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, and drove it again today.
He writes:
I adjusted the seat and mirrors, pressed the POWER button, moved the shifter to D, and then took it on a few laps around our Technical Center campus in Warren, Mich. This was the moment I’d been looking forward to and it was exhilarating. And when I was done, I pulled it into the garage and charged it with the production intent equipment.
As Andrew says, the preproduction properties “are the Volt” He notes this new era is not the end but the beginning of what he calls “the most important part of the process.”
Farah says the fundamental issues of the car are under control, but at this point his team needs to go into the refining the vehicle and make it something people “want to drive.”
Its the little things he says like “the ways the blinker sounds, the way the door sounds, and the way the steering responds.”
People, he says rightly, expect all of that to be flawless and finish developing. You can see the new location of the charging port door.
What makes it wonderful is that they are a few weeks ahead of schedule. And so the next major phase of the Volt coming into begin has occurred, 2 years 5 months, and 8 days after this site began as little more than a hope and a dream.
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 automotive production plants which can occupy several million square feet. Within it were two assembly lines each likely about 500 feet long along which the cars were being built by hand.
The day I was there was only 12 days after the first car was begun. At that point there were four Volt vehicles in various stages of construction. One was white, one was black, and two were gray. The paint on the surface was primer.
The sheet metal skeletons of the vehicles arrive there from the pre-production body shop, there 1000 or so pieces already welded together with hoods and hatchback in place.
The cars are built from the Volt math models developed by design and engineering. Little fit variations or flaws are detected such as for example the fit of the hood or rear window, and then are hand corrected for the next iteration.
The body shells were unmistakably Volts and seeing them in the flesh drove home more than anything the reality of these cars and this program in a deep and more meaningful way than ever before.
The most advanced or “lead” vehicle was fitted with many components including a high to low voltage converter and electrohydraulic brakes. None had their lithium-ion T-packs yet. In the lead vehicle the interior was nearly complete along with leather seats and the beautiful center console in jet black. White or black will be options. The heated leather seats were two-tone and looked great. I was told cloth seats would also be an potion.
I actually saw the electric motor-generator sitting on a wood table. Within it I was told are two motors. One was to turn the driveshaft and to recapture kinetic energy during deceleration (112 kw), and the other acts a a generator (53 kw) while the engine was running. Together the object was strikingly compact and a testament to the space advantages of electric cars. Volt Chief engineer Andrew Farah noted it was about the size of a conventional transmission, something this car wouldn’t need.
Another black Volt had just been put through a heavy water soaking to check for leaks in the design which could then be corrected.
These cars, unlike the mules before them, also had soundproofing installed onto the frame ensuring a very quiet ride.
There will be some changes from the show car which we have all seen, but these are 100% production intent.
One notable change was the location of the charge port. Now it will have its own door like a fuel tank and site below the front nameplate. The sliding cover design was abandoned due to risks of mechanical failure. The top surface of the center console was somewhat different too with some design tweaks and a storage area with trap door.
In the end, this facility will crank out 5 to 10 cars per week for a final goal of 80 to 100 vehicles. All of the learning here, the fixing of slight errors, and refinement of the assembly plan will lead early next year to the first assembled cars called validation builds on the Detroit-Hamtramck line where the production Volts will finally be built for sale. That plant has the capacity if needed to make up to 200,000 cars per year.
As of now the first fully built Chevy Volt IVers have rolled off this small assembly line and are being lab tested prior to their actual first drives. In the video below you can see Volt chief engineer Andrew Farah giving a tease and sitting in the true Volt about to go for “a shakedown drive.”
And so without any doubt the Volt has truly been born and its arrival into public production for launch in November 2010 appears at this point an absolute certainty.
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 and tells us its the 5th design iteration.
Bill illustrates the progress of pack engineering since 2007. There is a process from proof of concept to Malivolts to current mules and soon on to mass production. GM will possess about 100 each lab packs, vehilce packs and manufacturing packs, for a total of about 300 by the third quarter 2009.
He notes over 200 li-ion cells from LG Chem are in each pack.
Bill explains what the packs contain in terms of thermal management structure and microprocessor controls.
He notes the packs are completely sealed to dust and water, and have insulation to maintain temperature when the car is unplugged.
He says the design has changed in every detail from the beginning and is now comprises of 155 unique part numbers of which 147 were designed and engineered by GM itself.
The pack completely supports high volume manufacturing. At full production volume, all the packs together will exchange over 3 billion kwh of energy in their lifetime.
Attacking Tesla he said “you cannot reliably attach 6000 cells over a large number of batteries,” extolling the virtues of the Volt packs advanced design and engineering with only between 200 and 300 cells each.
