GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

In January, GM unveiled its new flagship Cadillac luxury sedan, called the XTS.  It was shown as a plug-in hybrid concept mating a 3.5 L V-6 engine to GMs’ 2-mode plugin hybrid drivetrain.  This drivetrain has been under development since 2006 and is functioning well in prototypes, including one this author test drove.  It includes an 8 kw lithium-ion battery and the potential to travel 20 miles up to in EV mode when fully charged.

Recently, inside reports confirmed by Bob Lutz indicated that GM’s first electric Caddy concept, the Converj, had been cancelled.  The Converj was a stylish but compact 4 seater that relied on an amped-up Voltec drivetrain, similar to the Volt’s, for up to 40 miles electric driving.

According to new reports citing inside sources the plugin XTS has been greenlighted for production.

Apparently GM’s rationale for killing the Converj and approving the plugin XTS is simple, profit.

It is speculated that GM will not make money on early units of the Chevy Volt, and may sell them at a loss.  The new technology may be too expensive to allow the cars to be sold affordably for profit.  The same would be true for the Converj.  Furthermore, it is reported that GM isn’t sure there is enough global demand for 3 Voltec vehicles; Volt, Ampera, and Converj.

The 2-mode plugin drivetrain has half the battery expense and is built off the 2-mode hybrid system already in production.  It could appeal to the luxury-green crowd much as competitors such as the Mercedes plugin S class, slated for production, and be profitable.

Also it would have been a difficult engineering challenge for GM to give the Converj the power and smoothness expected of a luxury Cadillac using the Voltec propulsion system.  The 2-mode drivetrain can utilize the gas engine when high power is required.

Source (MotorTrend)

Cadillac Converj

The Cadillac Converj was a stunning extended range concept car GM first unveiled an the January 2009 Detroit Auto Show. The luxurious stylish vehicle was to utilize the same Voltec propulsion system as the Volt though specifically tuned for increased performance and luxury.

GM vice chairman Bob Lutz has long been a proponent for the car whose pricetag and market segment was purported to be better able to absorb the added cost of the electrified drivetrain.

Bloomberg reported that the program has been cancelled specifcally so the company can focus on bringing out lower cost plugin parallel hybrids for the Cadillac brand.

Apparently GM’s internal research concluded that GM could not produce the Converj with sufficient features and performance to be compelling enough to buyers at the same time producing a profit.  This information was obtained from two GM executives who asked not to be identified.

To have made the Converj perform as intended, faster and smoother with heavier seats and larger wheels, its range would have been halved to 20 miles, while at the same time increasing its price by $30,000.

The decision to kill the Converj was made at a late January meeting even though earlier in that month Lutz had said the car was cleared for production.

“As we took a look at our available capital and engineering resources, we decided that there were things that were more urgent than doing a Cadillac version of the Voltec architecture,” Bob Lutz told Reuters. “We had originally had a time slot for the Converj and that has been put on hold.”

GM still plans to electrify Cadillacs, only relying on lower electric range plugin parallel hybrid technology, like the plugin 2-mode drivetrain recently previewed in the XTS concept.

According to analyst Eric Noble, president of CarLab, an automotive consultant, GM’s decision to kill the Converj is “a tacit admission from GM that they over-batteried the Volt.”

“The future lies in plug-in hybrids with smaller electric range,” he said.

Voltec/EREV now seems dead to the Cadillac brand, at least using today’s lithium ion batteries.  Does it also speak to the Volt possibly becoming a one-off model?

Source (Bloomberg) and (Reuters)

Cadillac Converj

Cadillac XTS Platinum

Yesterday GM unveiled a plugin hybrid version of its next generation Cadillac flagship, the XTS platinum. Its fairly certain that the gas-version of the car will go into production but whether the plugin hybrid will isn’t clear.

GM has been developing the 2-mode plugin hybrid drivetrain since 2006, and I even had the chance to drive a mule version (see post) last summer.  Originally destined to appear in the Saturn VUE, and transiently slotted for a  Buick SUV, where this drivetrain will finally make its retail appearance is not known.

GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz did tell reporters at the Auto Show that GM will build a plugin hybrid and said that car will arrive prior to the Cadillac XTS, possibly in 2011.

“There will be others that will launch before this,” he said about the plugin Cadillac. “That technology can and will be moved to something else. Think possibly Equinox or Terrain, but we’re not ready to announce that or say when it’s coming out.”

Lutz indicated that GM plans to offer a portfolio of electrified vehicles.

“One thing’s for sure,” he said.  ”We will have a wide array of plug-in hybrids.”

Converj?
Bob Lutz also was quoted as saying the Converj would be built, however later Cadillac global product director John Howell called the statement premature.

Howell told reporters GM still needed to develop a business case for the Converj and determine if the Voltec drivetrain would be powerful enough and operate smoothly enough for the Cadillac experience.

“We want it to be a true luxury driving experience,” Howell said.

Also unknown is how large the market for a Cadillac EREV coupe would be.

