At a preview of GM's 2009 model year lineup yesterday in Jolliet IL, Bob Lutz revealed that the production supplier for the Chevy Volt battery has been selected. Unfortunately, the GM Vice Chairman would not say which of the development suppliers had been selected. Two partnerships have been supplying prototype batteries to GM for the E-Flex program since late in 2007. LG Chem and its U.S. subsidiary Compact Power Inc have long been considered to be the leaders in the race to supply the most critical component of the Volt.

Continental and A123 have also been providing batteries but they ran behind CPI in initial pack deliveries. Lutz reiterated that a test fleet of production-intent Volts would be on the road being field tested by late 2009 ahead of a November 2010 retail launch.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

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Is the vehicle pictured above the production Chevy Volt? It sure looks like it. It has the right greenhouse profile and judging from the head and tail-lights it looks an awful lot like the teaser shots that GM has been releasing lately. Perhaps the most telling detail though is the visible at the base of the A-pillar right in front of the mirror. The letters on that badge sure appear to spell out VOLT!. The car in this photo was shot during filming of Transformers 2 somewhere in Long Beach. So far calls to our contacts at GM are going unanswered but let you know as soon as we hear something. Thanks to Tony for the tip!

UPDATE: This is indeed the Volt! A video of the shoot has turned up that shows the car from above and clearly shows the rear end with a Chevy bowtie badge and prominent Volt logo. You can check out the video here and screen caps in the gallery below.


[Source: Transformers Live Action Blog]

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General Motors continues to eek out teaser shots of the production Chevy Volt, but it appears that an image of the production interior has slipped through the Empire's net of control. All we have to go on for this image posted on the Motivemag.com forums is the image itself, which is part of a display panel at what appears to be a sneak preview of the vehicle for god knows who. What we see is a sleek, all-white center console with virtually no buttons. The controls appear to be touch sensitive instead, leaving the face of the console as smooth as a Frigidaire. Good luck installing an aftermarket stereo in this one. Completely flush air vents flank the console, which stands out in contrast to the black dash panel. On top of it all sits the information display, seen here showing the relationship between the "range extending" engine and lithium-ion batteries. What say you? We all know the production Volt isn't going to be as wild as the concept, but does this innovative center console meet your expectations? Also keep in mind that this might not be the real deal, but it seems to be from all appearances. Thanks for the tip, Brandon!

Gallery: Leaked Spy Shots of Production Chevy Volt

[Source: Motivemag.com]

At a press conference in Lordstown, OH this afternoon, GM CEO Rick Wagoner officially announced that the Chevrolet Cruze would be built at the plant alongside the existing Cobalt. Wagoner alluded to this in June during the company's annual meeting. GM will invest $350 million in the Lordstown plant to tool up for production of the new compact sedan that will also spawn numerous other small cars. An additional $150 million will also be spent launching the Cruze including a new line to build the 1.4L turbo four cylinder engine in Flint MI. Cruzes will also be built in Europe and Asia for sale in those regions. It's expected that the Cruze with the new engine and 6-speed automatic transmission could achieve as much as 40 mpg on the highway.


[Source: General Motors]

Veteran interviewer Charlie Rose has done a two-part look at General Motors in the wake of the company's recent losses and its pending centennial celebration. In the first part, Rose sits down with Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner to discuss all manner of issues surrounding the ailing automaker, including the Volt. Aside from reiterating that the engineering teams are making excellent progress on the Volt and are on track to meet the late 2010 Job 1 date, Wagoner was asked about price. He replied that they haven't worked out final pricing yet but expects the initial cars to come out in the mid to upper 30s. That's clearly more than they would have liked but it is the reality of battery costs. Wagoner said the company hopes that the government will implement tax incentives that make the end price more palatable to consumers. On the subject of incentives he said that GM doesn't expect the government to pay for the development of vehicles like the Volt, but would like to see the government encourage the demand side to help build volume. That would be a combination of incentives to buy, and also allowing fuel prices not to drop too much. The company is already realigning its production capacity to the reality of high gas prices and they would hate to see a reversal in demand for trucks at this point. You can check out the video after the jump. A second part, featuring an interview with Bob Lutz, hasn't been posted online yet.

