We don't have to tell you how important the Chevy Volt is to General Motors. The plug-in electric car's success or failure is likely to be seen as a crucial indicator of GM's post-bankruptcy prospects in the eyes of many followers. This being the case, it's not surprising that automaker is practically throwing everything it's got at the project. According to Chief Engineer Andrew Farah, the Volt team is currently working on getting the sound and feel of the driving experience just right. Speaking to Automotive News, Farah said:

The engine, not being directly connected to the foot, is one of the things we continue to tune. We don't want it to be discomforting to people. There is an expectation of what happens when you put your accelerator to the floor in the way the car sounds and feels. We've got the feel. We've got the feel of a sports car. The sound part and the way the engine plays into that perception is one of the areas we have to work on.

Clearly, creating a plug-in car with mass-market appeal isn't as simple as bolting an electric motor and a bunch of batteries into an existing chassis. People have come to expect certain things to happen as an automobile is driven, and GM needs to find the right compromise between zero-emissions technology and time-honored driving dynamics. Further complicating the issue is the tremendous weight of the car's T-shaped battery pack. Farah explains:

Here's the thing to remember: When you put the battery in, it actually lowers the center of gravity of the car. There are a thousand reasons why heavy is bad, but a few why it is good. And so we are getting those advantages of the good heavy, and the disadvantages we are managing.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Now that the Chevrolet Volt has progressed to the point where vehicles with production-looking bodywork are running around the automaker's testing grounds in Warren, Michigan, the time has come for the crew to begin ironing out details like the ride height and spring rates that will directly affect the car's ride and handling.

Regarding these points, chief engineer Andrew Farah has some interesting things to say about the Volt and the way GM will position it against its competitors. For instance, Farah notes (in reference to the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight), "Our chassis is much more sporty than either of the other vehicles."

Farah also comments on a couple of changes to the car's exterior design that eagle-eyed parties had noticed, such as the relocation of the plug from the front fender to under a flap in the traditional location for a gas cap. Other changes, though, such as the headlamps and taillamps may merely be present because the Volt is still early in its development cycle and there are some pre-production bits that aren't yet necessary for testing purposes.

Spy photographers take note: Farah also says the car is set to undergo some hot-weather endurance testing out west this summer.


[Source: Inside Line]

When automakers are getting a new vehicle ready for production, the main specifications are generally locked down about 18-24 months before production starts. After that point, validation testing and calibration continues right up until Job One and changes are restricted unless a major problem is encountered. Because of the potential impact on other vehicle systems, any changes are necessarily limited. Meanwhile, once a current generation is locked down, the advanced engineering teams move on to further evolutions.

UK magazine AutoCar is claiming that the Chevy Volt and its European twins the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera will be one=generation vehicles. After the first generation, the publication claims, the Voltec propulsion system will just be applied to other existing vehicles like the Astra. While Voltec will almost certainly be mainstreamed just as Toyota has done with its Hybrid Synergy Drive, the Volt will apparently live on. GM spokesman David Darovitz tells ABG "there is about much truth to this as I am going to be in the next Superman movie. We're already working on Gen II." GM discussed the Gen II Volts back in March. The Ampera may be a different situation however, as GM attempts to sell off controling interest in its European operations. That variant may fade away in the coming years.


[Source: AutoCar, General Motors]

The technicians and engineers at GM's Pre-Production operations center at the Warren, MI tech center have been hard at work for the last several weeks trying to finish up the first of about 75 integration prototypes of the Chevy Volt. They worked so hard, in fact, that the first car was completed a week ahead of schedule. These are the first actual running prototypes and include pretty much all of the production-intent hardware in a production body shell. As is typical of these integration prototypes, items like the light clusters aren't quite done yet. The intended bulbs are included in a flat black plastic cluster with the proper arrangement but the covers and internal sculpting are missing.

Chief engineer Andrew Farah took IVER #1 (that's Integration Vehicle Engineering Release #1) out for a brief drive after it was completed and checked out and, according to the video after the jump, everything worked smoothly. While the car looks pretty much like the Volt that was unveiled last September, if you look carefully you will notice one difference. From the original concept to the styling buck we have seen for the last nine months, the charge port was always hidden under the trim piece just ahead of the driver's side mirror. There is now a flap looking much like a gas cover just below that on the fender. The charge port sits behind that flap. According to Volt spokesman David Darovitz, this is the production intent configuration. Dave, we're ready for our test drive anytime, you have our number. Check out the video with Andrew Farah after the jump.


[Source: General Motors]

South Korean battery maker LG Chem is getting prepared to supply lithium ion cells General Motors for production of the Chevrolet Volt by building a new cell manufacturing facility. The company broke ground for the new plant in Cheongwon earlier this week and the facility is expected to be running by the first half of 2010. LG Chem already has another plant in Ochang that is building similar cells for Hyundai and Kia for the new hybrid models being introduced by those companies. The Cheongwon plant is expected to cost nearly $800 million.

