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The World of Mel
August 4, 2009 at 8:40 am
Mel and Paris, her dog
Mel Fox: battery engineer, Chevy Volt extended range electric vehicle
Favorite Band: Led Zeppelin
Strangest Thing: Doesn’t own a TV
Favorite Pastime: Loves to blog - http://theworldofallthingsmel.blogspot.com/
I work with engineers on a daily basis to ensure our future Chevy Volt customers will enjoy excellent battery performance regardless of the type of driving they engage in, or the climate in which they live/drive.
I am also responsible for ensuring the batteries will live as long as possible – think of me as an advocate for the Volt battery! Since one of the biggest questions people have about the Volt is how long the battery will last, I feel this is an amazing assignment and really quite important for the Volt, which is an extended range electric vehicle.
Testing Volts in the desert
Part of my job is to test the batteries in various environments to measure the way they perform in severe conditions and make sure we can keep them cool, which helps protect battery life. For example, I was just on a hot weather trip at GM’s new proving grounds in Yuma, Ariz., where we drove vehicles through the desert in 113F (45C) temperatures to make sure that we could keep the batteries cool!
As interesting as my job is, I have a hand in something much bigger than the Volt. I believe this vehicle will promote a movement in the automotive industry, a leap toward alternative propulsion that will give consumers new and innovative options for their transportation needs. By infiltrating the market with new battery technology, we are pushing the industry and infrastructure to accommodate and develop this technology further, and it’s also likely to spur new technologies in the process.
I’m excited about all of this because the health of our planet (people included) is important to me. I do what I can to “be green”. I’m mostly a pedestrian outside of commuting to work. I re-use paper towels (it’s not as gross as you think!). I recycle. And, I’m a patron at the local farmer’s market!
I’m grateful that I get to work on a vehicle that I am passionate about, and that allows me to honor my personal beliefs as well. What about you?
Dan L
Aug 4th, 2009
What a fantastic job! I’d love to watch some of the things currently going on with the Volt project. Something tells me Mel is a PSU alum.
mish
Aug 4th, 2009
What a fantastic idea to share the faces behind GM. It’s amazing to hear about people loving what they do. Good for you Mel! Keep it up!!
Ray Wert
Aug 4th, 2009
No, it’s still pretty gross to re-use paper towels. However, the farmer’s market in Royal Oak is very cool. I have to remember to hit that up this weekend.
Mike Van Proeyen
Aug 4th, 2009
Great story. I saw it on facebook first (GM and Chevy posted it) and there are tons of comments already. The video was great. It’s fun to see people excited about their job and I think it is contagious too.
Kevin
Aug 4th, 2009
Now can we get a tv?!
j/k
Troy Bloom
Aug 4th, 2009
Way to go Mel! You are officially the coolest LV grad / GM employee ever!
Mel Fox
Aug 4th, 2009
Thanks for reading/watching and for leaving the comments!! I hope that you’ll continue to visit this site to learn more about the other people who are passionate about their jobs at GM!!
Lori N
Aug 4th, 2009
I’ve been a GM fan my whole life. Not sure I’m ready to embrace an electric car yet, as I LOVE the power I’ve got in my V6 Chevy. But I’m willing to be open minded about it and I believe that if anyone can convince me to ‘convert’ it will be GM.
Sjones
Aug 5th, 2009
You should be in Volt commercials once they start. Folks need to know people like this work at GM, it will change perceptions.
Mel Fox
Aug 5th, 2009
Lori – you must drive the Volt sometime – I think that you will find the power quite impressive! There is nothing like the smooth and quick pick up of an electric motor with a very high power battery feeding it
Sjones – I hope you’re right! My favorite thing about GM is the awesome & talented people that I have the opportunity to work with (and playing with vehicles is pretty fun as well!!)!! Please pass this site on to others!!!
Behind the Scenes of the Chevy Volt « The Penn Stater
Aug 7th, 2009
[...] was featured this week on a new General Motors blog that is focusing on the people behind its technology. She’s a battery engineer, and her job [...]
Marc
Aug 13th, 2009
mel:
Don’t let some of the neanderthals over at TTAC bother you. I think what you are doing is great. Just need to get GM to lower the price of the Volt when it comes out.
Curious
Aug 14th, 2009
Here’s a question on the Volt range (ok many questions): I understand the Volt is foremost a commuter vehicle but will it be possible to drive it from Detroit to L.A. for example just by refueling every 200-300 miles (non-stop trip)? In other words, is the 300 mile max range limited by the fuel tank size or by the battery itself (which would aboslutely need to be recharged)?
