GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

GM announced this week that their venture capital arm called GM Ventures will invest $5 million in a small company called Powermat. The company makes a charging system that uses wireless technology to charge smartphones and other devices, and is considered a pioneer in the filed.

Through this partnership the Powermat will produce an in-car wireless charging pad for the center console of the Chevy Volt, which will become available in mid-2012.

Since the Volt itself is modeled to be a reinvention of the automobile, it makes sense that the reinvention of in-car cellphone charging first appear in this vehicle as well.

“Imagine a mat or shelf where you could put your iPhone, your Droid or other personal device and charge it automatically while you commute to work, run errands or as you’re driving on a family vacation,” said Micky Bly, GM’s lead electronics executive, including infotainment, hybrids and battery electric vehicles.

“The Chevy Volt will be one of the first applications, but we intend to expand it across our vehicle portfolio,” Bly said.

Powermat was first founded in 2007 and already produces wireless charging mats for in-home use.  This will be the first of its kind to be found in an automobile and the deal is exclusive for GM.

John Lauckner who is the President of GM Ventures was also the creator of the Volt concept back when he was VP of global program management.  A big fan of smartphones himself, Lauckner had always dreamed of this idea for the car.

“We first developed the Volt concept car in 2006,” Lauckner said. “The intent was to revolutionize every aspect of the car, not just the propulsion system.  We had something like this in mind even then, and we think it will have widespread appeal.”

Source (GM)

OnStar is GMs proprietary on-board connected communications system that operates via wireless cellular technology.

It comes standard on all GM vehicles free for the first 6 months.  In the case of the Chevy Volt it is free standard for five years.

The system is used to connect directly to a headquarters switchboard operator who can help drivers with directions and vehicle function issues right in the car using handsfree audio.  In addition to providing directions which can be downloaded to the car, accidents and emergencies are responded to, and cars can even be slowed remotely in the case they are stolen.

OnStar now in its 9th generation platform has been a very successful program for GM with over 6 million US subscribers.

Now, in what appears to be  brilliant business move, at the Consumer Electronics Show, GM unveiled a new product which is a standalone rearview mirror that is fully packed with the OnStar  technology.  This mirror can be installed on competitors vehicles enabling the driver same full suite of OnStar services.  The device is compatible with all the top models of most manufacturers.

The mirror houses the iconic blue button used to connect to the service and features include Automatic Crash Response, Turn-by-Turn Navigation, Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance, one-button access to emergency and roadside services, and hands-free calling, including Bluetooth connectivity.

“For years, thousands of drivers have asked us to get OnStar in vehicles that didn’t feature it as standard,” said Chris Preuss, OnStar president. “With the retail product that we’ve introduced today they certainly can. This move in to the consumer electronics space represents the biggest development in our business model since introducing OnStar as standard across all GM products several years ago.  It represents a quantum leap forward in our plans to grow our business and provide a strong new revenue base for GM and OnStar from which we can further develop our core offerings in the factory-equipped market.”

The mirror will go on sale in the Spring at the stores of GM’s first retail partner for the producrt, Best Buy. It will cost $299 plus an installation fee of between $75 to $100.  Service plans start at $18.95 per month.

In additional to the mirror, GM also unveiled some future OnStar will be capable of as it becomes empowered with the new 4G broadband wireless cellular spectrum provided by partner Verizon.

The futuristic features demonstrated in a Buick LaCrosse reasearch vehicle include the following:

Vehicle monitoring
Cameras mounted throughout the interior and exterior of the car allow remote viewing of what is happening in and around your parked vehicle through a smartphone or PC.

Impact detection
The research vehicle has the ability to send live video to secure servers in the cloud from each of its six cameras placed around the exterior and interior of the vehicle. This is triggered by events around the car, or by an application on a smartphone. When an impact such as a parking lot fender-bender is detected, the vehicle transmits a video clip – helping to identify the offending driver.