[Source: Charlie Rose]

Just last week we found out that lithium ion battery maker A123 Systems had filed the first batch of paperwork required for it to make an initial public stock sale. Having tried to read through a few of these kinds of filings in the past, we took a pass this time around. Fortunately our friends at GreenTechMedia waded into these waters and noticed some interesting items. Since companies have to disclose all sorts of information about risks and benefits they face when going public, A123 discussed sales. Until now, A123's biggest customer has been Black and Decker, although A123 also has two separate development contracts with General Motors for the Saturn VUE PHEV and something called the Volt. The S-1 filling only mentions reduced revenue from its most significant customer without explaining which of the two companies that is. This could mean a number of things. It could mean that A123 is on the losing end of one or both of the GM production contracts which would definitely be a bad thing for A123. The other and perhaps more likely possibility is Black and Decker. Black and Decker uses A123 batteries in its premium DeWalt line of power-tools. DeWalt tools are more commonly used by contractors and other professionals while general consumers typically opt for the cheaper Black and Decker brand. The same collapse of the housing market that has killed sales of full-size pickup trucks over the past year could be having an impact here. If new homes aren't being built, contractors don't need new tools to put in the new trucks they aren't buying either. A123 can't really say anything specific right now because of the legally mandated quiet period, but GM should be making an announcement in the next few months about the Volt battery supplier. Thanks to Rick for the tip!

[Source: GreenTechMedia]

Bob Boniface the director of the E-Flex design studio at GM is in Traverse City MI this week for the Management Briefing Seminars. We already saw the new teaser shots of the Volt released yesterday and Green Fuels Forecast had a chance to speak with Boniface following his presentation. Boniface elaborated on some of the design changes that have brought the Volt to where it will be for production. The slim packaging of the battery pack down the center tunnel and the re-shaping of the body have not only reduced the drag but also increased interior volume. As we've heard before, the drag reduction was key to helping achieve the 40 mile electric range target for the Volt. GM has also posted a new wind tunnel video that gives a further hint about the overall shape of the Volt that you can check out after the jump.

Update: There's an extra video added after the jump of the Boniface presentation from MBS that includes additional images.


[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]

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ABC news has just posted another video discussing the Chevy Volt. As expected, it's basically a puff piece with nothing particularly earth shattering being revealed as far as technical details. Car and Driver editor Csaba Csere expresses his skepticism that GM can make the Volt happen on target. However GM exterior design executive director Michael Simcoe does peal back the cover off the latest production styling buck and reveals some new details. Compared to the version that we saw in the studio back in December, the current version doesn't appear dramatically different but GM has refined some details. The shape of the lower edge of the headlight cluster has changed with a step up in the middle and the trailing section with the turn signals now being narrower and stretching further back. In a side view, it's clear that the whole nose is now far more sharply swept back than the concept. As we saw in December the whole Chevrolet signature grille area is now closed off with all air coming through the opening below the bumper. There is also a prominent splitter that didn't exist on the concept. Even with the cover on the buck, it's apparent that the car retains the up-swept belt line and high rear deck of the concept but the green house is significantly taller. The increased rake of the windshield compared to the concept is also apparent in the side view as are the more subdued fender flares. We'll be getting our definitive view of the Volt soon enough but for now we'll just have to keep settling for these teases. You can check out the video after the jump. Thanks to Jacob for the tip!


[Source: ABC News]

In an interview with Design News, GM Vice President for R&D and Strategic Planning Larry Burns reiterated the company's intention to have the lithium ion battery pack last essentially the life of the car. Since early on the program, GM officials have set the target lifespan of the battery pack as 10 years and 150,000 miles. Since the battery is such an integral part of making the car work, the company needs to ensure its durability. In his response Burns indicated that the battery would be covered under warranty for that time frame although at this point it far too early to know what the details of such a warranty might be. Regular 12V car batteries typically have pro-rated warranties that that cover less as the age of the battery increases. With only a three year development time for the Volt GM will have a tough time validating the durability of the battery although a lot of accelerated testing is happening. The pack itself will have 200-300 cells inside and will have to be carefully manufactured so that all the connections are robust. Beyond the Volt, Burns expects all of GM's cars to eventually be electrically driven either with batteries or fuel cells. He indicated that a commercial fuel cell market should be going by about 2012-14 although that depends on the expansion of fuel availability.

[Source: Design News]

Is it possible that we'll see a Ford Volt at some time in the not to distant future? If a story in the Detroit News is to be believed, yes! Ford and General Motors are apparently in talks to share the E-Flex powertrain technology that underpins the Volt. It wouldn't be the first time that Ford and GM have collaborated. The front wheel drive 6-speed automatic transmissions used in the larger cars and crossovers (Flex, Taurus, Acadia, etc) was jointly developed by the two companies. GM has also collaborated with Daimler, Chrysler and BMW on the Two-Mode hybrid system.

Sharing the E-Flex hardware would allow GM to more rapidly ramp up production volumes and drive down costs. At the same time Ford would be able to pick up an advanced powertrain that they are currently lacking. GM reportedly approached Ford and the Dearborn board of directors approved negotiations. Several meetings have been held but nothing has been agreed to yet. At the same 2007 Detroit Auto Show where the Volt Concept debuted, Ford showed its own Airstream concept with a plug-in fuel cell series hybrid powertrain. Ford has had a prototype Edge running with that powertrain since November 2006 and could provide some controls and system integration experience to the collaboration. GM is likely well ahead of Ford on the battery development side at this point.

