Chevrolet S10 EV
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chevrolet Electric S-10, introduced in 1998 was an OEM modified variant of Chevrolet's S-10 pickup truck which ran solely upon electricity, and was marketed primarily to utility fleet customers.
Contents |
[edit] Modification
General Motors started with a regular cab, short-box (6' bed) S-10 pickup, with a base level trim package. In place of a typical inline four cylinder or V-6 engine, the Electric S-10 was equipped with a 114 horsepower three-phase, liquid cooled AC induction motor, similar to GM's EV1 electric coupe.
In fact, the majority of power electronics were carried over directly from the EV1, which mandated that the Electric S-10 use a front-wheel-drive configuration, unlike the rear-wheel-drive setup found in stock S-10's and in the competing Ford Ranger EV.
[edit] Battery
Similar to the Gen 1 EV1's setup, the Electric S10 stored and sourced its power from a lead acid battery pack. Manufactured by Delco, the 1,400 lb pack consisted of 27 batteries, with one being designated as an "auxiliary" cell. This pack, which was located between the frame rails, beneath the pickup bed, reportedly offered 16.2 kilowatt-hours for propulsion, and offered a varying driving range.
[edit] Effiency
While GM noted that driving styles would vary the operating time of the truck, a city range of 45.5 miles, a mixed (city/highway) range of 47 miles, and a range of 60 miles if operating constantly at 45 mph or less.
GM estimated 0-50 mph times of 13.5 seconds at 50% charge; "even less" when the truck had a full charge. Like the EV1, the top speed of the truck was governed, albeit to 70 mph, 10 mph less than it's coupe sibling.
[edit] Design
While the S-10 moved to a redesigned front fascia in 1998, the S-10 Electric kept the same front fascia as the '94-'97. Aside from this header panel, very little differed externally between the appearance of an Electric and a stock S-10. Any changes, however minute, were reported to have had a positve influence on reducing the truck's aerodynamic resistance. These changes included a closed grille and a front air skirt, belly pans beneath the front suspension, a seal between the cab and the pickup bed, and a half-length tonneau cover over the rear of the pickup bed. The charging port, using the MagneCharger inductive charging paddle, was accessed by flipping the front license plate frame downwards.
[edit] Instruments
Internally, the instrument cluster was exclusive to the Electric S-10, and featured only four gauges - a speedometer, a large "charge" gauge, a voltmeter ranging from 220 to 440 volts, and a "power use" meter, which acted as an ammeter of sorts. The LCD display for the shifter was shortened to display only park, neutral, reverse, and drive, due to the lack of a transmission.
[edit] Additional features
Despite the truck being based on a "base" trim package, the Electric S-10 still came standard with dual airbags, air conditioning, power four-wheel ABS brakes, power steering, AM/FM radio, and daytime running lamps, among other items. For colder climates, a fuel-fired heater was available, and would run off diesel fuel at temperatures below 35 degrees Fahrenheit.
[edit] Sales
Unlike the EV1, Electric S-10s were sold to fleet customers, as opposed to leased through restrictive programs, mostly due to the prior Department of Transportation crashworthiness evaluations done on stock S-10 pickups. As a result, a large majority of Electric S-10's can still be found in use today, as opposed to being dismembered and crushed.
[edit] Recent uses
In 2004, GM converted a leftover S-10 Electric to rear wheel drive, and harnessed its power through prototype in-wheel electric motors, as pictured.
