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Volt designer "more proud" of production version

Back when GM rolled out the Volt concept, there was less discussion about its design than there was about its underlying technology. Sure, it looked ok, but with gas prices at the time headed straight up, its promise of cheaper driving overshadowed its sports car roofline. Upon introduction of the more aerodynamic production Volt, there seemed to be a re-Volt. Our Hot or Not poll showed 65% of readers responded negatively to the dramatic redesign. You gotta wonder how that makes the Volt's designers feel. Two members of the Volt design team are from Ohio, and Cleveland's "Plain Dealer" newspaper asked them what they think of the Volt's new look. Apparently they either disagree and/or just really like being able to cash GM's checks at the end of the week. "There were probably a small number of people expecting the electric Camaro," Volt design team director Bob Boniface (in photo above) told the newspaper. "I'm more proud of this car than I am of the concept car," he says later in the story. Many people saw the production Volt and wondered why GM couldn't come up with something that didn't look so "Prius-y." GM aerodynamics engineer Ken Karbon has an explanation: "The laws of aerodynamics are the same if it's a Toyota or a Chevy." Maybe Chery should have tried that line in court.
posted : 10/21/2008 @7:51:44 PM
NBC orders up four more episodes of Knight RiderWriters for one of the most appallingly terrible hunks of programming ever foisted upon the viewing public are rejoicing, and why not? The dreck-fest that is Knight Rider has just received an order for four additional scripts. Rather than go find real writing gigs, the KR team can continue cranking out such gems of broadcast drama while obviously in a drunken stupor. The worst part of the news of NBC's order is that such an action often precedes a full-season buy. Fans of long-form Ford advertisements with stupefyingly horrid dialogue will be pleased, and at least Nunez can continue with his live blog, so the rest of us can avoid the show entirely, yet still laugh at the inanity.
posted : 10/16/2008 @6:15:20 PM
Carbon Motors releases first video of E7 cop car and in-car gadgets

Law enforcement officers have more reasons to be excited with Carbon Motors' release of a few more images and a video of its purpose-built Police car. The E7, as it is currently known, looks to be much more capable than the thousands of Crown Vics, Impalas and Chargers currently roaming our streets due to its rather amazing list of specifications and gadgetry. Included are a diesel engine capable of accelerating to 65 in under 7-seconds, composite body panels attached to an aluminum structure, 360-degree built-in police-duty LED lights, suicide rear doors with hose-out passenger compartment and a separate front compartment with plenty of techno-goodies. Radar, LoJack, an automatic license plate recognition system, radiation and biological threat detectors and Carbon's exclusive On-board Rapid Command Architecture (ORCA) which features a large touch-screen display plus keyboard (see above), are all included. We think that this sucker should get the job done rather nicely. Click here for a short video of the E7 in action.
posted : 10/16/2008 @6:07:45 PM
Fiat owner gets revenge for unreliable van

Ben Terrett, a graphic designer in London saw this FIAT Doblo and snapped a photo. We thank him for his expert eye and quick reflexes. While at first glance this might seem to be a commercial van covered with advertising for the driver's company, it is in fact a van covered with angst. The sides and rear spell out a laundry list of complaints the owner has with it: "This FIAT is very unreliable, 2 new clutches, 2 new flywheels, 2 new master cylinders, 2 new servos, Since new, Nothing but aggro." Apparently this guy isn't too happy with his little FIAT and hasn't gotten any satisfaction from his dealer. As Terrett points out, it looks like a pretty effective way to take revenge.
posted : 10/16/2008 @4:53:23 PM
Track Trailer Tvan world's beefiest camper trailer

If you're one of those take-no-prisoners off-road types, then we've found the perfect camper trailer for you. It's called the Tvan, and it's made by Track Trailer. The company, Australian-based and located outside Melbourne, has been in business since 1982. Their Tvan model is specially engineered to eliminate the problems found with conventional flip-over type campers (which stow the tent on the bed). With the Tvan, the tent is stowed in the rear hatch allowing your bed to be kept clean and dry. Even better, a hard roof over your head ensures a better night sleep. As Track is experienced building military trailers, much of their heavy-duty technology finds its way into the Tvan. Features such as an asymmetric link suspension with Koni shock absorbers, 10 inches of wheel travel, and a 30-degree departure angle allow the trailer to follow the tow vehicle over nearly every terrain. With a hot dip galvanized steel frame, it is also built to take abuse and last. Of course, the kitchen appointments are stainless steel with abundant power outlets, lights, and ventilation to take the edge off of roughing it. It even comes with a 70-liter "food grade" water tank as standard equipment. Now, we found you the camper, you just have to figure out how to get it here... unfortunately, the Australian company isn't shipping to the States.
posted : 10/5/2008 @5:08:57 PM
Automotive X-Prize recommends EPA adopt MGEe rating