Pure electric vehicles are limited by their battery but how flexible is the Volt for the occasional longer trips. Thanks.
Tom Wickham
Aug 14th, 2009
Mel really does rock. She’s the real thing and one of the reason’s why GM is going to thrive. Her attitude and approach to work and life should inspire the rest of use. Wait, they already are! Keep up the great work, Mel.
gmadmin
Aug 14th, 2009
Thanks for all the great comments!
Curious – I asked Mel to respond to you so check back over the weekend to hear what Mel has to say about driving from Detroit to L.A. I think you’re going to like what she’s going to say!
– Jordana
Mel Fox
Aug 15th, 2009
Curious,
The fuel tank size is smaller than in conventional sedans. In the optimum conditions and driving style the Volt will provide up to 40 miles of EV range, and the rest will require that the engine run to put energy back into the battery that the battery will output to the powertrain.
Does this answer your question? Please ask for clarification if you wish, and thanks for posting!!!
Curious too!
Aug 18th, 2009
Hello Mel
Great Article. Just has a question. As I read at many publications that full battery charge time is about 6 Hrs, perfectly suitable as an overnight charge. But what about when car is in motion? Engine is supplying energy to charge batteries as they are depleted. Mathematically, time to complete charge should be exponentially longer than while vehicle is at rest. Is there some kind of rapid charging while vehicle is consuming as well? This curiosity is based on info that engine is not designed to drive the drive train at all.
Thanks
gmadmin
Aug 18th, 2009
Hi Curious,
I was just looking at some of the responses on the Tell Fritz site (www.gmreinvetion.com) and noticed a question about the range of the Chevy Volt. Here is Frank Weber’s response:
“The Volt has a range of more than 300 miles, can be re-charged at any household outlet or simply be re-fueled at any gas station. The Volt can be used like any conventional vehicle. In the Volt, you will never have range anxiety like in a simple Electric vehicle. Having 40 miles of pure electric range will allow 80% of the American driving population to complete their daily routines in electric mode without using gas. The Volt is an Extended Range Electric Vehicle, which means it has all the benefits of a pure EV but without any range limitation.” -Frank Weber, Global Vehicle Line Executive & Chief Engineer for the Global E-Flex
Thanks for visiting Faces of GM!
-Jordana
Curious
Aug 18th, 2009
Thanks Mel and Jordana for the reply. The statement from Frank Weber is pretty clear: “… without any range limitation.”. I’m still struggling with the idea of such a small engine keeping the whole battery and vehicle going forever (I mean for an extended extended range) without performance compromises.
More curiosity: You (Mel) stated that “in the optimum conditions and driving style the Volt will provide up to 40 miles of EV range”. There is some controversy on what driving compromises are needed to achieve the 40 miles. Could you please define “optimum …” with regards to A/C, audio, daytime running lamps, colder weather, acceleration, etc. (normal conditions vs. optimum)?
Mel Fox
Aug 19th, 2009
These are truly excellent questions!
Regarding a small engine keeping the engine going… keep in mind that electric propulsion is more efficient than mechanical propulsion. Additionally, the control strategy is designed to manage this properly.
Also, EV range is different from vehicle range. EV range is the miles driven with the battery alone before the engine comes on. Vehicle range is how far you can drive in this vehicle with a full battery and full tank of gas.
“Optimum” is specific to the certification test schedule, which will involve low accessory loads and occur in a normal room temperature (basically).
As for variation in EV range, think about it the way you think about variation in fuel economy in a conventional vehicle. You and I could drive the same vehicle in different scenarios and with different driving styles and achieve different MPG’s. A more moderate driver will get better fuel economy than someone who mashes the accelerator all day.
Regarding a hybrid or EREV vehicle in a city driving situation, one can recapture some energy from regenerative braking which will allow one to maximize EV range, where a steady state cruise on a highway may provide no opportunity to recover energy from braking.
I don’t want to seem evasive, but direct answers to a lot of these questions would shed light on our controls strategies, clever engineering and techniques that we need to protect from an intellectual property perspective. But I absolutely love that you are curious and interested and hungry to know more!! This is the exact mindset that we need in our society to support new technologies and to make progress with them over time.
melissa gm
Jun 28th, 2011
My name is Mel too! I really enjoyed this article. It puts the vehicles on a such a personal level. Cool stuff!