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Filed under: Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Videos , Chevrolet , GM ABC News recently did a segment on the Chevy Volt , calling it "the automotive equivalent of the moon shot." Most of it you've heard before -- GM's in trouble, if the Volt doesn't work then it means more doom, and "industry experts" don't believe the Volt will come out in time. But there was a glimpse of the production model of the car, including the interior. One intriguing line was, "it will look a lot more like a typical 4-door than the show car concept." The front quarter view you get of the clay model is quite a bit altered from the concept, but still slick. The presenter also calls the interior reminiscent of Apple, but unless he means the fact that there's not a button in sight, it doesn't look much like an Apple. It's got a nice steering wheel, though. Either way, we really hope GM pulls this one off. But frankly, no one knows if that will happen...
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Filed under: Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Paris Motor Show , Chevrolet , GM Bob Lutz has come out and said it again: " I would say there's almost no reasonable doubt in our minds anymore that this is going to work. " And that isn't just that the Chevy Volt will work -- it's that it will work on time and as promised. In spite of the difficulties GM has had getting Volt technology up-to-speed within its timeframes, the man upstairs is apparently as confident as ever. Lutz said that engineers have driven the car to and above its 40-mile pure electric range already. Two companies are still trying to win the lithium-ion battery pack contract, although LG Chem says it has a 3rd-gen unit that's ready to go. Another hurdle is the car's internal combustion range extender starting up, which Lutz described as "noisy and still a little rough." And of course, it wouldn't be a Lutz piece without him taking a shot at something. Speaking of Toyota's...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Chevrolet , GM An article in the Atlantic Monthly examines the genesis and gestation of the Chevy Volt, and concludes with an intriguing mix of potential hits and misses. Calling the Volt "the Barack Obama of automobiles-everyone's hope for change," even the Atlantic Monthly knows that this car currently means more to GM and perhaps the U.S. car buying public than anything else. There is a huge amount of emotion behind the Volt, and not all of it is supportive. The article is just as much about GM and how the company operates as it is about the car. The case is put forward that this is less about the viability of the Volt and more about whether GM can finally execute a proper long term follow through. GM has had brilliant ideas before, but its commitment and track record of seeing them through to successful ends isn't so great. GM CEO Rick Wagoner said, " If I've learned anything over the past...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Chevrolet , GM Wired magazine got in the queue for some face time with Bob Lutz at the Detroit Auto Show, and came back with a quote that's raised a few brows. When asked what the target market for the car would be, Lutz said "I don't know. You'd like to have it at about $30,000 for the customer, but what I'm hearing from the team is we're not going to get there.... f it costs closer to 40 than 30, well, that's too bad." The issue is the timeline. His engineering team said that if they had more time they could cost-optimize the car, but Lutz doesn't want to wait for that. As for the recent go-round about when the Volt would appear , November 2010 is such a firm deadline in his mind that when it comes to the internal team, his only question is: "What is there about November 2010 that you don't understand?" Lutz must know how important it will be to price this car competitively...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Chevrolet Bob Lutz has staked a fair amount of his and GM's reputation on the Volt. Even though he has said since the beginning that the Volt needs battery technology that isn't ready for the mass market yet, he also said that the Volt would go on sale by the end of 2010 . Rick Wagoner, though, in a 50-minute Q&A session with journos and bloggers, said that the Volt launch date is "fluid." Citing, again, the lack of battery technology that the Volt would need, he said, "We continue to put massive resources into production as soon as possible. 2010 would be great, but (we) can't guarantee that at this time. We'll keep you posted regularly on our progress." GM critics -- like the Toyota rep who called the Volt "vaporware" -- will take this as a sign that GM is waffling. GM supporters will say, correctly, that this doesn't mean the Volt won't come out in 2010 -- it simply...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Detroit Auto Show , Podcasts , Spy Photos , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , SUVs , Trucks/Pickups , Crossovers/CUVs , Chevrolet , Dodge , HUMMER , Hyundai We tried to get it going for last week, but John had violence visited upon his mouth which reduced him to saying " Spibit? " We're back on the podcast horse this week for Autoblog Podcast #82, though. We start off proceedings with the teaser pic of the Chevy Volt , which then takes us to a wider-ranging split-grille vs. three bar smackdown. Speaking of teasing pictures, the 2009 Dodge Ram showed up on the internets, and it turns out that Chrysler broke their own embargo by mistake. Whoops. Official pictures of an upcoming Mopar were also released, this time on purpose. Some minimally informative macro shots of the Challenger SRT-8 were released by Chrysler, much to our delight. Moving on, we touch on the looming cage match between the Hyundai Genesis coupe (and how quickly the tuner world is going...
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Filed under: Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Tech , Chevrolet , GM More Volt news: yesterday was the teaser pic , today is news that GM has devoted an entire design studio to work solely on The Next Big Thing. On October 1, forty-five interior and exterior designers moved into an abandoned auditorium at the GM Tech Center in Warren, MI and have what sounds like a pretty complete studio operation, from workstations to clay modelers. Bob Boniface, the design team director, cited the necessary speed of development for the creation of the studio. Once the team sorts out the car's powertrain, they'll work on applying it to other compact models in GM's fleet (hybrid Beat, anyone?). Boniface also said, "For this car to have popular appeal, and for buyers to embrace the new technology, it must look good." An interesting statement only because the Prius doesn't look good and we know how it has sold. However, we for one will be happy to see a clean-sheet hybrid with some...
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