First it was $30k. Then it became $40K-ish. Now, who knows? There's no way to guess how much GM will want for a Volt if when it finally hits the market in 2010. Bloomberg reports that Product Developer Supremo Bob Lutz is warning that "We are going to bake in a very substantial warranty cost for the battery in our overall pricing calculation. We need to be conservative, simply because it's the first time we've done anything like this." Maximum Bob gave no indication what that warranty cost would be. With experts estimating that each Volt battery pack could cost as much as $10k, it won't be pocket change (except for GM's management). Between the warranty costs and the workarounds for power-sucking accessories, the Volt's guinea pigs first generation customers may find out it's no fun living on the bleeding edge.

Last November, GM Car Czar Bob Lutz shot off his mouth boldly predicted they'd have a Volt test mule on the streets when the Easter Bunny arrived. Now he says that ain't gonna happen. In an interview with Reuters, Maximum Bob now says they'll start road testing the Li-Ion battery packs in July, "slightly later than expected." (Ya think?) He also said they may not name their battery supplier of choice until the second half of the year. BUT… "That may also be a little bit longer now, as we need a better handle on who has the technological capability we need and who is going to have the production capability." That seems to be the mantra for the entire Volt program. Anyone want to place bets that December will become the new July in a couple of months?

Automotive News [sub] reports that the Pininfarina family is scaling back its 55 percent majority stake to raise cash for the famed but financially-troubled automotive designer and coach manufacturer. Last year, with revenues of €670.4 million ($1 billion) Pininfarina SpA reported a consolidated net loss of €114.9 million ($174.9 million). One investor, French battery maker Groupe Bolloré, will also partner with the Italian firm to build 15k electric vehicles (EVs) a year under the Pinifarina brand. Using Bolloré's lithium-metal-polymer (LMP) batteries, the four-seat Pininfarina EV promises a top speed of 81 mph, a range of up to 150 miles per charge and production in 2010. Betting the firm on a full-size EV with reliable batteries and a generous range is no sure thing. EV ventures are cropping up exponentially in response to legislation curbing CO2 emissions. So far only small, three-wheeled or low-speed vehicles have actually been offered for sale.

In the latest installment of Tesla Motor's Mythbusters, the erstwhile EV maker's Director of Energy Storage Technologies says that Tesla's lithium-ion batteries are eco-friendly. That's because they're "manufactured in Japan, a country with very strict environmental laws." Kelty then lists all the nasty stuff their battery pack doesn't contain (leaving out dead kittens and powdered rhinoceros horn). In short, Tesla's Li-ion cells contain no toxic materials and "by law, could be disposed of by putting them in a landfill." Before that, Kelty recommends using the efficiency-challenged batteries "as a power source for off-grid backup or load leveling." Once the cells die, they'll be shipped off to Toxco's recycling plant in British Columbia. The copper cobalt will be sold for recovery, the slurry "sent off as non hazardous effluent for proper disposal" and the "fluff" (mostly plastic) "trucked back to the U.S. border and properly disposed" (in landfills). Kelty proudly points out that Tesla's disposal process "does not involve any smelters." He doesn't say how much smelting is needed to produce the battery pack but hey, we appreciate the info.

Thomson Financial [via Forbes] reports that BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer has raised the specter of an all-electric Bimmer (Beemer?) for the U.S. market by 2012. Reithofer may be yanking our schnitzels; he says production of the theoretical EV could be outsourced to a "major US automaker." Raising the weirdness stakes even further, Reithofer asserts that "BMW will be considered a so-called large vehicle manufacturer in the US from 2012, [obliging them] to offer an ecologically compatible car." The prospect of an eco-friendly BMW with outsourced production reminds us more than a bit of the Isetta. Does this mean that the Bavarian bubblecar will make a revamped comeback a la MINI? We're not sure, but an Avarvarii photochop would certainly be a giggle.

