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Final Integration Chevy Volt Rolls off the Assembly Line

October 10th, 2009 | Posted in: General

October 9th, 2009 marked the end of another chapter in the Chevy Volt’s development.

The 74th and final integration vehilce prototype version of the Chevy Volt rolled off the assembly line at the pre-production operations plant at GM’s Warren Technical Center campus.

Those following the Volt story closely will remember the countdown clock chief engineer Andrew Farah had on display in his office showing the day the first one of these Volt vintages would arrive. That day was just before July 3rd. And now 3 months later, 74 of these cars have been made.

These vehicles are for all intents and purposes full production-intent Chevy Volts though they have some minor fit and finish issues as they are the first true cars to be made from the original math models.

GM has been and will continue to rigorously and tirelessly test these cars. From what we know they have been from the pit of Death Valley to the summit of Pikes Peak and spend all their days on GM’s test track and around Warren. This author even got to ride shotgun in one with Volt executive Frank Weber at the wheel.

“This is our shining moment after all we’ve been through with the bankruptcy this year,” said Andy Pawlaczyk, who is chairperson of UAW Local 160, which will build the Volt with Local 122 at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.

“This is the same kind of work we do on any new car, but it’s got a different purpose,” said Keith Brown, who is an an assembly worker in the preproduction facility. “We want to get off foreign oil. I hope everybody buys the Volt and loves it, and we can push the industry in that direction.”

Using all the learning these cars can provide, GM will begin building the next iteration of car on the Hamtramck assembly line in the first quarter of next year.

And we are one step closer to a world without oil.

Source (Detroit Free Press)

Posted by: Lyle

131 Responses to “Final Integration Chevy Volt Rolls off the Assembly Line”

Tagamet Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:04 am

Huzzah!
Be well,
Tagamet

Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS

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Right Lane Cruiser Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:04 am

An exciting day to be sure!

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+2 DonC Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:11 am

Hopefully the first true production models will be coming off the line by your July 4th date!

PS: With all the work involved, it’s amazing any car ever comes off the line in less than five years. These things are complicated.

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+8 zipdrive Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:13 am

Keith Brown said “We want to get off foreign oil. I hope everybody buys the Volt and loves it, and we can push the industry in that direction.”
——————————————————————-
Now these guys really deserve the Nobel Prize.

We love you folks on the Volt team!

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+2 Tagamet Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:16 am

DonC
I’m hoping the LAST of them are coming off the line and released on July 4th (hey, a guy can hope). And yes, they have done an amazing job fast-tracking the Volt’s development – thanks in no small part to this site.
Be well,
Tagamet

Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS

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+4 nasaman Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:18 am

“An exciting day to be sure!” ….right you are, and as always, Lyle is “ready freddy” with the news & graphics! ….In this case the photo is a “signature edition” of the final integration Volt that I propose be loaned to Lyle for 2-3 months for his “#1 Volt Fan” appraisal of the car.

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+6 CDAVIS Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:20 am

______________________________________________________
From Lyle’s post; Keith Brown said:
“We want to get off foreign oil. I hope everybody buys the Volt and loves it, and we can push the industry in that direction.”
———–

Very well put Keith! Thank you for your contribution in the Voltec Program.
______________________________________________________

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CDAVIS Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:33 am

____________________________________________________
woops…looks like I repeated #3 zipdrive
____________________________________________________

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+3 Tagamet Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:36 am

Although Lyle is certainly deserving of the spin in the signature car, it should end up pretty quickly in a museum. It marks the start of a sea-change in transportation.
Be well,
Tagamet

Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS

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+1 Tagamet Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:37 am

CDAVIS and zipdrive,
Two great minds with a single thought.
Be well,
Tagamet

Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS

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+4 Dave G Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:53 am

DonC Says: “With all the work involved, it’s amazing any car ever comes off the line in less than five years. These things are complicated.”
————————————————————————————–
Right.

I’ve heard that a typical new design from any car maker takes 3-5 years start to finish. They make small refinements in each model year, but a start-from-scratch new design from the chassis up, that takes 3-5 years.

And remember that GM was caught off-guard with the popularity of the Volt concept car, and so they didn’t start working on the production Volt until spring 2007. So for them to do a start-from-scratch new car design with new battery technology, a new kind of drive-train, a new type of HVAC system, etc, in 3.5 years – that’s impressive.

GM has earned my respect.

Now let’s hope the car works really well, and they sell a lot of them.

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Tagamet Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:04 am

HOPE(?) they sell a lot of them???(lol).
Be well,
Tagamet

Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS

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Herm Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:06 am

3 years for a completely new car?.. which one?.. there is a lot of work to start up an efficient production line and make sure the car will not be riddled with defects.

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+2 DaV8or Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:23 am

What? Because they actually accomplished something? Your standards are too high.

