GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

There are a few events in every lifetime that will be remembered forever. In some cases these events are the celebration of an achievement, of a reward earned.

Such was that early Spring morning in 2009 that I pulled past the bold blue and white military-like sign that read Milford Proving Grounds. For this was the day I test drove the Chevy Volt mule.

From that in many ways distant day in January 2007, when I first saw a news report about the Chevy Volt  and was so inspired to register the domain GM-Volt.com to this day some 26 months and 900 articles later I and many of you my most revered readers and copilots have essentially been waiting for this landmark moment.

Inside the proving grounds I met my guide and co-pilot Greg Ceisel. Greg is the Chevy Volt program manager and had been involved since its early days.

After a brief tour of the Proving Grounds and and overview of it 130 or so miles of top secret test track, he took me into a building about the size of an airplane hanger. We walked into the electric vehicles section and there before me were a half a dozen Volt mules with varying appearance and states of disrepair and several plug-in Saturn Vues.

My Volt was silver blue and adorned with special white Volt graphics. This vehicle was the same one former CEO Rick Wagoner had famously driven through the streets of DC to testify before Congress, and the same one that members of the President’s Task Force on Autos had driven. Politics in these dire times for GM had to come before their fans.

This vehicle is in the second generation of test cars, having been built after the first batch which were cruder “Malivolts.” About 30-odd of these cars were in existence. They contained nearly finalized Volt powertrains including 16 kwh lithium-ion battery packs, 111 peak kw electric motors and 53 kw engine generators. This was not a Chevy Volt in interior or exterior design, but rather they were European-version Chevy Cruze compact sedans. The Cruze uses the same compact delta platform as the Volt and shares similar interior dimensions. Aerodynamically the Cruze has a higher coefficient of drag so true 40 mile AERs are not achieved but “come very close” per Mr. Ceisel.

After a brief tour, it was my turn to drive.

The car is started by a push button that lights green, no key is needed, and the turn-on process is utterly silent.

The interior was sufficiently roomy and comfortable, and nicely ergonomically designed. It was lacking the elegant high-tech and sophisticated double LCD display the production Volt has, and all the sure to be wonderful bells and whistles the production Volt will have. There was no engine/battery feedback for the driver. Technicians normally would connect a laptop to the mule to monitor, manage, and tweak the cars behavior. This interface had been removed for my drive. My only feedback was Km/h on the speedometer and number of miles driven.

The mule was like the Volt, functionally a four-seater, the T-shaped battery pack running down the middle was low enough that the rear seat bench had no bulge, but legroom in the center of the bench was replaced by the battery.

Once started there was only a very slightly scarcely audible and occasional whir within the engine compartment but was overall strikingly and serenely silent.

And then with one small step for man and one large step for mankind and with the collective goodwill of the thousands of you GM-Volt readers on this journey with me, I depressed the accelerator.

Instant silent and sustained torque ensued.

The car had considerable brisk acceleration and power. It was smooth as silk and utterly quiet. It was truly a marvelous thing of beauty. I sailed up hills and muscled around the curves of the sterile and peculiarly industrial landscape of the proving grounds. The car handled marvelously. Greg told me that this car wasn’t near final refinement yet and that the production Volt would handle even better. Hard to believe.

The braking had a customary feel. Regenerative braking was of course in effect, and every downhill grade and coast charged the pack. GM had cleverly built in two driving configuration options called D and L.  Both gave the same acceleration, but when you step off the accelerator you get strong regenerative drag if in L and coast in D, the former being best for city driving. As Greg said this could allow you to drive with one foot.

There was of course no transmission so whether driving 5 or 75 mph the same gear was maintained. This was pleasant and comfortable and provided appropriate dynamic power at all velocities, there was no perceived “need” to shift.

I found the car to be light, nimble, agile and very fun to drive. Acceleration was terrific and spirited.

I had the chance to take the car straight up a very treacherous-appearing pure 16-1/2% grade. It was a hill that I cannot recall seeing a similar version of in real life. The car had no trouble making it to the top, and with it floored could hit about 50 mph.