That's not the end of LG Chem's production investments. The company previously said it will eventually build a cell production facility in Michigan to support U.S. customers, including GM with the Volt. Yang Woong-chul of Hyundai and GM's hybrid engineering director Bob Kruse both attended the ground breaking ceremony.

[Source: Korea Herald]

When General Motors unveiled the Opel Ampera at the Geneva Motor Show last March, employees at Vauxhall got their hopes raised that they would eventually get to build the sibling of the Chevy Volt. Last year, it looked like Voltec-based vehicles could find a home at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port factory thanks to some British government incentives. That wouldn't have happened at the start of production anyway because initial volumes will likely be too low to support two factories. However, the recent agreement to sell Opel and Vauxhall to a group led by Magna International means that is unlikely to ever happen. For the foreseeable future, any and all variants of the Volt will be sourced from the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.



[Source: AutoExpress]

On Monday, General Motors officially inaugurated the new Global Battery Systems test lab that was announced at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The lab, which GM claims is the largest such facility in the United States, greatly expands on the automaker's ability to test advanced energy storage cells, modules and full battery packs. The new facility has 33,000 square feet of floor space filled with battery cyclers, thermal chambers and even a shaker stand.

The new lab, which is four times the size of the old facility that was located within the research and development building at the Warren Tech Center, has moved to the Alternative Energy Center building on the same campus. The day's events began with a series of speeches by hybrid development director, Bob Kruse, CEO Fritz Henderson, and VP of global engineering Jim Queen along with a succession of federal, state and local politicians thanking themselves for helping to make this facility happen. Following the speeches we got to take a tour of the facility. Along the way we learned some new things about the Volt battery pack - all of which you can read about after the jump.


Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Last night, General Motors' outgoing car czar, Bob Lutz, went to New York City to rebut the thrashing that David Letterman gave the Chevy Volt a few weeks ago during an interview. That comedian's criticism came during the an "interview" with Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk (details here). The more forceful Lutz certainly didn't allow Letterman to control the discussion the way he did when dominating Musk. Lutz actually expressed himself well, even praising Tesla's accomplishments along the way. In the process of doing that, however, he explained that a big reason the Tesla Roadster costs over $100,000 its battery pack with 6,831 laptop cells.

Observers were probably far less satisfied with Lutz's defense of the end of the EV1 program and his argument that the "batteries were not ready" and the company "couldn't sell" the EV1. He should have just said that the batteries were not ready for a mainstream vehicle and the car couldn't be sold profitably at a price people would actually pay.

When it came to the Volt, Lutz did a much better job of explaining the differences in the way it works compared to current parallel hybrid vehicles that drivers are used to. Ultimately, Letterman asked if he could get the first production Volt before reprising his electrocution schtick from the Musk episode. Follow the jump to watch the interview for yourself.

[Source: Youtube]

Two weeks after late night comedian David Letterman lashed out at the Chevy Volt's 40 mile range during an interview with Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, GM is counter-attacking with former vice-Chairman Bob Lutz. Next Wednesday night, Lutz will appear on Letterman's show with the Volt show car. Lutz is generally pretty good at holding his own in interviews, but it will be interesting to see how he rebukes Letterman. The latter generally keeps a pretty tight rain reign and controls the action, just as he did with Musk. If Lutz is smart, he will emphasize that he brought the show car instead of one of the Cruze-based mules because those are being intensively tested back in Michigan and elsewhere getting ready for a production launch next year. The Tesla Model S that Musk brought with him is also little more than a show car at this point and most development has been suspended until Tesla raises more money.

Clarification: When I say most Model S development is on hold, I mean most, not all. When I spoke with CEO Elon Musk in January he acknowledged that spending on Model S had been cut from 30 percent of Tesla's resources to only 10 percent. Before leaving the company, last former SVP Darryl Siry told us that essentially all work other powertrain development had come to halt. Some work is ongoing since they did finish the show car, but the bulk of it depends on raising cash. Meanwhile GM tells us that the Volt program is essentially the only one at the company that has not seen any significant cuts.


[Source: General Motors]

In a recent interview discussing Tesla Motors, CEO Elon Musk didn't really reveal much new information, although he did manage to misrepresent the performance capability of the Chevy Volt, again. He refers to the Volt's range extender as a "lawn mower engine" and says highway performance "will be anemic." While the Volt will no doubt feel anemic next to a Roadster, the reality is that the 160-horsepower electric motor will provide more than adequate performance for almost anyone's needs and should accelerate to 60 mph in about 8.5-9 seconds.

There's plenty more from the hour-and-a-half-long video interview to dissect, including bits about batteries and the high cost of electric vehicles. Check it all out after the jump.