[Source: Detroit News]

Back in June when GM CEO Rick Wagoner outlined product realignment decisions at the company's annual meeting, the Flint engine plant was identified as the home of a new family of small engines. GM has now filed paperwork with the city of Flint indicating that the new Family 0 engines would be built at the facility. The Family 0 engines will include three and four cylinder powerplants ranging from 1.0-1.4L in displacement. Among the first engines will be a turbocharged 1.4L that will go into the new Chevrolet Cruze. Last week GM's Larry Nitz identified the normally aspirated 1.4L will be used to drive the range extender in the Chevy Volt ER-EV. A new factory will be built adjacent to an existing engine plant and truck plant. The $326 million facility will cover 530,000 sq ft when it launches production in 2010.

[Source: Flint Journal]

The man in charge of hybrid powertrain development at GM Larry Nitz has confirmed that the E-Flex team has made the decision to switch engines for the range extender in the upcoming Chevy Volt. The original concept was to use a turbocharged 1.0L three cylinder engine to drive the generator. Instead they have decided to use a 1.4L normally aspirated version of the engine that will power the upcoming Chevy Cruze in turbo form. Nitz also discussed the issue of why performance of the Volt won't be degraded when running in charge sustaining mode, the status of the Plug-in Vue and expansion of Two-Mode hybrid availability. Full explanations are available in the Green Fuels Forecast interview.

[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]

Much has been said recently about both the potential cost of the Chevy Volt and who will supply the batteries for the production car. During our recent chat, Bob Lutz he told us that the current mule vehicles are all being tested with packs from only one of the two development suppliers although units from the other supplier are still being tested in the lab. Now, Volt Vehicle Line Executive Tony Posawatz has told reporters that a final production sourcing decision will almost certainly happen by the end of summer. Most of the speculation has been that LG Chem/CPI will get the nod although Continental/A123 Systems remains possible. CPI delivered its first prototype pack to GM more than 2 months before Continental and is already preparing to build lithium batteries in Korea for hybrid applications at other carmakers.

When it comes to the question of cost, we still don't know how much a Volt will cost, although Lutz acknowledged it would be higher than originally hoped. A sticker price closer to $40K than $30K seems likely. As one alternative to help curb costs, Posawatz revealed that sometime after launch, the company could offer a version with an 8kWh battery pack that drops the EV range to only 20 miles from the 40 miles that will normally be available. With rumored battery costs running over $10,000, this could potentially slash the cost by several thousand dollars.

[Source: Reuters]

General Motors enjoyed an advance marketing bonanza for the Chevy Camaro by having it play one of the Autobot heroes in Transformers last summer. People who were otherwise unaware of GM's ponycar revival got a heavy dose of it in the blockbuster, and it has been on everyone's (not just enthusiasts') radar ever since. It looks like the General will once again have a heavy presence in the film's sequel. Last week, for example, it was revealed that the HUMMER HX concept will be seen.

Now, we get word of another new model's appearance on the set. And this time, it's something ABGers might be interested in. While filming at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Transformers fans with cameras at the ready snagged the Chevy Beat hiding out under a cover. As you can see in the photo above, the Beat is parked next to the Camaro that's reprising its role as Bumblebee. The Beat's appearance is about as close as we'll get to official confirmation (for now) that we will see the Beat in North America after all. Popping it in Transformers 2 will generate a ton of interest in the little hatchback, which is obviously a natural market fit in this new era of $4.00/gal gasoline. Like the Camaro last summer, there's no better way to present the new model to a wide cross-section of the general public than by putting it front-and-center in a sure-fire box office blockbuster. Thanks to Cory for the tip!



[Source: TFLAMB]

GM's product development chief Bob Lutz is one of only a handful of people to have driven the first Chevy Volt development mules with the full lithium ion battery pack in place. The mules have now been dubbed Mali-Volts alluding to the Malibu body shells that contain the E-Flex. A post went up yesterday on the GM Fastlane blog about the drive, and shortly afterward I got to have a longer one-on-one chat with the Vice-Chairman. Lutz was in a particularly good mood and he described himself as "thrilled" when he finished his first 20 mile drive at the Milford Proving Ground.

It took 14 months to go from a non-functional concept to a driveable vehicle with an all-new powertrain. Right now, one of the two battery suppliers is in the lead and all the running vehicles are equipped with packs from that company. Packs from both companies are still being bench tested however. Both Lutz's drive and the 40 mile electric drive that happened around the same time occurred on the proving ground roads, although Lutz acknowledged that since everyone knows what the cars look like they can head out on public roads too. Check out the full story at GFF and the video after the jump.