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When Chrysler dropped its bevy of extended-range electric vehicles in our laps today as part of the company's new ENVI program, we wondered how coincidental it was that Chrysler was claiming the same all-electric range as the much ballyhooed Chevy Volt . The Volt makes concessions to seating and obsessively maximizes aerodynamics to get its 40 mile range, but the Chrysler EV and the Jeep EV both claim 40 miles as well. No funny-shaped center consoles, no wacky aero-trickery, just batteries and electric motors. So what's the deal? Not surprisingly, it's mainly the batteries that make the difference here. Battery storage capacity is measured in watt-hours, more or less the total amount of energy used over time. A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is simply a thousand watt-hours and this is what's used to measure big batteries, the kind used in modern hybrids.The Chevy Volt uses a 16 kWh battery and only really functions within a range of 50-80% charge in order to extend battery life. In...
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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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The video and images of a Chevy Volt on the set of Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen showed a car very similar to the Volt that GM has been lifting the skirt on . But now GM is saying the dark-blue car is "not the final version at this stage." GM spokesman Rob Peterson told Inside Line that it is "representative of the production vehicle," which makes sense as we've now learned that this prop is just a re-bodied Malibu. Though it should be noted that he wasn't even aware the car was out in California on the movie set. galleryPost('voltsneakpreview', 3, 'Chevy Volt On The Transformers 2 Set'); "I've never seen that vehicle and I've never seen that color... You can tell it caught me off guard. I didn't even realize it (the Volt) was out of the state of Michigan." Jalopnik Snap Judgment: Of course this isn't exactly what the production Volt will look like. The production model likely won't have the big showoff rims...
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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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Opel has announced plans to launch two electric cars in the European market sometime early next decade utilizing GM's E-Flex hybrid banner and be built in the United States for export to Europe. One of the models would be based on the Segway-pooping Opel Flextreme concept and the other, a Vauxhall version of the same vehicle. As of now we're unsure whether the Vauxhall version will poop Segways . galleryPost('FlextremeSegway', 4, 'Flextreme Has Electric Segway-Pooping Action'); The new Opel models will be built alongside the Chevy Volt atop the Delta II platform at GM's Hamtramck Assembly plant. Jalopnik Snap Judgement: More models on the line makes sense as the Ham-town plant would be sorely underutilized if only building the Volt. Seems like the real story here is GM Europe using the US domestic market for labor. One would imagine Eastern European countries would be more attractive for building new models, but the dollar's valuation apparently makes up...
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GM thinks that buyers are going to want a small, economical electric/hybrid car, a la the Chevy Volt — and much like the EV1 , actually. Tesla thinks we'd like what is basically a responsibly green Lotus , though they also acknowledge our desire for more room with the Whitestar . Nissan thinks we want an Electric Cube , and, you know, we sort of do. We certainly sing the praises of the Se7en Electric ; that's a no-brainer. But what car, or what type of car, would we like to see electrified? Cheapo small cars aren't a bad start, given the lower weight and lower cost, but is that going to move the market? What do you want? What should they build?
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Following word this morning the production version of the Chevy Volt will be shown in September, we hear the rocking-down-electric-avenue Lutz-mobile will also be featured in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen . Although there's no official word if the Volt will actually be a Transformer, but given its guts and looks, it's just begging to become some kind of electric-themed Autobot. The Volt would join the Trax and the Beat as not-yet-available Chevy vehicles featured in the movie. Jalopnik Snap Judgement : This may be the reason why they're hurrying up the production look of the car. They've got to beat set filming times, right? [ Reuters via TFW2005 ]
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GM is accelerating development of the 2010 Chevy Volt in an attempt to ready the production version to reveal as the company celebrates its 100th anniversary in September. Although we know GM desperately needs a cutting-edge Prius-killing success to stem the sales slide, given past RenCen rush jobs, we're not sure that setting a time deadline instead of a performance benchmark is the best way to move forward. A look at potential pitfalls after the jump. Exploding batteries: Remember the flaming plug-in Prius from a few weeks ago? No, that wasn't a manufacturer-sanctioned ride, but it still plainly shows the dangers inherent in releasing unproven technology. The fact that GM has yet to name a supplier for Volt's lithium-ion battery pack is another red flag for the power source. Embarrassing show mishaps: GM needs a win...and they need it to be a clean win, both on the stage and showroom floor. No panels falling off, stalls, massive oil leaks, fires, or collapsing spokes-robots...
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GM may be ready to shill the Hummer brand, but word also has it that GM chairman Rick Wagoner announced that the board of directors has approved the funding for production of the Volt, including a 2010 goal (that will likely be missed by a mile). What does this really mean to us? Well, not a lot. We've been bombarded with mules , spy photos and pricing rumors for a while now, and that won't change until we can walk onto a GM dealership and see a Volt waiting for spoonage. That being said, with Hummer on its way out and Volt kind of officially on its way in, plus F150 losing its top billing , are we seeing yet another example of the return of the Malaise Era? galleryPost('chevyvoltpr', 3, 'Chevy Volt'); [ psfk ]
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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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