AND 
Lutz: Production Volt Has a CD Between .27 and .28 and Battery Extreme Cold Performance is Good
The second hour of Charlie Rose’ show was centered around an interview he had with GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz and an extensive discussion about the Chevy Volt. The video appears below the post. Some key excerpts:
Lutz said the Volt will be the most significant vehicle of his career.
He talked about the Volt’s historical development and how he intends for it to leap-frog the Prius technologically and make GM become synonymous with efficiency in the publics’ eyes.
Lutz said the roots for the Volt came when he was CEO of the battery company Exide and he wanted to do a demonstration electric car. He was spurred by the Prius’ success, and that it was VP Jon Lauckner who added the range extender idea, as Lutz initially wanted a pure electric.
He mentioned that GM is astonished with the public’s positive reaction to the Volt.
He said that by next year GM will be producing “substantial quantities” of Volts that are not for sale, and that by next year at this time GM will be able to put “selected media” into driveable Volts.
He said in early 2010 there will be a couple of hundred Volts on the road for testing in various climatic conditions, with cars for sale to the public in November 2010.
In terms of the battery testing so far he said “we have had zero concerns”…”no abnormal heating, the cycle life appears good, the extreme cold performance is good.” He says the team is surprised how well everything is working out.
Back at the design studio Lutz showed off the front corner of the vehicle, which is all the public has been allowed to see. He did go on to show how the wheel house is very flush with the wheel edge to minimize turbulence there.
Lutz explained that the Concept Volt would have only gotten 35 miles of range based on it’s wind tunnel performance. From the ensuing design changes that have been made in redesigning the production version, Lutz said for the first time in public that the current Volt has a coefficient of drag (CD) of between .27 to .28.
[UPDATE: Post corrected to say .27 to .28]
Popularity: 3% [?]
Related posts:
- Bob Lutz on Chevy Volt Battery Tests, Cold Starts, and Use of OnStar
- Lutz: 1 Million Worldwide E-Flex Production by 2020 and is GM Planning to Bring Battery Production in House?
- Bob Lutz Video: GM Wasn’t Prepared for Volt Initial Public Reaction, Current Volt Mules are Chevy Cruzes
- Will GM Use One or Both Battery Pack Teams for the Production Chevy Volt?
- Volt Battery Supplier Chosen and GM Comments on Production Photo Leaks (POLL)
(20 votes, average: 4.95 out of 5) 
Loading ...
August 20th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
stayed up last night to watch this. The battery center was pretty amazing and tells us pretty much exactly who has the battery contract based on the amount of black plastic battery packs in the tech center.
That EV1 pack is enormous and the Hybrid NiMH pack is tiny by comparison to all the others.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Isn’t the Prius .26? Didn’t Lutz himself say the Volt was going to better?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
>> the extreme cold performance is good
Both “extreme” and “good” are relative terms.
Living in Minnesota, my definition of cold is sitting out in the parking lot all day with a temperature of only -10°F (-23°C), which happens every year in January.
Driving range is reduced by both the temperature itself and the need to power the heater & defrost. Are estimates of impact from this available yet?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Terrible news on the Cd (.28-.29). That’s much worse than the current Prius (.26), and the new Prius will certainly better that. My 1985 Mercedes 300E had a CD of .28!
Seriously, unless Lutz mangled this number (it won’t be the first time), a CD of .28-.29 is profoundly dissapointing. Plenty of regular sedans out there have that, or better.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I am not at all surprised that they are moving ahead without any major problems. I have always believed in American engineering prowess but I think it was the unions holding them down. Why can’t the government announce a rebate for GM which would cut from the $700 billion going out for oil imports and keep fuel prices up for just another year or so. They should use the extra money for VOLT subsidies and make GM retrofit every vehicle in US in exchange for those subsidies. Of course, the retrofitting should be paid for partly by the user, and partly by the government.
Can’t wait to see the government pull its act together on this.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
The fact that the Volt’s wheels are driven by the electric motor, means as technology perfects, the electrification of the automobile will be complete. The Prius is a fine car but I think the big gamble for GM was to prioritize electric.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Morgan..
