We don't have to tell you how important the Chevrolet Volt is to General Motors. Even if the model isn't likely to turn a profit for many years, the plug-in electric car's success or failure is likely to be seen as a crucial indicator of GM's post-bankruptcy prospects in the eyes of many. This being the case, it's not surprising that automaker is practically throwing everything it's got at the project. According to Chief Engineer Andrew Farah, the Volt team is currently working on getting the sound and feel of the driving experience just right. Speaking to Automotive News, Farah said:

The engine, not being directly connected to the foot, is one of the things we continue to tune. We don't want it to be discomforting to people. There is an expectation of what happens when you put your accelerator to the floor in the way the car sounds and feels. We've got the feel. We've got the feel of a sports car. The sound part and the way the engine plays into that perception is one of the areas we have to work on.

Clearly, creating a plug-in car with mass-market appeal isn't as simple as bolting an electric motor and a bunch of batteries into an existing chassis. People have come to expect certain things to happen as an automobile is driven, and GM needs to find the right compromise between zero-emissions technology and time-honored driving dynamics. Further complicating the issue is the tremendous weight of the car's T-shaped battery pack. Farah explains:

Here's the thing to remember: When you put the battery in, it actually lowers the center of gravity of the car. There are a thousand reasons why heavy is bad, but a few why it is good. And so we are getting those advantages of the good heavy, and the disadvantages we are managing.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Now that the Chevrolet Volt has progressed to the point where vehicles with near-production bodywork are running around, the time has come for the crew to begin ironing out details like the ride height and spring rates that will directly influence the plug-in hybrid's handling.

Regarding these points, chief engineer Andrew Farah has some interesting things to say about the Volt and the way GM will position it against its competitors. For instance, Farah notes (in reference to the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight), "Our chassis is much more sporty than either of the other vehicles."

Farah also comments on a couple of changes to the car's exterior design that eagle-eyed parties had noticed, such as the relocation of the plug from the front fender to under a flap in the traditional location for a gas cap. Other changes, such as the headlamps and taillights, may merely be present because the Volt is still early in its development cycle and there are some pre-production bits that aren't yet necessary for testing purposes.

Spy photographers take note: Farah also says the car is set to undergo some hot-weather endurance testing out west this summer.



[Source: Inside Line]

The technicians and engineers at General Motors' Pre-Production operations center at the Warren, MI Tech Center have been hard at work for the last several weeks finishing up the first of about 75 integration prototypes of the Chevy Volt. They worked so hard, in fact, that the first car was completed a week ahead of schedule. These are the first actual running prototypes and include pretty much all of the production-intent hardware in a production body shell. As is typical of these integration prototypes, items like the light clusters aren't quite done yet. The intended bulbs are included in a flat black plastic cluster with the proper arrangement but the covers and internal sculpting are missing.

Chief engineer Andrew Farah took IVER #1 (that's Integration Vehicle Engineering Release #1) out for a brief drive after it was completed and checked out and, according to the video after the jump, everything worked smoothly. While the car looks pretty much like the Volt that was unveiled last September, if you look carefully you will notice one difference. From the original concept to the styling buck we have seen for the last nine months, the charge port was always hidden under the trim piece just ahead of the driver's side mirror. There is now a flap looking much like a gas cover just below that on the fender. The charge port sits behind that flap. According to Volt spokesman David Darovitz, this is the production intent configuration. Dave, we're ready for our test drive anytime, you have our number. Check out the video with Andrew Farah after the jump.



[Source: General Motors]

Last night, General Motors' outgoing Car Czar, Bob Lutz, went to New York City to rebut the thrashing David Letterman gave the Chevy Volt a few weeks ago during an interview. That comedian's criticism came during the an "interview" with Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk (details here). The more forceful Lutz certainly didn't allow Letterman to control the discussion the way he did when dominating Musk. Lutz actually expressed himself well, even praising Tesla's accomplishments along the way. In the process of doing that, however, he explained that a big reason the Tesla Roadster costs over $100,000 is its battery pack with 6,831 laptop cells.

Observers were probably far less satisfied with Lutz's defense of the end of the EV1 program and his argument that the "batteries were not ready" and the company "couldn't sell" the EV1. He should have just said that the batteries were not ready for a mainstream vehicle and the car couldn't be sold profitably at a price people would actually pay.

When it came to the Volt, Lutz did a much better job of explaining the differences in the way it works compared to current parallel hybrid vehicles that drivers are used to. Ultimately, Letterman asked if he could get the first production Volt before reprising his electrocution schtick from the Musk episode. Follow the jump to watch the interview for yourself.

[Source: Youtube]

Two weeks after late night comedian David Letterman lashed out at the Chevy Volt's 40-mile EV range during an interview with Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, General Motors is counter-attacking with former Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. Next Wednesday night, Lutz will appear on Letterman's Late Show with the Volt show car. Lutz is generally pretty good at holding his own in interviews, but it will be very interesting to see how he rebukes Letterman on his own turf. The latter generally keeps a pretty tight rein and controls the action, just as he did with Musk. If Lutz is smart, he'll emphasize that he brought the show car instead of one of the Cruze-based mules because those are being intensively tested back in Michigan getting ready for a production launch next year. The Tesla Model S that Musk brought with him is also little more than a show car at this point, and most development has been suspended until Tesla raises more money.