Home monitoring and control
Keep an eye on your home by connecting to security cameras in real time through the 4Home service. Control the thermostat, lights and other home systems from your vehicle – “preset” scenes allow you to condition your home when you leave, before you return, or when you’re leaving for an extended period of time.

Electronic User’s Guide
Learn how to operate and maintain your vehicle through videos streamed on demand to the dashboard.

Video chat
Make a video call using Skype to connect with family, friends or colleagues when the vehicle is in park.

Traffic view
A voice-operated navigation system goes beyond calculating the best route by displaying live traffic-cam images from TrafficLand to spot congestion before you get stuck in a back-up.

Source (GM) and (Verizon)

GM finished finished 2010 strong, with December sales up 7.5% for the month, which outpaced cross-town rival Ford for the first time in…well, a long time.   Ford closed out the last month of the year with an increase of 6.8% (or possibly 3.5%… depending  on how you like to account for the sale of Volvo in Chinese hands).

For the year, the overall industry rebounded to about 11.5 million cars sold, which would still be a 30-odd year low if it were not for 2009.  GM’s part in that recovery was an additional 130,000 vehicles to consumers, while upping their sales 6%, to around 2.2 million vehicles.   Ford did still end the year as the strongest domestic automaker with a 15% gain.  /yes, I realize that Chrysler finsihed the year up 17%…but 17% of nothing is still nothing, and I refuse to write the words ‘strong’ and ‘Chrysler’ in the same sentence

Internally, all core brands reported double digit gains for the year, with Buick leading the way at 52%.  Cadillac, buoyed by the strength of the new Equinox SRX, gained 35%, while GMC posted 29%.  Only Chevrolet, GM’s largest division, which was expected to catch most of the ‘run-off’ from Pontiac and Saturn, could be considered a disappointment for the year, up around 16%.

Overall, the darling of the auto sector, was Hyundai, finishing up 24%, with Nissan second at 18%.   Toyota ‘brung up’ the rear amongst the large manufacturers at ‘no gain’

According to Don Johnson, vice president of GM U.S. sales (and possible undercover Miami detective), the auto industry will record another substantial year over year gain for 2011, up to about 13 million vehicles sold, before once again closing in on the more historical 16 million level, and then levelling off.

“Our sales this year reflect the impact of GM’s new business model,” Johnson said.  “The consistency of results that we achieved demonstrates the focus on our brands, dealers and customers, and how we compete aggressively for every sale, every day.”

Volt/LEAF Statistics for December

Inside the numbers, GM disclosed that they sold 326 Chevrolet Volts in their first month of availability.  GM had around 90 Volts in dealer inventory at the end of the month unsold.

Nissan, for its half of the electric car market, recorded 19 sales of the LEAF in the US for the month. While another 90(ish) cars did make landfall before the end of 2010, consumers did not take possession before the month’s end, and therefore were not counted.  Total deliveries internationally have not yet been tallied, but look to be around 100 units.

(GM Sales Report)

How I Discovered the Volt (on the Web, Of Course)

My first exposure to an electric car was reading about (and drooling over) the Tesla Roadster. However, not wanting to take out a second mortgage, I concluded that I would need to see what other options were available. A friend I used to work with now converts Prius’s to plug-in’s. But, I wasn’t sure I wanted to risk voiding the manufacturer’s warranty, and further, I wanted a car that could operate without burning any gas (at least for most of its driving regime). This lead me to do further research, where I found Wikipedia’s electric car page to be quite helpful. That, in turn, lead me to other sites, and eventually I came across GM-Volt.com, where I have been an avid reader for about a year. It was also the well-informed discussions on GM-Volt.com that led me to conclude a Volt was a better choice for me than a Prius, Leaf, Tesla Model S , or Aptera 2h.

