GM aims for electric car with 200-mile range
By TOM KRISHER Associated Press on Sep 17, 2013, at 2:32 AM Updated on 9/17/13 at 6:47 AM
Transportation
BNSF Railway Co. announced Monday it is spending $125 million to expand and improve its system in Oklahoma. Projects will include a new bypass connection at the Cherokee rail yard in west Tulsa and extending a siding area on the carrier's tracks near Mannford.
The museum at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa is being packed up and shipped to Arkansas as port officials prep a new educational facility.
WARREN, Mich. - As automakers race to make cheaper electric cars with greater battery range, General Motors is working on one that can go 200 miles per charge at a cost of about $30,000, a top company executive said Monday.
Vice President of Global Product Development Doug Parks wouldn't say when or if such a car will be built, however.
Currently, GM sells the $35,000 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, which can go 38 miles on electricity before a gas-powered generator kicks in. It also offers the all-electric Chevy Spark subcompact that can go 82 miles on a charge. It starts at $26,685. Electric cars are eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit.
The 200-mile car would cost about the same as the current Volt, and it would match the range and be far cheaper than Tesla Motors' $71,000, all-electric Model S. The Model S can go up to 265 miles on a single charge.
A moderately priced electric car with a 200-mile range would make electric cars more appealing to Americans, solving the two chief complaints about such cars: anxiety over running out of power and high price, said Tom Libby, lead North American analyst for the Polk automotive research firm.
"That would be a huge step forward, no question," he said.
Currently, cars powered solely by batteries make up 0.3 percent of U.S. sales, Libby said, but he's confident that would increase if an automaker came out with a moderately priced 200-mile car.
Original Print Headline: GM at work on 200-mile electric car
Transportation
BNSF Railway Co. announced Monday it is spending $125 million to expand and improve its system in Oklahoma. Projects will include a new bypass connection at the Cherokee rail yard in west Tulsa and extending a siding area on the carrier's tracks near Mannford.
The museum at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa is being packed up and shipped to Arkansas as port officials prep a new educational facility.
