Recently I traveled to GM’s Milford Proving Grounds for the opportunity with many other journalists to test drive the company’s entire fleet of production cars which were all laid out across a large swath of pavement called back lake.
To our surprise, in the middle of the event, suddenly Frank Weber pulled up in a pre-production [...]
In late June, GM completed the production of its first true to form Chevy Volt prototypes called integration vehicles. We were given a brief video description of what it was like to drive one by the car’s chief engineer Andrew Farah.
GM granted an interview with Farah to Automotive News who got some new nitty gritty [...]
I must admit I am still amazed that we are actually beginning to talk about a near finished product, the Chevy Volt integration vehicles (IV). Over 2 and a half years ago when I first started this site, (SEE FIRST POST HERE) this point was a time that was unimaginable and yet now has [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
It is known that no one outside GM at this point has been allowed to witness the Chevy Volt prototypes running in generator mode.
Previously it was reported that the reason for this is that the car isn’t soundproofed and GM doesn’t want people to hear the engine. Jon Lauckner has also told me the [...]
While visiting the GM Technical Center in Warren Michigan for the new battery lab tour and announcement, I had another chance to briefly test drive the Volt Cruze mule. How could I resist?
With the sheer novelty of the first drive behind me, I figured I could get a better feel for driving the car. [...]
Exactly nine weeks ago we were shown a countdown clock in front of the office of Andrew Farah, the Chevy Volt’s chief engineer. That countdown clock was clicking off the days until the start of the first Chevy Volt integration vehicle build. The integration vehicle, or IVer, is an actual full functioning Chevy Volt with [...]
Currently GM has a few more than 30 Cruze-shell mule prototypes running around the proving grounds and in various test facilities. These cars have been performing flawlessly. Though containing a near-final Chevy Volt powertrain and battery, they do not possess the true Chevy Volt interior or exterior design.
The next critical stage in Volt [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]