GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

And so now we can finally say, the Chevrolet Volt has been officially launched.

GM celebrated this momentous occasion earlier today at the Detroit-Hamtramck event where the cars are being assembled.  We heard from several of the executive staff including CEO Dan Akerson,VP Tom Stephens, and President of NA Mark Reuss.

As a surprise the father of the Volt, former GM vice chairman Bob Lutz, came out and gave closing remarks.

All the remarks centered on the fantastic achievement the Volt represents, being completed against all odds.  From the early days when naysayers kept saying the batteries weren’t ready and the car couldn’t be built, through the economic meltdown that brought GM to bankruptcy, all the while the Volt program marched on and succeeded wildly.

Reuss described the Volt as a “moon-shot”, and called the car “the new soul,” of GM.

Lutz complimented Jon Lauckner, who also attended, the former GM VP who actually advised adding the range extender as opposed to the pure electric model Lutz initial envisioned.  Lauckner had to push the GM board to allow the car to be produced, something they were initially against.

Akerson announced that the first production Volt, which he drove out on stage, is being sent to GM’s Heritage Center for posterity. The second Volt ending in VIN# 00002 is being auctioned online on a special site called bidonthevolt.com.  The auction has begun and will end on December 14th at 6PM. It opened at $50,000.  All proceeds from the sale of that car will go to the Detroit public school system.

“Every aspect of the Volt – from its aerodynamic shape to its battery chemistry – is a testament to the importance of math and sciences,” said General Motors North America President Mark Reuss. “By encouraging Detroit-area students to pursue these topics, we hope to cultivate the next generation of engineers who will build upon the Volt’s innovative technologies.”

It was also announced that GM will be hiring an additional 1000 employees over the next two years specifically into GM’s vehicle electrification programs.  These jobs will specifically be in the areas of engineering and development and help GM expand its electric fleet beyond the Volt.

“GM is going to lead the industry in the adoption of various vehicle electrification technologies, whether its electric vehicles with extended-range capability, like the Chevrolet Volt, or the recently introduced eAssist technology that will debut on the 2012 Buick LaCrosse,” Akerson said. “We want to give our customers energy choices other than petroleum and to make the automobile part of the solution when it comes to the environment.”

GM will begin shipping the first consumer Volts in limited numbers to dealers next month.

“This is not the end, this is the beginning of the electrification of the car,” Akerson told CNBC. “I think 20, 30 years from now, we’ll look back at this car it will be something maybe like the model T was in the early 1900s. This is the first huge step.”

After three years ten months and 18 days since GM-Volt.com first began, the dawn of a new era is finally upon us.  Today, November 30th 2010, GM launches retail production of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and the company makes good on a promise from long ago. So to do I complete my promise of January 12, 2007 to you the reader to have followed the car minute by minute to production, and beyond.

To commemorate this most critical and exciting of all milestones, GM is holding an official launch ceremony at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant where the cars are being built.  The event will be led by current CEO Dan Akerson, and will be attended by the Volt development team, media, and some “special guests”.

In addition to announcing the start of retail production, some new news is expected to be released.

The pre-show begins at 9:30 AM and the presentation starts at 10:00 AM Eastern time.  You can watch the event in real-time in the live video stream below at the end of this post.

It is known that at least 200 consumer cars have already been built, and with the arrival of the EPA label last week, these cars can now be delivered to dealerships in NY, NJ, CT, TX, CA, DC and MI for customers to take home.  The dream now becomes reality.

