Volt chief engineer takes first drive in integration prototype [w/VIDEO]

maybe because of it's pre production status, but I really don't like the way it looks. It looks too like everything else in a bad way (it really looks like a cruze). I don't think a 40k car should look like a sub 20k car but thats a plague GM has always suffered. I'm also really disappointed that they used that 4 cylinder instead of the 2 cylinder they started out with (which turned into a 3 cylinder then they settled on the four). I hope GM goes all out on the interior too, I've seen the concept for the dash, which is beautiful just hope the materials feel "beautiful" too.

Edit* why hasn't the Volt ever been driven with the range extender going? that makes me think that the ICE range extender may be the hold up in getting the volt to production faster.

 

Dream on! Evan will be driving his Tesla Model S before anyone can actually buy a Volt. And if they ever do build the Volt (I bet they won't) it will probably get about 25 mpg when the ICE kicks in, after 7 or 8 miles.

 

didnt see enough detail to make a determination... to be honest with ya, as much press as i have seen concerning this car, i really truly dont know much about it.

now is it just me? have i discounted what i have heard and simply forgotten about it?? heck what is the size of the pack? the size of the motor, the range??

ok, granted some of it i forgot was because the numbers kept changing, so if i think hard, i do remember a vehicle that has a 10 to 40 mile EV range and will cost $22,000 to $45,000

ok, that brings it all into focus no problem

 

Well this is what I know for sure at this point. The volt will be based on the cruze (small sized car about the size of a corolla). It is expected to cost 40k base (there is a 7500 tax credit)and will seat 4 people. The size of the pack is supposed to be 16kwH (which is the threshold for the tax credit). The EV range is 40 miles.

What kept changing is the size of the range extender which started out as 2 then went to 3 then went to 4 cylinders(which is 1.4L). GM wanted to develop a specialized 2 cylinder, but decided that the 2 didnt generate enough energy so they went to 3 cylinders, which was perfect balance between energy generation and weight. GM decide it was costing too much money to develop a dedicated ICE range extender so they decide to use an "off the shelf" engine and that was the 4 cylinder. oddly enough is the smallest engine gm builds.

In my opinion The choice of the 4 cylinder forced GM to go back to the drawing board for the battery components and electric motors (the extra weight means more power from the motors and more power from the batteries....They needed a different battery chemistry.... even higher density of the batteries with and even higher discharge rate.). Since that 4 is not designed to sit at rest for long periods of time, I think that gm has to retool it anyway and should've just went with the 3 cylinder

 

Got to see the new camaro a few days ago in the wild, and after seeing the Volt (early build, but production planed body), its style is very much camaro-esq. Lots of press, but when will they build it, if ever ...

Daniel, I saw one of your cars while at the event where the Volt was being shown off ... only it was on a much more 'nostalgic' version.



What do you think ... you like?

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sorry but i think we have to examine a few items. the Volt's options or line of thinking that says a 2 cylinder motor will be enough to recharge means they are still thinking in the dark ages. well, i guess after SEVERAL months of testing, they found out they were wrong. shall i provide a link that gave an APRIL 2008 date where the volt would be available for sale to the public?

then we have Toyota... what did they do to get better mileage?? go to a smaller (which makes sense right??) engine?? well actually they put in a bigger stronger engine AND made the car bigger and heavier.... well that wont work (says gm) ya well, anyway... not the point.

my post above made with sarcasm that seems to have been missed points out that gm is developing the Volt with no real technical basis behind it. its like they drew lots out of a $ 25,000 hat, got a design, tested it and found it didnt work, so they had to draw out of the $30,000 hat and that didnt work and so on....

so i stopped keeping track of their announcements because it simply has become clear that it does not matter what they say the volt will be if it ever is, only what it is when it shows up.

but now gm is saying they will have something that will cost nearly twice as much and have 33% less EV range. ok, still sounds good but it has no more substance than the lyrics to "Stairway to Heaven" which btw, also sounds good. now i suppose you u need to guess at what i would rather hear?

 

The car looks great in my opinion. I'm just worried that it seems The Volt has become the symbolic front runner as benchmark for GM's ability to bounce back and remain a viable class leading automobile producer. That's a lot of pressure to put on a plug in, extended range hybrid.

Within the confines of Prius Chat, I think you have a disproportionate number of people who are "in" to alternative automobiles. Which is great, but for GM's sake they need a huge hit, and I'm just not sure The Volt can be that hit. Given the general public (still ICE focused) and those that live in Condo's and Apartments, which make "pluging in" problematic, even if The Volt became the better mousetrap, I'm not sure there are enough "better" mice. From an utilitarian standpoint, it's going to be expensive for what it will offer in pure driving performance and for performance as a automobile outside of it's hybrid and plug in capabilities.

