GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

As you might remember, a while back it came out that GM had to recall 9000 NiMh hybrid batteries that were made by Cobasys due to leakage.

As the likely to be popular 2-Mode Saturn VUE is due to arrive this fall, I thought it best to check in with GM on that status of that recall and to find out if the 2-Mode VUE could be affected.

GM spokesman Tom Wilkins told me that the recall is “well along”, and the notification letters for the final phase went out on June 11th.

He reassures us that “the issue with this particular battery has been resolved” and that currently due to the changing auto market and high gas prices “demand is outrunning supply”.

Importantly, although Cobasys is also making those, Tom said “the 2-mode Vue uses a different battery” and “it is still on track.”

The 2-Mode VUE is expected to have improved fuel economy of 55% city and 45% highway over the current model.

[Note: If anyone is interested I just recently did a 1 hour interview/podcast with the guys over at EVCast.com, you can listen to it here.]

When the Chevy Volt concept was first introduced, GM indicated that when the vehicle was running on internal combustion engine (ICE) generator power, after the batteries charge was depleted, it would get 50 mpg.

Recently we found out that GM had decided on a different engine than it planned in the concept. Instead of being a 1-liter 3 cylinder turbo engine, it will be a 1.4 liter 4 cylinder normally aspirated model.

This led some to worry that the car would get less than 50 mpg in the ICE-mode.

In a new conversation I had with Volt chief engineer Andrew Farah, those fears are allayed.

The reason the larger engine was chosen was “a combination of will it do the job? and will it do the job on time,” said Farah implying the very tight time frame to production was the primary reason for this change.

Asked whether the chosen powerplant will change the 50 mpg projection, he said “not significantly”.

This engine is expected to get more than 40 mpg when used in a non-hybrid model, such as the upcoming Chevy Cruze. Therefore it shouldn’t surprise us that when used in the Volt’s series hybrid system with a massive lithium-ion battery and regenerative brakes, that 50 mpg could be achieved.

The Chevy Cruze is GMs new compact car destined to replace the Cobalt and set to debut in the US in 2010. It could be considered the combustion sister-car to the Chevy Volt.

For the US market it will use the same 1.4 L engine (only turbocharged) as the Volt does for it’s generator, and will sit on the same Delta global compact platform.

The North American version of the car is expected to achieve > 40 mpg without a hybrid powertrain, although no mention of that option has yet been made by GM.

Today the automaker released full sized photos of the car which will debut at the Paris Motor Show in October. The car will be available in Europe in March of 2009 in 1.6 L( 112 hp), 1.8 L (140 hp), and 2.0 L turbo diesel (150 hp) versions.

This car is very important for GMs future because it represents their ability to leverage a global platform across many cars and countries, allowing them to profit from the economy of scale. Also it represents a new urgency to make attractive small cars. Both issues indicative of the forced shift from profit-making trucks.

GM also announced today they will invest $500 million overall and particularly $350 million in the Lordstown, Ohio plant slotted to build the Cruze in the US. It will also be built overseas.

A report out of Autocar (UK) is entitled Chevrolet Volt in final phase.

The author explains a bit more about the current shift from Malivolt prototypes to the new vintage Andrew Farah recently told us about.

The article claims the new prototypes will be an Astra-derived package, indeed the article defines the Volt itself as Astra-derived.

It is noted that the Volt’s control systems comprised 20 different processors that will eventually combine into “one unique architecture”.

Furthermore the author seems to know that the Volt will weigh around 3520 lbs (1600 kg, something we’ve never been told) and have a weight distribution of about 50:50 (a fact we’ve heard before).

As we know, representative powertrain will meet representative body sometime next year, and so the report notes that GM expects to show off a near ready car at an auto show in late 2009.

Source (Autocar)

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.

[flash http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-5331337021910564036:120000:3241000&hl=en]

[UPDATE: Post corrected to say .27 to .28]

GMs CEO Rick Wagoner was interviewed by Charlie Rose, the entire hour-long interview can be seen in the video below. On tonight’s upcoming episode Rose will interview Bob Lutz and talk even more about the Volt.

Some key exchanges between Rose and Wagoner is below (it begins in the video just after 28 minutes):

How much does GM have riding on the Volt?
Its gotten bigger than life for us, its really important. The Volt has captured the imagination of people around the world of what the future can be.

How did it come about?
We had a run with electric vehicles before. The technology was a marvel at the time, but consumers were very uneasy about the fact that they could only get 50 to 100 miles of range. It taught us we had to come up with some options that gave us the advantage of battery power, but also provided a backup.

Will it be ready in 2010?
So far, Id say so good. In fact if anything, the tests we are doing suggest we are right on time for where we need to be. We’ve got our fingers crossed, but 2010 looks doable.

What will it sell for?
We initially hoped we could get it for a very good price, lets say below $30,000. Its going to be more expensive than that, the first copies.

35?40?
We haven’t finalized it, it wont be as high as 50 but it’ll be in the mid to high 30’s is my best guess.

Are you worried that price point might deflate sales?
Well sure, consumers have told us time and again the lower the price, the more they’ll buy. But I believe we will sell as many as we can produce at what I call a fair price.

Some of its going to depend on what the government decides to do on tax credits and incentives.

Why is there so much buzz about the Volt?
Its about GM boldly leading to the future.

[flash http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-1726040624355731423:123000:3238000&hl=en]

If you can’t see video go to this link .