Filed under: Concept Cars, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Videos, Chevrolet, GM
VIDEO: Sneak peek at production Chevy Volt
Very few vehicles have received the level of attention the Chevy Volt has been given, and we're still nearly three years before production begins. The reason for all the press is obvious. If GM can produce what they're promising with the Volt, with plug-in power and the ability to drive 40 miles on electricity alone, it'll be a game changer. The local Detroit NBC affiliate got access to the Volt design studio and brought their cameras with them. During the two minute piece, we're given a quick peek at the more rounded front end of the production model. You can see a headlight, a curvier bumper and little else, but it's enough to show that GM is on the right track. Hit the jump to view the video.
Thanks for the tip, Tony!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
psarhjinian 6:01PM (1/09/2008)
"Production"
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Reply
MixiM 6:08PM (1/09/2008)
Like in cell-phones theese types of batteries degrade pretty quick... It would mean an expensive swap everery or every other year? Fuel Cell technology is the future... not "plug in power" or hybrids.
jake 6:34PM (1/09/2008)
@MiXiM
I hate it when people make blind comments on battery tech for plugins esp. if they argue for fuel cell vehicles. First of all, fuel cell vehicles require battery packs too, so if battery packs can't work for plugins then what makes you think it will work for fuel cell cars. Second, these packs are using 7,000 cycle cells, not the 500 cycle cells in your typical cell phone battery. That's more than enough for the life cycle of the entire car, plus it's recyclable.
naggs 6:43PM (1/09/2008)
these batteries are a completely different chemistry than those in laptops cellphones ect. they have dramatically longer lifespans and eliminate the safety issues LIon batteries have.
that is where most of the development is right now, the electric controls for the brand new battery packs. GM is the first to venture into this particular field of research and it takes time and money to make it all work.
and BTW, there is a version in development that will use a Hydrogen fuel cell as the range extender instead of the on board IC motor. the eflex technology will work with anything that can generate electricity.
all future powertrains will use advanced battery packs of some sort. if its hybrids, they need batteries to store the recovered brake energy. if its a hydrogen fuel cell, you need batteries in between the generator and motor and to recover brake energy. no matter what the future looks like, lightweight durable safe batteries will have their place and GM is the first really apply that to their R&D budget.
tankd0g 7:30PM (1/09/2008)
I would love to know how to continue to actively work on a car and project it's release date when you don't have a power source for it, you don't even know what dimensions the battery will have, how heavy it will be or what it will cost. If this thing is at a local dealership in 2010 I will post a video on youtube of me eating humble pie off the hood (probably cherry flavored).
Jared 8:14PM (1/09/2008)
tankdog: GM has already received prototype batteries from two different manufacturers. I think they have a much better handle on the specifications of the batteries than you think they do.
MixiM 8:35PM (1/09/2008)
@ jake,
@ naggs,
Sure fuel-cell propelled cars do have batterypacks but they basicly act as a buffert when the fuel cell can't keep up...and charge when you are not using all the produced energy.If the process would be fast enough the batterypacks wouldn't be necessary... either way, in this use the battery pack performance wouldn't mean as much and wouldn't start to be noticable until the battery gets really degraded.
Continuing the cell-phone analogy, it would be like having your cell run and still be connected to the powersocket. How bad would the battery have to be before your phone goes out?....
When the car is driven from the batteries as a direct and only power-source the car's range/ performance etc would be extremely dependant and sensitive to the batteries state.
Sure there are battery-technologies comming, which I haven't seen in production,YET. There are a lot of other industries that put a lot of money in battery technology (think laptops) and would probably in a heartbeat if there was a feesable alternative. Instead we se a couple of companies presenting fuel-cell/hybrid computers...
At the moment it just doesn't seem that the technology will be ready in 2010, or even 2015... not for the batteries at least. This in a time when several manufacturers have road legal and production ready fuel cell hybrids and even hydrogen combustion technology ready... just waiting for the infrastructure.... (Honda, BMW)
Sorry about me writing a book here on Autoblog, and i have to give out a disclaimer on my spelling... I'm from Sweden.
Daniel 8:43PM (1/09/2008)
I wonder if Ford is smart enough to beat GM to the punch by bring the Reflex to market.
Never mind, dumb question.
naggs 11:27PM (1/09/2008)
mixim
haveing a battery pack is a no brainer for several reasons
first of all you cant do brake regen without someplace to store the power, a straight fuel cell to motor setup would loose that.
secondly, like with IC engines, fuel cells are most efficient when running at constant load. putting the battery between the motor and the power source isolates the power source from the peaks and valleys of energy demand.
having the cell charge batteries also allows you to have a much smaller output cell because the peak power demanded by the motor can be much higher than the power output of the fuel cell. for example, a 15 hp fuel cell will be all the volt would need even though the electric motor might have peak output 10 times that much. the high peak is not going to be sustained for very long so all the generator/fuel cell needs to do is keep up over the long term. an aerodynamic car only needs 15 hp to do 80 or more mph. and that will be the most that the generator will need to make to be able to keep up.
batteries will have a major roll in the any future powertrain
naggs 11:32PM (1/09/2008)
"There are a lot of other industries that put a lot of money in battery technology (think laptops) and would probably in a heartbeat if there was a feesable alternative."
the new batteries weigh more and are larger than the LIon batteries in laptops and other consumer electronics. size and weight are more important than the need for them to not explode when rear ended at 85 mph by a 2 ton truck. that is why the Dell and HPs of the world are not using the automotive grade batteries.
