ABC News recently did a segment on the Chevy Volt, calling it "the automotive equivalent of the moon shot." Most of it you've heard before -- GM's in trouble, if the Volt doesn't work then it means more doom, and "industry experts" don't believe the Volt will come out in time. But there was a glimpse of the production model of the car, including the interior.
One intriguing line was, "it will look a lot more like a typical 4-door than the show car concept." The front quarter view you get of the clay model is quite a bit altered from the concept, but still slick. The presenter also calls the interior reminiscent of Apple, but unless he means the fact that there's not a button in sight, it doesn't look much like an Apple. It's got a nice steering wheel, though.
Either way, we really hope GM pulls this one off. But frankly, no one knows if that will happen, and that includes, apparently, GM. So we have to wait until November 2010 to see if Lutz ("Yes!") or the Volt engineer ("We'll see...") is correct. Until then, get your bets in now, folks.
So let's talk renderings of what the production Chevrolet Volt might look like since they seem to be popping up a few places now. We know for a fact that it will look different from the concept that debuted in January 2007 at the Detroit Auto Show. Will it look like the image above or more like the one we showed you earlier today from another site? From what we know it will almost certainly be closer to this red car, although probably not exactly the same. As we learned last fall, the concept was not particularly aerodynamically efficient nor did it meet the requirements necessary to meet pedestrian safety standards. Since low drag is paramount in order to maximize the amount of kinetic energy recaptured during regenerative braking, the nose has to be much more rounded when viewed from above and the windshield needs more rake. The rendering above comes much closer on both counts and is also closer to what was seen on the wind tunnel model earlier this spring.
The Truth About Cars' contributor Andrei Avavarii is one of those rare individuals with a real knack for using Photoshop. Being a dedicated car guy, Avavarii's photochoppery is often a very good representation of what a real production automobile could look like. Such is the case with his latest piece, which offers an early glimpse into the design of GM's most highly anticipated vehicle before it's finally released to the public sometime in 2010 (hopefully).
The most radical design element kept in this speculative-image are the transparent sections built into the upper door skins first seen on the original concept. Lutz says that the production car will be recognizable as a Volt though some concessions will need to be made, so Avavarii has enlarged the greenhouse and streamlined the car a bit for the sake of aerodynamics. Of course, we'll just need to wait till Chevy lays down its cards -- possibly as early as this October in Paris -- before we know how accurate this rendering may be, but it's always fun to speculate in the meantime.
Pending white collar cuts and dismal sales data have resulted in morale problems at General Motors. That's going to put a damper on the Detroit automaker's centennial celebration, so the General plans on showing employees a near-production-ready Chevy Volt to give workers hope. The (hopefully) game-changing extended range electric vehicle will be shown internally around the September 16th centennial, and employees who see the Volt will, of course, have to check their cameras and phones at the door. That doesn't mean the public won't soon get an eyeful of the car, as GM sources report that it'll be shown in production trim at this year's LA or Detroit Auto Show. Don't forget also that it's also been rumored that Volt could show up in Paris in October.
GM has 200 engineers and 50 designers working long hours to make the ER-EV happen by its late 2010 production target, and there are another 400 people working on components. GM is also constructing a new 530,000 sq-ft facility to build the Volt's 1.4L engine and working on getting incentives for the planned construction.
The Chevrolet Volt mystery may have unfolded just a bit more as GM-Volt.com is reporting that GM CEO Rick Wagoner has confirmed that the General is considering a 1.4L four cylinder engine for the production Volt. So far, nothing official has been announced, but the decision to use the 1.4L engine would make plenty of financial sense. After all, it's the same engine that is expected to power the first-generation Chevy Cruze, which may actually follow the Volt to market. Both the Volt and the Cruze will sit atop the next Delta platform, another bit of cost savings. We'd imagine that Chevy could drop the turbocharger and run the engine on the Atkinson cycle while still making plenty of power for this application.
GM has promised fuel mileage of around 50 mpg when operating in range-extended mode as the engine provides the power for the electric motor's operation. Equivalent miles per gallon will be highly dependent on the final output of the lithium battery pack, and the engine still won't be required for the first 40 miles of operation. What's more, the internal combustion engine will have little to do with actual performance numbers like acceleration or top speed. Therefore, we don't really care what engine GM chooses for the Volt so long as its original mileage targets aren't sacrificed along the way.