I drove the car a total of 15 miles through the test tracks. At this point in time I wasn’t permitted to experience the shift to generator mode. Greg said it was seamless and most drivers didn’t notice it, but GM was still shy about showing it off until some further tweaking had occurred. I was promised a chance to come back when the time was right for it.

The bottom line is that the car was a solid, pleasant, agile and sporty compact sedan. It handled and behaved like any car in its category should. It was as its own chief engineer Andrew Farah says, “unremarkable.”

I would expand that to remarkably unremarkable.

Unremarkable in that the average driver would experience driving it as they would any other small sporty sedan. It was not a toy a or some tinny weak neighborhood car.

What was remarkable and indeed profoundly so is that it does so without the use of gasoline.

It is a car that has absolutely no-compromises. Yet, it is electric.

That is a feat of monumental importance. This is a car that the masses will embrace because of the kind of car it is. That is uses no gas for 40 miles is the real breakthrough.

And so it was that I drove the Volt mule on that Spring day. A regular guy who just started a blog to influence the direction of US transportation and who now found himself at the very wheel of that future

GM has done what they set out to over two years ago and amazingly well I might add, despite all the trials and tribulations that have transpired.  The real Volt will be here in a few short weeks.  We’ll be waiting.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03-4zuUEPaM]

As promised, GM has let several other journalists test drive the Volt mules as well. We are in a great position here to experience all these points of view which together may bring us closer to the truth. In the coming weeks we will be seeing more reviews.

1. GM
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7SNVjW_HHU]
GM has shared with us their own video of the media drivers’ experience. We hear from vehicle line director Tony Posawatz who as always is quite passionate about the car. He says the media are “getting a very unique experience, and many don’t even know the car is on.” He goes on to describe the instantaneous torque and “wonderful launch feel”. Further he describes the sound of the “lovely quiet hum”. Mostly he and Frank Weber report GM is proud to share with this typically tough audience the engineering accomplishments of which they are very proud.

2. WWJ
VIDEO HERE
Detroit radio reporter Jeff Gilbert had a chance to drive the car. He calls is “a special vehicle that is supposed to feel ordinary.”

He loved the drive calling it exciting with wonderful acceleration. He notes the silence. We are told GM has learned they can meet the performance targets and are quite confident it will be available for sale end of next year

3. CNBC Phil Lebeau

He said ” its impressive” and notes it is his second drive and says GM is progressing nicely with with it as they had promised. He said the car will meet all expectations GM had set forth. Doesn’t give a driving impression and hasn’t respond to my email asking for it.

4. PBS
LINK
The reporter Diane Eastabrook says “It’s hard not to be impressed by this technology. I’ve never driven a vehicle that was as quiet and offered as smooth a ride as this one. I also had no trouble getting the electric car up to 80 mph quickly. It really is cool technology.” She goes on to complain though about the EV-1 being killed.

5. CBS Evening News

I found this one quite snarky and cynical. The reporter said he didn’t drive the Volt, just it’s technology “stuck” in a conventional car because, the real volt is not yet ready. He said the media drives are really just to showcase the tech to generate publicity and public support for financial assistance. He closes with the concern about price and low gas prices leading to a drop in hybrid sales, suggesting GM might be “bringing out he right car at the wrong time.” He said nothing of the driving experience.

CNN’s Peter Valdes-Dapena was given the opportunity to test drive one of the Chevy Volt mule vehicles. Since this is likely to be one of several we will see published I think it would be helpful to cover these individually. Have no fear faithful readers, I too had a test drive opportunity as well. GM though has placed an embargo on my experience and will not let me publish it until a certain number of journalists have had the chance. If they change the rule I will publish it ASAP.

The CNN review broke down into 4 sections:

1. Early Results
The vehilce is a mule, about 80% true Volt. It is a Chevy Cruze both on the interior and interior, except for a big red Kill Switch. The reporter took it for some laps around the Milford proving ground but was not allowed to experience the generator going on.

