GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

Last year GM discontinued several mild hybrid models it was offering, including the Chevy Malibu and Saturn Aura hybrids.  These systems relied on a stop-start belt-alternator system that improved fuel economy about 10%.  Those cars used small 36-v nickel metal hydride batteries and did not have the capability of pure electric propulsion.

The cars were discontinued due to poor sales in the case of the Malibu and the brand’s demise in the case of the Aura.

According to GM’s executive director of hybrids an EVs, Larry Nitz, however, GM will be re-introducing a more powerful second generation of the system next year.

The second generation mild hybrid system uses a larger 100-v lithium-ion battery, regenerative braking, and can provide boost during acceleation.  It still cannot drive purely on an elecric motor so in that way is similar to Honda’s IMA system currently in use in the Insight and CR-Z.

Nitz said the application will debut in a mid-size car in the third quarter of 2011 but declined to announce the model.  Some experts speculate it could appear in the new Buick Regal.

GM will eventually manufacture its own electric motor for the system as opposed to sourcing it from suppliers as it has in the past.  In-house electric motors will first get put to use in the next generation two-mode hybrid system which will appear as an option in future trucks and SUVs.  The two-mode system will also have a plugin variant, and are more powerful allowing electric only propulsion and electric assist at both low and high speeds.  Nitz declined to say when either would debut

The new mild hybrid design will achieve a 20% efficiency gain over gas engines.  In the system, a small electric motor is mated to a 4 cylinder Ecotec engine and a six speed transmission, and the engine will be turned off whenever the opportunity arises.  In the first generation system the motor and small battery were bolted to a four cylinder engine and 4 speed transmission which were not optimized for efficiency or regenerative braking.

GM had once considered producing a lightweight highly-aerodynamic dedicated non-plugin hybrid capable of over 50 MPG, but cancelled the program in favor of focusing on the  Volt.

Source (Automotive News)

There is evidence GM suspected Chevrolet dealers would add a surcharge to the MSRP for early Volt buyers.  Though GM’s party line was to tell dealers to “do the right thing,” strictly limiting the supply of a car whose demand had been amplified through years of publicity virtually assures early buyers will have to pay a premium.

Though many enthusiasts are annoyed about this, it benefits GM to have a product so hot and so desired that they could sell out the first year production even with this added premium.

Now that dealers have begun to take orders we can finally see what kind of problem this will turn out to be.

Edmunds.com recently reported on a Chevy dealer in California with an allocated nine cars who is charging a $20,000 premium per car. The following email from that dealer was published:

Hello *****

Thank you for your online request, as you know the Volt is going to be a very limited production vehicle for the first 2-3 years. Demand is going to far exceed supply for this vehicle, initially our asking price for the Volt is going to be MSRP plus $20,000, we are expecting only receive 9 Volts all of next year.

I will keep you in my customer base for when the Volt comes out and I will contact you with any information as I receive it. We are taking orders right now for the Volt, if you would like more information, please let me know and I will be more than happy to help you. Thank you.

***** *****, Internet Specialist
******* Chevrolet
********, CA

“We have had a couple indications that some dealers out there are doing this,” said GM spokesman Rob Peterson. “Other consumers have reported positive experiences.”

GM has no direct say over how dealers run their dealerships or what they charge, as they are independent franchises.

“We don’t control any pricing at the dealership,” Peterson said. “However we have suggested strongly that they keep prices in line with what we have offered.”

GM is confident that the pricing they have chosen for the Volt is justified.  “I look at it and say with a federal tax credit, it is $33,500,” said GM’s exectuive director of hybrid and electric vehicles Larry Nitz.  “We think there will be a plentiful supply of customers at that price.”

“It’s in a market of its own, where else are you going to go to get one of these things? There is no other choice,” said Nitz.  ”It’s not like we’re trying to sell two million of these.”

Most dealers in the launch markets are getting ten or less cars in their first year allocation, and most plan only selling them locally to help build their customer relationships. As such, many are willing to sell at MSRP but probably equally many are not.

We at GM-Volt are in a unique position since we likely have the highest concentration of Volt buyers on the Internet.  If you have placed an order or have spoken to a dealer and are getting ready to place an order, please take the poll below, and feel free to join in our Dealer Gouging forum thread.

Source (Detroit Press) and (Detroit Press)

Bright Automotive is an Indiana-based start-up company that is focused on the development of lightweight plugin hybrid commercial vehicles.

They have unveiled their first design, the so called IDEA utility van.

This vehilce is similar to the Volt in that the first 40 miles are purely electric. After that it switches to a hybrid mode of operation that will deliver 36 mpg. It uses an electric motor to drive the rear wheels and a 4 cylinder gas engine to drive the front wheels. Combined with the use of ultra-lightweight body materials, in normal operation, the vehicle is expected to deliver more than 100 mpg.

The company was developed as an offshoot of the Rocky Mountain Institute, and was formed by John Waters, a former GM EV-1 engineer.

GM recently announced it had formed a new venture capital subsidiary called GM Ventures, headed by Jon Lauckner who along with Bob Lutz conceived the Volt concept.

