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Archive for May, 2009

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GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz Brings Chevy Volt on Late Night with David Letterman and it’s Awesome

May 21st, 2009 | Posted in: Public Opinion, Video with 218 Comments

I will be the first to say, the Volt has been vindicated in a most wonderful way.
A few weeks ago Tesla CEO Elon Musk brought the Model S on Late Night with David Letterman and Dave misrepresented the Chevy Volt, calling its 40 mile range “ridiculous.”
Last night after having issued a challenge to do so, [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 218 Comments

More Mule Test Drives and Detroit Press’ Chevy Volt Top 10 List

May 20th, 2009 | Posted in: Public Opinion, Sightings, Test drive with 177 Comments

Several news agencies now have had their chance at the wheel of the Chevy Volt Mule.
1. Jalopnik – the tongue in cheek and heavily prolific automotive blog had a mule drive with Bob Lutz riding shotgun. They called it “utterly unremarkable” to GM’s delight because that is the goal. Making a car that doesnt use [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 177 Comments

Toyota Says Plugin Car Demand as Low as 3500 per Year, GM Says Low Demand Could Affect Volt Program

May 19th, 2009 | Posted in: Marketing, PHEV with 200 Comments

Toyota has been known to throw water on the fire of Volt enthusiasm ever since the concept was first unveiled.
Speaking to a National Academy of Sciences panel, Bill Reinert, who is Toyota’s U.S. national manager for advanced technology, said the annual demand for plugin electric cars could be 50,000 at the most and even as [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 200 Comments

Obama Announcing New Strict Federal Fuel Economy Requirements of 35.5 mpg by 2016, GM Commits to it

May 18th, 2009 | Posted in: Efficiency, Politics with 138 Comments

CAFE stands for Corporate Average Fleet Economy and applies to the federal fuel efficiency requirement automakers are mandated to adhere to.
Currently the CAFE standard is 27.5 mpg for cars and 24 mpg for light trucks.
For many years California has pushed for automakers to adhere to its own state standards which are much stricter. The [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 138 Comments

There Will be No Customer Access to High Voltage on the Chevy Volt, but it Can Jump Start Another Car

May 18th, 2009 | Posted in: Charging, Features with 173 Comments

The Volt is different than traditional cars on many levels beyond its electric drivetrain.  One way is that its battery can store 16 kwh of energy, enough to power the average US household for about half a day.
People ask if they will be able to access that energy to power their home during a blackout, [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 173 Comments

CEO Promises GM Has New Vehicles That Will Blow You Away

May 17th, 2009 | Posted in: Next Generation with 78 Comments

Facing a fast approaching deadline of June 1st by which GM either restructures or enters bankruptcy, GM CEO Fritz Henderson took to he web to field questions from the public.  There are more Q and As on the Fastlane site, but the following exchanges were particularly interesting.
Henderson was asked by one consumer who needs to [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 78 Comments

Electrification of the Automobile Will Evolve Car Design in New Ways

May 16th, 2009 | Posted in: Design with 67 Comments

We learned watching the Chevy Volt change from concept to production form how the forces of aerodynamics and electric drive introduce new constraints on car design.
Whereas some were dismayed by these changes, experts agree that these new constraints offer exciting new possibilities.
One question is whether the vehicle’s design should be a badge of distinction for [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 67 Comments

Bob Lutz to Appear on Late Night With David Letterman and Rebuke False Volt Claims

May 15th, 2009 | Posted in: Public Opinion with 107 Comments

Many here will recall the recent debacle that happened two weeks ago when Tesla CEO Elon Musk was on the David Letterman show. Letterman essentially bashed the Volt in what appeared an uninformed manner, calling its range “crap” and “insane”, and saying “the Volt has a range of 40 miles, that’ll get you down [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 107 Comments

GM to Cut 1100 Dealers

May 15th, 2009 | Posted in: Dealers, Financial with 109 Comments

GM has 15 days to meet a government deadline to successfully restructure or else enter bankruptcy restructuring proceedings. Chrysler has already been in bankruptcy court since May 1st.
A major element of restructuring for both companies is the ability to eliminate excess dealerships. Maintaining too many dealers in a much smaller market than it used [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 109 Comments

Why GM Still Needs More Time to Bring the Volt to Market

May 14th, 2009 | Posted in: Engineering, Production, Timeline with 179 Comments

People often ask why will it take so much longer for GM to bring the Volt to market. Considering how much has been done already and the publicity from smaller carmakers, the casual observer often imagines the car should be ready sooner than November 2010.
I asked Volt chief engineer Andrew Farah why it will [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 179 Comments

Better Place Unveils Battery Switching Station w/ Video

May 13th, 2009 | Posted in: Charging with 192 Comments

Better Place is a well-funded start up company that has developed a unique approach to electric cars. It is the contention of their founder and CEO Shai Agassi to develop an infrastructure of battery swapping stations. In addition to charging at home, drivers would have standardized battery packs in their cars and when charge [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 192 Comments

Chevy Volt Jingle

May 12th, 2009 | Posted in: Advertising with 163 Comments

Yes I know Bob Lutz sold all his GM stock and GM is considering moving out of its Detroit headquarters, and faces highly probable bankruptcy in less than three weeks, but how about some music?
Singer/Songwriter Sarah Spiegel (shown above) wrote me to hear a Chevy Volt jingle she produced. Sarah was a national spokesperson [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 163 Comments

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