2. Charging Ahead
He noted “Under full electric power, which is how most owners will experience it most of the time, the Volt proved surprisingly potent.”

3. Silent Power
The reporter was struck by the car’s quietness noting “the silence was still surprising,” and that “the car feels particularly muscular” due to instant torque. 0 to 60 he reported was a little over 8 seconds. He found the car to be silent and vibration free and that “when Volt owners get in their cars in the morning, the gasoline engine will not rumble to life.” The absence of a transmission wasn’t needed to keep the electric motor in the performance “sweet spot.” He confirmed the car felt like driving a 250 hp V6.

4. Weight watching
The reporter thought the front wheel drive car felt surprisingly heavy when he went into turns. The presence of the 400 pound battery pack was considered to be part of the reason why. The reporter said “It felt almost like the small Cruze had turned into something more like a Cadillac the moment I turned the steering wheel.” He said Tony Posawatz assured him this would be refined with suspension tuning by the final cars.

5. Future developments
The reporter confirmed as we know GM is already working on 2nd and 3rd generations of the Chevy Volt that will continue to offer 40 miles electric range. He says the next generation of Voltec cars, from 2015 and beyond will be “lighter, roomier and will cost less than the Volt.” He concludes “In the end, the Volt won’t be a huge seller or a big money-maker for GM. Its value lies in changing perceptions. A test drive in this early version is one step in the process.”

I personally asked Mr. Valdes-Dapena for his overall impression of the drive just for us here at GM-Volt.com. He wrote back “Except for the added weight of the battery pack, I found it surprisingly fun to drive, at least at around-town speeds.”

I would keep in mind that these Cruze mules are test cars and the engineers are using them to learn how to refine the final Volt experience. All the bells and whistles are absent. But this report and mine and others when they are published confirms the the Volt program is real and far along and GM is ready to start showing off the fruits of their labor.

Within a few weeks the production version Volts will come off the technical center assembly line and shall offer a far more refined experience.

Source (CNN)

Famous comedian and Tonight Show host Jay Leno arrived in Detroit Monday night ahead of free performances he’s giving Tuesday and Wednesday night to show support and solidarity for the beleaguered city. His so-called “Comedy Stimulus Package” is for “anyone out of work in Detroit,” said Leno. “The idea is: ‘Come on down. Forget your troubles … and meet other people in your situation.”  On Tuesday thousands lined up in cold and snow to attend the show, in which he launched a freewheeling 80 minute monologue.

While in town, Leno spent time on Tuesday visiting GM’s facilities. Leno is a vigorous auto enthusiast and has specific interest in electric vehicles. He is also an ardent and specific supporter of US automakers and the US auto industry.  He has most recently bought a new Corvette and Challenger and owns one of the original Baker electric cars built in 1909.  He also currently has in his possession GM’s fuel cell Equinox and a MINI E.

While at the GM facilities, Leno was given the chance to test drive one of the current Cruze-body Chevy Volt mule vehicles.  He was accompanied by Ed Welburn, GM’s VP of Design, shown above with Jay.

Leno had previously noted “I think you’ll find that the Volt will be a superior package to the Prius,” and that he “would love to be” one of the first to test drive the Volt in real-world conditions.

He was said to rave about the Volt experience. “I’m not an engineer but I know enough … and I saw some impressive technology out there,” he said.

I was able obtain a firsthand report of the event from Mr. Welburn. “Jay and I had a great morning. He and I toured the Volt studio where he saw the final details of the production Volt. He then drove the car and visited the battery lab,” said Welburn. “I can’t speak for Jay, but I sure enjoyed it.”

For those of you who wonder if and when I will have a chance to drive the mule, don’t sweat it, every dog has his day.

Source (Detroit News)

Monday members of President Obama’s Auto Task Force will be visiting GM’s headquarters in Detroit. This trip is intended to be part of the Task Force’s effort to decide whether GM is a viable company, the deadline for which is March 31st. A decree of viability will likely enable GM to receive further loans, the alternative could be bankruptcy.