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Tagamet Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:25 am

I just noticed that the first of this run of vehicles was completed ~July 3rd. Pretty close to another Independence Day milestone. Independence (from oil) Day, 2010?
Be well,
Tagamet

Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS

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DaV8or Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:26 am

Looks like they’re right on schedule so far. GM, please just give me two weeks notice so I can prepare my garage electrics for my Project Driveway car.

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+2 Roy Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:32 am

I understand that these Volts are all destined to be crushed after extensive testing. But how many miles will be on them? It would be interesting if these were run to the useful end of battery life (80% of original capacity) and this would provide definitive statistics on how far these vehicles can actually run before battery replacement is required.

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+13 jbfalaska Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:32 am

The article ends well – America is at stake over the direction of this industry.

As a dual retired Air Force family, having served for decades defending oil caravans for rich Middle-East oil barons, I’m proud of what this car will do for my country.

The true cost of a gallon of gas is $10 – $12 per gallon when factoring in the cost to defend or fight in the Middle-East for this outdated commodity. The world, our competitors on the national stage, get a free subsidy by us as our industries and people pay for this security.

CHEVY VOLT; American-made, American-FUELED. I’m buying.

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+3 Herm Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:41 am

Normally these and the coming prototypes would be crushed under the watchful eye of GM, for liability reasons.. but you are right, they could serve to do more testing of battery life if the components are not too different from the final ones. The true story on these batteries will not be known for several years to come.. hopefully they will prove out.

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+3 Roy Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:42 am

On second thought it would take about 3 hours/cycle of drive 40+ miles then 2 hour charge so about 100k miles per year doing this 24 hours/day would take about 2 years, Still I think a worthwhile project for at least 10 of these cars.

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-14 Comcastic Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:46 am

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Too bad Union Workers will have their lazy hands on the Volt. I would prefer as much robotics as possible. Predict quality issues. So sad. At least the Nissan LEAF won’t have this “union” problem. New GM looks a lot like Old GM. Such a shame. At least they will have a good dose of competition to allow the consumer a broader choice. woot.

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-3 Jackhammer Jones Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:53 am

The windshield on that car looks cool.

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-21 Beastmaster Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:55 am

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Who beat that EV with an Ugly Stick. This ain’t no Tesla or Fisker. Lame Ass sedan that barely seat 4 midgets. LOL

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+8 harrier1970 Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:58 am

I think you underestimate the union worker. This vehicle is different for many reasons and I believe that they will take up the challenge to build the best vehicle possible as a patriotic duty.

Here is what two Union reps had to say about this project:

“This is our shining moment after all we’ve been through with the bankruptcy this year,” said Andy Pawlaczyk, who is chairperson of UAW Local 160, which will build the Volt with Local 122 at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.
“This is the same kind of work we do on any new car, but it’s got a different purpose,” said Keith Brown, who is an an assembly worker in the preproduction facility. “We want to get off foreign oil. I hope everybody buys the Volt and loves it, and we can push the industry in that direction.”

I think they will build a solid car, not only because they need to but because they can believe in it and what it represents.

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+1 old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:15 am

I would urge GM to run all of them for at least six months and HOPEFULLY find any defect that could result in a recall. This car MUST perform way above expectations and when it does it will sell as fast as GM can produce it.

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Jean-Charles Jacquemin Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:15 am

Next step, the first Volt out the true assembly line;

Thanks Lyle to get us so well informed,

JC NPNS

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+1 old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:21 am

Harrier

I am not pro-union but I believe the UAW now sees the writing on the wall and will [at least for a period of time] actually try to be a partner to GM and the other US builders. And I might add I HOPE SO!!! I have no desire to see them not recieve a good wage. But not the unsustainable wage package the use to have

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+3 Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:26 am

More good news. Keep it coming.

Very well written, IMHO. Maybe Dr. Dennis will write a book about all of this some day. Maybe he can bring in Jean-Charles to help him.

Between the two of them, they can use the example of GM-Volt.com to show how the world wide reach of dedicated bloggers can impact the course of history.

Aside from our new friend(s) at #10 and #1, whom I take as a backhanded compliment as always, I want to thank all of you for your encouraging and inspiring comments this fine Saturday morning.

LJGTVWOTR!!

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+7 old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:32 am

Reply to Jackhammer Jones and Beastmaster

Yeah, and your momma wears combat boots.

I know, that was a stupid response but I wanted to say some thing they might be able to grasp.

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Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:36 am

Jean-Charles:

Now there’s a pretty coincidence. Your comment had not yet posted when I wrote mine below.

I always remember your comments about the potential power of ordinary people around the world connecting and cooperating through media like GM-Volt.com. Maybe in the future we will dispense with the internet, et al, and just communicate by mental telepathy, LOL.

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+5 Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:39 am

old man:

Works for me.

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Van Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:54 am

Hi Noel Park, I agree, nice thread except for our friends @ 10 and 11. #1 is an old friend and his post is positive. Be Well Tag.

