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)

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)

The automaker is requesting an additional $2.6 billion in low interest loans to support the development and introduction of three new electric vehicles.

Specifically this is for the purpose of developing two spinoff cars from the Chevy Volt, and a third hybrid, and raises the amount GM is requesting from the section 136, or ATVMIP loans to $10.3 billion. These loans are intended to help companies build advanced technology high efficiency vehicles and are not related to the government funding GM currently possesses.

GM wouldn’t be able to get these loans, which could be released as early as June, until they are deemed financially viable. However this information confirms that GM has production plans to build two more EREVs, proving they do not intend the Volt to be a one-off or niche car. Building multiple models in increasing volumes is the primary way to drive costs down for the battery technology.

GM has previously unveiled the strikingly designed Voltec-powered Cadillac Converj which could conceivably be one of those two cars.

GM-Volt.com has been told that one or more additional Voltec concepts would unveiled in 2009. There is speculation that one could be a Buick, perhaps based on the new China-based Excelle which sits atop the same compact delta platform the Volt and Cruze use.

Even if GM has to go through a quick-rinse bankruptcy to cleave off its bad assets, the company will survive lean and mean and if all goes to plan with at least electric cars to choose from.

It also has a remarkable futuristic interior involving a massive OLED touch screen center stack/console interface, and featuring widescreen screen video camera displays instead of side view mirrors

MotorTrend has reported that GM executives are considering producing a 4-door version of the car. As well a release date of 2013 has been targeted. It was said that the rear doors wouldn’t disrupt the rakish roofline and likely have hidden handles, aspiring to a “four-door coupe” look.

The argument is 2 door cars look “fashionable” and may sell well in their first year, but see sales erode quickly over the next years as practicality takes over from lust.

Of course there’s a lot of financial uncertainty between now and then. GM vice-chair Bob Lutz told me in an exclusive interview that he really wants to produce the car, and that it would retail for the price of “two Volts.” Design executives said they were aiming to build a car that should retail for about $60,000 when creating the Converj.

Lutz also said that there was already a production clay model of the car that could go into wind tunnel testing, but cautioned that the Converj couldn’t be built unless the government considered it as a qualifying product for advanced technology loans.

Source (Motor Trend )

Did you engineer the Converj?
Yeah, my job is advanced system integration I did modeling to make sure its propulsion system would work if we go to production.

Are there design blueprints for under the hood?
The car is a concept, so its a design exercise but it has the right configuration in size and space to fit in the Voltec propulsion system.

Would the car have to be changed in shape?
Not really, very close in the shapes and sizes but probably a little bit of a change for Cadillac performance. The expectations of a Cadillac customer are different than a Chevrolet customer.

Have you developed an all wheel drive Voltec model?
We actually did show a chassis with a front electric drive unit and two individual rear wheel motors in the Provoq concept. The front drive motor has a differential.

How about four in-wheel motors, Michelin showed a concept of a tire and wheel with its own electric motor built into it.
That’s more for mini cars or urban-type vehicles. When you need a motor strong enough to drive a car it gets pretty large. Trying to package it in the wheel and turn the wheel is a challenge.

Was the Converj built to be able to be produced?
The original Volt started as a concept based on the propulsion system and we did a lot of modeling that indicated it would work. We worked with design staff but we didn’t have a set of parts that existed to know how the car should be shaped.

To be honest when we did the concept car we did not do it with the thought that it would be a production car. We thought it would be a good public reaction, but it was actually overwhelming. Then so within a couple of weeks of the Auto Show our board of directors said you better do something. We decided we really wanted to do it and do it fast in a reliable way.

The Converj is closer in basic proportions to be able to use the Voltec propulsion system without making any major modifications. The aerodynamics are also a lot closer.

So would you need a bigger battery pack to achieve its stated performance?
On the Converj even though its a concept car we did go through some modeling to see what we could get in terms of performance. When we designed the Voltec system, we had enough bandwidth in the basic subsystem design that we could adjust its performance.

And keep the range 40 miles?
Yes.

By increasing the battery operating window?
Well there’s a number of things that are happening. In the later generations of the Volt Gen 2 stuff that we’re working on, we’re working on the battery. We’re improving things such as the efficiency of cooling so you don’t need as much energy for parasitic losses. We’re looking at ways of improving the electronic control system and simple things like axle ratio change or final drive ratio change allows us to get a little quicker acceleration for the Converj. With the improvements in the battery and control system we can compensate and attain the top speed of the car and attain the driving range.

It wont be like a CTS-V performance?
No, no its going to be a little better and punchier feeling that the Volt off the line.

Sorry for the play on words.

The vehicle was actually designed in England and not primarily by the same volt design studio that designed the Volt. It has also not been put the the wind tunnel yet but was designed with all of the learning GM acquired in building the Volt aerodynamically. The lead designer Simon Cox told Autocar that the team was charged with designing the car just in July.