Now that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has an agreement with General Motors regarding how to measure the fuel mileage of the 2011 Chevy Volt, our attention turns to the EPA, which now has to decide what official mileage rating will appear on the new car's window sticker and how to determine what that number will be. The first recommendation comes from the Automotive X-Prize, the foundation of which will award $10 million from Progressive Insurance to the winner of its competition to design a production-viable car that people would want to drive that gets 100 MPGe or more. What's with that little 'e' after the familiar miles per gallon? Basically, the X-Prize crew wants to convert all units of energy to a figure that's equivalent to the power from a gallon of gas. That way, a car's powerplant – regardless of where it gets that energy from – earns a rating that can be easily compared with everything else. So, EPA, the ball's in your court... still. Psst - GM, maybe you should enter the Volt in the X-Prize competition. Just a thought.
posted : 10/5/2008 @2:47:03 PM
Wagoner: $25 billion sounds good to me

At a press conference on Thursday, shortly after announcing plans for a new engine plant in Flint, Michigan, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner said his employer, "should be able to put to good use its portion of a $25 billion government loan package." Wagoner goes on to say he's concerned about the details of the plan but hopes the package is expanded to include all gas-saving technologies, not just electric cars. Which is understandable, considering GM has already invested a great deal of money into the Volt and would logically welcome financial assistance in investigating other fuel-saving methods. Then again, the Volt may just yet turn out to be classified as an electric car by the EPA, as the California Air Resources Board just did. Wagoner was also pleased to hear about the Senate's approval of a $7,500 tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles. The tax break is something the company has been lobbying for since May, and would certainly help to get the Volt's price tag closer to the original $30k estimate and hopefully allowing the General to sell the estimated 60,000 units we once heard.
posted : 10/3/2008 @7:36:48 PM
Knight Rider premiere pulls 4.9/10 Nielsen rating

The series premiere of Knight Rider on NBC last night pulled a 4.9/10 Nielsen rating in its 8PM time slot, which, according to tvbythenumbers.com, isn't exactly a stellar score for a series opener. In other words, Nielsen is estimating that 4.9% of all TV households were watching Knight Rider last night, and that group includes TV households that both did and did not have their TVs turned on at the time. The second number means that out of all the TVs turned on between 8PM and 9PM last night, 10% were watching Knight Rider. How does that measure up with Knight Rider's competition on Wednesday nights? Not so hot. KR was third in the 18-49 demographic and 4th in the more important 18-34 demo. Robert Seldman who writes for tvbythenumbers.com tells us that the 18-34 year old demographic was even more interested in watching America's Next Top Model than Michael Knight, and that includes both males and females. The Nunez household counted itself among the few that watched the Knight Rider premiere, and in case you missed it, check out Alex's liveblog of the first episode. He's promised to be in front of the tube each week so you don't have to.
posted : 10/3/2008 @6:58:29 PM
Knight Rider: The Liveblog - Season 1, Episode 1

Welcome, my friends! Tonight we gather to watch the train wreck that is NBC's Knight Rider, now a weekly series in the wake of the catastrophically bad telemovie that aired back in February. If you've blotted the memory of that debacle out of your brain, feel free to check out the original liveblog for a refresher while you wait for tonight's show to start.
posted : 10/3/2008 @6:27:12 PM
Spawn of Volt: More details on more variants

GM is not going to let the Volt or its E-Flex powertrain get lonely. The first Volt -- the one due in late 2010 -- hasn't been finished yet, yet is so popular that GM is publicly theorizing about how far it can spread the technology through the empire. Ideas include a smaller car with a smaller battery pack that could go 20 miles on pure electric, and be much cheaper. A proper wagon, just "a little bit bigger," could also make the cut. And those variants don't all need to be Chevrolets. Other GM brands will certainly be blessed with Volt technology, if not an outright case of brand engineering. Cadillac is one of the wolves thought to be circling the Volt's henhouse, and using Volt systems in a Caddy might allow GM to make a profit on such a car without tax breaks. If there were a more economical Volt with a shorter electric range, Saturn would seem to be a prime candidate. It looks like the sole E-Flex powertrain option not planned is an electric-only car, one without a range-extending gasoline engine. GM feels that people would find it too risky to have no backup. But back to that first car, the plain vanilla Chevy Volt that's still two years away from showrooms – a Volt team member doesn't appear to have forgotten the prime directive: "You always have to do the first car right and well." Amen.
posted : 10/2/2008 @2:21:21 PM
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