GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

Today GM unveiled its newest extended-range electric vehicle. This time the E-Flex technology, which has been given a new name called Voltec, has been married to a luxury coupe.

The car is beautifully styled, sleek, and clearly aerodynamic. It has been designed this time from square one to have the appropriate aerodynamics to allow it the same 40 mile-range as the Chevy Volt.

The vehicle will use a gasoline-range extender and lithium ion batteries.

The press release:

CONVERJ: THE “CADILLAC” OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Luxury coupe concept continues GM’s leadership in the electrification of the automobile

DETROIT – General Motors unveiled a further glimpse at the potential of electric propulsion today, this time in the form of luxury transportation, with the Cadillac Converj Concept. The Cadillac Converj was developed as a well-appointed grand touring coupe with a bold design and a host of interactive technology.

The four-passenger Converj concept is intended to show how GM’s revolutionary electric propulsion technology – called Voltec – can power a luxury coupe with a typically Cadillac “no compromises” design. The technology enables up to 40 miles of gas- and emissions-free electric driving with extended-range capability of hundreds of miles.

Bob Lutz, GM’s vice chairman of Global Product Development, said the Converj concept has production substance. “It’s a logical extension of our plan to reinvent the automobile,” he said. “It clearly shows what a Cadillac electric vehicle could look like, and clearly indicates that global luxury customers can have a car that has both strong design and electric propulsion with a total range of hundreds of anxiety-free miles.”

Cadillac’s extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) concept has a new body style that is an evolution of the brand’s traditional Art and Science design theme. An aggressive, forward-leaning arc profile is the foundation for the sporting stance. And more than a Cadillac in form, Converj is also intended to be a Cadillac in substance, with the premium materials, technology and driving dynamics that are hallmarks of the brand.

I am here in Detroit about to get started out to the events. Below you will find a real-time live video stream so you can watch the press conference unfold at 10 AM EST. We expect to see a production version of the 50 mpg Chevy Beat (now called Spark), the high efficiency 7-seater microvan called Chevy Orlando, and the new E-Flex Cadillac. As well we should finally have confirmation that LG Chem/CPI got the Volt battery contract and that they will be building a Volt battery pack assembly plant in Michigan.

There has also been news that Ford has finally decided to jump into the electric car arena, and will be showing a 100 mile range pure electric Focus with production plans for 10,000 units in 2011. That’s of course at their press conference.

I’ll be getting more details from the executives involved as the day goes on. Enjoy and thanks for your questions.

Video feed can be found here .

As your Volt representative I am heading out today to Detroit where I will be attending the Auto Show.

I also will have the chance to interview many key top executives from the Volt team and GM as a whole, I will even get to meet CEO Rick Wagoner in a group setting, and vice chairman Bob Lutz.

It is always best for me to bring back any questions readers here might have that they would like answered.

So please feel free to put those questions down in the comments section of this post, and I’ll do my best to get them answered.

And stay tuned for lots of new information.

We have been hearing for some time rumors that GM would be unveiling a surprise E-Flex electric car at the Detroit Auto Show later this week.

In fact I have heard from sources that the car would be an example of how far machine-driver interface could be taken, and that it would not be a four door Chevy.

Businessweek has now published more details about the car.

Sources have advised them it will be a brash new 2-door Cadillac Coupe, similar in styling to the upcoming CTS coupe (shown above). The car will be smaller and even bolder.

The design will be so striking that an unnamed GM executive has said it will make “people want it regardless of the energy source.”

The car is noted to be a concept, not necessarily production-intent, but will illustrate how additional vehicle designs could also achieve the 40 mile AER and utilize the E-Flex underpinning. Indeed Volt executive Frank Weber has previously told me that changing designs is the “easy part” relative to the complex undertaking of creating a perfect E-Flex drivetrain.

Source (Businessweek)

This morning on NBC’s today show, reporters Matt Lauer and Phil LeBeau broadcasted a piece on the Chevy Volt.

Besides the usual descriptive information, the reporters actually got to test drive the same Volt Cruze Mule that Rick Wagoner drove to Washington DC.

I was able to contact Mr. LeBeau to hear about his experience. He offered me the following response, which he also posted on his blog:

Impressive. Very impressive. I spent part of Wednesday afternoon tooling around GM’s tech center in a “mule” version of the Volt. When I hit the gas, the acceleration was instant. Like all electric cars, the torque and response from the car is immediate. The Volt will deliver the same performance you would get from a car with 250 horse power.

The other thing that stands out about the Volt is how smooth and quiet it is. There is not the whirring sound that I have heard in other electric cars I have driven. It also feels effortless when you are driving it. All around, I can see why executives at GM have growing confidence the Volt will deliver everything that’s been promised.

GM spokesperson David Darovitz was also present. He has this to say about it “they interviewed Frank (Weber), I sat in the back. Boy what a rush! Especially when Frank floored it. Instant giddy-up and go – in silence. It was very sweet!”

Yes I asked if I could try it out too…answer “in time.” Lets hope not 2012!

Video Below:

An important vehicle going forward with GM’s plans towards energy diversification is the 2-Mode Hybrid Saturn VUE. This is the first instance of GM’s strong hybrid powertrain, so-called 2-mode because it has both low speed and high speed electric motors, being married to a crossover sized vehicle. It is already in production in their large trucks such as the Chevy Tahoe.

I have been told GM has plans to launch a new hybrid every four months, and have been told that a 2-mode hybrid sedan “is coming.”

The 2-Mode VUE exists in pre-production and has been test-driven on public roads. It is projected to get 28 mpg city/31 mpg hwy with a 262 hp motor and sell for less than $33,000. It was supposed to launch by the end of 2008, but a little thing called imminent collapse derailed that plan.

I checked in for an update with GM’s powertrain spokesperson Brian Corbett who noted “we’re looking to start production during Q1 but I don’t have a specific date(s) for when it will arrive at dealerships.”

I also asked Brian that since the Saturn brand’s future is in question, as per GM’s viability plan, whether the 2-Mode VUE powertrain could find its way into the suitably sized 2010 Equinox, which in non-hybrid form already gets 30 mpg on the highway. He said there was “no plans to put in the FWD 2-mode for now,” and “I can’t speculate on Saturn’s future and what would happen to the various advance tech programs that brand currently has planned, other than we do intend to be the auto industry’s technological leader and diversify from petroleum. ”

A forthcoming plug-in version of the VUE has also been slated to become the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid using lithium-ion technology. Since the plug-in VUE program began about 6 months before the Volt, it could theoretically go on sale in mid-2010, with MPG ratings possibly in the 70s. I asked Brian for an update on that program.

He said that the “plug-in program is moving along,” and that “a couple of VUE plug-ins just were sent to our winter proving grounds in Canada for some winter weather testing.”

Finally he teased that we “might see (the plug-in VUE) in action” at the Detroit Auto Show this weekend. At first I wasn’t sure what he meant but the following I think has provided the answer:

Forbes has reported that there will be a indoor 700-foot long test track set up inside the Cobo Hall Convention Center where the Detroit Auto Show will be held. The track, called the “Michigan EcoXperience,” will be used to allow journalists to test drive electric vehicles supplied by GM, Ford, Mitsubishi, and Tesla up to 10 mph.

Test-driving the 2-mode plugin? Even at the 10 mph speed it should be interesting. And what’s this? A Ford EV?