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+1 JonP. Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:59 am

I would have to disagree with your position on the UAW on this one. I agree that the UAW has done themselves a major disservice at the negotiation table……

I think the Volt might be exactly what they need to remind Americans that we have the most intelligent, highly skilled workforce in the world. Not to mention if this car is built with percision and care by the UAW it will help them. The Volt represents GM’s best chance to jump back into the front. Way in front if you ask me, they have built almost 80 of these already. We are at the cusp of major production. While startups like tesla, and fisker have made dozens at best. GM is about to blow the doors open.

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+1 Helmut Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:02 pm

GM UAW workers have a far better benefits package than I do, at least as far as medical coverage is concerned. Hopefully we can nationalize the aerospace industry next, my last dentist visit cost me over $200 out of pocket and all I got was a checkup, x rays and cleaning. I believe my cost as a UAW GM employee would have been around $0. I’m sure glad I went to college and got that fancy engineering degree. We need free health care now, it is my RIGHT to have a doctor treat me whenever I want. It is the government’s responsibility to take care of me, ensure that I make loads of money even if all I have is a GED and subsidize the US auto industry, after all I believe that the country that invented the automobile cannot now turn it’s back on it.

Let’s Just Tax The Commoners Until The Volt Is A Viable Product

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-1 Helmut Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

It matches the rest of the car, although it still looks less fruity than the prius, unless viewed in profile. From the side the two are indistinguishable to me.

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Helmut Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:14 pm

How dare you impugn the National Brand’s car 2.0. The Volt will seat 5 adults in comfort, have available 3rd row seating, beat a 911 GT3 stoplight to stoplight even when hooked to a 5th wheel trailer and do it all while averaging 230mpg.

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David Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:17 pm

The writing is on the wall my friends and we’re not the only one’s to see it.

Newstory:

Saudi Arabia also wants subsidies if world agrees to CO2 treaty

“The Saudis are conducting a quiet campaign at the UN climate change talks now taking place in Bangkok to include in such an agreement a bailout for oil producing countries that would be adversely affected by a climate change agreement.”

Cheers OPEC

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Jean-Charles Jacquemin Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:28 pm

Hi Noel and Tag,

Nice to read your comments I have a full load of work currently and it is a pleasure for me to spare some minutes to read gm-volt.com and see the progress made.

have a nice day.

JC

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+5 lektriktadpole Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:28 pm

Exactly, as in post #3 above, GM really deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. The electrification of the automobile will do more to bring about world peace than just about any politician. Although it is definitely good that our current administration is also pushing for electrification. GM and AC Propulsion got the ball rolling. They should share the prize. AC for proving the feasibility of Li ion batteries in a BEV and GM for resurrecting/modernising the series hybrid with Li ion as the right design for the transition.

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+7 LeoK Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:30 pm

It is refreshing to hear the actual assembly line workers chime in with a true understanding of what the VOLT represents. With the assembly workers ‘getting it’, they will carry the VOLT’s engineering team’s passion into the actual assembly of the car, which will ensure VOLT’s success.

Go GM. Go VOLT. Bring it on…

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LeoK Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:33 pm

It is very likely that the chassis will be scrapped after significant evaluation and once the next phase of development occurs. However, it is also highly likely that the battery packs can be refitted in the next-gen pre-production models. This will allow GM to evaluate chassis and build quality improvements, while continuing to test battery life.

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Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:37 pm

Van:

Yup, I had to go back to the top and give him a +1.

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-3 EVNow Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:44 pm

Funny, without Obama support, GMt would be gone by now.

Oh BTW, who killed the electric car ?

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EVNow Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

Yes, we need to push for single payer insurance instead of dissing UAW. BTW, lots of others, like me, get insurance without any copay or payroll deduction – infact I bet I have better insurance than the UAW.

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Streetlight Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:51 pm

An utterly ignorant statement by any measure. You’ve obviously never been through an auto or support production facility. I’ll tell you and you can take this to the bank – on a U.S. or Canadian production line particularly B.R. (before robots) these guys earned every dime. I’m a EE crossed (in the Stone Age) from industrial engineering (IE). From day 1, even prior to WWII; IE’s plotted every move on all these lines. Today, a lot of these plants would be considered chambers of horror like the infamous Ford River Rouge plant. … It is, and I know this is off-topic, the UAW being one major component to GM survival and the key reason VOLT marches on.

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Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:55 pm

David:

It reminds me once again of the quote attributed to the very smart Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia, Sheik Zaki Yamani, some years (20? 30?) ago:

“The stone age did not end because they ran out of stones.”

He saw the writing on the wall even then, and tried his best to warn his countrymen. So, as much as we may laugh at them for this seeming insult to our intelligence, who can blame them for trying to hedge their bets?

I personally doubt that they have much to worry about. I think that the transition away from oil will be so gradual that they will continue to coin money for quite some time, probably until their reserves finally run out.