The Task Force is led by by Wall Street financier Steven Rattner and Steelworkers union official Ron Bloom who will both be in attendance The team will meet with senior GM executives as well as top UAW officials. Some of the day they will be at Chrysler’s headquarters.

The team’s visit includes a stop at GM’s Warren Technical Center where the Chevy Volt development program is based. Some of the Chevy Volt mules are being tested there.

Per the Associated Press, anonymous sources report that members of the Task Force will actually be given an opportunity to test drive the Volt prototype.

Cabinet level members of the team including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House economic adviser Larry Summers, will not be in attendance.

Meanwhile John McCain who did not get a test drive when he visited the Volt, speaking for the Republicans issued a stern statement. He told Fox New Sunday “The best thing that could probably happen to General Motors, in my view, is they go into Chapter 11.”

We look forward to the test drive, and the review better be good. That little Volt prototype now hold the keys to GM’s survival.

Source (AP) and (Bloomberg)

I had one of the greatest indulgent pleasures of my life the other day. For one day, Tesla Motors gave me a Tesla Roadster to do with what I wish. This was a 2008 prototype model in red.

From simply setting up a blog about the Volt concept two years ago, unbelievably I was now being handed the keys to one of the most remarkable vehicles in the history of the industry, because I it turns out, have become a voice for the advocacy of electrification of the automobile. Below is my account of the experience, and DON’T MISS my video at the bottom of the post.

It was a beautiful crisp and cold Winter morning when I drove down to a midtown Manhattan parking garage that seemed like any other. I took along a friend of mine, a fellow doctor with a deep knowledge of automotive engineering and who happens to be a surgeon with very good hands.

After dropping off my car and giving the attendant the secret password, within minutes a shiny red Tesla Roadster was the feast before my eyes.

At first sight the car seemed strikingly smaller than I imagined it to be, and not surprisingly looked a lot like a Lotus Elise. This should not be too surprising as Lotus designed the $109,000 Tesla’s body. Here before me was the car that by most accounts and in most experts opinions represent the turning point in automotive history. The vehicle is the link I think it shall one day be known as between the ancient gas powered automobiles and the future electric fleets to come.

Getting into the car required a little gymnastics as it is small and extremely low to the ground. Once inside though it was like being in another world. It had a raw yet exclusive feel, and gave one the impression of being inside a race car. I sat very snugly in my seat and in that narrow space found myself quite thrilled.

The steering wheel struck me because of its very narrow radius and hearty grips, again what one would expect for a performance car. There was no power steering, so steering the car a low speeds required a bit of effort.

The displays were also unlike anything you’d see in a typical car. To the left was a battery silhouette- shaped LCD meter that displayed how much charge remained, on the left it told you how far you could drive if you kept driving at the level of aggressiveness of the previous mile, to the right was how far you could drive if you followed the EPA schedule. For me, I started at around 100 miles EPA. You see the car wasn’t fully charged, as full capacity is 244 miles. Tesla had only days before gotten it into New York from California, and did not yet have 220v access nor a 110v charger. My ride north to my suburban town would be about 50 miles.

Controls were found along a thin center console along the floor which included the shifter and parking brake, as well as climate controls. The housing was a raw carbon fiber mat. The leather seats were comfortable and taught. Turning to look back and there was the rear windshield; neither back seat nor semblance of storage space could be found. There was no glovebox either but a short receded shelf was available on the passenger side, adequate for some storage. Though I didn’t notice it, there is a cupholder which swings out from the driver’s side of the center console.

Turning the key lit up the displays and triggered the emission of a light chime indicating the car was ready for driving. Then the fun began.

Stepping on that accelerator on that certain Saturday in February was something I’ll never forget. The tremendous powerhouse of electric tension pent up in that gigantic lithium battery pack seemed at my most immediate disposal. I was afraid the car would be uncontrollable, remembering some Internet photo of a Tesla front end crumpled into the car ahead of it. But fortunately that wasn’t the case. The acceleration was easily controlled with light effort on the throttle. A throttle I might add that was delightfully responsive.