GM and Bright Automotive jointly announced that GM Ventures will provide $5 million in funding to Bright as well as giving it access to GM technology. The goal of this effort will be to bring the IDEA into mass production. In exchange for funding, GM will take a minority stake in the company.
Bright expects to bring the IDEA into production in 2014.

“This relationship is an important step forward for Bright, and a strong endorsement of our highly experienced automotive team and our incredible vehicle,” said Reuben Munger, Bright Automotive Chairman and CEO. “With this deal, Bright gets financial support that puts us on the fast track toward mass production of the IDEA. And perhaps just as importantly, we gain a strategic partner that is a world leader in electrification.”

The companies singed a memorandum of understanding in July, GM provided funding this week, and the deal is expected to be completed later in the year.

“Funding early-stage start-up companies is a new way of doing business at GM to accelerate the introduction of innovative technology to support our core automotive business and give us a competitive advantage,” said Jon Lauckner, president of GM Ventures. “In this case, our funding of Bright Automotive will accelerate the introduction of advanced propulsion and light-weight technologies in the commercial vehicle market.”

We heard last week that GM decided to increase the 2012 calendar year Chevrolet Volt production volume by 50%.  The company initially announced they were going to produce 30,000 Volts that year.  Three days after the Volt pricing announcement, the number was revised upward to 45,000.

Some skeptics believe this was nothing more than a publicity stunt.  After all, long ago then GM vice chairman Bob Lutz had said the company planned on producing 50,000 to 60,000 Volts in 2012.  It was as though the 30,000 number was just a decoy intended to be followed by the increased number for a positive publicity effect.

I had the chance to speak to Volt spokesperson Rob Peterson who denied that was the case.

Peterson explained that GM increased the planned production number because they believed the consumer interest generated by the pricing announcement was greater than anticipated and indicated there was sufficient demand for the higher volume.

“The response to the pricing,” said Peterson showed the car was right “for quite a few people,” and “reinforced the need to increase production.”

“On the first day of the pricing announcement over 70,000 people visited GetMyVolt.com,” he said.  ”Over 25,000 people added their names to the Volt enthusiast list,” he added.

Though there was some negative press and opinion about the $41,000 ($33,500 net) MSRP, the strikingly affordable $350 lease payement and the ability to for dealers to order the car induced a surge of interest and action.  On GM-Volt.com over 30,000 people visited the site that day, and regular traffic volume has remained elevated since then.

A poll on the non-green oriented Autoblog.com also revealed there is significant more consumer interest in the Volt that the pure EV Nissan LEAF among the greater population.  In this poll of 20,915 readers, 44.1% said the Volt was a better buy, 27.2% said the LEAF was, and 28.7% said nether was and they would stick with a gas car.

Previously we reported that the LEAF was outstripping the Volt in popularity as gauged by the number of Google searches.   However, the pricing announcement surged Volt searches beyond those for the LEAF, and so far continue to be greater as seen in the image above.

Indeed automotive analyst Aaron Bragman of IHS Global Insight predicts Volt will prove more popular than LEAF.   “It may be more expensive initially,” he said of the Volt compared to the LEAF.  ”But I think the greater utility of the Volt and its ability to be used by a greater sampling of consumers will make it the more popular choice long-term.”

Now that dealers in the launch markets are able to order Chevrolet Volts for customers, they have been given copies of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt Initial Ordering Workbook.  A copy of the document can be downloaded here.

For the first time we are able to see the interior design options that are available on the car.

The standard is a “premium cloth” dark fabric with white accents, which includes the white center console.

The dark charcoal center console is only available if the buyer pays for the premium trim package which includes leather seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel and graphic door inserts.

The options with leather include black seat and white center console, black and green seats with dark center console, black seats and dark center console, or light neutral seats with dark center console.

Personally, I like the dark center, black seats, and cyber gray metallic exterior paint.

Other neat features included a 30 Gb hard drive for music file storage and a “timeshift function” that lets users record audio broadcasts similar to how a DVR works.

Can you believe we’re talking about real ordering options?! 90 days to November 1st.

The coming wave of electric cars is bringing with it the opportunity for drivers to promote their decision to drive without gas in a new way, via the license plates.

Custom license plates are a popular way for people to express to drivers around them what makes them unique; their passions, views, and even dreams.

Now that consumers in the initial launch markets are able to order their Volts, its time for those folks to start thinking about special license plates for their cars. The California EV crowd has already been doing this for a while, so while some plate ideas may be tougher to get in the Golden State, there should be plenty of options for early adopters elsewhere.

I was honored by emails I received showing the two license plates below people obtained in Florida and Michigan. The New York plate above…as you might guess, is mine.

If you haven’t seen it, the plate below attached to a Tesla Roadster recently showed up across the Internet, and became the most popular on several social media sites.

So do you plan on getting your own custom Volt plate?

I of course encourage you to run out and be the first in your state to get a GM-Volt license plate. If you do, be sure to email me a photo of it at chevyvolt@gmail.com.

It will be fun and interesting to hear some other ideas people might have for their Volt license plates in the comments below, and of course in the spirit of GM-Volt discussion, to hear from those who don’t like custom plates at all.