For the past 20 months we have had a very special clock counting down to to this day on the front page of GM-Volt that  has been provided by site sponsor NetLook. With gratitude I offer the following comments from NetLook’s President Chuck Davis:

Hi. I’m Chuck Davis, the President of NetLook, Inc.; the company that provided the Volt Countdown Clock on this site’s home page. I have asked Lyle to allow me to share with you why NetLook is a fan and sponsor of Lyle’s GM-Volt.com:
Reason #1 – Energy Security: Wide adoption of Electric Cars will provide a big step towards Energy Security for America and other countries.
Reason #2 – Cleaner Air: Wide adoption of Electric Cars will reduce air pollution. This is true even when coal fired plants are generating the electricity and will become more so as countries further transition to cleaner energies such as nuclear, wind, & solar.
Reason #3 – Chevrolet Volt: The first generation Chevy Volts will allow Electric Car early adopters that require extended range to purchase an Electric Car today and drive a majority of the miles gas free. Future improved Voltec iterations will further contribute towards making Electric Cars common place. The unstoppable determination of the GM Voltec Team has been an inspiration to us at NetLook.
Reason #4 – GM-Volt.com: Lyle’s incredible resolve to promote the benefits of Electric Cars (and specifically the Chevrolet Volt) has affirmed “The Power of One”. Lyle’s example motivated NetLook to step up and help make a positive difference. Accordingly, NetLook plans to continue directing a portion of its marketing budget towards the promotion of Electric Cars and will be adding three Volts to NetLook’s vehicle fleet. Over time, NetLook plans to transition our entire vehicle fleet to Electric Cars.

The Chevrolet Volt launch event will be broadcast below.  Enjoy, and see you on the roads!

I have had the honor and distinct privilege of living with the 2011 Chevrolet Volt for the past 19 days.  I have driven the car day in and day out as my only vehicle.  I was granted this opportunity through GM as part of the Volt consumer advisory board along with 16 other individuals across the nation who have been given a captured test fleet car for use and feedback over a 90 day period.

In these past 19 days I have driven the car nearly 1300 miles, and thus the following review is based on the longest duration experience ever published.

Exterior Design
The Volt is a beautiful and striking vehicle, yet can assimilate within traffic.  It looks compact sitting around in parking spots and in traffic but exudes a high tech aura.  People familiar with the car immediately recognize it.  People new to the car are regularly struck with its aggressive yet refined and sporty styling.  The seams are razor sharp and exact in tolerance, and every component appears high quality and luxuriant.  I have been driving the Viridian Joule color model and the black highlights on the belt line, rear and roof are pleasing to look at and don’t have any gaudy quality.  I have found slight issues with the low front end air dam which scrapes on steep angles, but am told by GM officials this wont injure it as it was made to bend.  They also claim a higher front end optional dam design will be made available.

The charging door is optimally placed and easy to open either with the key fob or a button on the driver’s door.  The charging coupler readily eases in and the car signals the commencement of charging with a short beep. The charging door doesn’t close in an extremely satisfying way however.  I made GM aware of this and they acknowledge they are fixing it slightly.  It must be pressed from the center, not edge.  Once it opened spontaneously on the highway.

Interior
I am 5’8″, 145 pounds.  The car is very roomy for me.  There is significant amount of headroom and hip room and egress and ingress is no problem.  I have watched many people over 6 feet get in and out and drive with no problems as well.  The black leather seats are sturdy and firm and comfortable.  The steering wheel tilts and telescopes easily and the seat is manually controlled to move up and down, back and forth, and to recline.  Finding the perfect driving configuration is a breeze.  I don’t particularly care about the lack of electronic seat controls GM left out to reduce mass.  The rear seating is equally roomy in the lateral dimension for two passengers, though with a front seat pushed far back, knee room is limited.

There is ample storage bins in the doors, the center console, and above the dash.  The cupholders are well placed for my needs and I use them every morning for my cup of coffee.  The cargo space in the hatch is copious.  I used it to bring home a week’s worth of groceries for my family of 5, about 12 plastic bags full without any problem.

Dash/Displays/Tech
The bright crisp high resolution driver’s dash display is a joy for me.  Everything is easy to find and recognize and there are many different unique messages the car can tell you when the time is right, such as cruise control is on, fuel door can be opened, press twice to turn off (if you hit the off button while driving).  The bright green happy battery indicator is just right as is the green eco-ball indicating how aggressively you are driving.  There are less detailed configurations available at the push of a button to the left.  I prefer more information.