On the other hand, a financially savvy person such as our beloved statik might say that, if we can engineer a 10% or 20% drop in world oil demand, the commodity price might collapse for some considerable time. I dunno, I don’t claim to be an economist, but past experience would seem to support this idea.

Anyway, I’m going to help the process along any way I can, LOL. My theory is that, even if the price of gas is down from what it was at the recent peak, we serve our own enlightened self interest by trying to keep it down.

LJGTVWOTR!!

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+3 jeffhre Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:57 pm

David good point,

I would tend to agree with OPEC if they will agree to support our lobbying for retroactive compensation for the concerted international efforts to replace our once proud industries with foreign ones.

We are suffering the worst recession and economic downturn since 1929 and we have lost hundreds of US industries from televisions to trash cans. We must be compensated for the adverse affects of international scheming to take over our once profitable industries.

Please take a moment to activate your blog reader sarcasm filters.

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Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 12:57 pm

JonP:

Well said! God send that it shall be true!

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JeffB Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 1:29 pm

I agree…hopefully this passionate attitude is present in all of the assembly line folks (and other team members) for the Volt.

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-12 poopypantaloons Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 1:40 pm

(click to show comment)

What a joke. This car is the worst waste of funds ever. 80% of the popluation can’t afford this greenwasher. This halo car is going to turn into devil horns into the US tax payers ass.

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+1 old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 2:19 pm

Street light

As long as the UAW does not go nuts with future demands then we are in agreement. And, yes, before the unions they were worked very hard in hell holes. However that is in the distant past. Their recent history is one of demands that the builders should have rejected and the union should not have asked for. An eighth grader knows you can’t continue to sell a product that cost more to build than the competition can sell theirs for at a strong profit.

I truely hope they are now actual partners to the US auto builders.

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-2 Boar Mahoney Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 2:22 pm

I hope the Volt comes in better colors than that. And get some decent wheels on that puppy. Forget the low friction crap, we don’t roll like that.

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+3 jake Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 2:23 pm

Getting a Nobel peace prize isn’t just about building a clean vehicle. I personally feel Obama doesn’t really deserve that peace prize, but I certainly feel he did a couple of important things.

For one, GM wouldn’t even be here building this car today if it weren’t for Obama bailing it out. Number two is without Obama we wouldn’t have had such a strong push for plug-ins, including that $7.5k tax credit that helps make this car attainable for most of the people here, the $2.5 billion for plug-in development, and the push to get AVTM loans approved. So in terms of plug-ins, Obama HAS accomplished a lot.

As for working toward world peace, I don’t think Obama has done too much yet. Obama seems to acknowledge this and says the prize is a “call to action”. It’s way to early to give him such a prize since it’s still his first year. I don’t know what the Nobel Peace prize committee was thinking. However, still, an American President getting a peace prize is still something to be proud of, even if you didn’t vote for him.

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-2 Jason Combat Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 2:24 pm

The bumper totally doesn’t match with the rest of the VOlt. GM word: Fix the front bumper before you release this thing to the public.

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-2 Pretend Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 2:25 pm

I’m OUT. I have decided to place an order for the Nissan Volt.

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-6 Pretend old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 2:27 pm

The Volt is having major problems with the ICE. Follow the link below:

http://gm234.

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+1 Pretend old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 2:32 pm

Hardly quiet if you know about it. When the time comes i am sure the world community will rise up and help the Sauds. They have been a wonderful ally and we owe them much gratitude for all the decades of continuously flowing oil to power our country.

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-3 Pretend old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 2:33 pm

Agree 100%.

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omnimoeish Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

What’s even more impressive about the 3 year roll out is GM’s terrible financial situation during that time. I look forward to having at least one reason to be proud of American auto manufacturing again after so much to be ashamed of (poor quality, promoting trucks and SUVs when our country needs to be getting OFF foreign oil, outsourcing manufacturing laying off the entire state of Michigan practically). I might even buy my first American car (I’ve had 4 cars so far that were NOT), if GM can continue to make smart decisions like the Volt (which ironically was actually, according to Lutz, just a PR stunt to compete with Toyota’s Prius halo effect and Tesla’s embarrassment of the established auto industry being resistant to going to electric drive trains). Even a broken clock is right twice a day! I hope GM execs can make better decisions than randomly getting one right once in a while.

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+1 DonC Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 2:50 pm

I’m hoping the LAST of them are coming off the line and released on July 4th

I’m not sure you really want the LAST one to come off the line on July 4th. That wouldn’t be a very good thing. Let’s hope the last one comes off the line on July 4th 2030 or something!

When you look at the production facility which the pre-production unit used, and then recognize that it produced a grand total of something like five Volts a week, you realize how much equipment and expertise you need to turn out five in an hour or less.