Cox said “We wanted an aerodynamic profile and the cab-forward design is a very different look for Cadillac. Fuel-efficient cars don’t have to look boring and undynamic.” And “This is a very real concept in terms of the look and feasibility of it” he said. “The interior is very believable and that was intentional.”

The front grille once again uses the new closed design that the production Volt has.  It is not actuating. The headlamps are pure LEDs and can change colors so that they can in part act as turn signals, which is the same for the tail lights that can turn white to indicate the vehilce is going in reverse.  They are housed in special laser-etched acrylic. It is a two door coupe style and although not designed with a four door variant could theoretically be implemented as such I am told, if the demand is there. The rear spoiler is actuating and activates a higher speeds.

Instead of using standard rear view mirrors, there are small rear-view cameras, which improves aerodynamic drag.

The roof is shown to have solar panels which would be used to help power the A/C compressor for ambient cabin cooling. The concept uses 20 inch wheels in front and 21 inch in back, which would be somewhat large for production. Although the car is a concept, it is being displayed to see public reaction as it could indeed make it to production, something Bob Lutz told me he would like to see happen.

Like the Volt, it continues to use the same Voltec drivetrain, with the same 16 kwh pack and 40 mile electric driving range. It has a 120 kw peak electric motor, and the powertrain is tweaked with new learning stemming from the Volt development program to give it more performance than the Volt with a 8 second 0 to 60 time.  It will also have to “dig a bit deeper” into the battery to do so as one engineer said.

The interior is extremely remarkable and striking too. High-end materials including a suede dashboard top, leather seats, and engineered wood inserts appear. There are above-dash displays showing the side view camera stream in a bilateral panaromic configuration, which gives the driver a far better image than a rear view mirror ever could.

The center stack is entirely a massive touch screen surface and uses OLED displays which are crisp and high definition. If the Volt’s center stack is an iPod, the Converj’s is an iPod touch.

The design manager told me all the components for the interior are actually production capable.

Overall this car is truly impressive aside from its drivetrain, and most likely represents the most beautiful electric car concepts ever shown.

Lets hope Mr. Lutz gets his way and this does go to production. More on this soon when I publish my exclusive 1 to 1 video interview with Mr. Lutz

Enjoy my gallery below.

We began hearing rumors as early as this summer that it was the LG/CPI packs that were the only ones in use in all the Volt mules, but an official announcement was not forthcoming at that time, despite it being the initial plan. Later we heard the announcement could come by year end, but the financial catastrophe delayed it

And as I sat in the press conference audience here in Detroit today, just moments ago, GM finally announced the contract had been awarded to LG chem of Korea using special large format lithium ion cells. The cells will be made in Korea, and shipped to the battery pack assembly plant in Michigan. More importantly GM will be building the packs themselves. although Compact Power will stay on as a collaborator.

Rick Wagoner noted how GM set a challenge to build the battery “that couldn’t be built”. He noted GMs confidence in the batteries has grown dramatically. He showed a model of the pack.

He announced that GM will manufacture the battery pack “right here in the United States”. He said the facility will be the first lithium-ion battery plant in the US operated by a major automaker, and will be built in Michigan. He noted the overall Volt investment has been over $1 billion so far.

He said LG Chem’s cells met has “performance, production readiness, durability and exceptional quality.”

He also noted GM is developing core-competence in automotive battery engineering that will improve their competitiveness. GM will actually create a new facility just for the manufacture of battery packs that will be distinct from the Volt assembly plant.

He said GM will also open the largest 31,000 square feet battery development laboratory in the US later this year, also in Michigan, and donate money to the U of M to develop a battery engineer training program.

Full Release:

DETROIT – The Chevrolet Volt, an extended-range electric vehicle that delivers up to 40 miles of gasoline- and emissions-free electric driving, will use battery packs manufactured in the United States by General Motors, Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announced at the North American International Auto Show.

GM will establish the first lithium-ion battery pack manufacturing facility operated by a major automaker in the United States to produce the Volt’s battery pack system. It consists of lithium-ion cells that are grouped into modules, along with other key battery components.

The plant will be located in Michigan, subject to negotiations with state and local government authorities. Facility preparation will begin in early 2009, with production tooling to be installed mid-year and output starting in 2010.

“The design, development and production of advanced batteries must be a core competency for GM, and we’ve been rapidly building our capability and resources to support this direction,” Wagoner said. “This is a further demonstration of our commitment to the electrification of the automobile and to the Chevrolet Volt – a commitment that now totals more than $1 billion.”

The Volt’s lithium-ion battery cells will be supplied by LG Chem. Compact Power Inc., a subsidiary of LG Chem based in Troy, Mich., will build battery packs for Volt prototype vehicles until GM’s battery facility is operational. A joint engineering contract with Compact Power and LG Chem also has been signed to further expedite the development of the Volt’s lithium-ion battery technology.

GM has been testing battery packs for the Volt, powered by cells from LG Chem, for the past 16 months. These tests – both on the road and in the lab – have provided invaluable insight into lithium-ion battery technology.