Automotive battery technology is getting better, but will it be ready to meet the growing demand for alternatives to gasoline and diesel fuel? The Economist reports that the vehicle battery market will soon be worth $2.3b. At the moment, lithium-ion is the go-to technology. While lithium is a light, relatively inexpensive metal that maintains charge capacity well, lithium batteries can overheat and explode. Battery developers are experimenting with a variety of materials and blends for the positive electrode: cobalt oxide, manganese-nickel-cobalt, nickel-cobalt-aluminum oxide, and iron phosphate doped with aluminum, niobium and zirconium. As demand soars, expectations mount. General Motors, for one, needs a safe, dependable Li-ion battery for their Volt plug-in hybrid. And they need it now– if they're going to meet the [most recent] late 2010 deadline. "It's either going to be a tremendous victory, or a  terrible defeat," says James George, a battery expert based in New Hampshire. The clock is ticking.

Writing in the New Scientist, Carey W. King and Michael E. Webber of The University of Texas at Austin compare the amount of water used for petroleum refining vs. electricity generation. King and Webber found that electricity generation "consumed" or evaporated three times more water than gas production. During electricity generation. seventeen times more water is "withdrawn", used as coolant and returned to its source. "I wouldn't sound the alarm that this is going to ruin the day," says King, "But looking into the future, this is something we should take into account." King advises powerplants to switch to more expensive dry (forced air) cooling. Alternatively, "If we use only wind or solar energy, water use would be essentially zero." Where will we get the energy to build all those turbines and panels? Fossil fuels, of course.

My car has 224 hp. I'm suddenly mature enough to not bother racing people at stop lights (especially since that CTS-V humbled me). I only use all my car's strength when I'm getting on the freeway or when I'm at a red light in the left hand lane and need to quickly get over to the right. And you know what? It's more than enough. I was going to write up a whole post about Lightning taking pre-orders for their 700 hp GT EV, but… what's the point? (Sidenote: TTAC will be taking pre-orders for our new 1,200 hp vapor electric car soon) Unless you routinely drag race (and I'm talking, you know, all the friggin' time) what on earth do you need 700 hp for? I'm not in any way suggesting we cap output, I just want to know who's buying these beasts? And why? For the record, 420 hp feels just about right. You?

Mass High Tech reports that General Electric is dipping a toe in the electric car business, investing $4m in electric car maker Th!nk and another $20m in A123 Systems, the MassiveTaxes-based battery company. The announcement comes as the formerly Ford-owned Norwegian EV manufacturer unveils its new Ox crossover in Geneva. GE says it plans on opening a new research center in upstate New York, where it will work with A123 to develop high-capacity, lithium-ion batteries for electric and hybrid cars. Last year, A123 received a $15m contract for next-generation vehicle batteries from the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium (Chrysler, GM and Ford) and a contract to supply batteries for the Saturn Vue Green Line plug-in program. It's good to see investment in homegrown battery development that's a little more sophisticated than just strapping a bunch of laptop batteries together.

At the International Renewable Energy Center, President Bush was shown a modified plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius and a Mack truck with a biodiesel-friendly Volvo engine. According to The Detroit News, Bush sang the body politic electric. "We want our city people driving not on gasoline but on electricity. And the goal, the short-term goal, is to have vehicles that are capable of driving the first 40 miles on electricity." (Not coincidentally, 40 miles is the projected EV range of the Chevy Volt.) While the Prez signed an energy bill mandating 36b gallons of ethanol by 2022, he's refused to fund advanced battery research (chump change at $500m over five years). "We've got to get off oil," the former oilman pronounced. "Dependency on oil presents a real challenge to our economy." Yeah, but how about political dependency on subsidies?

