Someone took a picture of the Volt’s interior sketch (to the left). As I saw it firsthand, I can tell you it is indeed accurate, and is essentially finalized. As per interior designer Tim Crieg, what is seen on this picture will be indistinguishable from the final product although subtle features could change. Not high-resolution as the photo was taken against GMs instructions.
The center of the center console contains the paddle shifter we discussed. The dark rectanlg3e above is an LCD screen. Not that the center console is a little tall, because it is actually sitting on the stem of the “T” of the battery pack.
You can read more about the interior in my prior post.
This entry was posted on Saturday, April 5th, 2008 at 2:49 pm and is filed under Design, Interior. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Apr 5th, 2008 (3:29 pm)Doesnt look that great but it is ok. It looks like typical GM interior for small cars. May be its good in real.
Apr 5th, 2008 (3:32 pm)I guess that means that the paddle shifter is not on or behind the steering wheel? Despite my preference for a regular gear shift lever, I can live with that.
Apr 5th, 2008 (3:53 pm)Where are the cupholders?
Apr 5th, 2008 (3:57 pm)amen to the cup holder comment!
Apr 5th, 2008 (4:06 pm)Like the spacious feel,
But More importantly,
Why don’t they make it a x4 Adult plus 1 centre rear child configuration?
The centre rear seat being only configured for a child ?
Maximum utilisation would be nice, rear seat battery pack hunp included !
Apr 5th, 2008 (4:09 pm)Cup holders ?
Maybe they will be slid pop out as required ?
PS I hope we get a different size ones for Australia, your USA ones are CRAZLY large. The Pop holders you guys get would let a whole Europeon family have a drink out of one LOL !
Apr 5th, 2008 (4:16 pm)#6 – Only in the USA is a small drink 32 oz LOL .
Yeah, it’s hard to tell from the bootleg photo, but it doesn’t appear Earth shattering. I was hoping for a glass cockpit kind of look. Maybe the cluster is one big LCD. That would be cool.
Apr 5th, 2008 (5:59 pm)I had a lengthy chat with Tim Crieg (Volt Interior Designer) & Tony Posawatz (Volt Line Director) at Volt Nation about the car’s interior design philosophy. I asked them if GM saw it as essentially one of the world’s first “FOUR-door Sport SEDANS” (vs a 2-door Sport Coupe like a Z-28 Camaro). Tim said, “YES, WE DO”!
We then discussed the differences between a traditional 2-door sport coupe & the Volt as a ground-breaking 4-Door Sport Sedan…..
- Sport coupes have 2 very nice bucket seats & a console in front, plus (typically) a very cramped bench seat & little space in back
- Volt will have FOUR very nice bucket seats & consoles in BOTH front & back, with plenty of head/leg room in both front & back
The audiophile in me then said, with 4 buckets wouldn’t it make sense to locate 2 very small but very high-quality speakers in the “shoulders” (NOT the headrests) of EACH seat, only about 6″ from either side of the passenger’s head? ….then added, as every audiophile & acoustic engineer knows, superb surround sound can be achieved much more easily by high-quality, close-spaced speakers than by distant speakers ….and while the amplifier power needed drops dramatically, the sound quality improves significantly over door-mounted and/or dash-mounted speakers. They both nodded & smiled broadly.
Finally, I added that —like airline passengers— each of the Volt’s 4 passengers (sharing 2 large consoles) could also have his own volume control AND source/station selector switch. So for example, the driver could be checking an XM traffic channel while the front passenger listened to the Top 40 and the kids in back were hearing & watching Disney DVDs (on optional screens in the back of the front seat headrests or on ceiling drop-downs).
When I next suggested they get Dr. Bose involved in designing this unique high-feature, high-quality, low amplifier power system. Tony Posawatz acknowledged that “we’re ALREADY talking to Dr. Bose”, then quickly added, “and that’s all we’re going to say!”
Our discussion was over ….but they agreed we’d discussed some tantalizing possibilities to add a lot of pizazz to the Volt for very little cost, while significantly reducing the sound system’s power needs. We’ll see what happens.
Apr 5th, 2008 (7:09 pm)There are 2 cupholders in the center console…saw them myself . I know I’ll need one for the morning Starbucks.
Apr 5th, 2008 (7:11 pm)#8, Very cool, Nasaman. Very cool and sensible.
Apr 5th, 2008 (7:30 pm)Looks great! I hope they go with Bose. I think it’s still made in the USA.
Apr 5th, 2008 (7:32 pm)Difficult to tell from the fuzzy picture but I think its gonna be a neat interior. Considering the limited space it does seem very spacious. GMs interiors have been getting pretty nice lately so hopefully this one will take a page out of the Malibu and CTS play book.
I see this car having nothing that it unneeded so I would expect a very simple interior. I just hope they excel in quality and design.
Apr 5th, 2008 (8:19 pm)I prefer THX over Bose.
Apr 5th, 2008 (8:20 pm)Hey Lyle,
Where’d ya get the pic?
Apr 5th, 2008 (8:28 pm)nasaman, really great post. I am really getting my hopes up here.
Apr 5th, 2008 (8:55 pm)I like Bose equipment, but do you know what BOSE actually stands for?
Basically Overpriced Sound Equipment………..
Just kidding!
