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]

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]

By now, we've all seen plenty of images of the production 2011 Chevrolet Volt. Up until this point, though, all of the shots that General Motors have let out have been of the car in a happy shade of silver. Not any more, as our friend John McElroy from Autoline Daily managed to score the world's first shots of what he says is the final production design of the Volt in stealthy black paint. The shady motif is broken up somewhat by a chrome accent that runs down each side of the car and flips back near the side-view mirrors and the large faux grille, which still bears a patterned appearance that mimics the look of a standard opening.

McElroy also got the chance to spend some time behind the wheel of GM's latest Cruze-based Volt mule, and he plans to add his initial thoughts to his Journal later today. Hit the jump to watch the video after the break.



[Source: Autoline Daily]

General Motors is in the middle of a massive restructuring, and if it manages to escape catastrophe without going belly-up, good news could be in store for the Chevy brand. GM CEO Fritz Henderson told AutoWeek that the bowtie will emerge as the big winner in two years, with great quality and plenty of new product. The 2011 model year will (assuming there are no changes to the product calendar -- something that's hardly guaranteed) bring a variety of fuel-efficient vehicles to the Chevy brand with the arrival of the Cruze, Spark, Volt, and Orlando.

The Volt, with its purported extended-range electric capability, will get the limelight. But the Cruze, Spark, and Orlando are likely to be more impactful, since they're designed to be high-volume sellers with very competitive fuel economy figures. The new cars, combined with the drop-dead gorgeous Camaro (29 mpg hwy), the new Equinox (32 mpg hwy), and the Malibu, give Chevrolet a a significantly transformed, far more efficient product lineup.

With four new Chevys set to hit production in the next 19 months, the future of the brand looks bright... as long as GM can survive the tumultuous present.

[Source: AutoWeek]

We're up to a buck and a quarter, and Episode #125 of the Autoblog Podcast is nearly a half-hour of value. Chris, Sam, and Dan jump in and cover a slew of recent topics. To start, Sam recounts his recent drive in a Cruze-based Volt mule. We turn our attention to Ford's stupid mileage tricks with a Fusion Hybrid before moving on to the honoring of Aston Martin's One77 at the Villa D'Este Concorso D'Eleganza. Of course, a big ol' whack of time is taken up by talk about industry happenings, both at GM and Chrysler, before we wrap up by answering some excellent questions from listeners. Hang in there for the full show, and as always, drop us a line at podcast at autoblog dot com, and don't forget our Twitter feed

Follow the jump to subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, add the show to your RSS aggregator... or listen to it right now!

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.]

General Motors released an updated business plan to Congress on Wednesday, and one of the main points of interest surrounds the automaker's request of an additional $2.6 billion for the production of the Chevrolet Volt and two additional variants based on the same Voltec powertrain architecture.

The report doesn't spell out what the two new Volt-like models would be, but there's speculation a production model based on the Cadillac Converj concept (possibly as a 4-door sedan) might be in the works. Offering the Volt's high-tech and expensive powertrain at a Caddy-level price point makes plenty of sense as it would allow GM to subsidize the cost of its development and lower the price of production.

These funds would reportedly come from the Department of Energy's $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program and is separate from – and in addition to – the ongoing negotiations for bailout funds between General Motors, Chrysler and the U.S. government. The total amount GM has requested under the D.O.E. program now stands at $10.3 billion.



[Source: Reuters]