Occasional Ferrari designer Pininfarina has unveiled a futuristic concept car that puts a motor at every wheel. According to EVWorld, the Sintesi (Italian for synthesis) is powered by Nuvera's Quadrivium (Latin for a small hydrogen fuel cell and electric motor driving each wheel, apparently). By breaking up the drive train into smaller pieces– a strategy its makers call "liquid" packaging– Pininfarina was free to sculpt an aggressively aerodynamic (i.e. lozenge-like) projectile around four occupants. From the side, the leading edge of the Sintesi's hood seems to channel a bit of muscle car. The coda tronca (cutoff tail) calls to mind a Starfleet shuttle craft. The interior is dominated by a translucent epoxy instrument panel. Though Andrea Pininfarina made all the right noises about his sponsor for the project, the Italian fashionista says his design firm plans to release their own electric vehicle in 2009. So there.

Morgan has long been known as the maker of quirky British cars with technology, materials and looks straight from the early 20th century. With the de rigeur pre-Geneva release of its jointly developed prototype Lifecar, it seems that Morgan has decided to skip a hundred years or so of automotive development and go straight to fuel cells. Based on the Morgan Aero 8, co-developed by a consortium of British Universities and defense companies, the Lifecar concept features a relatively small 22kw fuel cell. With supercapacitors replacing batteries and regenerative braking, the Lifecar is pegged to scoot to 60mph in seven seconds and have a 250 mile range (now why does that sound so familiar?). The key to Lifecar's performance: a lean 1,500lb curb weight. Morgan's woodworking prowess helped give the Aero 8's crash diet a little class, fitting the concept with a super-lightweight wooden interior and seats. Morgan is not ruling out possible Lifecar production if there's an "enormous response." And if the idea of a totally silent lightweight Coupe based on an unavailable fuel source doesn't tickle your "enormous response," Morgan might just throw in a pair of headphones which will playback the sound of their five-liter V8 in time with the movements of your right foot. Now where's that checkbook?

Whether in print or in their private thoughts, most Peak Oil believers grapple with the immediate effects of oil scarcity. They picture a scenario based on history or speculative fiction, refining their expectations as the real future reveals itself and like Kafka's ape, looking for a way out. In today's Falls Church News-Press, Tom Whipple postulates that increasingly precious liquid fuels will be allocated to aircraft and ships. Since cellulosic biofuels and hydrogen are not ready for prime time, he expects that our already available electric power grid will be the most likely ground transport fuel for the immediate future. But in Peak Oil prognostication, all solutions reveal even deeper problems. Electric cars may serve in a limited capacity, but will we have enough resources to actually build them? Will any but the very rich be able to afford them?

Having failed to go it alone, small electric vehicle (EV) companies are finally realizing that they need large, experienced partners to help with supply chains, mass production and distribution. Th!nk Global (previously and more accurately known as Th!nk Nordic) builds and sells tiny EVs in Norway. At the Cleantech Forum in San Fran, Chairman Jan-Olaf Willums dropped hints that Th!nk will join with a large automaker to build a larger EV, and extend their marketing to Europe and the US. Ford Motors is a possible partner. Ford bought Th!nk in 1999, developing much of Th!nk's practical technology, but sold out in 2003. As reported by greentechmedia.com , Willums appears realistic about Th!nk's potential. Asked by an interested Cleantech attendee if the Th!nk could be driven from Arizona to California, Willums admitted, "I think you are typically a noncustomer for us."

GM may soon be feeling some of Chrysler's pain over bankrupt suppliers. The CarConnection reports Cobasys, supplier of the NiMH batteries used in the light-hybrid Vue, Aura and Malibu and holder of "a key contract in the development of GM's much-anticipated plug-in hybrid, the Volt," is out of money. The battery maker lost more than $76m last year and expect to lose $82m this year. To make matters worse, the company's joint owners, Chevron and ECD, can't agree on the 2008 budget. So Cobays' operating budget is $92m short. Cobasys is now on GM's "distressed supplier list;" the General refuses to comment on the situation. In the meantime, GM has struck a deal to buy batteries for its two-mode hybrid trucks from a Panasonic – Toyota joint venture.