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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Chevrolet , GM Click above to enlarge 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 Motive.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...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Green , Chevrolet , GM Click above for high-res gallery of the production Chevy Volt var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/BREAKING_GM_releases_new_shots_of_the_production_Volt'; We're not sure why General Motors has released two new teaser shots of the production Volt as well as ten images of engineers and designers working hard on its development, but we'll gladly take and show them to you while we find out. Though GM certainly isn't going to let the whole cat out of the bag this early, we are given a much better view of what we were shown in that ABC News video . We can now see just how high-tech the lighting appears to be on the Volt, with the blue glow of its headlamps upstaged by what appear to be some sort of LED foglamps. We can't tell you what their function is, except to say they look cool and give the impression that the Volt is a car from the future on sale now, or rather sometime in 2010, which is technically the future...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Etc. , Green , Chevrolet , GM , Lifestyle Shortly after the Volt Concept was shown, a Volt adherent started a website called GM-Volt.com to show General Motors that it was on to something. After the Volt was approved for production, the site added a feature to allow people to "raise their hands" to show interest in the Volt, much like what was done for the smart fortwo before its arrival on our shores. A little more than a year later, there are almost 34,000 hand raisers in 50 states and 56 countries. While the list is unofficial and doesn't mean that any of these hand raisers are in line ahead of you to purchase a Volt, the site claims that GM is aware of the list and considering making it official in some capacity. California, no surprise, accounts for the greatest interest in the Volt, but even the folks in the dirty dirty -- that's the South -- have put in a strong showing. Alabama's got 86 Volters on the list...
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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: Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Chevrolet , GM Click above for a high-res gallery of the Chevrolet Volt concept. One of the many things General Motors boasted about when it unveiled the Volt concept at the Detroit Auto Show in 2007 was its 600-mile range. This was achieved partially by the battery pack, which could sustain a (theoretical) charge allowing the Volt to run for 40 miles without reverting to the gasoline engine/generator, as well as a 12-gallon fuel tank. According to Kicking Tires, GM has shrunk the size of the tank by an unknown quantity and the result is a reduction in range from 600 to 400 miles - or 360 miles without the aid of battery power. The General maintains that since most owners don't travel more than 40 miles in one day, it wasn't necessary to fit the Volt with a larger tank. That reduction in capacity will save some weight, but what will it cost in public perception? The hype surrounding GM's supposed savior and game-changer are based on...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Chevrolet , GM , Earnings/Financials Sales of General Motors' one time cash cow, full-size trucks, are declining faster than the value of the US dollar, but with a birthday coming, GM still wants something to celebrate. This September, the world's largest automaker will be celebrating its centennial under a financial pall unlike any it has faced since its early days under Billy Durant. The car that GM management hopes will represent a new beginning is the Chevrolet Volt, which has been locked in for production for November 2010 and the shape of the production car has reportedly been finalized. The Volt team is apparently planning to unveil the definitive Volt shape as the star of the big party this September. Early powertrain development mules have been running for several months now and GM insiders claim the lithium ion battery packs are exceeding performance expectations so far. The big question at this point seems to...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Chevrolet , GM Bob Lutz revealed to the Seattle Times that the price point for his company's Chevy Volt series hybrid electric vehicle will be $40,000, or around $10,000 more than originally estimated. Lutz also told the paper that the first-generation of the Volt would generate no profit for General Motors. There's still hope for buyers who were hoping to snag a Volt closer to $30,000, as potential tax incentives on state and federal levels could trim the price substantially. Congress is currently considering proposed legislation for plug-in hybrid tax credits on the order of around $7,000. Still, there's no telling what demand there will be for the Volt, and if it's higher than the supply, we could see markups on GM's high-tech hybrid from dealers who are trying to survive this transition from a market dominated by profitable trucks and SUVs to smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles. According to Lutz...