It just seems to me like symbolicly GM is putting a lot of eggs in The Volt basket, and I really hope it works. But look at Toyotas model. Slow building of a infrastructure of owners and product recognition. A decade plus of refinement. Even though it frustrates many people, careful consideration to market viability, mass production capability and product durability, delays Lithium Ion batteries, while they slowly look at developing plug in's as a mass produced automobile. Again, the pace frustrates many people, but as an automobile producer, I think Toyotas approach is correct. While I fear, The Volt is now being hurried and used as a symbol, and as a product it enters a very volatile and uncertain segment of the consumer market.

Good Luck GM, I'd love The Volt to be fantastic and if it ended up changing the automotive world and rebounding GM? I'd be happy.

 

I'm lead developer for GM's driving simulator in Warren (I work for the company that builds the simulator, not GM).

I've met the entire Volt team, as they are using the simulator in their development process.

Andrew Farah is a very smart guy, I've met him. I don't know why he is wasting his time with GM though. The Volt team, moreso the executives above them, are clueless to the current alternative energy market.

These guys are working hard, but I see this as being a massive flop. Too much GM old style of thinking getting in the way.

The guys I've met are Andrew Farah, Frank Weber, and Tony Posawatz (vehicle line executives).

The problem is GM will go second rate on all the little details of the car , trying to get it out by end of 2010, and it's quality is going to be bad, especially for a 40k car (if the thing even works).

GM right now is not a collaborative work environment , everyone is fighting to keep their jobs (not me, I just sit back and observe as a supplier). So groups work against each other rather than towards a common purpose.

I'm probably the only person in this square mile facility that is going to buy a new Prius (once cash for clunkers takes effect).

 

Your view corroborates what most of us feel ... stodgy leadership/status quo ... shuffling the deck ... but the samo ol' cards.


Daniel, I saw one of your cars while at the event where the Volt was being shown off ... only it was on a much more 'nostalgic' version. [...] What do you think ... you like?





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No, it's not just you. The whole campaign has been glitz and glitter, without substance. Each year the price goes up and the EV range goes down and the production date gets farther away. Evan will be driving his Tesla Model S 100+ miles on a charge and GM (if it has not collapsed entirely by then) will still be saying that the battery technology does not exist to give a (by then) $55,000 car a 20-mile range.

By the time they sell it (if they ever do) it will cost $60,000 and the federal rebate will have expired and it will go 10 miles on a charge and will have the general build quality of a $10,000 car. Nobody will buy it and GM will say, "You see, nobody wants electric cars!" and Tesla Motors will have every Model S sold a year before it rolls off the production line.

Kind of doesn't really look like a Porsche to me. Of course, I like everything electric (except maybe the eBox, since it's made out of the ugliest car on the road). But as Porsches go, that one would not have been my choice.

 

ok, glanced at the pic, didnt read the caption, i thought it was a ferrari...is that a real EV?

 

No, Legend, you aren't the only one in that square mile facility buying a new Prius. Maybe we can park next to each other!

 

Tesla has 1 driveable Model S. GM has 1 driveable Volt. Tie ballgame!

The Model S has generated more than $3.6 million cash flow. GM has managed to get $0 from the Volt faithful.

I'm sure GM will be able to assemble the balance of their preproduction fleet before Tesla assembles a similar number but that will be the last time GM is ahead.

In the electric car market I believe Tesla is #1 and Toyota is #2 with the new Rav4EV conversions. GM has a long way to go before it moves into 3rd place with the Volt.

Evan, what's your number?

 

Is Toyota building an EV again??? If you are talking about aftermarket conversions, I don't think you can credit Toyota.

Don't forget Aptera, which has prototypes on the road being tested. The so-called "Volt" is not a test prototype, it's just a publicity show car.

Then there are Zenn and Zap and Miles, all of which are building and selling EVs, which puts all of them ahead of GM and Toyota. AC propulsion is a grey category, since they are a fairly large-scale conversion operation, converting Scions. But what they lack in quantity they make up for in performance.

Tesla is number 1. GM is not even on the list! But numerous small companies are selling EVs today. And if the Volt ends up coming out with a 7 or 8 mile EV range, and 25 mpg when running on gasoline, would you even call it an electric car?

 

It's the 1950's speedster type. Vintage. Like this one:




Unless your an ol' fossle like me, you probably don't remember that style.

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I remember the 1950's, but I know nothing about cars.

 

I'm not following this. What Rav4EV conversions from Toyota?

One of my favorite non-female bodies EVER.