A tanking light truck market has hurt Chrysler more than most automakers, and a quick glance at the Pentastar's lineup shows that its lack of a small car isn't helping matters, either. Another thing that Chrysler doesn't appear to have in the immediate future is a plug-in hybrid or electric car. That doesn't mean such a product will never exist, though (right?). Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa told the Detroit Free Press that Project ENVI will produce an electric vehicle in "three to five years." Though Mr. Cappa didn't give any details about the project, he did say the skunkworks tech could "turn everything into a range-extended vehicle and take it beyond the 2020 campaign for 35 miles per gallon." We're not sure if "turn everything" means that ENVI is going to enable every Chrysler vehicle to surpass 2020 fuel economy levels, but it sure sounds like it.
For Chrysler's oversized dealer body, a 2013 time frame might as well be the date of the unveiling of the Chrysler Starship Enterprise. They're looking for something to sell now, and the Pentastar has given them very few commitments. The dealers are pleased with upcoming diesel models, and a two-mode minivan will help some, but efficient vehicles with plenty of volume is the order of the day. Make that yesterday.
When the Volt concept was first unveiled, GM was not sure how to badge European versions of the E-Flex cars. Apparently, the decision has been made and the first Euro-bound EV's from GM will be badged as Opels, with a Vauxhall version coming shortly thereafter. All three models of the E-Flex chassis will be built in Detroit atop the next-gen Delta compact car platform which was designed to carry a large lithium ion battery pack along with a range-extending engine. Though the Europeans would likely favor a diesel powerplant, it seems that the first-generation of all three E-Flex vehicles will use a gasoline-powered engine for on-the-fly battery recharging.
It goes without saying that the Volt and its Euro-clones will be the most expensive vehicles built on the Delta platform, with U.S. pricing estimated to be at least $40 grand. Across the pond, the Opel and Vauxhall E-Flex's will be saddled with at least a 10,000 euro premium. The price of gasoline, which is significantly higher in Europe than in the States, along with any government assistance for purchasers of the EVs, will determine how quickly customers will recoup that added investment.
With the Feds eager to keep raising the bar on CAFE standards, and apparently doing so based on proposed future technologies, General Motors Corp. bluntly told federal regulators not to count on the Chevrolet Volt, or other planned plug-in hybrids, when proposing new rules. GM is maintaining the position that those vehicles will be built in such low numbers through 2015, that they won't make a significant enough impact on the fleet. As it stands, Chevy plans to be build 10,000 Volts in 2011 (the first year of production), and 60,000 the following year... and meeting those numbers is highly dependent on outside suppliers for battery and technology delivery (let's hope they don't mimic the problems Toyota is having with the Prius battery supply). It was earlier this year when the NHTSA proposed a 25 percent increase in fuel economy rules from 2011 through 2015. It has been estimated that meeting those standards would cost GM about $17.3 billion. Although GM isn't trying to skirt tougher regulations, it is their goal to set "reasonable perspectives" with regulators. At a time when GM is struggling to survive (and they are not alone), the CAFE noose just may need to be loosened a bit.
One of the many things General Motors boasted about when it unveiled the Volt concept at the Detroit Auto Show in 2007 was its 600-mile range. This was achieved partially by the battery pack, which could sustain a (theoretical) charge allowing the Volt to run for 40 miles without reverting to the gasoline engine/generator, as well as a 12-gallon fuel tank. According to Kicking Tires, GM has shrunk the size of the tank by an unknown quantity and the result is a reduction in range from 600 to 400 miles – or 360 miles without the aid of auxiliary (read: grid-provided) power.
The General maintains that since most owners don't travel more than 40 miles in one day, it wasn't necessary to fit the Volt with a larger tank. That reduction in capacity will save some weight, but what will it cost in public perception? The hype surrounding GM's supposed savior and game-changer are based on two figures: range and cost. If GM can deliver on both counts, they might have a hit on their hands. If not, the Volt will be DOA the day it hits dealers.
Just how important is the Chevy Volt for ailing General Motors? Obviously, that's a rhetorical as GM is making it out to be the second coming of the horseless carriage. The money being invested into the latest battery technology and the sophisticated platform which carries it proves that the General is placing massive wager on plug-in electric cars. And you can bet that it will be hyping the Hell out of them too. We already reported on the fact that the Volt will be a centerpiece of General Motor's upcoming Centennial celebration, and now we hear that the production Volt could join GM's other upcoming gas-saver, the Chevy Beat, by making an appearance in the highly anticipated Transformers sequel.
Die-hard Camaro fans have been anxiously awaiting its formal introduction since it strutted its stuff in concept form in the first installment of Transformers. Thankfully for Volt aficionados, along with just about anyone else looking to save a few bucks on their fuel bills, we shouldn't need to wait nearly as long after its big-screen debut for a shot at driving off the showroom floor in a shiny new electric car, assuming the Volt actually arrives on schedule for its 2010 launch.
