GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

On Tuesday in a New York City court, GM took the final step towards emerging from bankruptcy.  Including testimony from CEO Fritz Henderson, GM filed for the court to approve the 363 sale of the old GMs best performing assets to the new GM.  This request has taken place a mere 30 days after GM first filed for bankruptcy protection, a remarkably fast pace.

Henderson told the court formation and sale of the new GM to the US Government had to take place by July 10th otherwise the company would have to liquidate.  In keeping with analysts’ estimates that the automotive market is beginning to recover, Henderson said “business is doing better” and that June retail sales were ”slightly better than expected.”

If approved, the new GM will be funded by $30 billion in taxpayer dollars and be 60% owned by the government.  The UAW healthcare fund would get 17.5%, the Canadian government 12.5%, and bondholders 10%. 

Is is considered a longshot that all of the taxpayer dollars will ever be recovered, as the new GM would have to reach a market capitalization of $68 billion do so.  ”Can a company with $100 [billion] to $140 billion of revenue have $70 billion of market cap?” asked Henderson rhetorically in a recent interview.  “”Yeah. It’s a function of how we execute, and do we get the margins out of the business that we need?”

A few fringe dissident bondholders and other groups are trying to block the sale, and the judge allowed them to be heard.

It is unlikely however these objections will be able to stop the government-backed process, and most predict the new clean, lean, mean, and green GM could emerge before the end of July.

You can see a blow by blow real time report of the court process here on the Washington Post’s twitter feed.  More testimony is likely tomorrow.

Source (Reuters)

Since 1984 GM has had a relationship with Toyota at the New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated (NUMMI) joint-venture plant in California, where the Pontiac Vibe, twin of the Toyota Matrix, has been built. GM’s bankruptcy process and the shedding of the Pontiac brand had made GM’s future role in that plant uncertain.

Bloomberg reports that Toyota’s new President Aiko and GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson are to have a meeting in August to discuss the next step.  Citing persons familiar with the plan, the report said Toyota planned to offer GM the opportunity to build a GM-branded version of the Prius at NUMMI, speculating that such a move would motivate GM, who is half owner, to keep the plant open.

On Monday, however, GM issued a statement indicating it is leaving NUMMI behind as part of the 363 sale to stay with the old GM.

GM spokesperson Tom Pyden told GM-Volt.com that GM was not “able to reach an agreement with Toyota on potential future product at NUMMI.”  He noted this decision was made by GM North American President Troy Clarke. “We are not in current discussions with Toyota on licensing their synergy drive,” Clarke told GM-Volt.com last week. “I would point out that we are working like crazy on our own hybrid technology.”

“We were also at a point in the 363 sale process whereby we needed to designate NUMMI – like all other assets and contracts of GM – as either ‘New GM’ or ‘Old GM’,” said Pyden.  “Without an agreement on a potential future product, we went with the ‘Old GM’ designation regarding our ownership interest.”

Toyota spokesperson Bill Kwong denied the possibility Toyota was offering to build the Prius at NUMMI with GM.  He told GM-Volt.com “Toyota currently has no interest in building the Prius at NUMMI.”  He denied knowledge of any such offer noting “they are just rumors.”

Despite NUMMI being cast aside from the new GM, the company still hasn’t ruled out future collaborations.  “We have enjoyed a very positive and beneficial partnership with Toyota for the past 25 years, and we remain open to future opportunities of mutual interest,” says an official GM statement.

Thus it remains unclear if Toyota secretly offered a GM-branded Prius to GM in exchange for continuing the joint venture at NUMMI, or will still offer such an option in the future.

So is the rumor of a GM-branded Prius finally dead?

“Yes,” says GM spokesperson Pat Morrisey.  “That puts the rumor to rest.”

I hope so, but if not enjoy the 2011 Buick Irony pictured above.

Source (Bloomberg) and (GM)

Toyota has been the first company to achieve significant commercial success in selling a hybrid vehicle. The Toyota Prius is in its third generation and since inception has sold well over 1 million units. In fact Toyota’s success with the Prius caught GM by surprise.  As the story goes, GM long ago had decided not to enter that area when profitable gas guzzling SUVs were all the rage.

The Volt was GM’s ‘Hail Mary Pass’ to leapfrog Toyota and become the new technology leader. Though the Volt does operate as a series hybrid in charge sustaining mode, from a drivetrain perspective its an electric car. Electric cars have very significant driving advantages over hybrids and the potential to use far less if any gasoline at all.

Toyota’s new President Akio Toyoda was recently interviewed by CNN.  Toyota had just taken the wheel of what is now the worlds largest automaker a mere two months after the company reported its largest annual operating loss in history.

Among other thing Toyoda, who is the grandson of the company’s founder, was asked whether Toyota should be doing more in the way of electric cars, considering the efforts of its competitors.

“Electric cars’ battery life is limited, and that has not been solved,” said Toyoda. “We would like to utilize our hybrid technology because we have accumulated quite a bit of knowledge about battery usage for hybrid cars.”

“Depending on how electric cars are used or how they are found to be valuable,” he says “for the time being Toyota would like to focus on hybrid technology.”

Its no surprise that Toyota would want to stay focused on its successful product and the hope its technology will remain dominant. Of course it is likely the company has ready plans if electric cars wind up leaving hybrids in the dust.

We shall see.

Source (CNN)

The Opel Ampera is the twin sister car to the Chevy Volt.  The primary difference is rebadging with Opel styling cues, the platform and powertrain will be identical.   Canadian parts supplier Magna International is in negotiations with GM to become a partial owner of Opel.

