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Archive for the 'Production' Category

Chevy Volt and Battery Program Update

November 18th, 2009 | Posted in: Engineering, Production, Prototypes with 128 Comments

General Motors provided an online media update as to current progress on the Chevrolet Volt and battery development program, moderated by vehicle chief engineer Andrew Farah and Voltec battery system manager Bill Wallace.  I and several actual journalists attended.  We were given the current state of development and the roadmap of the next 12 months [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 128 Comments

GM Delays Launch of Volt’s ‘Sister’ Car, the Chevrolet Cruze

October 30th, 2009 | Posted in: Production, Timeline with 86 Comments

GM has announced that the Chevrolet Cruze’s introduction in North America has been delayed, moving from April of 2010 into the third quarter, namely August. In the meantime, the Cobalt will soldier on until the Cruze’s arrival.
This news is especially of interest to the Volt community, because both it and the Cruze [...]

Posted by: Statik with 86 Comments

Guest-Post: Magna Group Reportedly Pulls Plug on Building Ampera

October 17th, 2009 | Posted in: Opel, Production with 107 Comments

It was long thought that shortly after the Chevrolet Volt went into production in Michigan that a plant would open in Europe to produce the Ampera.
The front runner for this plant had been the Ellesmere Port plant in the United Kingdom, given the strong backing of the state government, and their willingness to subsidize the [...]

Posted by: Statik with 107 Comments

Clarification: GM’s Chevy Volt Build Schedule for 2010

October 13th, 2009 | Posted in: Production with 143 Comments

Some recently published numbers about Volt prototype production volume are inaccurate.
First, though the Detroit Press reported the 74th car was the final Volt prototype built at GM’s pre-production plant in Warren, according to Bob Warner, GMs Director Global Pre-Production Operations, it was actually the 80th.
“The 80 vehicles we built are now entering the next stage [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 143 Comments

Transition From Integration to Pre-Production Begins Now: Thousands of Chevy Volts to be Built Early Next Year

October 12th, 2009 | Posted in: Engineering, Production with 160 Comments

As was reported on Friday October 9, GM completed building the last of a total of 74 pre-production Chevy Volts, which were built in the modest-sized pre-production operations facility in GM’s Warren campus. I had the chance to discuss with Volt vehicle line engineer Tony Posawatz what happens now.
Now that these cars are finished [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 160 Comments

Q&A With Chevy Volt Lead Powertrain Engineer

Alex Cattelan is head of the Volt propulsion engineering team.  I had the chance to discuss the current state of Chevy Volt development from her perspective.
What is your role in the Volt program?
I head up the team that does all of the propulsion systems for the Volt. That includes motors, power electronics, we don’t [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 193 Comments

Getting an Early Chevy Volt in 2010 Won’t be Easy

August 27th, 2009 | Posted in: Launch, Production with 387 Comments

Its hard to believe, but we are actually drawing close to the day the first saleable Volts roll off the production line in November 2010.
Recently the DOE announced a $30 million grant for GM to use to release a test fleet of 500 Chevy Volts to consumers, and 125 to commercial entities. GM has [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 387 Comments

GM Begins Work at New Chevy Volt Battery Pack Assembly Plant

August 13th, 2009 | Posted in: Battery, Production with 98 Comments

On Thursday GM CEO Fritz Henderson announced that GM has begun construction work on a factory in Brownstown Township Michigan in which the Chevy Volt battery packs will be assembled.
GM invested $43 million to develop the plant where packs for the Volt and “other extended range electric vehicles” will be assembled.
The 160,000 square foot facility [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 98 Comments

GM Volt Battery Assembly Plant Site Chosen

July 17th, 2009 | Posted in: Battery, Production with 132 Comments

It is being reported that General Motors has chosen the site where it will assemble Chevy Volt battery packs. They have not officially announced this but sources indicate a press event is expected within a month.
The Chevy Volt is dependent on its state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery packs for propulsion. The 16 kwh packs are [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 132 Comments

Video: Pre-Production Chevy Volts Hit the Road!

June 24th, 2009 | Posted in: Production, Prototypes, Video with 357 Comments

GM has just released a video of and blog post by Andrew Farah, the Volts chief engineer. Andrew demonstrates one of the new pre-production genuine Chevy Volts that has rolled of the assembly line. He reports he drove the first one on Tuesday, Integration Vehicle #1, more than a week ahead of schedule, [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 357 Comments

Exclusive: Visit to the Chevy Volt Integration Vehicle Assembly Plant

June 24th, 2009 | Posted in: Production, Prototypes, Video with 366 Comments

I have seen the electric car promised land.
This month I became one of the first people outside of GM to visit the pre-production operations (PPO) facility at a time where the first genuine Chevy Volts, called integration vehicles (IVers) were being assembled.
The PPO plant was vast though moderate in size relative to full [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 366 Comments

GM Advanced Battery Lab Tour w/Video – Part I

June 22nd, 2009 | Posted in: Battery, Production, Video with 213 Comments

While in Warren Michigan for the opening of the GM advanced battery lab I along with a group of journalists was given a tour of the facility.  I filmed the event (video below).  In this segment we hear from Bill Wallace, engineering group manager, GM battery lab. He shows us the current Chevy Volt pack [...]

Posted by: Lyle with 213 Comments

RSS Recent GM-Volt Forum Posts

  • New video: Volt drive in Detroit November 19, 2009
    November 19, 2009 Detroit Free Press story with video featuring a Volt drive with Andrew Farah in... […]
    srschrier
  • New Video: Volt Corrosion Testing November 18, 2009
    From GM VoltAge, the Volt's corrosion... […]
    srschrier
  • Th!nk picks Indiana for U.S. factory November 18, 2009
    Th!nk picks Indiana for U.S. factory: _Link_ (http://www.allcarselectric.com/blog/1038564_thnk-picks-indiana-for-u-s-factory) […]
    Jason M. Hendler
  • FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC APTERA 2e PUSHED BACK TO 2010 November 18, 2009
    FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC APTERA 2e PUSHED BACK TO 2010: _Link_... […]
    Jason M. Hendler
  • Any news about the NiMH battery? November 18, 2009
    Now that there are new owners of the patent, is there any indication that they will allow its use for electric cars? Like many others, I believe that... […]
    Desertstraw
  • energy requirments of modern electric vehicles November 18, 2009
    does anyone know any credible sources of information concerning the electricity requirements of modern electric vehicles per mile of travel and the... […]
    crubkings
  • 30% reduction November 18, 2009
    The Belgian governement decided that if you buy a car with less then 60g/km emmision you get a 15% tax reduction and you can write it off for 100% if... […]
    filiep