Global viewpoints: technology leads the way
General Motors goes for broad appeal
 Jamie Hsu, GM Executive Director of Technology Management. |
The word gadget is not a part of GM's technology lexicon. According to Jamie Hsu, the company's Executive Director of Technology Management, while others may tout gadgets, GM concentrates its energy developing technologies that have broad appeal. "What we always have on our minds is maximizing value for the whole customer base," he said. "Technology with a purpose."
Hsu cited antilock braking as an example. Another OEM introduced it at a high cost and on a limited basis, but it took GM to introduce it across the board "so everybody benefited," he explained. Other examples Hsu mentioned are interior trunk switches (GM is now working on a next-generation system that detects the presence of a person in the trunk and releases it) and daylight running lamps. OnStar is now offered on 32 of GM's 54 models and is being introduced with more services in a hands-free format called OnStar Virtual Advisor.
None of which is to say technological innovation is not important at GM, Hsu cautions. "It's become the foundation of whatever you want to achieve in terms of fuel economy, emissions, functionality, affordability, etc." he said. "We are trying hard to encourage our people to be innovative. The more ideas the better." Hsu works closely with GM's Advanced Portfolio Exploration (APEx) Team that reviews ideas to determine which vehicle ideas will be transformed into concept vehicles and, perhaps, production vehicles.
Stabilitrak and the self-aligning head restraint system are two more-sophisticated GM technologies that the company wants to introduce into as many models as possible. Already offered in Cadillac models, Stabilitrak is undergoing further development. The algorithms used to control the system are becoming so much more sophisticated and the computers so much more powerful that there is "diminishing need for sensors and other hardware," Hsu explained. The result is a next-generation product suitable for a larger number of GM models.
GM's big technology introduction for the 2002 model year is Quadrasteer, to be featured in a yet-to-be-identified full-size GM truck. With elements of Stabilitrak incorporated into it, the Delphi-developed Quadrasteer not only improves maneuverability at low speeds, it provides added stability at high speeds. Heated steering wheels and ventilated seats are some less-sophisticated technologies "on the way," Hsu said.
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Instead of opting to pursue hybrid-electric vehicle development with an eye toward touting a large percentage gain in fuel efficiency, GM is concerned more with overall net fuel savings, according to Hsu. Its mild-hybrid ParadiGM system will first be deployed on an SUV from the Epsilon midsize platform in 2004, but can be used on a variety of vehicle types. Epsilon, which GM's Saab and Opel units helped develop, is GM's first global platform, according to GM Vice Chairman Harry Pearce.
In introducing the system at the North American International Auto Show, Pearce said, "Converting an efficient IC vehicle into a high-efficiency hybrid vehicle saves more fuel than making an already-efficient design into a super-efficient hybrid. A relatively simple calculation shows why: converting a small car that might get 21 km/L (50 mpg) to a hybrid at 30 km/L (70 mpg) saves 216 L (57 gal) over 16,000 km (10,000 mi) of driving experience. But converting an 11-km/L (25-mpg) vehicle into a 14-km/L (34-mpg) hybrid, while improving fuel economy by only half as much, actually saves more fuel—432 L (114 gal) over 16,000 km (10,000 mi)."
With ParadiGM and other "high-volume" solutions, Pearce predicts that GM could exceed 100,000 hybrid unit sales by the end of the decade. "No other automaker can match it," he said of GM's hybrid strategy.
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Displacement-on-demand powertrain technology is something all OEMs are working on, Hsu said, "but we will be the first to use it in a production vehicle." Fuel-cell development also is advancing rapidly at GM, with much research being done, in conjunction with universities, on a process by which hydrogen can be stored in a nanocarbon material. "It's feasible," he said. "We need to make it practical."
For now, GM has decided to go with an onboard reforming technology using a "gasoline-like" clean hydrocarbon fuel for near-future fuel-cell vehicle development. Hydrogen is the long-term answer, company engineers believe. The company is cooperating with Toyota Motor on electric, hybrid-electric, and fuel-cell vehicle technology development. It also is working with ExxonMobil on the fuel side, and last summer announced development of a gasoline processor that achieves peak efficiencies exceeding 80%.
A study released March 21 by GM, Argonne National Laboratory, and energy partners BP, ExxonMobil, and Shell identified gasoline-derived fuels and fuel-cell vehicles as the cleanest and most efficient combination of fuel and propulsion system for the near term. The study also found that hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles are the best long-term solution, while diesel hybrids also scored well in the report.
The study recognized that environmental impact goes beyond vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency; for a complete understanding of how much energy is used and what emissions it creates, a fuel must be studied from the time it is taken from the ground until it actually powers a vehicle. This approach is known as a total system or "well-to-wheels" analysis. The study also examined gasoline and diesel internal combustion engines, fuel cells, and hybrids, all in a common platform—a Chevrolet Silverado pickup—and studied a variety of fuel types from a North American perspective. Researchers then set out to determine what is the cleanest—in terms of greenhouse gas emissions—and most efficient combination of fuel type and propulsion system.
 The rear suspension of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer. |
Petroleum-based gasoline and diesel are excellent fuels in the near-term, and a gasoline-like fuel is the best bridging strategy to a hydrogen economy for fuel-cell vehicles, according to the study. GM plans for this gasoline-derived fuel to work in both its fuel-cell and conventional vehicles. The results reinforce GM's philosophy that there is no need to create a costly and temporary infrastructure for fuels such as methanol or compressed natural gas (CNG) to reach a hydrogen economy.
Among the study's key findings:
- Fuel-cell vehicles powered by clean gasoline offer higher efficiency and lower emissions when compared with the other powertrains examined in the study.
- A diesel hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV)—using a clean, reformulated diesel fuel—scored very high among the non-fuel-cell vehicle fuel/vehicle combinations in terms of efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions. Overall, diesel powertrains had high well-to-wheels marks, scoring even higher than gasoline hybrids.
- Methanol used in fuel cells and compressed natural gas internal-combustion engines offered no advantages over clean gasoline in well-to-wheels efficiency.
Researchers considered 75 fuel pathways and 15 vehicle pathways—the path from well-to-wheels—and chose 27 for complete analysis. The vehicles were computer-tested using the EPA Urban and Highway Driving Cycle. A total of 15 fuel/vehicle combinations were analyzed.
