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Archive for April, 2009

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Dave Letterman Bashes the Chevy Volt on National Television w/Video

April 30th, 2009 | Posted in: Public Opinion with 220 Comments

Late Night host David Letterman interviewed Tesla CEO Elon Musk and rolled out the Tesla Model S on his show. They did get around to discussing the Chevy Volt. Dave seemed very irritated with GM’s bailout need, the destruction of the EV-1, and laid into the Volt on national television.
Letterman said “the Volt [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 220 Comments

Obama: Chrysler Will File for Bankruptcy

April 30th, 2009 | Posted in: Financial, Politics with 88 Comments

 

One month ago Chrysler was given until today to restructure all of its debt and merge with Fiat. This was not to be the case. President Obama announced that Chrysler will move to file for bankruptcy shortly. It is expected the process will be swift and surgical with a new Chrysler emerging within 30 to [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 88 Comments

Saturn May be Dead but GM’s 2-Mode Plug-in Hybrid Program Lives On

April 30th, 2009 | Posted in: Brand, PHEV with 123 Comments

GM first announced its intentions to build a plug-in hybrid Saturn VUE in late 2006, months before revealing the Volt concept. All along we have heard development of those plug-in VUEs has continued and remains on track. Although initially launch was expected in early 2010, the most recent plans state the car would [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 123 Comments

Chevy Volt Mule Test Drive (Autobloggreen) w/ Video Briefing From Tony Posawatz

April 29th, 2009 | Posted in: Test drive, Video with 153 Comments

On Tuesday, several journalists were brought out to GM’s Milford Proving Grounds to test drive the Chevy Volt mules as I had.
Same Abuelsamid from Autobloggreen, a technical editor with a strong engineering background, documented his experience here and offers a video of Volt vehicle line director Tony Posawatz briefing the journalists.
Sam described his drive noting [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 153 Comments

GM-Volt.com Chevy Volt Mule Test Drive w/ Video

April 28th, 2009 | Posted in: Test drive with 383 Comments

There are a few events in every lifetime that will be remembered forever. In some cases these events are the celebration of an achievement, of a reward earned.
Such was that early Spring morning in 2009 that I pulled past the bold blue and white military-like sign that read Milford Proving Grounds. For this [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 383 Comments

GM Updates Viability Plan: Pontiac Will be Phased out by End of 2010, Volt Still on Track, Debt Exchange Offer Made

April 27th, 2009 | Posted in: Financial with 136 Comments

GM has little more than 30 days to go before the government’s deadline to either achieve viability or enter bankruptcy.
Today CEO Fritz Henderson provided an update which it hopes will lead to satisfying the governments objectives by the June 1st.
The following steps were outlined:
-GM will focus on only four brands, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.  [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 136 Comments

Honda Shifts Gears on Plug-in Electric Cars

April 26th, 2009 | Posted in: Competitors with 161 Comments

In late 2007 Honda President Takeo Fukui went on record saying he “saw no value in developing plug-in hybrid vehicles”. He criticized the Volt concept saying “my feeling is that the kind of plug-in hybrid currently proposed by different auto makers can be best described as a battery electric vehicle equipped with an unnecessary [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 161 Comments

Pontiac Goes, GMC Stays, Chrysler’s on the Gallows Pole

April 25th, 2009 | Posted in: Financial, General with 96 Comments

The end game for Chrysler is fast approaching, like the edge of a cliff.
The US government has given Chrysler until this Thursday to either complete a merger with Fiat or enter bankruptcy. Reports indicate that the government has already begun preparing for the bankruptcy proceedings, and that even if a deal is reached, bankruptcy [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 96 Comments

The Chevy Volt’s Electric Range is 40 Miles in Both Highway and City Driving

April 24th, 2009 | Posted in: Performance with 159 Comments

It is often asked whether the Volt’s 40 mile all-electric range (AER) will be applicable both to city and highway driving. Other questions include how driving aggressiveness and the use of heating and air-conditioning might affect range. I had a chance to discuss these matters with Nick Zeilinksi. Nick is GM’s Director [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 159 Comments

LG Chem Has Begun Battery Plant Construction for Chevy Volt Cells

April 23rd, 2009 | Posted in: Battery, Production with 148 Comments

LG Chem of Korea will be supplying the lithium-ion cells for the first generation Chevy Volts. The company was picked from an initial pool of 27 applicants in March 2007, eventually whittled down to 13 serious contenders. Finally, as announced in January they edged out A123 Systems in terms of preparedness and were awarded [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 148 Comments

Breaking: EEStor Announces a ‘Huge Milestone’: Relative Permittivity Certified

April 22nd, 2009 | Posted in: EEStor with 140 Comments

As a sidebar to the Volt we follow the story of EEStor. This is the Texas-based stealth-mode company that has been working on developing a specialized energy storage unit (EESU) that is somewhat of a cross between a battery and an ultracapacitor. The device uses a specialized chemical powder called barium titanate which [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 140 Comments

LG Chem Confident About Volt Launch Date

April 22nd, 2009 | Posted in: Battery, Production with 73 Comments

LG Chem is the Korean battery manufacturer GM has chosen to supply lithium ion cells for the Chevy Volt’s battery pack. The company was chosen based on its chemistry, cost, production capacity, purity standards, and ability to deliver on time.
Prabakhar Patil is the CEO of Compact Power Inc, an LG subsidiary that helped GM [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 73 Comments

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