The black packs that were placed side by side (around 4) appear
to be from Continental (not CPI). Looks like they have
coated the chrome color ones them with some black color. I have analyzed the shape of those batteries closely and I feel they are definitely from Conti/A123. Also the black glossy finish is different on
CPI batteries. The first two batteries in the Video and the one in small room is from CPI and the remaining ones are from Conti.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
#2 & #4
the difference of 0.02 and 0.03 is small. This is like measuring a turd with a micrometer.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
7 Talks:
I will take your word for it…my wonderful 3 year old Sony LCD TV is a piece of junk.
Good eyes
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Some other CD’s:
Prius .26
Lexus LS430 .26
Hyundai Genesis .27
Camry Hybrid .27
Mercedes C-Class .27
Civic Hybrid .27
VW Passat .27
Camry .28
Lexus ES .28
Saab 9-3 .28
1995 Mitsubishi Diamante .28
2011 Volt .28-.29
All of GM’s windtunnel work is really paying off. Were they running the fan backwards?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
#5 Gaurav
“Can’t wait to see the government pull its act together on this.”
Ahhhh…HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
#8
the difference of 0.02 and 0.03 is small. This is like measuring a turd with a micrometer.
In an EV, aerodynamics plays a super critical role, at highway speeds. Range is much more dramatically affected by the aerodynamics on an EV than a regular car (think Aptera, etc). Lutz said the Volt would have better aerodynamics than the Prius. The EV-1 had a CD of .19!
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
“Lutz explained that the Concept Volt would have only gotten 35 miles of range based on it’s wind tunnel performance. ”
Hrm, thats odd…I remember saying it was only about 5 miles difference and they could have just added 1 more kWh to the pack…but then I got mathed to death, so I just let it rest.
I’m sure we can ‘reverse math’ the 5 mile difference and come up with the Concept’s cd…but sounds like it wasn’t the ‘brick wall’ of cars after all.
Anytime GM cuts anything, they say it’s not because they are cheapening the car, it is always for the sake of the cd…and 5 miles.
The concept would have had unprecedented demand, and blown any new EV/hybrid out of the water for appearance.
I think it is pretty clear that when GM sat down to actually build this thing they knew they could have just added a smidge more capacity to get the desired range, but when they ‘costed’ the vehicle it wasn’t high 20s, it was more like high 40s…so the easiest route to take was just keep cutting things in the name of efficiency.
It would have been nice if they just said, “We were way off costing this car, it would have been around 50K, we are going to make it more affordable, which means losing alot of the distinct features, but increase efficiency as well…it should allow us to be in the mid 30s.”
/could have saved us all some time/hope and we all could have moved on with the project…now it is just annoying whenever I hear them sticking to the company line
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I just want to thank Jon Lauckner for adding the range extender idea
Thanks Jon,
Good work!
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
#8 Sean
“the difference of 0.02 and 0.03 is small. This is like measuring a turd with a micrometer”
Sounds alot like 10 percent worse to me. And GM was telling us they were going lower than a Prius, that would be like .24/.25 or upwards of 20% failure.
Just because news is spoken in a upbeat tone, does not mean it is good. We have given up how much in the name of cd? How many unique features have been lost in the name of a missed benchmark?
————-
“In terms of the battery testing so far he said “we have had zero concerns”…”no abnormal heating, the cycle life appears good, the extreme cold performance is good.” He says the team is surprised how well everything is working out.”
If everything is so great why wasn’t a supplier chosen months ago, and on deadline? Why isn’t a decision being made now? What is the hold-up?
I’m a pessimist, so my gut says one of two things:
A) if they wait long enough they can use the battery as a excuse for a missed production timeline.
B) they just don’t want to pony up any cash right now on the Volt project other than engineering (that would also explain the lack of 3rd party contracts for the Volt and the fact that no machine fabrication or plant prep has begun)
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
#15 Statik:
One word. Weak.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Ok, now the good news:
Bob is ROCKING THE PINK TIE again!
Lyle you have got to sell those ties, they would be hotcakes.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
#5 Gaurav
I too believe in American engineering prowess. But that blame you want to lay on the unions has be laid equally at the feet of bad management. Bad business decisions had plagued GM for a while (i.e. devloping the H2 while Toyota was developing the Prius).
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
#16 noel park
“One word. Weak.”
