Chevy Volt Mule in Generator Mode Already ‘Prius Quiet’

General Motors has allowed the Cruze-bodied Chevy Volt mules to be test driven by more than a dozen journalists and various others including myself.
They have strictly restricted those driving experiences to the vehicle’s charge depleting mode. Outsiders thus only have the experience of driving the car in pure electric mode without the gas generator [...]

Volt Chief Engineer on Chevy Volt Gas Tank Size and Stale Gas Management

An unknown area about the Chevy Volt is how much gas the tank will hold and how the possibility for stale gas will be dealt with. It is known the first 40 miles of driving will be from the electricity of a fully charged battery. After that the car will get 50 MPG.
I [...]

Why GM Still Needs More Time to Bring the Volt to Market

People often ask why will it take so much longer for GM to bring the Volt to market. Considering how much has been done already and the publicity from smaller carmakers, the casual observer often imagines the car should be ready sooner than November 2010.
I asked Volt chief engineer Andrew Farah why it will [...]

What Will the Volt’s Generator Mode Feel Like?

GM has not let any of the media including myself experience driving in the charge-sustaining or generator mode in the Chevy Volt mules. There might be some concerns about how it will be experienced possibly leading to some negative press.
While I was at the Milford Proving Grounds I was told that many people who drive [...]

Tesla CEO Critical of the Chevy Volt

PayPal founder Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla Motors.  Recently he unveiled the Model S 4 door all-electric sedan shown above to much fanfare.  The car exists only as a prototype but the company hopes to mass produce it if it can obtain a $350 million dollar government loan to build the assembly plant.
Tesla [...]

Volt Mule Winter Testing Has Been Successful

Spring is here, and the 30-odd Chevy Volt mules have passed through their first winter with flying colors I am told.
GM has tested the cars extensively at the Milford Michigan proving grounds, the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan, and Kapuskasing, Ontario. Ten vehicles visited Kapuskasing and a few visited the upper peninsula.
The focus of the [...]

GM Volt Battery Update

GM hosted a press conference on their battery strategy and GMs director of EVs and HEVs Bob Kruse wrote a blog post about it.
As we know, the Volt lithium-ion cell contract went to LG Chem of Korea. Mainly the decision to choose them over A123 was based on the fact that LG was ready [...]

GM Aims to ‘Wow’ Customers With Seamless and Intuitive Chevy Volt Driving Experience

People who follow the Volt development closely know that GM has about 35 mules clad in Chevy Cruze bodies.  These have been undergoing extensive continuous daily testing for months.  By the summer we will see the arrival of the first full Volt interior and exterior prototypes, and likely begin to see public test drives.
I had [...]

Gen II Volt Engine Less Than 1 L, Smaller and Simpler

Now that electrification has begun to take hold, the roles will be reversed from present day hybrids.  Instead of a small electric motor assisting the main gas engine, the gas engine will take a backseat.  This is well illustrated in the Volt where the gas engine simply waits until its services are needed only if [...]

GM Considering Extended-Range Electric Pickup Truck

One of the things many people here have expressed interest in is the possible use of GM’s Voltec extended-range electric drivetrain in the form factor of a truck.
GM already has 2-mode hybrid pick-up trucks that achieve 25% better fuel efficiency than conventional models and offer considerable towing capability.
AutoBlogGreen published the account of an interviewer from [...]

Chevy Volts Can and Will be Frequently Updated

One of the unique features about the way the Chevy Volt was designed is that it can be easily and rapidly updated. Most of the car’s behavior is controlled through software which could easily be revised.  Furthermore, the T-shaped battery pack could easily be replaced with future packs containing more advanced cells and/or battery [...]

Chevy Volt Generation Two

I had the chance to speak with Nick Zielinksi, he is GM’s vehicle line director for advanced technology vehicles. He is doing some of the coolest stuff at GM, developing the engineering for their “way in the future” cars.

Since you are responsible for the generation two and three Volts can you say anything about what [...]