There are apparently some snags in the negotiations.  It is well known that Magna intends to become a leader in the electrification of the automobile.  Ownership in Opel could potentially give them access to Voltec intellectual property.  Sources indicate that “Magna is asking for access to future technology such as fuel cells, hybrids and future GM models that go beyond what the company is offering in the deal.”  As such GM is now in new negotiations with buyout firm RHJ International SA and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co.

Reports out of Europe cite GM sources as saying this uncertainty has led to a plan to introduce the right-handed Chevy Volt at the same time as the Opel Ampera in Europe in 2012, effectively putting them in competition with one another.

However, the reports suggests this competition may only be brief, as GM’s future Voltec plans are made clearer.  GM sources told Autocar that in the future “there won’t be a Volt or Ampera mark two, the powertrain will effectively become mainstream.”  As an example this source said the sixth generation Opel Astra could get the Voltec powertrain  “in 5 or 6 years.”

If this were true one could envision a similar paradigm developing in North America, where new future GM compact cars could come as standard gas combustion as well as Voltec versions.

Source (Autocar) and (Bloomberg)

On Friday, GM announced that it had chosen an Orion Township Michigan assembly plant as the location it would build a new upcoming subcompact car.  Stamping for the car would be done in Pontiac Michigan.  The move takes this future vehilce away from China where it was originally planned to be built.  The move stateside was a concession to the UAW for its agreement to exchange its debt for equity.  67% of GM’s vehicles are built in the states, and shipping one from China adds $850 to its cost.

“Small cars represent one of the fastest-growing segments in both the U.S. and around the world,” said Troy Clarke, president of General Motors North America. “ GM will be the only automaker, foreign or domestic, to build small cars in the U.S . , and we believe Orion Assembly and Pontiac Stamping are well suited to deliver a high-quality, fuel-efficient car that competes with anything in the marketplace.”

Clark said the new subcompact also known as a B-class vehicle would not be the Chevrolet Spark that most had speculated, calling it instead, “a yet-to-be announced product.”  The current Aveo which is slated to be discontinued is GM’s current B-class car. Some speculate the Chevy Viva will be the new car.

“We’re thinking the B-car will sell north of 100,000 vehicles,” said Clarke, though he acknowledged only about 40,000 Aveos are sold yearly now. “We’re thinking this segment will grow because of higher fuel prices as well as the attractiveness and utility of the vehicle.”

There are no indications the car will be a hybrid though GM says the car “will add to the automaker’s growing portfolio of U.S.-built, highly fuel-efficient cars, including the Chevrolet Cruze and Volt.”

Production will begin in 2011 and 1400 jobs will be restored by this plan.

Source (GM)

I must admit I am still amazed that we are actually beginning to talk about a near finished product, the Chevy Volt integration vehicles (IV). Over 2 and a half years ago when I first started this site, (SEE FIRST POST HERE) this point was a time that was unimaginable and yet now has come to pass.

We now have running Volts true-to-form with pictures, videos, and new information. We just had a live chat here with the Volt’s Chief Engineer, Andrew Farah, the only known person to drive one of the new cars. Many of us asked questions, including myself, which went unanswered. Farah chose the ones he wanted to answer from a list, and only had an hour. So what if anything new did we learn? Lets see:

Appearance

He allayed concerns people had about the appearance of the IVer, noting items such as the “head lamps, tail lamps, and paint on the spoiler” were not true to production form at this point because they didn’t need to be for testing. These features will look differnt in the production product.

Handling

He specifically said the Volts’ chassis is “much more sporty” than either the Prius or Insight. Great, but that really isn’t saying much.

Battery Leasing

It is my understanding GM has not yet decide whether to lease or sell the battery. Farah said his team is “working form the perspective that it will be sold with the car,”‘ and will have a 10-year life.

Software/GUI

Farah says the graphic user interface (GUI) on the 2 LCD dash is complete from a software architecture control standpoint, but its appearance will still be refined and calibrated over the next few months.

Gas Tank Size

Farah still says the car will deliver “more than 300 miles” on a full tank of gas and full charge, but claims “we’re still balancing the size of the tank with other factors.” On a side note, I have recently been told by GMs Director of Hybrids and EVs Bob Kruse that the gas tank size is now considered a known entity. …still a veil of mystery here.

Future of EVs from GM

Farah says, “electrified vehicles will certainly be a significant portion of our future sales.” Though recently CEO Fritz Henderson told me gas cars will still make up “the lion’s share” of GMs portfolio in 10 years.

Charging Port Connector

He says his team has adopted a “revised SAE J1772 charge port/connector specification” that is larger than what has been shown previously, but will work with public chargers that are greater than 120V. He said the port was moved down to its own door location because “the SAE connector is a bit larger than would fit under the fender trim,”…”we moved it down to accomodate [sic].”

Charge Sustaining Mode

My question, which was ignored, is what genraotr mode sounded and felt like. To another questioner, Farah said he was “extremely pleased” with driving in the current calibration of charge sustain (generator) mode.

Trim Levels

Farah confirms there will be more than one trim level, “as with most other Chevrolets.”

Engine Noise at Stop

Farah confirms “our plan is to stop the engine when the vehicle comes to rest.”

Engine RPM

Our own N Riley asked if GM “will reduce engine rpm as the speed of the car decreases to keep it sounding like it is trying to run away?” Farah said Riley’s suggestion “clearly makes sense” and although not specifically promises this will be the case, reassures us that his goal for the Volt is it “should not surprise (drivers) unnecessarily.”

Cold and Hot Operation

Farah confirms hot weather testing out West will soon be underway but that the IVers have been operating at 90 degree temperatures in Michigan. He confirmed what we’ve heard in the past that at extremely low temperatures, the car will “use the engine to supplement the battery.”