The center stack of this car is the white version.  It looks very sturdy and refined in person and with use, its quite attractive.  After a short learning curve the myriad capacitive buttons are simple and satisfying to operate and find when you need them.  The center display has a terrific touch sensitive surface that seems to be calibrated just right.  It is a joy to behold the technology and connectedness you always feel.  This is mostly supplied by OnStar which I have found easy to use and friendly, and ensures you are never alone.  The stereo is perfect and iPhone integration both for songs and phone calls is a breeze.

After each trip a screen indicates how much energy you used both in terms of gas and electricity and overall MPG efficiency is displayed.  There is also a real-time efficiency screen that shows you your driving style from 0% (aggressive) to 100% (highly efficient).  Use of the cabin HVAC is also rated in similar terms of efficiency.

I have found the OnStar iPhone app very useful.  I have enjoyed looking at my battery state of charge from afar, and even more importantly have warmed up the cabin on a couple of occasions using grid energy 15 minutes prior to my departure.

Driving
The car is truly a pleasure to drive.  It is quick and responsive and feels powerful from off the line to over 80 mph on the highway.  It feels heavy and solid and very well-planted on the ground.  This allows for quick aggressive turns with no lateral skidding.  It hugs the road well.  In fact this bottom heavy weightedness is a blessing separating the Volt from most compact cars that are much lighter, and gives it the feel of a luxury car.  It reminds me of the Mercedes E350 I used to drive.  My wife felt the same way.  Yet the calibration of the steering and accelerator make it seem much more nimble that its weight would have you expect.

With the shifter in the D position the car coasts in the same way any conventional car would.  The L position adds significant regenerative drag when the accelerator is released.  I find myself mostly driving in D to allow for coasting, but use the L position to simulate downshifting and to obtain motor braking

The brakes are powerful.  I had to slam them a few times and the car stopped very aggressively.  At first at low speeds they seem a little unusual but over time I readily got used to them.

Efficiency
This car is all about minimizing the use of gas while at the same time giving the driver limitless driving freedom.  To this mission the Volt hits the mark.  What’s so interesting about the car is how it will work differently for everyone.  Anyone who drives less than 40 miles per day will enjoy gas-free driving at almost all times.  The longer the length of the average daily driving cycle the lower the effective mpg.  My daily drive is roughly 60 miles.  I can arrive from home to work purely on electricity usually with anywhere from 3 to 8 miles of EV range remaining.  The EPA has found the car gets 35 miles of EV range, and that is roughly what I have been averaging.  My commute, however, is nearly all highway at around 65 to 70 miles per hour, and I do drive a little towards the aggressive side.  I primarily use the sport mode which has a more aggressive pedal map, but is noted by GM not to reduce efficiency over the normal mode.  I usually get anywhere from 32 to 38 miles of EV range.

I have the luxury of being able to charge at work in my office parking garage assigned spot, for free.  I am there for four hours three days per week and eight hours two day per week.  At 120-v this gets gets me 14 miles of range in four hours and 36 miles in eight hours.  The EPA has found the car uses 12.9 kwh of electricity from the grid to provide the full electric range.

I have kept a detailed driving log here, but for the total of 19 days, I have driven 1291 miles and burned 9.28 gallons of gas (one full tank) for an effective 139 MPG.  Of those miles 946 (73%) were on electricity and 346 (27%) were on gas.

My total combined average fuel economy in charge-sustaining mode is 37.3 MPG.

I have consumed an estimated 340.4 kwh at a cost of 20 cents per kwh.

Thus the total energy cost for me has thus been 9.28 x 3.34 = $31.00 for gas, and $68 for electricity.  This works out to 7.7 cents per mile.

Furthermore, my particular lifestyle and job also required me to surpass 100 miles three times over those 19 days, without time to charge in between.  This is typical for me, and makes exclusive use of a pure 100 mile EV impossible.  When I drove the MINI E for 1-year I had to use a backup gas car for those occasions.

Very importantly, the Volt allows me to complete all my driving requirements with absolutely no concerns or compromises or needs for any additional vehicles, all the while reducing my petroleum consumption by a stunning 75%.