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+2 CorvetteGuy Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:02 pm

jbfalaska —

You’re a great American!

Thanks!

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CorvetteGuy Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:06 pm

I read that story online the other day too.

Let me repeat my feelings to the oil shieks of Saudi Arabia:

“F” and “U”.

You can drink your damn oil. I hear it goes well with humble pie.

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+1 CorvetteGuy Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:11 pm

???

Winners never quit!
Quitters never win!

Hang in there.

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Tagamet Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:15 pm

DonC
Point taken on the “last one”.
And yes, it’s pretty incredible what needs to be put in place for the production ramp up. Everything seems soooo “front-loaded”. HUGE expenditures to get that first production Volt out the door (and it’s wheels on the road), and then the returns are initially small to boot! Once the scale gets tipped though, the Volt can really start earning it’s keep.
Be well,
Tagamet

Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS

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old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:22 pm

old man

Get your own dang name!!

Lyle, can you block this retard?

If you can THANKS

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Jean-Charles Jacquemin Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:22 pm

The link seems to be dead.

JC

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+2 old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:23 pm

To all

When you see such post just know it is not me

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Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

jake:

Well I voted for him, and I am proud. Clearly, the Nobel Committee is trying to help and encourage him in his efforts to take the nation, and along with it the world, in the direction we have to go if we are going to survive as a species.

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+3 DonC Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:25 pm

From the standpoint of the awarding institution, I think the point would be that awarding the Nobel Prize to Obama generated a whole lot of publicity for the Nobel Prize Committee. I’d put the award in the same category of the 230 MPG number. Either that or the Committee was so overcome with relief that he’s not George Bush that they couldn’t help themselves.

What’s amusing is all the criticism of Obama. First, it wasn’t his call in any way. The Committee awarded him the prize. He didn’t campaign for it, in fact he wasn’t even aware he was being considered. Second, the criticism that he hasn’t accomplished anything comes from the very people who are doing everything they can think of to block everything he wants to do.

That said, the fact is that he hasn’t yet achieved anything that you’d think would warrant the Peace Prize. Pulling us back from the brink of a depression or saving a good part of the US manufacturing core — and probably giving Americans more reasonable health care and passing Cap&Trade — may be significant achievements, but they’re not the type of achievements that ordinarily quality one for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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+2 old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:25 pm

to all

I think this ding dong that has hijacked my name may be telling me I am hitting a bit close to home!

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+3 Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:25 pm

Second the motion.

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+3 DonC Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:29 pm

I suspect that Volt owners will cut GM a lot of slack. If you look at the Mini-E, it’s had a lot of problems yet its owners are still far happier than average. The EV-1 had several recalls but those who owned them weren’t exactly pleased when GM took them back.

If the Volt delivers a gas free ride with decent performance many problems will be completely forgiven.

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+2 Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:33 pm

CorvetteGuy:

That wasn’t me. I guess I’ve inspired the trolls to new tactics. Hell will freeze over and the trolls will ice skate before I drive a Nissan.

Dr. Dennis:

I’ve said before that I don’t encourage you to censor or delete anyone’s comments, no matter how trollish. But when they co-opt someone’s long used screen (in this case actual) name, that’s a bit much. Isn’t there some way to tie the screen name to the email address to prevent this?

And what’s a Nissan Volt anyway?

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LRGVProVolt Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:33 pm

Obama has through his statements at the UN and in various foreign countries changed much of the worlds opinion of the United States of America. My brother-in-law, after returning from Bahrain where he was part of the team that built a hospital in Kuwait, told me what foreigners thought about the U.S.A. : Americans were thought of as ugly people by them. Under President Bush II little was done to change that opinion and much of what was done made matters worse in the International community. Obama received the Noble Peace Prize for changing the image of the United States of America and hopefully the atttitude of millions people abroad. Instead of thinking negatively as many people do, they should look closely at what is happening in the international community to understand how matters of world peace have begun moving in a positive direction on the international front. Yes, it is early in Obama’s administration, and yes we should be proud of his award, and we should also realize that this President is confronted with many problems at one time. I agree that the bailout of GM looks more and more like a great success about to happen. IMHO, when we look back at this period in history, we will see that the course this administration has set in motion for our nation brought about a new prosperity; green jobs will re-start our country’s manufacturing, replacing all those jobs that were lost, ones that will never return to our shores. Saving GM will have lead to the end of foreign oil dependence. The achievement of that under this administration will be considered among its greatest.

Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.

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Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:35 pm

J-C J:

Yeah, it doesn’t work for me either. I think it’s a new form of trolling.

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+2 CorvetteGuy Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:37 pm

That explains my confusion.

Trolls are much like cockroaches… Just when you think you’re rid of them, another batch crawls out of the walls.

What we need is the new “Black Flag Troll Motel”.

“Trolls check in… but they don’t check out.”

