GM News: Rumorpile: GM Ponders A Three-Cylinder For The Volt and ELR

[William Maley]

By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

March 20, 2013

Edmunds has learned from industry sources that General Motors is considering a three-cylinder engine for the Cadillac ELR and Chevrolet Volt. The reason for the three-cylinder is to help reduce fuel consumption and vehicle weight, something CEO Dan Akerson mentioned during a speech at a Houston energy conference a couple weeks ago.

The proposed idea would have the 1.4L four-cylinder that is used in the Volt and ELR to be replaced by either a 1.0 or 1.2L three-cylinder engine that is currently being developed by GM and its partners in China. If given the green light, the engine would appear in the Volt refresh which is due in 2015, followed by the ELR in 2016.

When reached for comment, GM declined.

Source: Edmunds

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[G. David Felt]

I do not see why they could not use a .5L generator running on diesel or CNG and use a step up transformer to get the amount of electricity into the battery pack.

[Drew Dowdell]

I do not see why they could not use a .5L generator running on diesel or CNG and use a step up transformer to get the amount of electricity into the battery pack.

well, that's a lawnmower engine... it may not have enough power to run the generator at highway speeds in regen mode.

[G. David Felt]

I wonder if Mazda's mini 1.8L V6 had anything to gain over a 3 cylinder motor?????? Wondering if a balanced mini v6 or v8 would do better than a small 3 cylinder or 2 stroke motor.

[Drew Dowdell]

I wonder if Mazda's mini 1.8L V6 had anything to gain over a 3 cylinder motor?????? Wondering if a balanced mini v6 or v8 would do better than a small 3 cylinder or 2 stroke motor.

Unlikely... just additional friction. A 1 liter V2 would be about the smallest they could go I imagine.

[pow]

In many ways, the "range extender" is the biggest limitation for the performance potential of a PHEV/E-REV. The beauty of EVs is that the maximum output of an electric motor has no impact on energy consumption--if driven the same way--unlike with an ICE car, where a larger engine and/or forced induction will reduce fuel economy even if the added power is not being used.

Volt could have a 400-hp motor and keep the same MPGe, but the 82-hp 1.4L range extender keeps that from happening.