Street Cred
I have found from my interactions that the Volt seems to be viewed by the general public as a hero of sorts.  There is tremendous interest and what appears to be American pride in the car.  The majority of passersby don’t seem to notice it, but each day several people ride up next to me check it out and give a thumbs up.  A few people actually blow the horn, wave, and show great excitement.

Many people have stopped me in parking lots to ask about the car.  Parking attendants seem extremely interested.   I went to one restaurant where there was valet parking.  When I came out the attendant had mounted the car up on the curb in front of the restaurant like a trophy while a dozen high end Benz’ and BMWs sat neatly in the rows with common cars in the back parking lot.  The attendant was filled with glee and said he wished he was allowed to drive the Volt out on the road, but took it around the parking lot as may times as he could.  The main questions people ask are “how do you like it?” and “how much does it cost?”

Conclusion
I am extremely impressed with what GM was able to achieve with the Volt.  I am awed and amazed thinking back to those early days in 2007 when I started GM-Volt.com.  I had no idea then how unbelievably successful GM would prove to be in developing this car.  The car is a masterpiece on every measure.  It truly deserves the awards and attention it is deserving, and every day I look forward to my drive.

Back on its feet after its IPO, and GM is now beginning to put its money where it’s most needed. One place in particular the company thinks it needs to expand is in the production of small engines.

Earlier this week GM announced it would be investing an additional $162 million in three of its facilities; Flint engines, Bay City components, and Defiance castings.  The lion’s share of $138.3 million will go to the Flint, Michigan engine operations plant where 135 jobs will be retained.

GM is investing all this money in the Flint facility because it is where the engine critical to three vehicles that are the core of GM’s future will be built.  This engine is the 4-cylinder 1.4 L ecotec model that serves both as the generator for the Chevy Volt and in a turbo-charged form for the Chevrolet Cruze compact car.

With the announcement GM also disclosed this engine will serve in a future Chevrolet small car the company apparently hasn’t yet unveiled.

“This is the replacement for the Aveo,” GM spokesperson Pat Morrissey told GM-Volt. “It will be built at the Orion plant.”

Unnamed and unseen, we still don’t know when we will find out more about this car.  It is not the Spark that one time GM had planned for US launch.  ”We have not discussed reveal timing for this product,” said Morrissey.

GM’s investment in the engine is good news for fans of the Volt and other fuel efficient cars.

“This investment is essential in ensuring we can meet the expected high demand for the Chevrolet Volt, Chevrolet Cruze and a small car that will be produced at our Orion Township facility,” said Kathleen Dilworth, Flint Engine Operations plant manager. “These three facilities will continue to play a key role in GM’s resurgence and efforts to bring to market vehicles with segment-leading fuel economy.”

Engines for the Volts currently being built are being imported from Austria.  By early 2011 GM expects to build 400 engines per day in Flint and that will increase to 800 engines per day by then end of that year.  This new investment allows for the possibility of building 1200 engines per day in 2012.

Source (GM)

Earlier this week Chevrolet wrapped up was was billed as the Volt unplugged tour.  This was a nationwide event in which Chevrolet Volts were brought out to 12 cities around the country to allow consumers the opportunity to test drive the vehicle.

The tour ran from October 9th to November 20, covered 4124 miles, and stopped in 12 cities along the way.  Stops included Los Angles, Houston, Miami, Washington DC and New York.

Turnout was robust.  Chevrolet claims a remarkable 6348 test drives were given.

This was a very smart marketing move as the Volt is really a car that sells itself, once a driver can get a chance behind the wheel.  As one GM marketing person told me selling the Volt is all about “getting butts in cars.”

We have been following the tour in a dedicated thread on the GM-Volt Forum, where several GM-Volt community members have relayed their experiences driving the car. Check it out.   Some interesting quotes from the forum are included below:

“It drives just like a car!”  On member wrote about his wife’s reaction.  ” Couldn’t help myself…I had to laugh at her and say ‘Yes, honey, that’s the whole point!”

“I think most folks will like this car,” wrote another.”It feels very high end.  It has a very quiet cabin that is nice looking and logical.”

