Those who follow the Volt closely know Frank Weber has been a key figure.
He is the German-born engineer with the job of Volt vehicle line executive, making him as the leader of the Volt program, reporting to the VP level.
I have had the chance to interview and meet Frank many times. His precision, attention to [...]
October 9th, 2009 marked the end of another chapter in the Chevy Volt’s development.
The 74th and final integration vehilce prototype version of the Chevy Volt rolled off the assembly line at the pre-production operations plant at GM’s Warren Technical Center campus.
Those following the Volt story closely will remember the countdown clock chief engineer Andrew Farah [...]
Zenn Motors is the Toronto-based electric car company that was founded by Ian Clifford.
To date the company has only produced low volumes of low speed neighborhood electric vehicles, but had been planning to introduce a highway capable electric car called the cityZENN.
Zenn has based its future and that car on a partnership with EEStor, which [...]
Today things just got more interesting.
Besides the Chevy Volt, GM has been developing a 2-mode plug-in hybrid vehicle program since 2006. Originally set to debut in 2010 as a Saturn VUE, that particular vehicle was dropped along with the sale of the Saturn brand.
That didn’t stop the development though. A few weeks ago GM-Volt.com [...]
On Wednesday Ontario Canada’s Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that the Ontario government would provide buyers of plug-in hybrid vehicles a rebate of $4000 to $10,000 dollars for cars purchased after July 1, 2010. A $7500 tax credit exists for the Volt in the US.
McGuinty said “we want to make it easier to buy green cars,” [...]
The value proposition of the Chevy Volt could change further. People tend to be fixated on its sticker price, but the complex nature of the vehicle and its interaction with the national economy, government, and natural resources really have created a moving target for the Volt’s price.
GM will not confirm pricing until May 2010 [...]
The end game for Chrysler is fast approaching, like the edge of a cliff.
The US government has given Chrysler until this Thursday to either complete a merger with Fiat or enter bankruptcy. Reports indicate that the government has already begun preparing for the bankruptcy proceedings, and that even if a deal is reached, bankruptcy [...]
I recently had the chance to speak to Jon Lauckner. He co-conceived the Volt with Bob Lutz and is GM’s VP of global program management.
What is the current state of mule development?
Frankly, its complete. We’ve built all of the cars that we intended to, around 33 or 35, and we are done with [...]
California-based Tesla Motors is a pioneer in the electric car arena. They first brought the 2-seat electric Roadster into production in late 2008 and now have over 200 cars on the road.
The company is known to have inspired Bob Lutz to start the Volt program.
Tesla also has had plans to build an electric sedan [...]
GM first announced in the summer of 07 that they had chosen two supplier teams to compete against one another to build the Chevy Volt’s battery packs. From an initial field of 27 applicants, LG Chem and Compact Power Inc were one team and A123 Systems/Continental were the other.
We began hearing rumors as early as [...]
Today is truly a historic one for the US automotive industry, and for the dream of petroleum independence and the Chevy Volt.
After weeks of intense political wrangling and nail-biting financial drama, US President George Bush has agreed to grant low interest loans to GM and Chrysler.
As he just announced those loans will be sufficient to [...]
The drama of the end game seems to be picking up steam. Despite early reports that the Bush administration would announce loan plans to GM by Wednesday, still no word. Most recently, White House press secretary Dana Perino said “there’s nothing new on the auto front.”
President Bush discussed the topic on Wednesday on [...]