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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: Garage , Podcasts , Green , Tech , Opinion/Editorial For Autoblog Podcast #95, we mix it up again, and this time Chris Shunk has corralled Alex Nunez and Sam Abuelsamid. We're using our time honored format -- we hit the Autoblog Garage first (some awesome stuff in it recently), then move on to news. We hit some nuggets like the LF-A crash, the Chevy Volt subsidies fight in Congress, and $10 airbags, to name a few. It all wraps up with some listener emails, one of our favorite parts of the podcast. We'll take the 'cast for another spin next week, thanks for listening! SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes ADD the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator DOWNLOAD the show now Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Chevrolet , GM According to Bob Lutz, the first Chevy Volt powertrain mule has just passed a major milestone. After several weeks of testing in the lab with a battery pack installed, the Malibu based pre-prototype has rolled out into the fresh air. In fact, according to Lutz, the car has even rolled passed past the security gates of the Milford Proving Ground to drive around on public roads. Even in this early, very rough, form, Lutz says the car is meeting and exceeding the goal of 40 miles of driving without running the engine. With this, the E-Flex engineers have demonstrated the performance viability of this concept. However, they still have a long way to go in validating the robustness of the system in different operating environments as well as the long-term durability of the powertrain as a whole. Perhaps the biggest issue to address is the cost of the system, particularly the battery pack. For GM to sell the Volt at an affordable price...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Tech , Chevrolet , GM The hopes and dreams of electric car aficionados for a purely battery powered successor to the late, lamented EV1 may soon be satisfied. Or not. It all depends on ... you guessed it, the battery. However, the latest utterings from Maximum Bob have people buzzing again. Mr. Lutz spoke to EV site PetroZero the other day and intimated that a purely battery-powered variant of the upcoming Volt is a possibility, leaving the range extender on the cutting room floor. This is actually not a new idea and dates back to the earliest dates of the Volt program. During a media briefing back in December 2006 several weeks before the Volt's public release, the Volt team showed us images like the one above that included several different powertrain configurations. The premise was to demonstrate the flexibility part of E-Flex. This included a variant with a larger battery and no engine to charge it . This pure EV was described as something...
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Filed under: Spy Photos , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Green , Chevrolet , GM As so often happens when the first spy shots of a new car surfaces, we jump all over them trying to get them on-line and then we stop and take a closer look at what we have. Then questions start to arise. Is this really what we think it is? If not, what is it? Well, when it comes to one of the most eagerly anticipated new cars to come out Detroit in recent years, the late night availability of the first photos causes us to jump first and look where we're going later. In this case, it was the first spy shots of Chevy Volt mules that turned up late last night . We already knew that GM has been testing various bits and pieces destined for the Volt in previous model year Malibu body shells, but now, we had pics. As it turns out the gray car that we posted on last night is only a ride and handling mule. It has various suspension components destined for the extended range EV, but the powertrain is bog...
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Filed under: Garage , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Marketing/Advertising , Tech , Chevrolet If the Chevy Volt were a 150 mpg dairy cow, the General's marketing department would have a hand on every utter. The Volt is still more than two years from production, and the series hybrid is all over the Internet, TV, and magazines. When a vehicle promises as much as the Volt does, though, any update is big news. This time, engineers have come up with a computer algorithm to accelerate battery durability testing. The test increases battery testing from ten years to two by duplicating real-life vehicle speed and cargo-carrying conditions in a controlled environment while constantly recharging the batteries. The next step for the Volt is test mules that can put GM's e-Flex system through more unpredictable conditions like snow storms and Michigan potholes. Since the Volt's 375-pound battery pack resides down the center of the car and beneath its rear seats, GM had some unique...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Chevrolet , GM You might recall a quote exchange that took place last November between Toyota exec Kazuo Okamoto and the General's own Bob "Maximus" Lutz. The verbal barbs began with Okamoto calling the Volt "completely wacky" and "nonsense," to which Mr. Lutz responded, "Let's wait until the Easter Bunny. Somebody's going to have egg on their face. And I don't like having egg on my face." Hey Bob, you've got a little something yellow on your cheek. During a recent interview with Reuters, Lutz revealed that road tests of the Chevy Volt wouldn't be happening until sometime in July, versus the expected test dates we were expecting later this month. Lutz didn't expand on the reason behind the delay, but he did confirm that GM wouldn't name a battery supplier until the second half of the year, saying, "That may also be a little bit longer now, as we need a better handle on...
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