Mike 6:13PM (1/09/2008)
I hate when 'vaporware' actually takes shape, don't you toyota apologists?
Reply
zamafir 6:18PM (1/09/2008)
... takes shape... like the fuel cell sled? Hold on, I'm heading to my garage to switch from the sports car to the pick up shell to drive my fuel cell car. If anyone had the track record of high profile dropped promises (fuel cell sled, EV1, etc) GM has they'd get the same flack.
Mike 6:28PM (1/09/2008)
Like the EV1 that actually filled its promises? or the Hydrogen hummer and Equinox fleets in CA? Take off the blinders and be objective.
Mike 6:29PM (1/09/2008)
Or the Hybrid busses in fleet around the country, or....
zamafir 6:39PM (1/09/2008)
I am being objective, the point is, I'm unaware of ANY automaker recently who has provided a Sneak Peek at a production car to be released 3 years off based on technology that didn't exist. When we see the Audi R8 LeMans concept, and the R8 car comes out, the 4.2l EXISTED, wasn't contingent upon hoped advances in powertrain components.
I'm not sure how NEVER SELLING an EV1 qualifies in this argument, or any other exclusively leased car when discussing consume sales and most importantly, I dont understand why being skeptical of a car based on batteries which aren't available from a company who scrapped the EV1 qualifies as having my blinders on, the skepticism is NOT unreasonable at all.
Were GM coming at this project with a history of selling say the EV1 to consumers, well...we'd be at the EV 4 or 5 stage now, that's water under the bridge.
But when their current hybrids like the Saturn Aura Hybrid return identical mileage to my GLI, I'm bound to be curious of their innovations. This hasn't been done before, and hasn't been sold before, so to come from a company who has a track record of allowing others to set trends in alternative vehicles being SOLD to the public to positing a brand new consumer product to be SOLD based on technology still waiting to hit fruition, it's perfectly objective to be skeptical.
I'm skeptical of VW when they announce the Up! is going to be cheaper then $10,000 or all electric. Anyone making remarkable claims and at the same moment indicating they're based on technology which isn't in place for the consumer market is going to creat skeptisim, it's only reasonable.
naggs 6:51PM (1/09/2008)
are you serious? because the fuel cell sled concept is not for sale today you use that too prove the volt is vaporware?
if you had looked at the words that went with all the pretty pictures you would know that was a long term concept not intended to see production until next decade at the earliest.
you know what else is not for sale today? VWs design study for a single person 300 mpg 200 mph self driving pod! i mean they drew some pictures of it and its not currently for sale! next gen golf must be vaporware...
Mike 7:17PM (1/09/2008)
"I'm not sure how NEVER SELLING an EV1 qualifies in this argument, or any other exclusively leased car when discussing consume sales and most importantly, I dont understand why being skeptical of a car based on batteries which aren't available from a company who scrapped the EV1 qualifies as having my blinders on, the skepticism is NOT unreasonable at all."
The EV1 was never intended for sale, but was offered to the public, via lease, as promised. Just as there are rumors of the battery packs for the Volt being leased... Imagine having the ability to have leased your old 4-banger for your GLI, and after 60k miles returning the engine to upgrade/lease the latest DSI for another 4 years, then upgrading to... It is the Windows or Mac OS update model of technology progression finally realized in an automotive application. So the Gen I batteries did not meet your expectations, Gen II will, etc. Show me ANY other automaker doing this.
Bottom line, you can throw your 'skeptecism' at any automaker, Toy for the EV Rav4's, GM for EV1... but the point remains that for hybrid tech and application, nobody comes close to GM. Toy has the marketing aspect down, but between busses, EV1, Ethanol (however questionable), deisel or bio, and hydrogen fleets currently in use, nobody comes close to GM's overall, long-term efforts to reduce consumption or, at minimum, seek alternatives. Toy, despite marketing, remains number two.
tankd0g 7:54PM (1/09/2008)
You can have GMs miracle A123 systems battery pack today, in your Prius, for just $10,000. http://www.hymotion.com/products.htm
psarhjinian 12:49AM (1/10/2008)
Taking what shape? This car is three years from public availability and not even GM's own CEO is entirely willing to commit to that date. It doesn't even have a powertrain.
This car is still vapour--a complete and total marketing fiction.
At best this is a body shell over a standard-issue Cobalt for aerodynamic testing; at worst it's a balsawood-and-hope job to keep people from forgetting that GM is just barely getting green now.
J.Crew 2:02AM (1/10/2008)
Dear tankpup, please note that Toyota had nothing to do with that battery or its design that you would have to pay an additonal $10,000 dollars on top of buying the Prius to get he desired results. Wow, looks like Toyota got its ass handed to it by an american company that is now partnering with GM to make an actual production vehicle to do the same thing! Good job GM!