Clarification: When I say most Model S development is on hold, I mean most, not all. When I spoke with CEO Elon Musk in January he acknowledged that spending on Model S had been cut from 30 percent of Tesla's resources to only 10 percent. Before leaving the company, last former SVP Darryl Siry told us that essentially all work other powertrain development had come to halt. Some work is ongoing since they did finish the show car, but the bulk of it depends on raising cash. Meanwhile GM tells us that the Volt program is essentially the only one at the company that has not seen any significant cuts.

[Source: General Motors, Source Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty]

It's been 28 months since we watched Bob Lutz drive onto the stage at Cobo Hall in Detroit and step out of the Chevrolet Volt concept. In the intervening period, a corporate drama of epic proportions has transpired as Lutz has gone into semi-retirement, Rick Wagoner has been ousted as CEO and the U.S. government and the UAW are about to take a 90% ownership stake in General Motors.

In the midst of this corporate chaos, a dedicated group of hundreds of engineers, scientists, designers, technicians and drivers have tried to keep their heads down and out of the line of fire as they worked to make the Volt a production reality. From the time we first saw the original concept, GM has selected a battery supplier (LG Chem), defined the final powertrain configuration and released the production design, among countless other tasks. After more than a year of pestering GM, the call finally came to get behind the wheel of a Volt prototype. Read the results after the jump.



Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Anyone with a cell phone, laptop or just about any other electronic device knows that battery chargers seldom work among different models – even when they are from the same brand.The SAE J1772™ Task Force is working to ensure that a similar scenario doesn't play out for electric cars.

The Society of Automotive Engineers and General Motors are trying to gain a consensus on a standard-sized plug for electric vehicles. The ubiquitous plug would enable a common plug for all OEMs to use for the future electric infrastructure. The standard plug would make an expansive infrastructure easier to tackle while saving EV owners the headache of worrying about different kinds of expensive adapters.

Beyond a standard plug, SAE J1772 is working to define physical, electrical and performance requirements so they can be manufactured for public use. The SAE will also find answers for basic questions about battery electrochemistry, size and life cycle.

GM's role in the standardization process has a lot to do with the Chevrolet Volt and future Volt variants. Since GM will likely have the first mass-market vehicle with electric-only propulsion, a plug standard ought to save The General time and money.

[Source: GM Fast Lane]

We've heard it a million times: What's good for General Motors is good for America. Well, if low gas prices are good for America (and that is a debatable point), then Charles Wilson's saying does not work the other way around. According to USA Today, the U.S. Energy Information Administration is predicting that gasoline prices will hover around $2.23-$2.42 between now and the end of 2010, with a summer high of just $2.30 this year.

Why does GM care about this? Because they need higher prices to make their forthcoming Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in more appealing. GM has already admitted that the Volt's price tag will be connected to the price of gas when the plug-in car goes on sale at the end of 2010. Before he was booted, then-CEO Rick Wagoner said that $4 gallons were not the worst idea.

Why does the EIA think that $3 gasoline isn't on the horizon any time soon? Because of low demand and low global crude prices. The weak economy and surplus oil production capacity don't help one bit, either. Diesel fans could feel like winners, though: the EIA thinks that diesel prices might soon drop below gasoline for the first time in two years.

What do you think the average price of gasoline will be this summer? Click on the jump and place your best guess in our poll!



[Source: USA Today | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]

General Motors has begun doling out test drives of its Chevrolet Volt prototypes to the salivating media. AutoblogGreen is scheduled for some time behind the wheel in short order, but some bigger names have already written up their first impressions of the car. CNN's short version: Promising, but not perfect.

Unlike the Mali-Volts of the recent past, CNN was able to test out the Volt technology as it fits inside the bodywork of a Chevy Cruze. The vehicle looks nearly identical to the Cruze that will go on sale in the U.S. soon, but the powertrain is reportedly 80 percent Voltec. Reporters haven't yet gotten the true Volt driving experience, though, since, as CNN's Peter Valdes-Dapena reports, the Cruze vehicles operate in EV-only mode because "GM engineers are still tweaking the car's performance under gasoline power." Considering that EV-only mode is how most Volt drivers will experience the car most days, this is a fair initial test, with Valdes-Dapena calling the acceleration "particularly muscular." One big question that needs to be answered is how GM will deal with the weight of the Voltec system. Valdes-Dapena writes:

The first time I drove the front wheel drive test vehicle into a turn, the weight came as a surprise. It felt almost like the small Cruze had turned into something more like a Cadillac the moment I turned the steering wheel.

That's going to take some getting used to, or perhaps some additional tuning.

Valdes-Dapena wasn't the only reporter to test out the Cruze Volt mule. Detroit radio staple Jeff Gilbert was there for WWJ and he put up a video on Facebook. GM made their own video of the media drives, and you can see that and the CNN show after the jump.



[Source: CNN, WWJ, General Motors]

Aside from the bridge loans supplied to GM by the federal government, GM had applied for $10.3 billion from the Energy Department. Of that amount, $2.6 billion was meant to be devoted to building the Chevy Volt and two derivatives of it, as well as a third hybrid model. May is when the Energy Department will begin approving those loan requests.

But because the company itself hasn't passed the financial viability test in order to simply survive, the administration has put GM's $10.3 billion request on hold. The government deadline for GM to prove financial viability is June 1, and since it will probably take all of that time, GM can't look for any other cash assistance to continue product development until that matter is resolved.

GM says that the government decision won't stop the Volt from going on sale in November 2010. Outside analysts suspect that GM plans to pay for the Volt with money from other programs.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]