Whats weak? My math? OR my timeline?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I find it fascinating that Lutz remembers a VP and a CEO of a company being the ones responsible for the ideas behind development of the serial hybrid. Does anyone seriously believe this? So their senior engineers are just a bunch of worker bees? So the EV1 range extender concept was never put to paper more than a decade ago? I don’t think so… As an engineer myself, it really ticks me off when executives try to make it all about themselves, when they would be nowhere without their technical staff doing all the heavy intellectual lifting.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I really doubt GM will let the competition know exact specs until it’s on the road. GM is masterful at leaking just what they want to tease you with.
For the really cold climates if you burn a few ounces of fuel to run defrost and heat…I wouldn’t sweat it. Even “ICE” engines get less mileage in extreme heat and cold. Maybe they can run it on 2 cyl. if it “Knows” it warming up the vehicle. I assume the “ICE” will have a radiator and water jackets and there is a heat source. Unless it’s air cooled to save weight.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
When they unveil the production version, the Cd will “miraculously” be .26. Remember guys, this is alot of hot air until the car is actually unveiled. They can say whatever they want for the next few months…
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Okay, I watched the whole show and it was GREAT. Charlie Rose is a class act. If you are not excited about the Volt, check your pulse.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
#23 Tom
“Okay, I watched the whole show and it was GREAT. Charlie Rose is a class act. If you are not excited about the Volt, check your pulse.”
I like the show myself. Nice to have a good chunk of time to discuss a topic in a low key atmosphere.
Side note: Despite my negativity, I am still excited, lol. I know that doesn’t come through that much.
I think the fact of the matter is that I had ‘bought’ the Chevy Volt in my mind as soon as they said they were going to do it. Truth be told I went hunting on the net looking to put my deposit down and get on a waiting list the second I saw it a year and whatever ago…now I feel like I am fighting to retain as much of that dream as I can, hence my less than stellar reactions.
/thats how I am rationalizing it anyway, lol
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
#19 Statik:
Cd of .28-.29 is weak.
I was just agreeing with you. I guess I was a bit too terse. Partly because had been reading, and also agreeing with, your economic comments on the previous thread. And following the news too closely for my own good this morning, I guess.
Sorry for the misunderstanding. Nothing to do with you or your spot on comments, as usual.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Well it didn’t take long. Post #2, 3 and 4 is all I could read of the comments here.
People complain about the look and complain the aero isn’t low enough. He fools wake up and shake it off and decide what you want and stop thinking you can have something that will probably never exist!
Complain they don’t look like the volt concept. Complain that you would be willing to get a little less AER for the concept. Complain that the aero isn’t below the prius as if that matters at all. Complain the AER isn’t long enough.
Now come clean up the mess I made on the floor (vomit) after reading post 2, 3, and 4.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
#25 noel park
Ok, I thought maybe my 5 mile ‘reverse math’ assumption that the concept wasn’t such a “brick wall” might have been off…guess it still could be, lol.
#26 omegaman66
“People complain about the look and complain the aero isn’t low enough”–well we really should be one or the other. If we are to give up design for function, we should, well…get function?
But I understand it is difficult dealing with the negative vibe of most of the comments/commentors (me? lol)…again I think it is just blowback from all the people who have mentally committed to the car feeling it is constantly under attack.
/don’t do janitorial work, maybe I could send someone over?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
A Cd under .3 is excellent. By having the car relatively narrow, wide enough for two plus battery, rather than 3, the frontal area might be low. So its CDa might compare favorably to the Camry. Time will tell.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
#26
“Now come clean up the mess I made on the floor (vomit) after reading post 2, 3, and 4.”
I guess you were dissapointed with those aerodynamic numbers too.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Talks - you are mistaken.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
If I had to try and put a positive spin on things, which I hate doing
, maybe a worse CD than we were expecting means a cooler looking, less Prius-like car?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I hope you guys dont put bumper stickers on your cars, I heard they raise the CD by .001. Dont forget about the extra weight.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
A simple way for the government to help us buy electric cars without adding to the budget deficit is end all the tax breaks to big oil. Every quarter they break the record with ridiculous amounts of profits which makes me think they don’t need the tax break.
Getting those oil companies to pay taxes like everyone else will help the country in so many ways. Lets help secure America by reinvesting in good ole American cars and electrons. Buying oil from the middle east funds our enemies and makes America less safe.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Little FYI,
I was just watching the show again, and he actually says .27-.28 drag versus .43 concept.
