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 Chevy Volt is, as has been repeatedly said, the car that could save GM. With the auto market in China poised for expansion (at some point), it's no surprise that The General is thinking of making and selling the extended-range electric vehicle (ER-EV) there. The Detroit Free Press is reporting that GM will indeed build the Chevy Volt in China, but that all the Volts built in China will remain in China. Think of it as the Vegas of car sales. After initial production begins at GM's Hamtramck plant and export demand exceeds production there, GM will likely build Volts around the world for local markets. In the meantime, engineering and pre-production work on the Volt is taking place ahead of schedule.


[Source: Detroit Free Press]

It's going to be awfully tough to hit President Obama's stated goal of one million plug-in hybrids on American roads by 2015. After all, that's just over five years away and there aren't actually any affordable plug-in-capable vehicles available as of today from a major automaker that meet the basic requirements of the average American household. This is slowly changing, but the clock is ticking. General Motors plans to do its part to make Obama's lofty objective a reality. Speaking to Reuters, Britta Gross, director of global energy systems and infrastructure commercialization at GM, said, "I can tell you we can definitely do the heavy lifting part of that. We definitely will lift up our end of that."

We don't doubt that General Motors truly desires to sell as many Chevy Volts as it can produce, but a number of obstacles still stand in the way of putting a million plug-ins on the road, not the least of which is the availability of large-scale automotive batteries. With that in mind, what are the chances that there will really be a million PHEVs on American roads by 2015?



[Source: Reuters]

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]

Since the automaker's descent into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a number of people have taken to referring to GM as Government Motors. That's clever, but Beth Lowery, GM Vice President, Environment, Energy & Safety Policy, has a different acronym on her mind: Green Motors. A bit flowery perhaps, but she explained why as she answered a few interesting questions presented by attendees of the Air and Waste Management Association's annual conference and exhibition in Detroit recently. For instance, when asked how GM plans to produce the Volt profitably, Lowery says:

Introducing advanced technology is always expensive initially, especially in the early generations. It's important to have the right incentives for customers, such as federal tax credits. Future generations of the technology will be less expensive, making it possible for us to turn a profit.

Other questions were asked regarding GM's plans for the future and other possible vehicular segments. Perhaps someone's thinking of PUMA? Says Lowery:

From a macro level, we're looking at transportation systems globally, but our main focus today is on getting personal transportation - cars and trucks - right.

Click here to read the rest of Lowery's blog entry.


[Source: GM Fastlane]

One of the many questions arising from the General Motors bankruptcy is whether or not the company will keep the same name once it emerges from Chapter 11. While some people have already taken to calling it Government Motors, it seems somehow unlikely that new CEO Fritz Henderson will officially adopt that name. Still, the AP reported last week is at least being considered by the company. In a bit of thinking-out-loud contemplation, the Detroit Free Press has taken a look at the possibility that GM will indeed change its name. In them middle of the article is this paragraph:

Now, [a name change] also could be a sign to consumers that this really is a new, different enterprise. But GM's immediate challenge will be selling vehicles such as the Chevy Volt that were clearly conceived and designed by the current company, warts and all.

When GM is talking about itself these days, the most common new "name" is, well, "the New GM." The Free Press believes that GM should remain GM - why complicate matters. But what if the name does change and, since we're imagining things here, the Volt is used as the symbol of this new brand. A new type of car for a new type of company. Good idea?


[Source: Detroit Free Press]
Photo by mandj98. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

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]

According to Dictionary.com, ambivalence means "uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things." Why does this matter right now? Because ambivilanece is the word used by The Washington Post to describe GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz's feelings on the upcoming Chevy Volt. The Post writer seems to suggest that Lutz and the rest of GM's top brass are conflicted by the desire to build muscular gas-guzzlers while also pandering to the whims of environmentalists and our federal government.

Not so, replies Lutz, who took the time to write a response to the column on GM's Fastlane Blog. Calling the piece "incredibly inaccurate," Lutz goes on to offer his true opinion of the Volt and the future of the electric automobile. Lutz goes on to reiterate his previous assertions that the Volt project "is the most exciting program I have worked on in my entire career."

The whole thing is well worth a read, which is to be expected coming from Lutz, who's quotes we're sorely going to miss when he eventually retires for good. Nowhere else will you read such choice gems as this: "As I've said, just because the grocery store expands its offering of organically grown vegetables doesn't mean it shuts down the meat counter."


[Source: GM Fastlane]