“Our selection of LG Chem was based on performance, production readiness, efficiency, durability and LG Chem’s demonstrated track record of exceptional quality,” Wagoner said. “At GM, we believe the technical strengths of LG Chem, combined with our own engineering and manufacturing expertise, will help position us as a key player in the development of electrically driven vehicles today and in the future.”

GM’s advanced battery strategy

“Our announcements are part of a comprehensive advanced battery strategy for GM that is expanding along two pathways,” Wagoner said. “First, we’re identifying core competencies – such as battery research, development and assembly – and integrating these fundamentals into our product development and manufacturing operations. We believe this will become a competitive advantage for GM, and will be critical to GM’s long-term success. Secondly, we’re building a roster of battery suppliers and academic experts from around the globe, and leveraging their specialized abilities to develop battery chemistries and cell designs, as well as future automotive battery engineers.”

Key elements of GM’s advanced battery strategy include:

* Opening the largest automotive battery lab in the United States (31,000 square feet / 3,251 square meters) that will be capable of testing new energy storage system technologies, as well as lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride batteries, to accelerate the domestic development of advanced battery technology and lead GM’s network of existing labs in Honeoye Falls, N.Y.; Warren, Mich.; Torrance, Calif.; and Mainz-Kastel, Germany. This new battery lab will be located in Michigan, subject to final negotiations with state and local authorities
* Continuing to ramp-up “in-house” battery-development capability by increasing the staff of GM’s global hybrid, electric vehicle and advanced battery organization to several hundred engineers in 2009, including more than 200 currently dedicated to advanced battery technologies
* Joining with the University of Michigan to create a new automotive advanced battery lab in Ann Arbor, Mich., and a specialized curriculum within U of M’s College of Engineering to develop automotive battery engineers
* Continuing to grow and establish a robust lineup of battery suppliers for cell development and manufacturing and battery integration expertise, with companies such as LG Chem, A123Systems, Hitachi Ltd., Compact Power and Cobasys
* Collaborating with government organizations and industry consortia, such as the U.S. Department of Energy; United States Council for Automotive Research; the United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC; and Electric Power Research Institute to advance the development of hybrids, plug-ins and electric vehicles, and related electric infrastructure to support those vehicles

Energy alternatives and advanced technologies that reduce dependency on petroleum, improve fuel economy and reduce emissions are the keys to developing sustainable transportation. GM is pursuing several options to best meet the varied needs of customers around the world – from advanced gasoline, diesel and biofuel technology to electrically assisted vehicles such as hybrids, plug-in hybrids and – ultimately -electrically driven extended-range electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. GM believes that electrically driven vehicles, based on battery and hydrogen fuel cell technology, offer the best long-term solution for providing sustainable personal transportation.

In June 2008, the GM Board of Directors approved the Chevrolet Volt program and Voltec™ propulsion system for production starting in late 2010. For trips of up to 40 miles, the Volt is powered by electricity from the grid and stored in its lithium-ion battery pack. Beyond 40 miles, a small engine-generator creates additional electricity to extend the range of the Volt several hundred additional miles. The development of the Volt’s 16 kWh T-shaped lithium-ion battery, which is roughly 6 feet long (1.8 meters) and weighs nearly 400 pounds (181 kg), is key to the Volt’s success. The production-intent design was revealed in September 2008.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 252,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 34 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

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Today GM unveiled its newest extended-range electric vehicle. This time the E-Flex technology, which has been given a new name called Voltec, has been married to a luxury coupe.

The car is beautifully styled, sleek, and clearly aerodynamic. It has been designed this time from square one to have the appropriate aerodynamics to allow it the same 40 mile-range as the Chevy Volt.

The vehicle will use a gasoline-range extender and lithium ion batteries.

The press release:

CONVERJ: THE “CADILLAC” OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Luxury coupe concept continues GM’s leadership in the electrification of the automobile

DETROIT – General Motors unveiled a further glimpse at the potential of electric propulsion today, this time in the form of luxury transportation, with the Cadillac Converj Concept. The Cadillac Converj was developed as a well-appointed grand touring coupe with a bold design and a host of interactive technology.

The four-passenger Converj concept is intended to show how GM’s revolutionary electric propulsion technology – called Voltec – can power a luxury coupe with a typically Cadillac “no compromises” design. The technology enables up to 40 miles of gas- and emissions-free electric driving with extended-range capability of hundreds of miles.

Bob Lutz, GM’s vice chairman of Global Product Development, said the Converj concept has production substance. “It’s a logical extension of our plan to reinvent the automobile,” he said. “It clearly shows what a Cadillac electric vehicle could look like, and clearly indicates that global luxury customers can have a car that has both strong design and electric propulsion with a total range of hundreds of anxiety-free miles.”

Cadillac’s extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) concept has a new body style that is an evolution of the brand’s traditional Art and Science design theme. An aggressive, forward-leaning arc profile is the foundation for the sporting stance. And more than a Cadillac in form, Converj is also intended to be a Cadillac in substance, with the premium materials, technology and driving dynamics that are hallmarks of the brand.