So, still off, but a little better number than .28-.29 relatively speaking for the production car, and the .43 is a informative number for the concept…which makes it also far from a ‘brick’
…and looking at the video around 44:30, you can see that the definitive wheel wells, side bulges have been completely taken away, was hard to get a feel for it from the teaser pics
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I had never heard Lutz speak before and was quite impressed by his intelligence and wit. He’s obviously ahead of Charlie Rose in both departments - he could easily handle a show of his own. I didn’t expect his mental abilities. Makes those 50 year younger greenies look pretty senile, or should I say, childish.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
In the video, he said .27 - .28, not .28 - .29, so at least that’s a little bit better.
Just got finished watching it, and want my volt more than ever.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Those of you who are upset over the Cd numbers — does that single number really matter to you? Did you ever base a car buying decision on that? Do you even know what Cd of whatever it is you’re driving now? (No fair going to google or wikipedia)
As long as the car gets enough miles of EV range for you, who cares what the nominal Cd is?
(My car’s nominal Cd is .36, IIRC. And then I have a bike rack on the roof and drive with the windows down and the sunroof open. So my actual Cd is something abysmal. Abysmaller.)
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
[...] pkulak first collected Added 20 Aug 08 from gm-volt.com [...]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I think people are over analyzing what they did. When they came out with the concept, they had a golf car with a cool body. They crunched some numbers and said with a 16kw batt and a CD about the same as a typical low CF car we can get 40 mi EV range.
They took their body into the wind tunnel and said OK new numbers suggest we’ll get 35 EV miles. What can we do to impact the style the least and get to the 40 mile promised EV range.
With the time constraints I think they just wanted to hit their benchmarks. If they wanted the concept volt they would have had to change their battery specs and possibly cause delays with the suppliers while they figured out what they wanted. If they wanted an EV to get the most out of 16KW hours, they could have had the driver sitting on the stick shift while laying horizontal and guessing about where to steer.
Working in the Aero field, you promise something to the customer (40 mi range and a cool looking car) and you make your numbers trying to mesh it all together as a system. They’re in a race against time so they left the battery alone (design similar to the EV1) and took off the hard edges from the body.
I think they did a great job and if they can pull this off in such a short amount of time I think it’s great.
Give it 10 years and Statik you may get your Volt concept body with 35 mile range and pauln I bet they’ll make you a car that looks like a street looge where you see the road from a monitor above your head and has a .05 CD. But for now get us the volt and get it now. Can’t please everyone so just try to piss us all off a little and none off a lot.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
You can’t directly compare Cd’s without a reference area!
Cd=Drag / (Dynamic Pressure * Ref Area)
Although the Drag Coef of the Volt might be slightly higher than the Prius, it still may have lower drag (which is really what matters). A 5% difference in the reference area of the Prius and Volt may more than make up the 0.02 difference in CD. Lutz throwing out a CD prior to anyone seeing the production model was absolutely pointless.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Statik: “the .43 is a informative number for the concept…which makes it also far from a ‘brick’
Um, my gen1 xB, the ultimate “brick” has a Cd of .37.
Not trying to beat a dead horse here, but for GM to put out a concept for an (RE)EV with a Cd of .43 is really pretty dumb and embarrassing, when anyone who knows anything about EV’s realizes that aerodynamics are much more critical to an EV than a conventional vehicle. A .43 Cd would be atrocious for a regular car nowdays.
I just never got what they were trying to do with the (unaerodynamic) Volt concept; the EV-1 started with the spectacularly aerodynamic concept Impact. Why do an EV concept with such terrible aerodynamics?
I’m not “Volt-bitching”; I’m asking a serious question.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
…and: “What jped said” (#39)
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
#32 Cire
Good point. The amount of bumper stickers you put on the car will make the difference if you getting home on all electric or not (hehe, j/k). Man, I know I shouldn’t have put that “I’m not speeding, I’m qualifying” sticker on my car!
I have a ridiculous idea. Instead of lowering the Cd, GM should endorse a weight loss program that should get this point across: If you stop supersizing your meals daily, you will get an extra 2 AER miles a day!
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
#40 paulin
“Statik: “the .43 is a informative number for the concept…which makes it also far from a ‘brick’…Um, my gen1 xB, the ultimate “brick” has a Cd of .37.”
I hear you, it is still pretty bad, similar to your average truck.
But your right, why do a EV concept at all with terrible aerodyamics? Unless you are aware of them and are going to power the vehicle sufficiently to overcome them…that was always my thinking.
