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]

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.

A jury at the Festival International Automobile has selected the Chevrolet Volt for the 2009 Environmental Grand Prize. The jury at the French festival is comprised of artists, media and auto industry representatives and selected winners in multiple categories including the new Alfa Romeo MiTo mini car which chosen as the most beautiful car of 2008. The festival this year looked at the car in light of the current economic environment and festival president Remi Depoix said "Designers, engineers and marketing people in the automotive business will have to come up with new valid responses to this new paradox: to conceive an automobile answering new expectations and new requirements without compromising on charm."

Whether or not the Volt meets that no-compromises charm target is still debatable, but it certainly has the potential to break new ground in the technical department. The real question will be whether it can succeed on a commercial level whether the economy turns around or not. Only time will tell the answer to that question.


[Source: General Motors]

For the time being, General Motors is content to let suppliers like A123 Systems, LG Chem and Cobasys focus on cell chemistry for its hybrid and electric vehicle battery packs. GM leaders like Denise Gray and Bob Kruse believe that the key to ensuring that those cells last for (essentially) the life of the car, is in how those cells are managed. One of the killers of advanced rechargeable batteries is extreme temperatures, whether too hot or too cold. In order to ensure the batteries stay in their optimal range, General Motors is taking charge of the management control systems for its batteries regardless of who supplies the cells inside. That means the battery state of charge models need to be accurate to prevent over-charging and overheating. Lithium batteries don't like cold temperatures, so when the Volt is plugged in, the battery pack will be warmed up to ensure it provides adequate performance. If the car is left unplugged during cold weather, the range extender will start up as soon as the car is turned on to help warm the battery and the car will only switch to electric battery power once the internal temperature of the battery is within range.

[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]

While we've been sitting here drumming our fingers on the table waiting impatiently to get the call from GM to come over to Milford or Warren, the NBC crew swept into town and went for the first media drive of one of the Chevy Volt/Cruze mules. The report that was on NBC's Today show this morning actually tries to put GM in a good light for a change. Matt Lauer and Phil LeBeau visited the tech center and spoke with Volt design chief Bob Boniface and dropped by a local Chevy dealer. The report wraps up with some too-brief footage of the two gentlemen in one of the Cruze-bodied mules like the one that Rick Wagoner drove during his last visit to DC. You can watch the video after the jump, but since this is American network news, don't expect any significant details. Thanks to Nick for the tip!

[Source: Hulu]

Having honored the VW Jetta TDI as the Green Car of the Year at last month's LA Auto Show, the editors at Green Car Journal are not done with awards just yet. Next up they will be selecting a winner for the Green Car Vision award. The nominees go beyond ordinary concepts and are either current low volume production units, in fleet tests or are in development for production in the near future. The nominees are the Mitsubishi iMiEV (above), the Honda FCX Clarity, Chevy Volt, Fisker Karma and MINI E. All but the Honda have plug-in capability, with the Fisker and Chevrolet using range-extenders. The winner will be announced at the Washington, DC Auto Show on February 3, 2009.

[Sources: Green Car Journal, Mitsubishi]

Over at the GM Fastlane Blog, Jon Laukner, VP of Global Program management has piped up with another Volt update. In spite of the news this week that construction work at a new Flint, MI engine plant had been temporarily halted, Laukner claims it will not effect the Volt or Chevy Cruze production timing. According to Laukner, the factory can be completed in less than 12 months and will be done in plenty of time to support the production launch of Cruze in spring 2010 and Volt later that year.

Laukner also goes on to say that the last of 33 Cruze-based Generation 2 mules was completed last week. Like the earlier Malibu mules, these use a different body shell from the production Volt in order to test powertrain components and other vehicle systems. This time, the Cruze is closer in size and configuration to the Volt than the old Malibus were. These latest mules have the production-intent battery pack and powertrain although GM still won't reveal who the battery supplier is. LG Chem is believed to have been selected and when ABG spoke to Vehicle Line Director Tony Posawatz in Los Angeles recently, he said an announcement would come soon. GM is believed to still be negotiating commercial terms with its supplier including cost and warranty coverage. The final prototype Volts using the production bodies will be built in the spring for testing that is supposed to start next summer.

[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]

One of the most persistent questions around the Chevrolet Volt - aside from whether or not GM will be around long enough to build it - is the fuel economy rating. The problem arises from the unique combination of plug-in electric drive and internal combustion range extender. The current standard test cycles used by the EPA for purposes of calculating the mileage of internal combustion cars are only 11 miles long for the urban cycle and 10.3 miles for the highway. Both of those distances are well within the 40 mile battery range of the Volt. If the current test procedure was used the car would use no gas and this is clearly not a realistic evaluation.

According to the New York Times, the current plan is to run car through each of the test cycles until the battery reaches the "depletion" point. From this data an equivalent mpg figure will be determined. The Volt will then be run on each cycle in charge sustaining mode to calculate fuel consumption. Researchers from the Argonne National Lab are currently studying real world driving habits to determine a "utility factor" for blending the two figures. It is expected that this procedure will yield a final sticker value that tops 100 mpg. Of course, because all of these choices are somewhat arbitrary, the bickering will surely continue for the foreseeable future.


[Source: New York Times]

Perhaps one of the biggest fans on the planet of the Chevrolet Volt is Dr. Lyle Dennis, a New York city neuro-surgeon. Immediately after originally seeing the Volt concept in January 2007, Dennis launched GM-Volt.com. Ever since then he and his readers have been cheerleaders for GM's extended-range EV. Dennis set up a waiting list for people to register their interest in the car, and over 45,000 people have signed up. With the financial crisis that's engulfing General Motors right now, the Volt has remained the only upcoming product that hasn't seen its development dollars cut yet. However, even though the engineering teams are still working on the Volt, the car is ultimately dependent on the survival of the company as a whole. Lyle Dennis wants to maker sure that GM, and thus the Volt, survive. To that end he has written a letter targeted at President Bush, Congress and Treasury secretary Henry Paulson urging them to provide financial aid to GM as soon as possible. If you're interested in expressing your support you can print out the letter from the site, sign it and send it to your representatives.

[Source: GM-Volt]

Some of you may have noticed a story posted elsewhere on the interwebs late last evening about the Chevy Volt. As the story goes, a friend of a friend of a friend, etc told the writer that the Volt program was being put on indefinite hold due to the company's money troubles. With GM releasing its third quarter results in a couple of hours and a huge loss expected, virtually every program at GM is being cut back or delayed. The one exception to that (so far at least) remains the Volt. We checked with the primary spokesman for the Volt program at GM Rob Peterson first thing this morning on this rumor. Peterson tells us that "there's no truth in that statement whatsoever." So the Volt remains on track but GM is expected to announce some other big cuts this morning including lay offs among engineering staff (not related to the E-Flex program).

[Sources: General Motors, Jalopnik]