Apr 5th, 2008 (10:25 pm)Jim i #16
I agree, but in a car it will be fine, not even sure they need to go with BOSE.
Hey does anyone know what the best theft deterrent is for a Delco radio???
Apr 5th, 2008 (10:27 pm)….and the answer is…..daylight!
Apr 5th, 2008 (11:17 pm)17 Grizzly…..
You asked, “Hey does anyone know what the best theft deterrent is for a Delco radio???”
I found another highly effective answer —a DELCO RADIO! I designed & installed a 10-speaker high-powered sound system in my beloved Z-28 Camaro back in the day. One of its key features was a high-end head unit with a diversity-reception* FM tuner. But its most important feature was that everything was hidden. I even recessed the head unit in the dash enough that I could place the cannibalized front panel from the car’s standard Delco radio, knobs & all, in front of my extremely expensive head unit as a disguise. The first time thieves broke into the car they took lots of tapes, CDs, etc …..but never touched the head unit hidden behind the Delco front panel or any amps, speakers, etc —the deception worked!
[The next (& last) time they broke in (in broad daylight, in a secure parking area) they stole the entire car --the police told me that, whichever of dozens of chop shops had taken it, had reduced it to nothing but parts in 45 minutes. Thank goodness for comprehensive insurance coverage!]
*Diversity reception uses two antennas, one in front & one in back to minimize the so-called “picket fence” effect (whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-etc) due to FM multipath effects
Apr 5th, 2008 (11:27 pm)As long as it has cupholders, I can sleep well tonight.
Apr 5th, 2008 (11:28 pm)BIG honkin cup holders (lol)
Apr 5th, 2008 (11:50 pm)nasaman,
It was definitely “daylight” that saved the day for your head unit! BTW what did you have behind the Delco? Wasn’t the Sholz FM tuner the one with Diversity or do I have that wrong? I know Bob Carver had his own circuit in a home tuner that could really cut down on multipath. He always had such technical names for his inventions.
Apr 6th, 2008 (1:36 am)#19 nasaman
Another way to disguise your high-end head unit…strips of black, gray, and white tape!
Apr 6th, 2008 (10:00 am)The LCD screen is a little high to suit me. Also, the LCD seems to be quite small, severely restricting the information that can be displayed. I was hoping for a larger screen.
Hope this is one area where GM will make some changes before production.
Apr 6th, 2008 (10:12 am)Hope we can get other colors besides gray. I’d love black and tan.
Apr 6th, 2008 (1:02 pm)Amen to black and tan. Please, not another GM grey for the gray. I’m gray haired in part, but this car doesn’t say gray set crowd to me.
GM’s most listless days were the grey interiors.
Apr 6th, 2008 (1:47 pm)You said it Rashiid, #10
Apr 6th, 2008 (1:51 pm)Thomb #23
I’m thinking of doing this with my house, except I’m afraid the city will condemn it
.
Apr 6th, 2008 (4:25 pm)Estero said:
The LCD screen is a little high to suit me. Also, the LCD seems to be quite small, severely restricting the information that can be displayed. I was hoping for a larger screen.
Hope this is one area where GM will make some changes before production.
======================================
Please be serious.
You know exactly nothing about the car’s dimensions. Nothing.
How on earth can you claim to know the size of the LCD and the height of it all relative to you (not even taking into consideration the number/range of seat adjustments)?
These comments can be truly magical at times!
The Volt will come when it comes and be the car that it will be. Period.
The really serious ones are plotting trips to California to get one first.
Apr 6th, 2008 (6:23 pm)How on earth would a “paddle shifter” be located anywhere other than behind the steering wheel, where paddle shifters traditionally go? If it’s on the center console I don’t understand what’s “paddle” about it.
Apr 6th, 2008 (7:11 pm)I’m hoping it’s a “paddle shifter” in name only. I have no idea why GM couldn’t implement a short throw stick… even one that juts out of the center console just so that everyone would be familiar/comfortable with it.
Not only is this a safety issue, but having to learn a new system in an already revolutionary car is unnecessary. This may be a case of functional integrity at the expense of novelty.
Apr 7th, 2008 (9:37 am)Its electric for goodness sake – why does it have a shifter at all. The Tesla is shipping with one speed (yeah I know, it’ll be two speed when they figure out how to keep the tranny in one piece) The volt needs only to know if you want to go forwards or backwards. A button would do. Maybe a reverse pedal like the Model-T. Paddles are for race cars (got them on my mini-cooper, I’ve used them exactly once just to see if they work) “short throw” sticks are for dragsters. Give me a button and I’ll be happy….
Apr 7th, 2008 (10:59 pm)Shifter= Reverse, neutral, Park or drive. Short throw and why not? It’s what everyone is familiar with, and no chance of hitting it accidentally. Why should anyone have to re-learn the automobile just to “borrow” the Volt?
Aug 5th, 2008 (3:00 pm)Do you realise that, the VOLT being an electric car, we could easily have electric cup holder warmers????
Hot coffee all the way to work!
Aug 5th, 2008 (4:32 pm)Ryan P
Nice thought, but as I understand it, they are even foregoing electric seat adjustments to save power.
Be well,
Tag
+1
Jul 1st, 2009 (8:45 pm)I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.