GM knew the concept was not ideal by any stretch the second they sketched it out…I just think they were not concerned, there is no rulebook that says a electric vehicle has to be a jelly bean. As was mentioned by Gsned57 in post #38, we’d all be driving around in a ’street luge.’
I think the ‘non-jelly’ bean look of the Volt is/was one of its strongest features…the ‘non-Prius’ if you will. It said, “this car is better than a hybrid, has independant electric drive, is functional for 4 people and is a handsome/sexy car,” which up until that time was/is a oxymoron in this area.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Certainly a 0.28 to 0.29 Cd isn’t very impressive… I haven’t watched the whole video, but are we sure he implied the latest “production intent” design has that drag?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
#43 Statik,
“I think the non-jelly bean look of the Volt is/was one of its strongest features”
But also the most mis-leading. EV’s NEED to be very aerodynamic, period. And they don’t have to all look like jelly-beans. The Fisker Karma is a good example of that.
I know I have an anti-GM rep, but over the five decades I have followed them, I have also been willing to respect their technical prowess. I was very impressed with the EV-1, despite its limitations.
I think that ballyhooing an EV concept with a Cd of .43, showing it all over the world and saturating the airwaves with it, as the saving redeemer of GM, was a collossal mistake.
It wouldn’t have taken that much to do a little bit of windtunnel work to make sure the concept was at least REASONABLY aerodynamic. Instead, they indulge in c*ck teasing, and not delivering (what they promised). The Volt is going to end up looking pretty ordinary, that’s obvious.
Is it better to lower expectations and exceed them in the end, or over-promise and under-deliver?
Ever notice how Toyota doesn’t indulge in c*ck teasing, but just puts out the final product when it’s ready? Any connection to the two company’s relative success?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Let’s start a poll…
I would sacrifice 5 miles of range to keep the concept Volt styling intact…
My vote: YES!!! (and keep that killer sunroof too!)
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
32 Cire - “I hope you guys dont put bumper stickers on your cars, I heard they raise the CD by .001. Dont forget about the extra weight.”
I was planning to put my new magnetic VOLT bumper sticker on my 2000 Diamante, but I can’t figure out how to make it stick to the plastic bumper.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I believe Lutz said the Volt would have a better CDa (Drag Area Product) than the Prius.
Big difference between the CD and the product of the CD and the frontal area (a) of the car. IIRC, the Prius’ CDa is .58m^2. With a CD of .26, that would equal a frontal area of 2.23m^2.
If the Volt has a smaller frontal area, it can be more aerodynamic than the prius.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
#30 Engineer..
Why u think so ?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
#21 Vincent :
“GM is masterful at leaking just what they want to tease you with.”
It’s nice to see someone giving credit to GM for a change; reading the posts, most of them make you think the company can’t make any good decision … Hell, they are just behind Toyota and were first until last year for the market share.
Finally they are masterful at something. It’s a start.
I tend to believe that engineers are making decisions for a reason and that everything, in the end, will be well balanced. Cars are always about compromise. As for the price point, time will tell but novelty comes at a price. Good to know that it’s gonna work in the cold temperatures.
We’ll see.
Pete
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
#48 Taser:
“If the Volt has a smaller frontal area, it can be more aerodynamic than the prius.”
Quite true, and possible, but quite unlikely. The Volt sits on the Delta II platform, which is bigger than the old Delta (Cobalt) platform. Why do you think they’re using Malibus for mules?
For what its worth, the production Volt does not look all that svelte. And it would have to have a substantially smaller frontal area to compensate for its worse Cd.
