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Yesterday's reveal of the production Chevy Volt got us thinking we should take a closer look at the design features, both inside and out, that make GM's plug-in hybrid unique. We've picked out what we think are the five exterior and an equal number of interior design elements we feel are most important, and taken a little deeper look at each. Without further ado, hit the jump for our top ten key design elements that make the Volt so...eclectically electric.
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At GM's "blogger town hall" at the end of yesterday's Chevy Volt unveil , the General's Vice Chairman and product czar, "Maximum" Bob Lutz , made mention to a Volt feature we hadn't yet heard about, and is even more techie-cool than the iPod-like interface on the center stack. Apparently, the Volt will "know how far you are from home" using what we're assuming is an on-board GPS system. The plug-in electric extended range hybrid's computer will then use that distance, along with route information, to determine how long the car needs to run the gas engine to charge the on-board battery pack, allowing the vehicle to truly maximize fuel economy. Even if you're not drinking the GM Kool-Aid, you've got to be wow'ed by a system like that — as long as it actually works. Read the full quote from "The" Bob after the galleries and the jump below. "with the Volt, you never have to worry you use the full 40 (mile...
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newVideoPlayer("/ChevyVoltReveal.flv", 494, 400,""); As the production-ready 2011 Chevy Volt drove onto the turntable for all to see, as much electricity was in the air as was in the Volt's batteries. GM clearly hopes this will be the start of a revolution for the company, and if the Volt lives up to the hype, it very well may be. As for how it looks? Well, judge for yourself from the video. The proportions are pretty sleek, though vaguely similar to the 2010 Honda Insight and Toyota Prius , but at the same time more distinctive than either.
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GM's 100th birthday celebration kicks off in a few short hours featuring their revival of the semi-electric car in just a few hours with the official unveil of the Chevy Volt on a very MTV Unplugged-like stage. Click here to get electric with us tomorrow at 8:30 AM EST as we watch Chevy's exercise in generating buzz both under the hood and with the worldwide apparatus collectively known as the "media." For the moment, hit the jump to see our past coverage of the excitement — but whatever you do, wake up early tomorrow here at our Chevy Volt Live-Blog ! (10:10 PM EST) UPDATE: We've got shots of the Renaissance Center Wintergarden stage taken this evening in the gallery below. galleryPost('VoltGMNextEarly', 6, 'GM Gets Ready To Rock Down To Electric Avenue'); The Chevy Volt, A Jalopnik History An Electric Sled Through Time Edmunds Thinks Chevy Volt Design Is "Huge Disappointment," "Completely Unacceptable" First Full Picture...
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Even before he saw today's new Chevy Volt pictures , New York neurologist Lyle Dennis liked the idea of the 2011 Chevy Volt . In fact, he liked it enough to start GM-volt.com more than a year ago, in the process collecting the names of more than 33,000 prospective buyers for the Chevy electric car. The greatest interest comes from California, Texas, Florida and Michigan — no surprise there. What is surprising is that General Motors has apparently been watching Dennis' activities closely, even meeting with him and a handful of other Volt enthusiasts at the New York Auto Show this year. So what's the good doctor's motivation in all this? Apparently, Dennis is concerned that GM may be underestimating consumer interest in the Volt, leading to shortages when the vehicle finally arrives. "If everyone who wanted a Volt could get one, that would be the dream," he said. Given the Volt's expected price point, there's no word on whether Dennis' dream goes...
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GM's just sent us two new photos of the production version of the 2011 Chevy Volt . While the first of the two shots doesn't show much more than what we saw when ABC News lifted the skirt last weekend , the second one shows us the big bowtie on the rear end of the new gasoline-electric sled from GM's American Revolution. Check out the high-resolution shots in the gallery below. We're also being told GM will have 50 prototypes running around on the highways and byways of Metro Detroit doing testing by the end of the year. Hmm, maybe this whole Volt thing's actually going to happen. galleryPost('2010ChevyVoltProdP', 2, 'Like A Volt Of Lightning');
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Update : We just got our hands on some images of the ongoing work at the Warren Tech Center at on the clay model and chassis of the Volt . GM's just sent us two new photos of the production version of the 2011 Chevy Volt . While the first of the two shots doesn't show much more than what we saw when ABC News lifted the skirt last weekend , the second one shows us the big bowtie on the rear end of the new gasoline-electric sled from GM's American Revolution. Check out the high-resolution shots in the gallery below. We're also being told GM will have 50 prototypes running around on the highways and byways of Metro Detroit doing testing by the end of the year. Hmm, maybe this whole Volt thing's actually going to happen. galleryPost('2010ChevyVoltProdP', 2, 'Like A Volt Of Lightning'); galleryPost('voltprototyping', 6, 'Prototype Volts Coming Together');
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While the 2011 Chevy Volt is proceeding down the path from vaporware to successful range testing to production ready, its price seems to remain stubbornly in the land of the lost. The original goal was to have it on the road for around $30,000, in April, Maximum Bob dropped the bomb saying the price may come in at $48k . Well, Minimum Rick seems to be following his "Wait a month and clean up after Bob" modus operandi yet again. Wagoner, who definitely gives a shit about global warming, is now saying the Volt may actually come in below the original target. How much lower? That's a silly question to ask considering how GM seems to keep mixing the messages themselves. An $18,000 price point difference makes for a mighty different business case though, especially considering gas will only be available with live organ exchange by 2010. [Translated from German: FAZ.net ]
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According to the General's vice-main-man and product czar "Maximum" Bob Lutz, the Chevy Volt 's litihum-ion battery is no longer the biggest worry for the Volt program. While a decision hasn't yet been made on an official supplier for what they're terming the "T-Pack" — it's still a coin-flip away from being either Continental or CPI — the packs installed in the Malibu panel-covered Volt mule seem to be delivering the promised 40-mile all-EV range. Keep in mind, this is installed in a late-model Malibu test mule, without the correct drive unit doing the work. Given the November 2010 production target for making this a 2011 Chevy Volt isn't getting any further away, news like this is probably going to be dropped into the General's "Good" category. [ GM-Volt.com ]
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