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+2 Noel Park Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:37 pm

old man & all:

Yeah, they just did it to me as well. See above. Somebody in Tokyo must be getting really nervous now, LOL.

Maybe next they’ll just jam the whole thing.

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DonC Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:39 pm

I propose be loaned to Lyle for 2-3 months for his “#1 Volt Fan” appraisal of the car.

You mean well but this would actually be cruel. Lyle would have a Volt to drive but when you have a signature edition you’re supposed to park it in a garage — you’re not supposed to actually drive it. So he’d have his cake but wouldn’t be able to eat it!

How about the 1st of the next 500?

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+2 CorvetteGuy Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:48 pm

I think Dr. D can block people based on IP Address.

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-1 LRGVProVolt Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 3:52 pm

I agree with You, EVNow, about a single payer insurance plan. I worked for the government for 34 years before having to retire. Even with the Federal Employees insurance plan my health costs have continued to substantially increase each year. It irritates me when those false TV ads are run claiming that Canadian health care is inferior to that in the U.S. Health care should be uniform for everyone!

Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.

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+1 Khadgars Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:10 pm

Couldn’t agree more. I think every one forgets though, that the committee stated that the prize was given to Obama not for spacific instances, but also for changing the direction of American politics towards the international community. The speech in Cairo, the williness to talk to Iran and North Korea, etc is a much bigger deal in the rest of the world than it is here. Seriously if you go out side the United States, peoples view of America has changed DRASTICALLY since Obama was elected, that in of it’s self is important.

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Khadgars Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:11 pm

Amen and well said my friend!

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+1 LRGVProVolt Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:19 pm

old man,

the concessions that the UAW got in the past were conceded by GM when they were the wold leader in automotive production. They could afford it back then. This is a new age in which corporations and unions will have to operate together to survive in the new world economy. As societies such as India and China advance the cost of labor will come on parity with the U.S. Look closely at the history of the Japanese automotive industry and you will see what I am saying. Countries such as India and China with their huge populations will in time find that they do not have an advantage in labor costs over the U.S. What is needed by U.S. corporations is a realization that business can not continue as usual; millions of jobs have been lost that will likely never be gotten back. With the realization of peak oil being here now or very soon, the move toward electrification of the automobile, and the need for new green industries to regain manufacturing in the U.S., the success of GM with the Volt will ring out loud as a prime example of America rising to the challenge and showing the world that these problems can be solved. GM is demonstrating its ability to be a world leader of the automotive industry. What we have seen here on this website is truly encouraging.

I’ve seen industries go to robotics to reduce their labor costs, and the effects upon competition. It will take a strong effort to find the proper mix of advanced technology and human labor to produce product that is profitable to the corporation while maintaining a reasonable wage for its employees. It will also require our citizens to realize how important it is to buy American locally produced merchandise. I often gladly pay a little more to buy Made in U.S.A.; of course, I look for quality. If the local product doesn’t measure up to that criterion, I look elsewhere. GM has to be sure the Volt is a quality vehicle! So far, GREAT!

Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.

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+1 Khadgars Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:23 pm

Ya it’s easy to spot out so don’t worry. To whom ever is posting ridiculous comments in other peoples name, quit the bull shit, your petty antics only show your feeble mind is incapable of grasping anything of substance.

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+2 old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:25 pm

I hope so! Some dumb dumb is using my name today

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old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:25 pm

Not posted by me

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+1 old man Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:26 pm

I certainly hope not. I need my daily Volt fix! But I must admit it is a bit of trophy to have your name hijacked. You absolutely know we are hitting a soft spot.

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LRGVProVolt Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:35 pm

“Next step, the first Volt out the true assembly line;”
_________________________________________

Look again! This is the first vehicle off the assembly line.

“The 74th and final integration vehi(cl)e prototype version of the Chevy Volt rolled off the assembly line at the pre-production operations plant at GM’s Warren Technical Center campus.”

This is the true assembly line they are talking about; just pre-production of a prototype that is very close to the final Volt.assembly. Granted, I am being picky with your wording. I just didn’t want a casual reader to get a misconception. GM is right on schedule with the assembly tooling working as planned. Go GM! Go Volt!

Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.

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Ricky Bobby now Frankie C Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:35 pm

Just randomly change screen names. Now I’m Frankie C!

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LRGVProVolt Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:46 pm

old man,

And their pockets thank you for using there oil. Unfortunately, the Sheiks are the ones who are getting rich. Whether or not the citizens of their country are wholly benefiting from those profits, I question.

Fortunately, it will be the world community that will have to bail them out and not just the United States of America. Our moving to a green more electric economy makes more and more sense. Lets us develop our own natural resources (oil, et all) but not one drop for ICE engines in the near future.

Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.

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LRGVProVolt Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:51 pm

You would most likely paint every one of the test fleet vehicles a different color of the rainbow. They were only testing the assembly line tooling silly!