Meanwhile, the 2010 Prius will undoubtedly have an improved Cd; I’m guessing .24. The gen1 Prius had a .29; the gen2 has .26; the gen3 will improve on that.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
The extended range idea is pretty old……at least 15 years, probably a lot more. I drove one in 1993 (engineering senior design project). With the Volt’s lousy Cd, maybe we can ecomod it? GM apparently doesn’t want to move away from the standard, inefficient profile of today’s vehicles so your grandma will still buy one. Forget looks, give us performance. Doesn’t the Aptera have a Cd of 0.11?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
CD does not mean much to me. The total ownership cost (TOC) is everything. Compare costs: 1) An $18K Honda where a tank of gas delivers 400 miles at a cost of $50.00 a tank. X 100,000 miles:TOC=30,500, 2) A Toyato $24K Prius where the cost of fuel is 1/3 that of the Honda x 100,00 miles: TOC= 28,167 or 3) A $37.5K Chevy Volt with fuel costs of $.80 per/400 miles: TOC = $37.700. What do we not know? Total number of miles each car will perform before its retirement. Maintenance costs, etc. Still if people can’t afford it, it can have the CD of a brick. It won’t matter. We need something that goes 40 miles on a charge, does not requre replacement for 150K miles and costs $15K. All of that discussion about the psychological and sociological impact of design - that’s just a problem that Madison Avenue have given us. Get over it.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
For all the Cd fans out there, some of us care what the car looks like too. All indications are that the Volt will be beautiful. The Prius - let me put it this way - don’t get a brown one and park it by a punch bowl.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I still miss the concept … and would have happily accepted 35mi AER…but that is just an opinion
“this is more about the electrification of the car - not how cool it looks”
Once our precious Volt is finally unvieled…I’m afraid of seeing a Cobalt-sedan in concept Volt’s clothing
“this is more about the electrification of the car - not how cool it looks”
Early artist renditions of the re-design reminded me of an Acrua TL and made me miss the concept…
“this is more about the electrification of the car - not how cool it looks”
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
It’s good to hear the battery works well when cold. The life of current LION batteries is greatly affected by heat as well, cold makes them last longer, though reduces the available charge. Heat degrades the battery permanently though.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Lutz HAS to be joking.
All this angst and work and redesign for a measly 5 or so miles of electric range? Are you kidding me??
Everyone figure out how many times that extra 5 miles of range would matter to them, then do the math @ 4 bucks a gallon and figure out what it would have cost you.
Then decide if the Volt redesign was worth it.
I can’t believe that. Something just doesn’t make sense. Did GM put themselves that far into a corner by “promising” 40 mile electric range?
Just sell the concept as the Volt SS and they will sell a bunch. That would be the anti-Prius. I would gladly give up 5 miles of range to have the concept. NO PROBLEM.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Prius has a CD 0.24 since 2004 and an old Tatra was doing even better… in 1935 was 0.21
Lutz probably had the “concept” numbers in mind.
I hope GM could do a bit better specially since they don’t need as much air to be used by the car itself. (no big hole in front to cool engine)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_drag_coefficient
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_T77
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I saw the show last night, and thought it was great! Bob sure is an entertaining guy. I like the analogy of why we don’t worry about the looks of our refrigerator versus our automobiles.
Regarding the Cd, he stated that the concept car had a Cd of 0.43. See this following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_drag_coefficients
Note that a 1990 Toymota truck had a Cd of 0.44. Although not listed, the new Yukon/Tahoe hybrid Cd is 0.34. Therefore, I’m not convinced that the concept actually had a Cd of 0.43. Likewise, I think we have approached the point where GM knows their competitors are trying to develop similar cars to the Volt, and will probably disseminate false numbers to keep the competition guessing. The true Cd for the Volt may well be sub 0.25.
When Bob showed the front corner of the Volt, I was amazed at how smooth is was. The headlight, grill, and lower corner lights were all flush. I can see the Cd easily being better than 0.28.
With Bob Lutz 99% confident the Volt will be successful, Mr. Cruze in the battery test lab stating they are designing for a 40 mile AER at end of battery life, and Bob Boniface stating that they are on schedule, I believe that this car will exceed our expectations (another trademark for the cars from Bob Lutz).
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
as far as the CD numbers go…, I want 6 w/ in dash changer, and that is all I care about on the subject.meet the benchmark of 40 AER, and make it look cool and any other CD numbers mean nothing to me…
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
#49 Talks, can’t really say.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I know a number of you love the concept car style, but a Cd of .43 is semi-truckish. When the initial requirements of this project were documented, it appears that a 40 AER was the most important spec. I believe GM’s mistake is not producing the concept body, but showing the Volt concept as we know it to the public at all. A small scale wind tunnel test can show the concept style just couldn’t cut it. It appears that GM is doing an incredible job creating a product that meets their initial requirements, but I would like to know the answer to a couple of questions.
1. How much thought did the GM engineers put into the aerodynamics of the concept before they showed it to the GM execs?
2. Did they go with a super cool design to wow everyone so they didn’t remind themselves of the EV1 debacle, even though GM knew that the concept design would never work?