Once I got out of the parking garage and onto a wide open street, my moment had finally arrived.

With the gusto of ten decades of oil burning cars behind me I slammed that accelerator down.
One word describes the result…unworldly.

The little race car literally exploded though space with a mid-tone throaty electrical whine that sounded more like a spaceship than any car I’d ever heard.

The profound acceleration pinned me back into the seat and made me want to yell like you would on a rollercoaster. Surely I had the Tesla grin.

Letting off the accelerator was unique as well. You see you could feel the intense regenerative drag which caused the vehicle to quickly slow, and would continue to the point of stopping even without hitting the brakes. Braking itself was effective and not overly intense.

The car handled like a performance vehicle. The tight manual steering enabled precision and brisk turns and the car hugged the road well. The double wishbone suspension allowed for great handling but also caused you to feel every pothole and bump in the road and produced quite a few loud pavement slams.

I took the car through the streets of Manhattan and stopped for a few photo ops in Times Square and by the Met Life building on Park Ave.

I drove it up the highways towards upstate New York. The acceleration continued to marvel and thrill me. The car could accelerate well even starting out at 50 to 60 mph. Top speed is 125 mph, something I didn’t try to achieve.

Another very unworldly feeling from driving the car was the lack of a transmission and gears, one of the hallmarks of electric cars that comes as a bonus in addition to the instantaneous torque. You see the motor’s redline is 13000 RPMs, not the usual 6000 or so of conventional cars. Your mind tells you to expect to shift, but it doesn’t happen, you can just keep going faster and faster. This is something that takes a while for the brain’s circuits to adjust to.

The car was fascinatingly quiet at slow speeds though at high velocities wind noise was very audible due to the removable top. The car was entirely made of hand-crafted ultralight carbon fiber, which made closing the hood and trunk a little challenging as they had nearly no weight. With the massive 53 kwh battery pack in its center, the car weighed in just under 2700 pounds including the battery pack.

After about two hours of driving fun I arrived back at my house with 16 miles of estimated range and 25 miles of EPA range. There was no way I was getting back to the city to drop the car off! And there was the three-headed, or should I say three-pronged monster that I’d only heard of, staring me right in the face…Range Anxiety!

Fortunately my doctor friend and co-pilot had a friend with an arc-welder in his garage. And so too, as it need be, a 220V 50 amp power outlet. After a few unanswered calls we finally got a hold of him and drove to his house. At this point my little range gauge told me “power reduced” and “battery almost empty.”

The small trunk of the Tesla, which at best could hold a small bag of golf clubs, held a potpourri of chargers and adapters. We finally found a male plug that would fit in our friend’s outlet, but this required some reattaching of it to the copper wiring.

Finally the plug went into the wall. We opened the door of the Tesla which of course wasn’t a gas tank but a unique four pronged charge port. The other end of the charger slid in twisted and locked. Some clicking and whirring sound were heard along with an eerie flashing green light, and then those most comforting of words popped up on the cars screen…charging.

After about four hours running 220 V at 50 amps I found the car about 80% full and indicating a range of 168 miles. And so it was that I could deliver the car back to Manhattan. And so I did for another glorious ride, and the occasional gawking stare and thumbs up of people in passing cars who recognized this amazing car. Passing the tolls on the George Washington Bridge I could hear the shout of joy from one of the toll-collectors “that’s an electric car.” I sat in some heavy Manhattan traffic getting back to the parking garage and felt serene knowing no emissions were spewing from my car despite the sea of fumes around me. I imagined the day all of those cars too were electric.

The Tesla Roadster is a sheer phenomenon, the remarkable product of start-up can-do mentality and brute force determination, proof to the world that electric cars can work, are incredibly fun to drive, and will change the future for the better. They can and should be credited for triggering the big automakers including GM to begin developing electric cars.

Thank you Tesla Motors for this invention and opportunity , for helping to spur an automotive revolution and taking those first ginger steps to a world without oil.

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7U3W7sDZxY]