“I am 6-4” and found plenty of height and legroom,” said one member.  ”(The drive was) too short, but there were a ton of people who wanted to drive too,” said another.

“I just drove the Volt in Houston today!!! By the time that we arrived to drive the car it was already operating in charge sustaining mode, with no battery power left,” wrote another member.” We drove around the block twice, at speeds under 35 mph and with one short burst on the pedal. The car drove well and handled just like a “regular car”.

“It was a great event and I’m so glad I attended,” wrote another member who drove 300 miles to get there. “I truly feel like I am one of the first to get a glimpse of the future.”

“Following the Volt from conception to production,” wrote another reader. “I finally had my chance to drive one of the wizards in Chicago, Illinois. When I arrived, there they were…. It felt like angels were singing behind my head.”

Judging by the long list of positive reactions, clearly the event was a major success getting the word out about the Volt, and continuing to build demand for the car.  Over six thousand happy test drivers surely went back and discussed the car with their sphere of influence and more  and more people now know about the car.

“The driver testimonials illustrate the diverse offerings of the Volt with comments on its unique extended-range capability, its styling, and its performance,” said John Hughes, Chevrolet Volt marketing manager. “We were excited to see the enthusiastic response to the Volt we received from everyone who drove it.”

Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg consider how limited the number of stops there were compared to the vastness of the country.  Furthermore with only 15,000 Volts to be built in 2011 and 45,000 in 2012 the cars will remain hard to come by for some time.

Source (GM)

The Volt is a remarkable award-winning car capable of traveling on gas or electricity that was hatched from a sketch in a mere 39 months.

All the while the car has been described as GM’s savior, or alternatively its Hail Mary pass.  Designers and engineers had to get it right, the whole company’s future rode on in, and right they did.

In the beginning the Volt’s godfather, former GM vice chairman Bob Lutz told the world a bit prematurely that the Volt would sell for comfortably under $30,000.  Indeed it was certainly the hope early on that such a price point could be achieved.  But like all new technology, the Volt was to be costlier than hoped.

Many new and specialized components had to be built specifically for the Volt, and its heart and soul, the lithium-ion battery, topped the scales at a cost of around $8000 to $10,000, it is believed.

After years of waiting GM finally announced the price in late July; $41,000 before the tax credit.  What they have never announced was how much the car actually costs them to build.

We do know from former CEO Ed Whitaker that there is a very small margin of profit for each car, but too slim to make a business case for the car in its early years.

In his new book called Overhaul, Steve Rattner who used to head the government’s auto task force, disclosed GMs cost to build the Volt.  This is a closely guarded corporate secret that Rattner was privy to through his work to restructure GM though its bankruptcy.

Rattner is currently the subject of legal proceedings and despite the questionable ethics and behavior of doing so he wrote the following:  “At least in the early years, each Volt would cost around $40,000 to manufacture (development costs not included).”

Rattner admitted in an interview with the New York Times that he “didn’t know the precise number,” but agreed that despite the costs, on developing the Volt GM was “right to do it,” to silence critics  “who’ve said for many years that the company was behind the curve.”

GM spokesperson Rob Peterson would of course not confirm these values, though GM has a history of getting small or no margins on small cars.  Even the famous high volume Chevrolet Cavalier was known to be sold at  loss.  “We haven’t released any numbers related to costs,” said Peterson.  ”The importance of the Volt is more than a single profit-and-loss statement.”  Indeed.

Rattner agrees the introduction of EVs are important, but doubts any automaker is in a position to profit on them in the early years.  “E.V.’s are everybody’s latest fantasy,” he said. “No doubt they are important and they are real, but they won’t have an impact on profitability and sales for the foreseeable future.”

Rattner also thinks the idea of start-ups like Tesla rising up and competing successfully with major automakers is a bit far-fetched.  “E.V. markets will be dominated by the existing companies,” he said. “They have the scaled operations and the dealer networks. The idea that a bunch of E.V. companies will come along and G.M. and Ford will go out of business is kind of crazy.”

Source (New York Times)