3. Did they really believe that this design will work when they started?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
BillR @ 58:
That is the only answer. Some of the released info must be false. That is the best competitive approach anyway, since their existance depends on this car.
But, when they do actually unveil the production car, they had better clear up a few issues about range and the reasons for the styling changes. Some of us neanderthal knuckle draggers who buy a car and consider styling and the emotional aspects important need to be addressed.
Unless the production Volt is a stylistic beauty, of course.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Listening to the video, I found 5 new pieces of information:
1) Bob Lutz said the gas engine will run at a single RPM. This is the first time I’ve heard this from GM. It would be nice to know more about this…
2) Referring to the Volt, Bob Lutz says “all of our major competitors are working on something like this”. I’ve heard nothing about an E-REV type vehicle from anyone else, so thats news.
3) The battery will be warmed in the winter and cooled in the summer. We knew the battery would be liquid cooled, but this is the first time they’ve talked about using battery energy to warm the battery.
4) The battery pack will have around 500 individual Li/Ion cells. Li/Ion cells naturally produce a little over 3 volts each, and the total pack voltage is reported to be 300-400 volts, so I would conjecture this means 4 groups of around 125 cells each.
5) The Cd is .27-.28. Not bad, but not great. Bob Lutz stressed that GM is a design driven company. The look of the car comes first, and then the look is modified as minimally as possible to meet reasonable performance specs.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Just so I have a elucidated understanding of everyones concerns-
The price of gas goes up, GM makes a concept called Volt. They say 40 mile AER and 50 mpg thereafter. The process has NEVER been done before and they predict 2010 and 30-40k. Responses range from-
Range sucks.EV-1 got 200!
(this ain’t the EV-1…get over it.)
Concept Cd is too high, GM! It’ll never do 40 miles!
(Testing, more testing. Nothing happens overnight except overnight)
1.4 L non-turbo is too heavy! We hate that idea!!!
(Do you have a scale @ home strictly for measuring GM engines?)
We do NOT want it to look like a Prius!!
(Then that alters the shape, which changes the form…which alters Cd…duh)
We don’t want it to be too heavy!!!
(but you want everything from solar panels to DVD in it which adds weight)
I’m not paying $40k for a Volt!!!No way!!!
(…but you probably paid in excess of $400 for an iPhone…that later became $200…that has been replaced by a 3G model one year after release…riiiiiight.)
The charging port has to be on the driver’s side/passenger’s side/front/behind license plate for it to work for me!!!
(So tell me-how many OTHER cars have the charging port in the location you desired?)
Stop your whining and either support the project and give positive feedback/suggestions to GM or just don’t worry about it and don’t buy it…there…problem solved.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Statik: Bob is ROCKING THE PINK TIE again!
I noticed that too. What’s with the pink tie meme? Who knows, maybe they’ll start making the Chevy “bow-tie” pink too…
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
From my understanding of the history, Lutz wanted to build an all electric car after hearing about the Tesla. Lauckner suggested making a more modest electric range and putting a range extender on it so it would have more utility for more people. That doesn’t mean Lutz claims that Laucker “invented” the idea of a range extender. It’s just that he is the one who suggested adding it to this particular concept car.
I’ve never considered a concept car that is shown at an auto show to be anything other than a device to express a concept. Hence the name concept car. Think of it as a 3D sketch on the back of a napkin with a caption “What if we built something like this?”. It certainly is not a contract with the customer. Usually the most you’ll get is some of the ideas of a concept car in some future cars. I doubt that they ever put the concept car into a wind tunnel before showing it. The concept cars that I’ve seen at auto shows always smell of wet paint. The reaction to the Volt was so overwhelming that GM decided to go ahead and put it into production. At that point, almost everything in the concept is subject change. They have to deal with the realities of building a production car. From an engineering perspective the production Volt as a completely different car from the concept.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I just had a fantastic thought on how GM could recoup some of it’s losses on developing this technology and at the same time how our government could overhaul some of it’s transportation costs and avoid further debt to the un-unionized and probably overseas automotive companies that provide us with larger vehicles.
Use the Chevy Volt’s technology to transform every bus, trolly and ferry if possible into a full electric if possible, partially electric if not possible.