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LRGVProVolt Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 4:53 pm

And I am going to buy a GM Leaf.

Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.

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LRGVProVolt Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 5:02 pm

Sorry old man,

“Bad Request (Invalid Hostname)”

Are you transforming into a troll?

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Dan Petit Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 5:22 pm

Looks like the last IVER is number 74 instead of number 80.
A good sign where that last half dozen apparently are not needed, and, the next production phase is nearing its beginning, it seems to me. Really impressive!

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Tagamet Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 5:30 pm

Dan,
The other 6 were sneaked off the line by production workers…… (g)
Be well,
Tagamet

Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS

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+1 jeffhre Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 6:18 pm

How about meeting somewhere in the middle, Lyle gets to have it and drive it into the Smithsonian’s Transportation Museum.

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Herm Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 6:53 pm

The Volt is supposed to be built at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant , last I heard.. the production line itself is being DESIGNED at the Warren Tech Center.

So this is not the first Volt to roll off the true assembly line… they are still working on putting that line together.

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Mike Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 6:56 pm

Porsches smack of success. Hondas preach practicality. And, according to a recent report, Chevys proudly proclaim of their owners, “I don’t use the Internet.”

This was on yahoo news. What your car says about you. Can you believe this crap? Does anymore proof read this stuff? Unbelievable, keep hating on america guys

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Khadgars Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 6:59 pm

The colors and other dressings are not meant to look like the real volt. Most manufactures do this to disguise them in the public driving, since they are prototypes.

We’ve seen what the clean, all black one looks like and it looks awesome.

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Herm Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 7:01 pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit/Hamtramck_Assembly

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Herm Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 7:04 pm

Oldman, go to Gravatar and register an image to your email.. that will be unique to your account.

http://en.gravatar.com/site/signup

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Herm Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 7:09 pm

scrapping a battery pack?.. nooo!

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+1 Khadgars Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 8:36 pm

Ya that’s complete rubbish, I don’t understand how these things can even be published on a “information” website.

I’m not worried though, American manufacturing, particularly auto manufacturing is and will be on the rise.

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Lyle Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 8:53 pm

Unfortunately the “trolls” have resorted to the unacceptable practicing of hijacking the names of regular commentators. I have let them be thus far due to a desire to uphold free speech, but this behavior obfuscates free speech and therefore can’t be tolerated.

I recommend people upload an image to gravatar.com linked to the email they use for writing their comments here. It will allow people to recognize the real person.

I have also changed false names to pretend and will now do my best to block these people, though it may not be possible to do so 100%.

Thanks for your understanding.

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Koz Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:06 pm

Glad to support a bailout for the “oil producing” countries so long as the they spend the many trillions of dollars, procured by selling oil, on implementing any climate change agreement. If not, then they can certainly afford to fund their own bailouts.

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Vincent Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 9:13 pm

Very Sweet Indeed!
Congrats to GM and the many people behind the scenes.

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Mike-o-Matic Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 10:50 pm

It may not be easy, but thanks for trying! These trolls are such a pointless and unnecessary distraction.

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Jim I Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:47 pm

I am bit slighted by this……

How come my name wasn’t hijacked??????

This thread has really gone off on several wild tangents!!!

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Jim I Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:53 pm

Lyle:

The only problem with that is if you are the first to post, it does not show the gravitar. Look at any of the first posts in this thread from #1 to #24. All the replies show the gravitar, but not not the initial posting…..

I hope this is fixable with this version of the software.

And keep up the great work Lyle!

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-3 Matthew_B Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 1:33 am

GM wouldn’t be gone.

With $100 Billion they went bankrupt anyway. All this did is pay off more of the creditors.

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Dan Petit Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 8:21 am

Now that America and the rest of the World have become awakened to the terrific changes Volt will bring, the Smithsonian and many others may want Volt represented within their histories!

And, far more production facilities need to be brought online ASAP.

Has the Nobel Peace Prize ever been awarded to a corporation? This merits conversation, I think.

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old man Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 8:29 am

Lyle

THANK YOU

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fred Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 10:01 am

Heard a rumor that opec is suing gm against future income loss/wants mileage reimbursment for electric miles driven.
muahahahahaha!
( don’t know what muahahahahaha! means but it looks good)

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Randy Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 10:23 am

Now that the 100 MPG hummer and fullsized GM trucks are being built i am officially out of the running for the volt . WHy get squeezed into an econo -box to go electric,you can do it in style

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jonboinAR Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 10:33 am

That really ticked me off. It was just straight-out anti-American, pro-foreign corporation propaganda. It was a bad sort, too, all interpretation, fashion pushing/leading, unanswerable, did nothing but hurt GM’s efforts (how much, I’ve no idea. That, too, is unquantifiable, unanswerable with facts).

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fred Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 10:35 am

Randy that’s your choice. As long as you’re happy.I’m going all electric so you can have my share of the oil we don’t produce. That’s how I’ll be happy. What’s style? I meant, I don’t care about style just comfort. All I want is air and heat nothing else. I don’t need these things just want them.