He answers my question and tells us that each cell is a little over 3.5 volts. He says he is confident there is no higher energy density cells available than these GM exclusive LG cells.
Finally he admits the battery pack can be safely completely submerged in water.
GM-Volt.com has now been in existence for 29 months. Throughout this remarkable turbulent ride I have had the chance to meet with and question many GM executives including former CEO Rick Wagoner on a few occasions.
Now of course Fritz Henderson is at the helm. He has inherited a company that is in bankruptcy, and is charged with the herculean task of restructuring it into a leaner meaner four brand form. The government and bankruptcy court are of course making that job easier.
We here have focused on the Chevy Volt’s development which we have been assured remains on track, in good health, and undeterred.
There may come the day when I get to meet and interview Mr. Henderson. If I did, as always, I’d want to bring all of you with me to ask him any questions you might have.
Please use the comments of this post to write down your one question for him. Please keep it short and concise, and watch out for repeats. If I do get the chance, I’ll pick as many as I can.
Henderson already answered some public questions on GMs Fastlane blog. He told a “Volt skeptic” who wondered if Volts could actually get into the hands of people other than the rich and famous, “this will not be an inexpensive vehicle in its first generation, but it will be extremely affordable relative to a tesla. while we have not made final decisions on pricing, you should be thinking about $40k ish, with a $7500 available tax credit.” He also said it was “not likely” when one commentator asked is we’ll ever see and electric Camaro.
And while your thinking about what question you’d like to ask, watch the new GMreinvention television ad below.
I will be the first to say, the Volt has been vindicated in a most wonderful way.
A few weeks ago Tesla CEO Elon Musk brought the Model S on Late Night with David Letterman and Dave misrepresented the Chevy Volt, calling its 40 mile range “ridiculous.”
Last night after having issued a challenge to do so, Letterman invited Lutz on his show along with the Chevy Volt show car. The result, in my opinion, was wonderful.
First Letterman gave a five minute monologue explaining how he wants to see this country achieve energy independence (FIRST VIDEO BELOW). He admitted he bought and drives the Tesla Roadster. He described himself as not being particularly tech savvy, and went on to say that when he derided the Volt and laughed about it with Musk, he was actually “woefully ignorant.” He admitted that he didn’t realize the Volt has a range extender. He even said he hoped he could get a free Volt.
In the next segment Lutz and Letterman had a seven minute interview (SECOND VIDEO BELOW). It was clear that Letterman as a car buff has a great deal of respect for Lutz and it showed. He was kind, quiet, and polite and Lutz spoke most of the time.
Lutz talked about the EV-1 and why GM cancelled it, he talked about what hybrid technology is, and he explained how the Volt works.
Lutz again admitted it is his best estimate the Volt will cost “right around $40,000″ before incentives which would bring it to $32,500, and that it won’t be in showrooms en masse until 2011 although will be available in late 2010.
Dave asked for the first one. Lutz said there are 7 or 8 others who want it (I believe I am one of them).
The Volt was rolled out on stage and Dave seemed to like it, of course he did his obligatory electrocution bit.
Personally, I don’t think this could have turned out any better. Kudos to Letterman for admitting his mistake. Long live the Volt!
VIDEOS:
Dave’s mea culpa:
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gjWgix2ebQ]
Dave, Lutz, and the Volt:
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwjep5po7QU]
On Tuesday, several journalists were brought out to GM’s Milford Proving Grounds to test drive the Chevy Volt mules as I had.
Same Abuelsamid from Autobloggreen, a technical editor with a strong engineering background, documented his experience here and offers a video of Volt vehicle line director Tony Posawatz briefing the journalists.
Sam described his drive noting the mules “electrically-assisted steering has a nice heft that should make the production version an entertaining steer.” He thought “power delivery is seamless” and was pleased with the braking options allowing single pedal driving in L which “induces more aggressive lift-off regen, about 0.25-0.30 g of deceleration — equivalent to the braking most drivers regularly perform.”
Finally writes Sam “Overall, the electric drive system in the mules performed as advertised and GM appears to be well on its way to meeting a November 2010 Job 1 date.”
In the video below Tony Posawatz tells journalists the mules are 80% representative of the final Volt driving experience. He says in 29 days GM will begin construction of the first of 75 eventual true Volt prototypes (IVERs), and that starting in early 2010 “a lot” of Volts will start to be assembled at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant. He says the IVERs will be for “testing an validating of production intent design as well as developing software and controls to refine the full vehicle package, including the human machine interface”
He also alludes to the possibility of additional stakeholder incentives besides the $7500 federal tax credit already approved, which could further reduce the final cost of the Volt to own.
