Automotive News - June 23, 2008 - (Page 10)

10 • JUNE 23, 2008 Senator: Plants have capacity for plug-ins April Wortham awortham@crain.com Plugged in? At least 4 major automakers plan to have plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles on the road by 2010. Where will the electricity to power those vehicles come from? Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., says we already have it, based on his back-of-envelope calculations. ■ The Tennessee Valley Authority has the equivalent of 7 to 8 idle nuclear plants of unused OFFICE OF U.S. SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER generating capacity every night An add-on battery pack turns this that could be used to power production version of the Toyota Prius plug-in vehicles. hybrid vehicle into a plug-in hybrid. ■ If the same is true at other power providers across the country, Americans could drive 200 million plug-in vehicles without building 1 new power plant. ■ By using that idle electric capacity, Americans could replace threefourths of all cars and light trucks with plug-ins. That’s enough to cut the United States’ $500 billion overseas oil bill in half. NASHVILLE — Are plug-in electric vehicles the solution to high gasoline prices and U.S. dependency on foreign oil? Yes, and the proof could come in our sleep, says U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander. Alexander, R-Tenn., said the idle capacity in the country’s existing power plants during off-peak hours could power more than 200 million plug-in electric vehicles. Speaking at a forum of the Tennessee Valley Authority Congressional Caucus here last week, Alexander said he was reminded of how Texas billionaire Ross Perot made his money in the 1960s. Idle plants “He noticed that the banks were closing their doors in Dallas at 5 o’clock and locking their computers up. He walked in and said, ‘Can I buy your unused idle nighttime computer capacity?’ And the bank said, ‘Yes.’ Then he came up here and talked to the Tennessee governor and said, ‘May I manage your Medicaid data?’ And they said, ‘Yes.’ tapped to power plug-in vehicles. “We need to make sure TVA is at the front of the line in partnering with our automobile industry to make sure that we have the power and that we understand the consequences” of providing the power for electric plugin vehicles, said U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Ala. He is co-chairman of the caucus with Alexander. One consequence is the increase in air pollution from operating TVA’s coal-fired plants during off-peak hours, defined as 4 p.m to 8 a.m. “But those plants need to be cleaned up anyway,” Alexander said. “And the new revenue TVA earns from selling more power could be used to offset the cost of pollution controls.” Robert Wimmer of Toyota Motor North America Inc. agreed that plugin hybrids have a smaller carbon footprint than those powered by gasoline. Favoring nukes “The bank made a little more money. The state saved some money. And Perot made a million dollars,” Alexander said. “I think the unused computer capacity of the 1960s is a lot like the unused nighttime electric capacity at this time.” Alexander said the TVA, the nation’s largest public provider of electricity, has the equivalent of seven or eight idle nuclear plants of unused generating capacity every night that could be From an energy security standpoint, substituting electricity for gasoline made from foreign oil is certainly beneficial, said Wimmer, Toyota’s national manager of technical and regulatory affairs involving energy and the en- vironment. But to fully realize the promise of plug-in hybrids, “green electricity” must be used. “In France, where over 80 percent of the electricity comes from nuclear power, plug-in hybrids can significantly reduce carbon emissions,” Wimmer said. “On the other extreme, if the electricity comes mostly from coal-fired plants, the reduction of carbon emissions is modest at best.” Jon Lauckner, GM’s vice president of global program management, gave an update on the Chevrolet Volt. He said the fully electric vehicle is on track to begin production in November 2010. For the average commuter driving 40 miles a day, the daily cost of driving a Volt using only electric power will be about 80 cents, Lauckner said. If the owner charges the battery during off-peak hours, the daily cost could be as low as 40 cents, he said. But the real challenge for plug-in electric vehicles is not the availability of electricity, Lauckner said. It’s finding the right battery that can safely and practically deliver a sufficient range on electric power at a reasonable cost.c GM center troubleshoots IT in plants around the world Ralph Kisiel rkisiel@crain.com Fewer IT woes at GM A global information technology monitoring center has helped GM reduce production losses from ITrelated problems. The center has Significantly cut the number of lost units (vehicles not produced) in the past 2 years Reduced by 27% lost manufacturing minutes through May, compared with a year earlier Reduced by 46% the mean time to repair IT-related problems through May Source: GM, EDS DETROIT — On June 10, production of General Motors’ hot-selling Chevrolet Malibu threatened to grind to a halt at the Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan., because of a computer hardware problem. Enter GM’s Global Command and Control Center. The center, in Pontiac, Mich., acts as a window into operations at GM’s 185 manufacturing plants around the world. It closely monitors factory networks, servers and critical manufacturing software applications. The center identified and fixed the problem in Fairfax’s production information and control system before it escalated. “I think we lost three or four units but made them up” later in the day, says Kirk Gutmann, GM process information officer for global manufacturing and quality. “We got it resolved before we had any outages, so it was basically transparent to the plant.” By combining the Fairfax plant’s resources with those of the center, GM contained the problem in 10 to 15 minutes and resolved it in 45 minutes, Gutmann says. “It worked. If it hadn’t, we would have scrambled a lot more troops from Europe as well as other parts of the globe,” he says. “It’s a pretty important plant for GM right now.” Thanks to the center, GM has reduced dramatically the number of lost units that result from information technology problems in factories. The goal is to detect problems earlier, resolve them faster and prevent little problems from escalating into crises that stop production. The center was globally operational by January. GM has been working progressively with more plants since 2005. When a manufacturing plant encounters an IT problem, GM has three levels of defense. First, each plant monitors potential issues with the IT network, applications and infrastructure. A second level of monitoring exists at three Regional Command Centers in Ruesselsheim, Germany; Sao Caetano, Brazil; and Pontiac. In 2009, a fourth center will open in South Korea. The highest level of intervention is the Global Command and Control Center, near GM’s Pontiac truck assembly plant. The center takes daily “health checks” based on data it receives from servers in every GM factory, says Jerry Fullmer, EDS Corp.’s leader of the center. GM developed the center with EDS. EDS operates it. When a problem reaches the global center, the center summons the “top dogs,” says Gutmann. They come from such IT suppliers as EDS, Cisco Systems Inc., IBM Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sun Microsystems Inc. GM also taps the knowledge of its eight Centers of Expertise, created by the company to maintain manufacturing applications. Each is based in a key plant and is devoted to a specific set of applications.c http://www.ctpc.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - June 23, 2008