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Luke Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 10:49 am

Yay! Another step on the long and arduous journey from vapour to product!

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Luke Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 10:54 am

We ought to wait to see how well the car works in the real world over time, before awarding it a nobel peace prize, or anything….

[ducks]

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Luke Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 11:01 am

I voted for Obama, too, and for much the same reasons as you did. And I think Obama is doing a good job at cleaning up the mess made by Junior, when he got his chance to play with the country…

But I’d thought that a record like Carter’s was what got presidents the Nobel Peace prize — decades of jetting around the world and trying to mediate international conflicts. I think this is well within Obama’s ability and I’d be surprised if he didn’t deliver — but he hasn’t had a chance to do it yet.

I do see the argument that Obama has changed the tone in the world’s diplomatic circles, and I also see the article that the Nobel Peace Prize may give Obama political capital to actually do the things that we all hope he’ll do… But I’d thought that the prize was less forward-looking than that — the Nobel Prize winners who work for my university all received them decades after the scientific discoveries were made, and many years after those discoveries had undeniably changed the world.

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Tagamet Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 11:05 am

Luke,
It could earn the Peace Prize based on it’s great promise.
Be well,
Tagamet

Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS

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Luke Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 11:27 am

So, let me get this right: you think laminar-flow aerodynamics are fruity?

I see that you’ve never tried to model boundary-layer aerodynamics or turbulence using CFD… The mathematical brainpower and the sheer amount of computing power (measured in kilowatts (horsepower, if you must)) that backs up the brainpower is seriously hard-core.

If you want to measure the power required to run a supercomputer in horsepower, you can multiply kilowatts by 1.3410221 — so ORNL’s Jaguar cluster requires a little over 9300 horsepower to do all of that math. That’s hard-core.
http://www.top500.org/system/9708

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LRGVProVolt Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

Herm,

That is my point also. “True” didn’t truly identify the assembly line he was talking about. Or maybe he didn’t know. The vagueness of the term “true” without further clarification leaves the reader in the dark wondering what the writer is try to convey; honest positive intent or sarcasm. My apology if I misinterpreted his comment.

The Hamtramck Assembly plant will be using the same tooling provided everything has worked properly at Warren Tech Center. You seem to be knowledgeable of what is going on at Warren Tech Center. How different is the proto-type assembly plant from Hamtramck?

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LRGVProVolt Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 2:26 pm

I saw it too and had a good long laugh. It’s just part of the freedom of the internet. It all comes with the territory.

Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.

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Randy Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 3:08 pm

Fred
ALL electric as in WHat? A nissan THe hummer and fullsized pickup 100MPG conversion does the Same 40 mile all electric as the volt. it just has a bigger motor and bigger batteries. I need a full sized truck for my business as well as recreational use. Have very little use for a volt sized commuter car.

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Luke Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 4:07 pm

Helping to get the US off of foreign oil will do a lot to help world peace.

But 10,000 or 60,000 cars is merely a step in the right direction. Hopefully it’s a step that I can take personally, but I’ll believe it when I can test-drive one.

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Tagamet Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 4:23 pm

Luke,
We’ve come a long way from arguing about whether it’d ever be built. Now it’s more a matter of how many they make and acceptance of those that they DO make (which is where I think affordability and quality will be the issues). Sooo much is riding on the Volt and GM only gets one chance to get it absolutely spot on. A lot like the stuff nasaman had to work on.
Be well,
Tagamet

Let’s Just Get The Volts’ Wheels On The Road!!**********NPNS

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Kevin R Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 8:02 pm

It is a great day when the test builds are now complete and GM is ready to move the equipment to the final build facility where the Volts will be produced in quantity.

It is my hope I am able to purchase one next year.

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jbfalaska Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 9:40 pm

Amen, Corvette Guy, all the Middle-East can go “F” off. They own so much of America now it makes me sick to see what oil addiction did to our country. And for how long has our country all but refused to establish any energy policy at the political charade level of government. Whoops, excuse me, as a military member, the policy was defend, fight, defend, fight, fight, defend, while subsidizing the world with hundreds of billions of our taxpayer dollars and the blood of our young people over there.

I’m in roll out the Chevy Volt. AMERICAN-MADE, AMERICAN-FUELED. Proud to drive one as soon as they hit the street.

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wooley Says:
October 11th, 2009 at 11:58 pm

I’ve been seeing these on the road lately, love it! can’t wait to see final production.

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+1 Donfromnaples Says:
October 12th, 2009 at 4:46 pm

I’ll take an autographed Volt.

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mitch Says:
October 13th, 2009 at 8:53 am

Tiem for a remake of Johnny Cash’s “1 piece at a time” but with Volt pieces?

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Final Integration Chevy Volt Rolls off the Assembly Line

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