lithium battery pack:G.M. Announces Buick Plug-in Hybrid S.U.V.
When General Motors jettisoned its Saturn division as part of its reorganization plan, we wondered what would happen to the Vue plug-in hybrid that had been in development. It seems that the sports utility-type vehicle will be resurrected and repurposed as a Buick.
Tom Stephens, G.M.’s vice chairman, announced Thursday that an as-yet-unnamed Buick plug-in electric vehicle will arrive in 2011. It will be preceded by a gasoline-powered version of the compact, five-passenger S.U.V., set for release in 2010.
G.M. says the baby Buick will be the “first commercially available plug-in hybrid produced by a major automaker.�The plug-in hybrid will have an 8 kilowatt-hour lithium battery pack, using the same lithium manganese spinel cells as the Chevrolet Volt (due in late 2010) but in a size about half that of the powerpack in the Volt.
The Buick’s hybrid system would operate on either gas, electricity or both, which differs from the Volt in that the gas engine can be in operation at any time. The Volt’s all-electric range is supposed to be about 40 miles, after which its battery pack needs a recharging assist � either from a small gasoline engine onboard, or by stopping for a plug-in recharge from an outside power source.
The Buick hybrid’s gas engine will be a 3.6-liter V-6 that will be flex-fuel capable. The system also features two electric motors, and G.M. said the battery pack can be recharged in four to five hours at 110 volts.
lithium battery pack The technology in the Buick is expected to result in more than 70 miles a gallon � about double that of its gas-powered counterparts. The Buick S.U.V. is also being designed to be able to run for up to 10 miles in electric-only mode, but only at low speeds.
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