TRW exec: We're in the 'sweet spot' for growth 'Like house of cards,' used trucks fall Detroit 3 a big drag in global supplier race Ford rethinks big-block V-8 plan Looters and broken levees Plastech's Brown stands to get $9.25 million Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Hunt takes job at Gallup Lawmakers urge roof rule rewrite Webinar offers tips on going green Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Webasto sees more demand for retractable hard tops Why small isn't always big To move metal, hire an Ironman Chevy limits ZR1 Corvette to top dealers Lithium ion battery is key to hybrid growth With Russia hot, Ford will boost Europe production BMW exec: We can grow in U.S. The man who put the wind in GM's sales GM's parts ordering comes down to Earth More Fits for U.S. in fall GM: Volt buyers deserve tax credit Mercedes exec seeks more exclusive technology from suppliers Bosch, Mahle execs to lead turbo venture Supplier personnel ZF moves steering operations in Ky. Slowing Volvo, Saab add to Sweden's industry woes Feds: Drivers don't have to hang up phones Magna eyes new growth strategy: Powertrain-driveline modules Alleged sales scam snares Ohio dealers GM center troubleshoots IT in plants around the world Senator: Plants have capacity for plug-ins Lots of talk but little to show Going green pays off The Detroit 3 are smart to cut sales to fleets Drop Mercury? No; Ford needs it Awareness isn't GM's problem Leno was off base in bashing U.S. cars Roofs, rollovers and reckless driving Big-truck sales fall 15.2% in May Serra deal reflects GM channel strategy No. 2 vehicle hauler to go out of business Chinese company's car looks a lot like a Mini Honda taps star power for fuel cell car Dealer wanted media attention — and got it Dealers European sales dip 7.8% in May Merger gives Hughes Telematics a cash boost Mexico sales bounce back in April Suzuki dealers test system to turn Web leads into sales Bosch-Samsung venture to make lithium batteries Hyundai plans Elantra hybrid for Korea in '09 RV sales drop 8.5% in April Japan’s best-kept secret Utilities join automakers for plug-in r&d Ford likely to build '11 Focus at 2 plants Glut of '08 Ford F-150s delays launch of '09s '09 Porsche SUV prices rise Ford calls off Ohio plant sale Ford idles Mich. truck plant CarMax net earnings decline Dodge Journeys recalled 2009 Chrysler hybrid SUVs start at $45,340 GOP: Climate bills would make $4 gas look cheap EVs on eBay: It's all the rage In terms of market value, the General is a buck private Sign of the times: Hummer store to be used-car lot Bob Stempel's legacy is the future Flying 1 series? It's BMW's joke Dealer hurt in sky-dive navigates the road to recovery Opel car recognizes signs; BMW plans similar system JCI, Magna unit buy main parts of Plastech The little engines that could Suppliers to the 2008 Dodge Viper

Automotive News - June 23, 2008

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