In 1981, discussions between Ford and General Electric (GE) evolved a concept for an advanced electric vehicle powertrain that was subsequently presented to the US Department of Energy (DOE) as an unsolicited proposal. The concept involved a combination of technology from Ford and GE that would result in a unique powertrain based on a motor and transmission concentric with the drive wheel axis. Initial work suggested that the entire motor/transaxle combination could be expected to be smaller and lighter than the direct current (dc) motors that were in use in electric vehicles at that time and that the powertrain could be expected to be more efficient than other available powertrains. This program (ETX-1) was awarded to Ford Motor Company on April 15, 1982, in support of the DOE Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Program. During the course of the ETX-1 program it was established that the most likely first introduction of an electric vehicle would be in the form of a fleet of small commercial vans. To this end, the ETX-2 program was proposed. The resulting contract, number DE-AC07-87NV10418, was awarded by the Department of Energy and the effort commenced on March 14, 1985. The contract is administered by the DOE-Idaho Operations Office and is technically monitored by EG&G Idaho, Inc. 105 figs., 27 tabs.


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