GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

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 driver who want to let others know they are driving without gas.  Take for example the Prius’ unique look or that of the new Honda Insight.

Volt lead designer Bob Boniface thinks so too.

“People who spend money on technology . . . want to wear that on their sleeve,” he said. “[But] it does still need to have one foot in the mainstream so it fits in people’s lives.”

Places where the presence of electric drive could have the largest impact on design are the grille and hood. Since ventilation isn’t as important in electric cars, a large open grill isn’t necessary, and designers could stretch and tweak the nose of the car in new ways.

Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Automotive also noted “You don’t necessarily have that huge engine up front, so you can sculpt the hood.” Indeed that is what his team has done with the upcoming Karma extended-range vehicle.

New interior space may also arise as batteries shrink and gas tanks disappear.

Source (Autoweek)

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 the driveway and back.” He appeared to be unfamiliar with the fact that the Volt has a range-extender.

I quickly published a video response and soon thereafter former GM vice chairman Bob Lutz wrote a blog about it calling it Letterman’s own “Stupid Human Trick” and offered to go on the show.

Guess what? Letterman accepted.

Father of the Volt Bob Lutz himself will appear on the show this coming Wednesday night, May 20th!

It is my understanding Letterman found out he was wrong in what he said about the Volt, and may publicly announce it. The car, of course, is supposed to be on the show too.

Don’t forget to set your TiVos this ought to be a good one.

Source (GM)

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 to be is a major expense.

Yesterday Chrysler announced a cut of 789 dealers, leading to shock and sadness across the country. Not only because of loss of jobs and revenue, but car dealers are often important community members and sponsors of local activities.

Starting today 1124 GM dealers will get their pink slips. This represents 18% of the total GM dealerships. Those getting letters will be told their contracts which expire in October 2010 shall not be renewed. They are ones considered to be underperformers.

GM actually plans to eliminate 42% of total dealerships to a goal of 3605 by the end of next year. As GM is not currently in bankruptcy they do not have to publicly announce which dealerships will be receiving letters. Chrysler’s list is published below.

“We have said from the beginning that our dealers are not a problem but an asset for General Motors,” said Mark LaNeve, GM Vice President of Sales Service and Marketing. “However it is imperative that a healthy, viable GM have a healthy, viable dealer body that can not only survive but prosper during cyclical downturns. It is obvious that almost all parts of GM, including the dealer body, must get smaller and more efficient.”

Most recently GM CEO Fritz Henderson has said GM bankruptcy is probable. However it is expected the bankruptcy process will allow GM to successfully restructure its debt and expenses and survive as a lean green reinvention of itself.

Either way Volt will survive, only the dealer you might be hoping to get it from right now may not be there in November 2010.

List of Chrysler Dealers

Source (Detroit Free Press)

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 be another year and a half to bring the Volt to market.

“Most of it truly is the aesthetic side of it,” he said. “The mule cars aren’t pretty. We know that people want a vehicle that is distinctive.”

He admitted GM has “been working the basic powertrain and battery stuff for more than a year or two,” but added that the aesthetic features “only comes together in the final stages before you go.”

Producing a car “is a lot like fashion,” he said. “If you start too soon you’re selling something that’s already old.”

He concluded therefore “the things that are holding it up are really the typical new vehicle kinds of things,” and not in fact the high tech cutting edge battery and powertrain engineering which have so far proven very robust and successful.

In exactly thirteen days, GM will begin building the full true Volt interior and exterior integration vehicles. No major changes will likely occur between those and the final production vehicles, though Farah does note “we’ll do what we have to do to fix problems if any crop up.”

So far with the 30 or so mules he’s been working with for the past several months there were no problems that weren’t anticipated. “Nothing has come up that we haven’t had an answer for,” he said.

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 is depleted, pull into a station and have the battery exchanged.  They would never own the battery and pay a subscription fee.

Late Tuesday the company revealed the first video of how the swapping process would work.

They have partnered with Renault-Nissan on the endeavor and have pledged to work to an open standard for battery packs so that they could be interchangeable among many vehicles.

The first country in which this is expected is Israel with a charging network to be activated in 2010. Other places networks are expected are Denmark, Australia, California, Hawaii and Ontario, Canada. The demonstration proof-of-concept took place in Japan.

“Today marks a major milestone for the automotive industry as well as for Better Place,” said Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO, Better Place. “For nearly a century, the automotive industry has been inextricably tied to oil. Today, we’re demonstrating a new path forward where the future of transportation and energy is driven by our desire for a clean planet and a robust economic recovery fueled by investments in clean technology, and one in which the well-being of the automotive industry is intrinsically coupled with the well-being of the environment.”

The swapping stations would cost $500,000 a piece and other than Nissan-Renault no other major automakers are on-board with the idea, including GM who is positioning themselves to be a major battery pack assembler.

I must admit the remarkably fast swap process is impressive.

“The goal was to make the switch of a battery faster than filling your tank,” says Agassi. “We have seen this device work in under 40 seconds in our shop.”

See video below:

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8nTAjVaa7Y]

Source (Better Place)

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 for General Motors last summer and is currently recording a CD and writing jingles.

She says some GM execs have heard this.

You can hear it by playing the audio file at the bottom of the post.

Lyrics:
Once I had a guzzler,
I could not afford,
It cost me more every day.

Once I had a guzzler,
Now it’s gone,
Chevy Volt’s here to stay.

Don’t you remember?
It was “filler up”?
So much we couldn’t‘ pay?

Don’t you remember
Where all your money went?
E flex came and saved the day.

Chevy Volt! Chevy Volt, leaves me money for play.
Chevy Volt! Chevy Volt, Chevy Volt’s here to stay.

Performed by Sarah Spiegel
Lyrics by Sarah Spiegel
Music by Eddie Hedges
(c) GOOT MUSIC ASCAP

And if there are any other singer/songwriters out there why not give it a shot too? Maybe we can hold a contest for the best Chevy Volt jingle.

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