Why I Wanted a Volt (to Make the World a Better Place)

I want an electric car for the same reasons as I suspect most of you do: better for the environment, better for the economy, better for national defense (improve energy independence and reduce money sent overseas to countries that sponsor terrorism). I chose the Volt because I felt that a GM car would be a lower risk choice for me than Tesla or Aptera (who seem to be struggling with both finances and delivery schedule). I also chose the Volt because it can seat my family (Aptera can’t), will NEVER burn gas when I commute (Prius will), eliminates the risk of being stranded (Tesla and Leaf can’t), and is an American design (Prius and Leaf aren’t).

I also wanted to reward GM for their transformational design. The catch-22 has always been that auto manufacturers didn’t want to build electric cars without an extensive charging infrastructure in place, and companies are reluctant to fund such an infrastructure without the real demand of widespread electric car use. The Volt’s ingenious range extender breaks that vicious cycle by enabling people to drive electric now, while creating demand (along with Leaf, plug-in Prius, Telsa, and Aptera) for charging infrastructure development.

The Volt Buying Experience (More Pain than Electric)

I decided I would be a Volt early adopter. Normally, I wait for technologies to mature a bit, but for all the reasons listed above (and having driven my trusty, but gas-thirsty Ford F-150 for 11 years), the time was right. In early 2010, I went into a Chevy dealer to establish a relationship with a sales person. They were unprepared for someone wanting a Volt that early, but agreed to create a wait list and put me on it. Unfortunately, my experience went downhill from there, as periodically I would check in with them and be told that salesperson wasn’t there any more, or there wasn’t a Volt list, or there was but I was no longer at the top of it. Sigh. Not good customer service…

Then, after reading on GM-Volt.com that dealers were beginning to take orders, I contacted another local Chevy dealership. To their credit, they (like the first one I contacted) did not charge over MSRP. But even at that later date, the salesman I met with did not have adequate information or training to confidently take my order. Sigh. So, I (reluctantly) went back to the first dealership and met with a new salesman who did seem to have a clue. I placed my order in early August 2010. “And there was much rejoicing.”

I thought it was really cool that GM established a Volt order tracking website at http://www.chevrolet.com/ordertracking/. Unfortunately, their execution didn’t match the concept. As of a couple days prior to my taking delivery, that website continued to provide only the unhelpful message “We’ve received your order from the dealer, however it is not yet available for tracking. If you would like specific information about when your order will be ready, please contact your local dealer.” I wonder if it will be available for tracking AFTER I take delivery? Sigh. Happily, I discovered through GM-Volt.com a much more helpful privately-operated tracking site at http://www.chevroletconnects.com/.

And then there was the nationwide Volt tour, Volt Unplugged. Unfortunately, for me it went about as well as Spinal Tap’s “Tap Into America” tour. Full details of my poor customer experience with that event were posted at http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?5405-Volt-Unplugged-in-San-Diego-a-mixed-experience&highlight=VoltinSD. The short version is (a) it is a cool car, and (b) due to registration snafus, I only got to ride in a Volt, but not drive one. Sigh.

I have always been a buy-and-hold (for 10+ years) type of car owner. But the robust debate on GM-Volt.com led me to conclude that leasing was better for me, since I believe that with increasing demand for electric vehicles, car and battery technology will advance significantly in the next three years. I took delivery of my Volt (#196) on the last day of 2010 – a great way to bring in the new year!

Lease Details

Since a number of GM-Volt.com readers have expressed interest in leasing, I share here the details of my lease on a base model Volt ($41,000 with $15 added for the license plate frame). The guy doing the lease seemed to really know his stuff, and was helpful in explaining details to a first-time lessor.

- Doc Fee $45

- Down Payment $2150

- GM Capital Contribution $2000 (hopefully, this will extend into 2011)

- Money factor 0.00025 (roughly equal to 0.6% interest)

- Security Deposit $0

- Acquisition Fee $695

- License Fee $558

- CA Tire Fee $9

- 44% residual value for driving 12000 miles/yr or less (and reflecting federal $7500 rebate)

- Cap Tax $455 = (Cash paid + Capital Contribution – 1st mo. payment) x 8.75% (CA tax)

I told them I wanted a $350 monthly payment (before sales tax), so the cash paid worked out to be just under $3600 (2150 + 45 + 558 + 9 + 455 + 379) , and the monthly payment with sales tax was $379.

