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Archive for the 'Original GM-Volt Interviews' Category

The Current State of Chevy Volt Prototype Testing and Development

March 17th, 2009 | Posted in: Original GM-Volt Interviews, Prototypes with 129 Comments

Frank Weber is GM’s straight-shooting vehicle line executive of the Volt program. I had the chance to ask him what was happening with mule development.  At this point there are 35 or so developmental mule vehicles.  Mules are early prototypes that have the full Voltec drivetrain but a borrowed interior and exterior.  Within days the [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 129 Comments

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 [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 170 Comments

My Question to GM’s CFO Ray Young

January 22nd, 2009 | Posted in: Financial, GM Q and A, Original GM-Volt Interviews with 99 Comments

GM just received last night an additional $5.4 billion in government loans bringing the total so far to $9.4 billion. They are expected to receive an addition $4 billion on February 17th.
While in Detroit, I had a chance to ask one question to Ray Young who is GM’s CFO. Ray noted that GM [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 99 Comments

Engineering the Cadillac Converj

January 16th, 2009 | Posted in: Cadillac, Converj, Engineering, Original GM-Volt Interviews with 117 Comments

Nick Zielinki is a Voltec engineer who is charge of advanced engineering at GM. He is responsible for designing their future cars including the Cadillac Converj, and future Chevy Volt generations. I spoke with him at length while in Detroit.
Did you engineer the Converj?
Yeah, my job is advanced system integration I did [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 117 Comments

Video: Exclusive GM-Volt.com Interview with GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz

January 15th, 2009 | Posted in: Cadillac, Original GM-Volt Interviews, Video with 132 Comments

I had the special opportunity for a one on one exclusive interview with GM vice chairman Bob Lutz. I apologize for the sound quality as we had to go to a place where the mobs of reporters wouldn’t besiege him, and there was a lot of background noise. You may have to [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 132 Comments

Driven to the Brink GM Vows to Build Volt No Matter What, Chrysler Shuts Down All Vehicle Production, and Merger Talks Resurface

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 [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 109 Comments

Video: Bob Lutz Discusses the Business Case for the Chevy Volt

November 10th, 2008 | Posted in: Financial, Original GM-Volt Interviews, Video with 67 Comments

In this video segment, GM vice-chair Bob Lutz discusses the Volt’s business case. Assuming GM survives this very critical juncture, being able to make money on the Volt will become very important indeed.
He says the program is going “super smoothly,” and that GM will have lots of Volts in 2010 and they will be [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 67 Comments

GM Q&A: Volt Vehicle Line Executive Frank Weber on the Current Chevy Volt Mules

November 6th, 2008 | Posted in: Engineering, GM Q and A, Original GM-Volt Interviews, Prototypes with 69 Comments

Frank Weber is the Chevy Volt vehicle line executive. I had a chance to sit down with him for some discussion while he was in New York at a recent event.
How is the mule development going?
The big step was when we finalized the mules vehicles at the end of August and delivered those on time [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 69 Comments

The Sound of the Chevy Volt

October 28th, 2008 | Posted in: Engineering, Features, Original GM-Volt Interviews with 295 Comments

An issue often debated when it comes to electric cars is what sound should they make. There are indeed legislative efforts underway to ensure EVs make some noise, to protect the visually impaired. Some manufacturers such as Fisker have gone so far as to engineer artificial engine sounds played through external speakers.
We often [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 295 Comments

Video: Bob Lutz Discusses Production Chevy Volt Design

October 15th, 2008 | Posted in: Design, Original GM-Volt Interviews, Video with 121 Comments

In this video segment GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz noted that he didn’t think the previously leaked photos would ruin the public’s acceptance of the Volt in production form. He felt however that even if people didn’t like it, it wouldn’t matter because as he puts it “this is a case where handsome is as [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 121 Comments

GM Q&A: Chevy Volt Production

September 30th, 2008 | Posted in: GM Q and A, Original GM-Volt Interviews, Production with 117 Comments

I had a wide-ranging discussion with Robert Kruse, to whom I posed many of the questions readers here asked. Bob is GMs executive director of EVs and Hybrids. In this segment we discussed Volt production.
How many Volts are you aiming towards producing in the first year?
We have not announced a specific number for [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 117 Comments

Bob Lutz Video: GM Wasn’t Prepared for Volt Initial Public Reaction, Current Volt Mules are Chevy Cruzes

September 26th, 2008 | Posted in: Original GM-Volt Interviews, Production, Video with 113 Comments

In this video segment, I filmed at the Centennial last week, GM vice chair Bob Lutz talks about the origin of the Volt concept and how “vague” in their thinking GM initially was. He said there was nothing to prepare GM for the reaction it received. After that they told themselves that they have “stumbled [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 113 Comments

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