Bob Lutz told GM-Volt.com that even if the Converj and the plugin XTS were both built they wouldn’t compete with one another.

“They would not (compete),” he said. “One’s a coupe, and basically an EREV like Volt. The other is a large, conventional hybrid, with possibly 10 miles of electric range.”

Source (Detroit News) and (MLIVE)

Michigan Confirmed to be Initial Volt Market

Today the NAIS is underway in Detroit Michigan, and news tends to come in furious waves.

Though we heard yesterday that Michigan will be a  first market to get the Chevy Volt in addition to California, the official release came today.

“Launching in California and Michigan gives us important West Coast and Midwest platforms that will allow us to introduce the Volt more effectively into broader regions across the U.S.,” said Maria Rohrer, Chevrolet marketing director for Volt.

The Detroit Edison utility company llwi also participate in the Volt fleet project, involving 100 Chevy Volts across the nation that will take part in an extended research and demonstration fleet program, most of which will be in California. It is important to note this fleet test will begin this year but after, not before consumer launch.

GM also unveiled the new subcompact Aveo as part of the new upcoming Chevy small segment portfolio which will also include the Volt, the Cruze, and the Spark minicar.

GMC Granite

The wraps were  pulled on what GM is calling the GMC Granite, a small crossover that would be the smllest GMC ever built.

“We think of the Granite as the automotive equivalent of an urban loft apartment,” said Dave Lyon, executive director of North American Interior and Global Cross-Brand Design. “The exterior has an unmistakable industrial look, but the interior is warm and personalized.”

It would run on the same 1.4L turbo engine the Cruze uses, and could host a Voltec powertrain just as the Orlando might.

The doors hinge on opposite sides allowing for a French-door type opening. There is no chrome and it has 20 inch wheels.

The interior is designed with an aircraft-like mechanical cluster and precision tool motif.

Cadillac Converj Offically Greenlighted

GM vice chairman Bob Lutz told reporters for the first time that the Cadillac Converj Voltec vehicle has been officially greenlighted for production.

He told reporters the car is “heading for production,” but that it wont be sold until 2013. He noted the car would be for consumers “who don’t mind paying a large price for a luxury vehicle.”

Lutz also reiterated that the Volt be have to be sold at a loss. As such, GM will only build a maximum of 50,000 to 60,000 Volts per year, and bring costs down by offering a portfolio of Voltec cars.

“First-generation vehicles are hard to make profitable,” Lutz told reporters.

GMC Granite Gallery

GM demonstrated the beautiful Cadillac Converj concept at the Detroit Auto Show in January.  It was after the company’s financial collapse had started but before bankruptcy reorganization.

The Converj would use the same Voltec propulsion system as the Volt though tuned for greater performance.  Besides a stunning and already sufficiently aerodynamic exterior design so too was the interior stunning with its jaw dropping solid touch surface center console

Though from the beginning Bob Lutz wanted to bring the car into production there was substantial opposition both within the company and from the government’s Auto Task Force which questioned the economics of such an expensive  model.  Lutz told GM-Volt.com at the time the car would be priced at “two Volts” or roughly $80,000.

All of the strong pushback apparently forced the car to be shelved by the Spring.

Now that Lutz is in charge, and the company has been reorganized, he and several other executives are apparently trying to revive the program.  Its principal opponents, Troy Clarke who headed GM North America and Mark McNabb who ran Cadillac, have both left the company.

Even though Lutz is pushing for the Converj, the program still remains unfunded.

The car, if it makes it, would be aimed at the wealthy green crowd, and indeed the high cost of first generation Voltec technology has always fueled the argument it should debut in a Cadillac rather than a Chevrolet anyway.

If Lutz’ electric Cadillac does make it to market it will likely be given a new name, and wouldn’t arrive until 2014, more than three years after the Volt.

Source (BusinessWeek)

GM unveiled the strikingly beautiful Cadillac Converj at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The incredibly sleek car uses the same 40 mile AER Voltec propulsion system as the Volt though it is tweaked for higher performance that models indicate it could achieve.

Bob Lutz told GM-Volt.com at the time that he wanted the car to be produced and even acknowledged that the clay models had been built and that its design had the necessary aerodynamics to achieve the 40 mile range. He also noted the car would cost “about two Volts”.

According to MotorTrend, GM has approved moving the car into production. Also the report cites unidentified GM sources as saying that GM also has approved an as yet unseen 7-seat people-mover/crossover as the third Voltec car, most likely under the Buick brand.

The Converj is to be launched in 2011 as a 2012 model and will remain a 2-door coupe.

The Buick is likely to be based on the Chevy Orlando which shares the same compact Delta platform as the Volt. It is a compact yet spacious vehilce that can either haul cargo or easily seat 7, and could likely readily be adapted to the Voltec drivetrain.

In fitting with this, there have also been recent reports that GM will be unveiling a Buick version similar to the Orlando at the Shanghai auto show on April 20th. Perhaps that will be the new Voltec machine.

Spokespeople for GM have not confirmed these assertions and for now they remain rumors.

Source (MotorTrend)