-shaped body, which allows the car to displace minimal air mass and thus contributes to its energy efficiency. To achieve this sleek, tapered shape, the rear wheels are 8.9 inches closer together than the fronts. Surprisingly, trunk space isn't drastically compromised by the exterior styling nor by the battery's size. Designers compensated by making the trunk narrow but deep, with enough cargo space for a set of golf clubs and some groceries. One EV1 aerodynamic element not readily apparent is its smooth underside, much like that of a race car. Without the need for an exhaust pipe, muffler, or catalytic converter, the EV1 is sealed up like a Matchbox car.