GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

The 2009 Detroit Auto Show marked a truly profound inflection point in the history of the automobile, as nearly every major automaker has either revealed electric cars or plans to build them.

Ford made an especially strong jump on the scene announcing that they will begin mass production of a battery-electric vehicle, yet unnamed, in 2011.

I was specifically invited by Ford and given a special opportunity to actually test drive a prototype. At this point the vehicle is based on the Ford Focus body, which is known as a C-class sedan.

When I arrived for my test drive out on the cold street in front of the Detroit Cobo convention center, I found the unassuming Focus was adorned with bright yellow plug graphics to let you know what was under the hood. I was given a tour of the engine compartment and could see the large electric motor, power electronic module, and 400V high voltage cables running back from the engine compartment.

After getting into the driver’s seat I turned the key and heard a little clicking, but no crank of course, and then the charge indicator lit up letting me know we could drive.

I pulled away and found the silent instant torque exciting and different, even though the car only does 0 to 60 in 10 seconds. There was no problem merging with traffic. There is no transmission, just a gearcase with planetary gears. The car performed flawlessly over a three or so mile city drive, and braking wasn’t harsh as a vacuum component was added to make the brakes more natural. They are of course regenerative.

There were a few little rough points such as some vibratory noise and a varying reading on the charge level meter, but what does one expect for such an early mule?

The battery is split into two packs, one below the cabin and the other in the trunk.

Overall the pack has 23 kWh of stored energy, and uses prismatic lithium-ion cells. Ford would not say whose cells were inside.

There are currently two of these early mules and the one I was in had only gone about 300 miles or so so far in its life. Ford is working with component-maker Magna who makes many of the components and is actually evaluating lithium-ion cells from up to 6 companies.

I was assured by Ford VP of powertrain Barb Samardzich in an interview that Ford intends to bring this car to production. The actual unique design is being developed now and a full production program is underway with a hard goal of a 2011 launch. She expects the final vehicle to have a 100 mile range and to roll out gradually. She expects to build at least 10,000 copies the first year and pledges to build more if the market demands.

Ford would not disclose what their target price was for the car but advised that Ford is a company that builds affordable cars.  But don’t expect it to be too cheap, when asked if the car could be kept below $20,000 one executive said “that the batteries alone” would cost that much.

Ford’s entry into the EV realm could be construed as reactionary to the wide publicity the Volt has enjoyed, but Ms. Samardzich advised me Ford has a 10 year history of vehicular electrification going back to the early engineering that led to the Escape hybrid in 2004.

The fact they have shown so much detail on this EV and allowed this blogger to drive such an early prototype likely indicates a strong need to “prove” they are really going to do it.

At this point I’m sure they will, and our quest to break this country from oil addiction has turned yet another chapter.

And for what its worth, Ford actually beat GM in allowing me to drive their electric car first.

This morning on NBC’s today show, reporters Matt Lauer and Phil LeBeau broadcasted a piece on the Chevy Volt.

Besides the usual descriptive information, the reporters actually got to test drive the same Volt Cruze Mule that Rick Wagoner drove to Washington DC.

I was able to contact Mr. LeBeau to hear about his experience. He offered me the following response, which he also posted on his blog:

Impressive. Very impressive. I spent part of Wednesday afternoon tooling around GM’s tech center in a “mule” version of the Volt. When I hit the gas, the acceleration was instant. Like all electric cars, the torque and response from the car is immediate. The Volt will deliver the same performance you would get from a car with 250 horse power.

The other thing that stands out about the Volt is how smooth and quiet it is. There is not the whirring sound that I have heard in other electric cars I have driven. It also feels effortless when you are driving it. All around, I can see why executives at GM have growing confidence the Volt will deliver everything that’s been promised.

GM spokesperson David Darovitz was also present. He has this to say about it “they interviewed Frank (Weber), I sat in the back. Boy what a rush! Especially when Frank floored it. Instant giddy-up and go – in silence. It was very sweet!”

Yes I asked if I could try it out too…answer “in time.” Lets hope not 2012!

Video Below:

L to R: Bob Lutz, Bob Kruse, Jon Lauckner, Andrew Farah

GM vice chairman and father of the Volt chose today to give us an online update on the object of our affection. on his blog.

He declined to get into financial matters but instead just gave us good clean Volt fun.

He noted that he had personally driven the newest vintage of Volt mules which have production-intent parts and are based on the Chevy Cruze, using the same global compact platofrm that the final Volt will have.

Lutz said GM is making “great progress” on Volt development.

He said in driving the Volt “the relative quiet and absence of vibration stand out,” he also noted the chassis integrity was “outstanding” and he was pleased with braking and steering.

He described going for a drive at 30 degrees for 19 miles when the generator kicked in, it was so “quiet and non-jarring” that he didn’t even notice it. Overall he drove it for 30 miles and “couldn’t be more pleased” with the powertrain and vehicle.

He mentioned that there was some cutting in and out of the engine at low sppeds but that further testing would lead to correcting that.

In the end he assured us that his team “will continue to work round the clock to further refine the Volt and get it on the road — and in your hands — year after next.”

Source (FastLane Blog)

Sam Abuelsamid of AutoBlogGreen and Green Fuels Forecast had the awesome opportunity to interview GM vice chairman and Volt leader Bob Lutz after his Chevy Volt Prototype test drive. The video appears below.

Mr. Lutz described rapid and great acceleration getting the car up to 75-80 mph. He marveled at the eerie silence of the car off the gun, and mentioned how it handles well due to the low century of gravity of the battery pack.

He confirmed that there are 3 or four prototype vehicles now running with the battery packs installed and he said “that (number is) going to increase very quickly.”