Particularly in rural areas like Ohio and Nebraska. Mr. Lutz I KNOW that you follow the major business news websites so you must have come across the stories of multiple school districts and city buses losing money because of the cost of fuel.
The schools in particular are losing the money they need for basic school supplies like paper, pencils and glue because of rising fuel costs. If you offered to negotiate a contract with the states to refit their buses with Volt technology they would probably be able to pay you better than the average consumer.
A bus that can carry 40 to 50 people sounds better than a sedan that can carry only 4 people, 5 if you really use the space in the car.
Our public transportation systems need a revolutionary new energy source just to make ends meet and Volts new lithium battery system could satisfy that need. Won’t you at least talk it over with your engineering department to see if it can be done?
Actually a company called Phoenix motors already has a fully electric suv and pickup truck I don’t know what the weight and towing capacity is but it does demonstrate the VERY REAL possibility that a fully electric heavy vehicle can be built.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
What’s up, Statik? How’s everything up there north of the border?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
#35, kent beuchert, “I had never heard Lutz speak before and was quite impressed by his intelligence and wit. He’s obviously ahead of Charlie Rose in both departments”
Don’t make me laugh. Charlie Rose intelligently interviews all kinds of people, not just auto execs. What he gives away to Lutz on the auto industry, he regains with advantages on foreign policy, energy policy, theology, cinema, literature, you name it.
And if Lutz is such a genius, why isn’t GM making money? Why don’t they have an Anti-Prius on the road today?
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
For everyone who likes the concept vehicle, I believe it would not be built as designed for several reasons.
First, we are told about the aerodynamics. However, I have seen the concept car at the VoltNation event in NYC, and it didn’t appear to be that much of a “brick”. I sincerely believe the Cd for that vehicle is probably more like 0.34, not 0.43. See my previous post. The 2006 BMW Z4 M coupe has a Cd of 0.35. GM wants to provide “at least” 40 miles AER at the end of battery life.
Secondly, the overall length of the concept car is 170″. See the “Full Specfications” link on the GM-Volt homepage. I have scaled pictures of the concept car, and its wheelbase is approximately 125″! The Buick Lucerne has a 116″ wheelbase, and the Yukon XL (i.e. Suburban) has a wheelbase of 130″. GM needed to reduce the wheelbase to fit on one of their platforms, in this case, the Delta II. The wheelbase for the Delta II is between 103.5″ (Cobalt) and 112″ (Malibu). The 125″ wheelbase for the concept would have yielded a very poor turning radius.
Lastly, the concept is as the name implies, a special built car that is not in production. Bob Boniface stated in one of his interviews that the Concept Volt was put together in less than 1 year, and that it borrows heavily from the Camaro, and is sometimes referred to as the electric Camaro. I don’t believe at that stage of the game that GM was prepared to show a “near production” type car.
A lot more thought and innovation has gone into the Volt since the January 2007 Detroit Auto Show.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
[sarcasm alert!]
I don’t care if the AER is less than a 1 mile! If it doesn’t have bulging wheel wells, they lied to me and I’m not buying. In fact, just get rid of all that electric garbage get me my wheel wells!
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
>> 3) The battery will be warmed in the winter and cooled in the summer. We knew the battery would be liquid cooled, but this is the first time they’ve talked about using battery energy to warm the battery.
Actually, it has been discussed already… but was dismissed as just anti-lithium propaganda. Clearly, it wasn’t.
The need for warming comes from the shortcoming with Li-Ion tech since “cell impedance goes up and the acceptance of the ions on the anode is drastically reduced” when the temperature is below freezing.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Maharguitar @ 66:
Good points, but concepts of “production intent” cars are usually pretty close. The Solstice is a good example of a Lutz concept. Almost identical to the production car. The new Camaro is VERY close to the concept. The Volt was clearly production intended when is was unveiled. Lots of car show concepts are silly exercises in eye candy. Everyone knows that. Some cars are truely intended for production and it is evident when you look at them.
But GM is still using the concept in Volt commercials. To most of the public, the concept IS the Volt.
Although the newest commercials are only showing the frontal view. No side detail, rear detail. Based on what we have seen so far the frontal view will be close to production, and they can not be accused of a bait and switch on the Olympic commercials.
The fact that the rest of the car is no longer being shown is what worries me. That alone means the side profile of the car will be recognizably different from the concept.
That is a lot of stylistic changes for 5 miles of range.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 4:17 pm