I put my Ford F-150 up for sale, and quickly found a buyer. California requires a smog test, so I needed a few days before handing the truck over to the buyer. It was very low on gas, so I stopped to put in a few gallons to tide me over. I was very conscious at that moment that it was (a) the last I’d ever put gas in that truck, and (b) I want to see how many months (yes, months)I can go without putting gas in my new Volt.

Taking Ownership of the Volt

The moment finally arrived. I did an inspection of the vehicle, and the knowledgeable salesman walked me through many of the features, and helped me set up a couple of things like phone numbers and home location in the GPS. They were going to fill the gas tank, but given my driving circumstances, I opted for only a third of a tank, so I’d be carrying less gas around that I’ll never use. Take that, oil sheiks!

One cool feature of the Volt is a tire pressure display. Remember, I’ve been driving a Ford F-150 with manual windows, so having buttons and gadgets (and there are a BUNCH of them) is a big deal to me. It feels like a car George Jetson would drive – I keep waiting to accidentally push a button and have the car brush my teeth for me… We did notice during the inspection that one of the tires was showing noticeably less pressure than the others. They put air in it to match the others, but the readout was unchanged. We suspect a bad sensor, and they said to drive for a couple of days, and to bring it back in if it doesn’t self-correct.

I was under the impression the charge cord locked to the car for anti-theft purposes, but that is not the case. The salesman said that if the cord is removed in mid-charge, the car alarm does go off, however. I do have MyLink (the OnStar Android app) on my phone. Maybe I can configure it to alert me if this happens. Any advice on that score would be appreciated.

How I Drive and Charge My Volt

I haven’t yet commuted with my car, but I have done a few 10 mile jaunts. I’ve been driving in Normal mode, and using fan only (for now – as I want to get a baseline on car performance before starting to drive in sport). So, I’ve put maybe 40 miles on it, all electric. Consumption has been a bit higher than I expected, but I did notice that at 70 mph, the green ball is not centered, so I’m obviously paying an efficiency price for that speed. My plan is to use cruise control on the freeway (somebody please correct me if that isn’t the most efficient) and Low mode only for stop-and-go traffic.

I have a 10-mile one-way drive to work. I can charge in my garage, and go all-electric on my daily commute. Even better, I found electrical outlets in my work parking garage, so I’ll have my full electric range when I leave work at the end of the day. This will mean that even if I make short trips after work to the grocery store, etc., I still won’t use any gas. My target is to achieve multi-hundred mpg. As a GM-Volt.com post said, I do plan to drive in Sport mode as my “guilty pleasure” (and because I can).

The federally-funded EV Project provides free 240V chargers and installation for a limited number of Leaf and Volt owners. I contacted Ecotality in mid-2010, when their website didn’t even accommodate Volt owners. Sigh. Months and many phone calls and emails later, I am happy to say that I am scheduled to have an Ecotality Blink rapid charger installed by SPX in my garage soon. Given my ability to charge at work, the main value for me will be when our household eventually gets a second electric car (so we can both do a full recharge overnight).

How I Spread the Word – Drive Electric!

I feel like a test crash dummy after all the bumps and delays associated with getting my Volt and Blink charger. But I made it! I am doing a few things to help spread the word about electric cars. First, by driving the car and talking to anyone who’ll listen. Second, I will order a license plate that gets people’s attention. I’m thinking “196 MPG”, as this is a very achievable goal for me, and I have Volt 196. Lastly, I am sporting the humorous (but true) “Starve a Terrorist. Drive Electric” bumper sticker.

“What a long, strange trip it’s been”. Thank you to the GM-Volt.com community for your help along the way.

