Will GM Amp Up Green SUVs?

With the Chevy Volt finally launched, General Motors is expected to leverage the car’s electric motor and battery technology in other vehicles. The next potential target for this equipment is a five-seat crossover many believe will be called the Chevy Amp. Car and Driver reports that the new vehicle might be unveiled as early as January at the Detroit Auto Show. GM has already laid down some hints as to what to expect in the new crossover. At the Beijing Motor Show in April, the company showed off the Chevy Volt SUV MPV5 (Multi-person vehicle for five) concept vehicle. That MPV borrowed many design features from the Volt sedan. When the vehicle was unveiled, CNet noted that GM took “the styling cues of the Volt sedan that we’re already familiar with and super-sizes it into a five-seat crossover.” Many expect the Chevy Amp to be similar. That would mean the new Chevy Amp would be all-electric, with front-wheel drive propulsion. The Amp would also have a gasoline engine to generate electricity for the drivetrain motor. Essentially, the vehicle will run on battery power. When the batteries are drained, the gasoline engine would kick in to generate electricity to drive the electric motor, which in turn propels the vehicle. If the Chevy Amp matches the performance of the MPV5 concept vehicle, it would have an electric-only range of 32 miles before the battery power is exhausted. After that point, using the gas engine to drive the electric drivetrain motor, the Amp is expected to have a range of 300 miles. And if the Chevy Amp matches the MPV5’s top speed that would mean the crossover has the potential to top out at 100 mph. From a design perspective, the Chevy Amp is, as noted, expected to borrow heavily from the Volt sedan. For example, Autoblog reported that the MPV5 had similar headlights, tail lamps and a grille, as the Volt. Additionally, the Amp is expected to be a five-door hatchback with style similar to the Chevy Orlando hatchback. In fact, in the past the Motor Authority and others thought Chevy’s entry into the plug-in crossover market would be achieved by applying the Volt technology to the Orlando. For those who don’t want to wait for Chevrolet, there may be a more immediate alternative that produces something quite similar. Cincinnati, Ohio-based Amp Electric Vehicles will convert an existing gasoline-powered Chevy Equinox to an electric vehicle. The process takes about two weeks to complete. Once done, the converted vehicle, called the Amp Electric Equinox, will use batteries and two rear-mounted electric motors to offer a driving range 150 miles per charge. This Amp will have a top speed of 90 mph and will be able to accelerate from 0-60 in under 8 seconds.