He also said the prototypes are running not only on the test track but the public roads as well.

He said the first cars to look like the “real Volt” will appear at the end of this year, and that by spring and summer of 2009 there will be “several hundred” of these and thats when the final integration vehicles will appear. Those will be used for crash and safety, and he notes public early drives and media events will commence.

In a bombshell, Lutz stated that there are only one of the two suppliers packs in the current mules, and that they are now concentrating on only one of the suppliers but he refrained from saying which one. He says at this point GM is very close to one of the two suppliers because of a lower risk with that one. Any guesses?

He also said at their most recent E-Flex senior leadership meeting, they reviewed the HMI or human-machine interface and noted the interior of the car will be “super-cool” and apparently quite customizable.

He confirms supreme confidence that “we’re good for November 2010″ and that there are “zero problems” with the batteries and that in fact “they are exceeding their expectations”, although they have had some minor inner-cell mechanical welding issues, there have been no electrochemical ones.

He declined to comment of the cars cost but admits the first version will be more expensive than GM would like it be.

Lutz never got to experience the ICE coming on, because him and his team only drove it for 20 miles.

Very Cool Sam!

Source (Green Fuels Forecast)

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A17JrjXYcxs]

We have previously heard that the first Chevy Volt developmental prototype has been driving around GMs Milford proving grounds for a couple of weeks.

Last Thursday the two key GM executives who originated the Volt concept got to test drive their brainchild vehicle. This included GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz and VP of global program management Jon Lauckner. Also in accompaniment was Volt Vehicle Line Director Tony Pozawatz.

Witnesses to the event reported that after the roughly 8 mile drive,reaching speeds of nearly 60 mph, Mr. Lutz stepped out of the car with a grin on his face that made him look like “a five year old on Christmas morning.”

Mr. Lutz had the following to say about his monumental experience which he has posted over on his Fastlane Blog:

“Yesterday we announced that the GM Board has approved the Chevrolet Volt program. Yes, development work has been going on in earnest, but now it’s official. In fact, recently, at GM’s Milford Proving Ground, I drove an official “engineering development vehicle” with the 16-kwh lithium-ion battery pack we’ve been testing for our E-Flex System and I have to say – pun half-intended – it was electrifying.

The first impression of the day, however, was made before I even got into the vehicle. It hit me on the drive out to Milford, as I passed gas station after gas station with prices for regular unleaded hugging the $4 mark: This makes the importance and potential of our all-electric glide through our proving ground roads even clearer.

Now, don’t run to the Chevy dealer and order your Volt yet: The “test mule” I drove – a previous-generation Malibu – wasn’t calibrated properly, and there are an awful lot of tests that this battery must pass before it’s cleared for production. Our battery teams in Warrenand in Germanyare working hard in our battery labs to determine that these batteries will work for the life of the vehicle. Still, the conditions in a real-world environment – where the battery is exposed to shaking, moisture and rapidly changing temperature conditions – are much more extreme than the controlled settings of the lab.

But I think it’s important to point out that in the six months since we’ve received the battery pack, we’ve tested it in the lab, then on the dynamometer, and now on the track. Eventually, if and when we settle on the right battery, our E-Flex System engineers will have a lot of integrating, tuning and tweaking to do before the Volt is ready for prime time. And we’ll keep you informed of our progress every step of the way.

Upon future drives, when the vehicle is closer to true calibration, I’ll have more driving details. But I will say that, while the car is still most definitely a work in progress, the thrill of driving electrically — that instant, silent torque — is certainly present and accounted for! Of course, as you can imagine, I miss the throaty roar of an engine. Once we get this whole battery thing perfected, our friends at XM Satellite Radio may have to start an Internal Combustion Channel.”

Thanks for the update Mr. Lutz, these are thrilling times indeed!

See what Bob signed on the prototype’s hood below:

After Bob Lutz’ big announcement yesterday about the Chevy Volt prototype running on the track, I had the chance to talk to GMs director of hybrid vehicle integration, Mickey Bly, a little more about it. We covered a range of topics and I will have much more of our conversation soon. Micky oversees the integration of all systems into final vehicles including hybrids and E-Flex’s.

So the first lithium-ion pack car is on the track?
We carried through on what we discussed and committed to. The burgundy vehicle we showed in the lab (on Chevy Volt media day) had been running for the past several months was being converted over from a NiMh to a li-ion pack. That took place on schedule to the day and we received that back out at Milford a couple of weeks ago. We did a lot of start-up safety checks which we do for any kind of vehicle to make sure that it was put back together OK. And as Bob indicated we have been running that car as well in a dynamometer environment. Basically we start the vehicle down on these big electric rolls that lets the vehicle roll without driving. We can simulate going uphill or downhill by either resistance or assistance forces going into it. So we did that for a good week and a half as we went though all of our normal startup drive profiles, charge sustaining, charge depleting, and things were looking very good. In fact, no major surprises at all . We took it off the rolls and have started driving it on our Milford proving ground facility now, in a limited fashion.

Have you driven it yourself?
I have been in the vehicle, yes I have. I wouldn’t call it driving because it was shuttling between buildings when I was at the wheel. The real driving was a large more extensive driving event with some of my engineers on Tuesday.

Could it cover the 40 miles on 50% of the stored energy?
Obviously clearly 40 miles is are target. I wont add anything to what Bob already said. We have spent a lot of time developing the battery in the lab, and I don’t want to comment on exactly how far it went at this time.

Can you say which suppliers pack is on that particular vehicle?
No, I know if course, but we are not going to comment on that. We’ll be switching battery packs out through the year between the two suppliers. We’re doing competitive testing.