I can honestly say this is a post I have been waiting to make for a long time.  I figured I’d get my first chance in a couple of days when automotive companies release December sales figures, but since the Associated Press got hold of this data earlier I can post it now.

December was the first month the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan LEAF electric cars started deliveries in the US, kicking off the electric car future for our nation.

Both companies have begun the process deliberately very cautiously with the intention of slowly ramping up sales this year.   Nissan and GM are carefully monitoring the early adopters’ experiences and will adapt to their feedback in these early stages.  Nissan has bit more to be concerned about as the advent of new owners experiencing unpleasant range anxiety or actually running out of charge could delivery a crushing blow to the nascent industry, and the company’s pure EV plans.

According to the AP, GM sold between 250 and 350 Chevy Volts in December while Nissan sold a mere 10 LEAFs.  Nissan has been careful to only allow LEAF sales in warm locales, as suddenly dropping them into the deep freeze of the north will lead to many low EV range reports.  In fact Volt ranges for me in the NY area are in the mid to upper 20s with high use of cabin heating and lots of high speed highway driving.

Also noted in this report is a rumor which was started here on the GM-Volt.com Ownership forum which was of course not mentioned, referenced, or linked by the author.  The rumor suggests that GM will end the current $350 per month Volt lease deal on January 3rd.  This deal is highly sweetened by a $2000 corporate cap cost deduction, a super-low 0.6% APR interest rate and a $7500 reduction in the depreciation value by the federal tax credit.

It was created to allow the car to be affordable to those zealous early adopters who really can’t afford a $41,000 car.  With a handful sold, the company and its leasing associate US bank might soon pull back.

GM is being a bit coy about what will happen to the lease deal.  In the report, GM spokesperson Rob Peterson was quoted as saying the lease deal “will extend into 2011.”  Peterson said the deal won’t last forever, though current waitlisters will be honored.  ”I don’t have the specifics on how long it will be out there,” he said.

Volt marketing director John Hughes shares a similarly vague message with GM-Volt.com.  ”It is our intention to continue the Volt lease into the 2011 CY,” he said.

In a recent post, I argued that purchasing was the better option anyway.  In a poll GM-Volt readers agreed. Of 564 respondents, 44% said they were buying the car, and only 15% said they were leasing it.  An additional 26% were undecided, while 15% of readers said they had no plans to own the car.

Source (AP)

The Chevy Volt advertising campaign continues with GM recently releasing the fourth in a series of television commercials.


This one continues in the tradition of Tim Allen narrations and is a very brief 15 seconds. It is designed to illustrate the point that the Volt will rarely if ever need to fill up on gasoline. It is called See You Later Gas Station. You can see the commercial below.


Another recent development in the Volt world is the release of a new book about the car. Called Chevrolet Volt: Charging into the Future, the book was writen by Larry Edsall who is a former editor of AutoWeek and was officially sanctioned and licenesed by GM to write the book. The foreword is written by Bob Lutz.


The official description of the book is as follows:

The Chevrolet Volt was introduced to the motoring public with great fanfare in autumn 2008. Clean styling and creative engineering have created a tremendous buzz around the Volt, which is unlike any electric car to date. Chevrolet Volt takes you behind the scenes of the car’s development from concept to finished product. With unprecedented access to the people that made the car happen, author Larry Edsall brings you behind the scenes with exclusive photography from General Motors. In-depth interviews of the designers, engineers, aerodynamicists, and other key figures reveal the hurdles and setbacks, advances and victories in the car’s evolution. No other book offers the unrestricted access to the development of one of the most important cars from Detroit–ever!

Admittedly I imagined myself writing such a book but never got it together to do so. I contacted Edsall to see if he wanted any of my input, but at the time it was too late. “In many ways I’m sure your website is much more complete than the book I’ve written,” he said. “The book was completed a few months ago, up through the start of pilot production at D-HAM.”


You can purchase the 144 page book here:

See the TV commercial below: