http://www.a123systems.com/#/news/news7

And how about – Also producing quality software from Youngstown, Ohio since May 1, 1980!!!

“I disagree. The weak point will be software. This is why Tesla was built in Silicon Valley. The software to control each subsystem will be complex enough, but the interaction between subsystems will make it very complex.”

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Very good point. Any wonder why Zielinski was replaced by Farah as chief engineer? Farah was responsible for system integration and controls for the EV-1. No small task, but Farah and his team are up to it. This is another reason why these silly arguments stating that if GM went w/ NiMh the Volt could be out this fall are baseless.

Firefox has a built in spell checker. It works great and is better than Internet Explorer, IMO. I use it on about 6 computers. I also use Internet Explorer occasionally. Firefox underlines a misspelled word. If you right click on the word, it gives possible spellings with the top choice usually the one you need. Of course, if you misspell it really bad, it may not know what word you need. It works great if you get even close in spelling. I use it all the time on this site. Even then I may miss the fact that Firefox has pointed out a misspelled word. It is free to download and use. Google “Firefox”.

Not suspicious, just seems like a weak link. I agree any part of the Volt coming from an outside supplier could be considered a weak link. But, don’t you think there are multiple suppliers that could supply electric motors on short notice. The battery is just the biggest new part that could be sourced out to a single supplier, thereby making it a potential problem.

Just pick both of them…

Ditto. Two sources are better than one. Just submit the same requirements to each company. Assuming their individual battery chemistries can both last the required length of time and their prices are similar, I say go with both of them and be done with it.

How do you know that the electric motor supplier won’t have issues meeting the production demand? What makes the battery different than any other part in this regard?

We know that the Li/Ion cell manufacturing plants in China (A123) or South Korea (LG) have the capacity to meet the Volt’s demand (see Lyle’s previous articles on this site about this very subject).

Are you suspicious that the battery pack assembly will have supply issues?

The ICE drives the motor and charges the battery pack. The battery pack is not needed to drive the volt. It would be possible to make a volt without the li-ion batteries.