GM Volt Milestone: First Prototype Running on Lithium Ion Battery
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 04.25.08
Look Out Eco-Extremists, the General Motors Chevy Volt is On the Road
The ever Volt-vigilant and perennially in-the-GM-loop Lyle Dennis over at GM-Volt.com tells us the Detroit News is reporting that the first Chevy Volt prototype with an actual full-sized lithium ion battery is up and running. Dennis sees this as a "critical turning point" in the car's development as he deems this particular iteration to be the "Proof of Concept" for GM's would-be game-changer.
The news came by way of an interview with GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz. Lutz verified for the first time publicly that a Chevy Volt prototype mule cum lithium ion battery is testing using a late model Malibu shell that has nothing to do with the final design of the car. Said Lutz:
The only things that were wrong with the EV1 (GM's first electric car) was that it was way too expensive to make; it was only a two-passenger; and the battery technology was not ready. It was a noble effort, but it was a technological force job and at a time when nobody cared. We could not find more than 800 buyers for that thing no matter how hard we tried or no matter how much we dropped the price. Finally we had to lease them out.
Interestingly, the Detroit News author Manny Lopez enigmatically reports of his chat with Lutz:
We talked about the eco-extremists (my word, not his) and how out of touch they are with the reality of building a car today, especially the Volt.
By eco-extremists, we would bet that Lopez is referring to the many folks who have questioned the Volt's targeted battery range of only 40 miles and expect that a former automotive titan such as General Motors can do better than that on their come-back-kid play. Not to mention those who think an entirely electric vehicle might really be the product to place GM back on the world stage.
However, from the look of things, it seems the Vehicle Line Exec Frank Weber is following through on his promise made at March's New York Auto Show that the live battery technology would be rolling out "in a matter of weeks." For that, WATCH>> FULL BLOOM 001: Chevy Volt Nation Video which is the only video of this New York Auto Show event covered in its entirety. [50 minutes]
For exclusive pictures of Lutz's photos mentioned in the Detroit News article WATCH>> GREEN DEETS 015: Bob Lutz Reveals Chevy Volt First Continental Battery Pack at New York Auto Show [2 minutes]
And WATCH>> General Motors Chevy Volt Exterior Design and Appearance Under Wraps, Find Out When You’ll See It All [30 seconds]
via: GM-Volt.com | Detroit News | Susty.tv
seems like someone did not watch "Who Killed the Electric Car?"
There was huge, HUGE demand for the EV1.
It would seem that GM must be full of morons who couldn't design their way out of a wet paper bag. Maybe they should just offer their factories and infrastructure to the real innovators of the industry like Aptera who can give a car 120miles of range and up to 300mpg. That my friends is a far far cry from 40miles and who knows the mileage.
Very good news! I also think, that the vice-boss of GM Lutz should be much more careful in talking about people's expectations about electric cars. The customer is a buyer of his products. If he can't deliver he fails. And GM is not a pearl financially in last years, so one should have expected, that they are going to deliver a wonderful product, finally.
Competition is researching this topic for very many years and some of their products have already got a substantial market share.
This is the first prototype? Now? They have a long way to go. That and the rumored $40,000 price tag are just making me sad. I see more layoffs in GM's future.
Toyota's world market share has recently surpassed GM's.
Who laffing now big General Mota?
vsk
It would be nice if more of those making smug yet ignorant comments actually had some understanding of physics. Not to mention economics.
Jeff, you are a Volt....I mean Dolt.
Over 80% of all drivers in the US do less than 40 miles per day, hence 40 EV range being the magic number.
Aptera? Puhlease. Its a 3-wheeled clown car. Not that I have anything against them, or any of the small BEV companies, but giving GM attitude on the Volt is so utterly retarded. A big offering like the Volt will finally win over the general public to the prospect of driving solely on electricity most of the time. Oh, then guess what, those little BEV companies will suddenly see an uptick in sales too.
Get it now? Silly man.
I'll believe they can provide a "quality" production plugin hybrid when they have been on the road for more than three years and are not being sold off en masse because of quality or performance issues.
They have decided to sell badly designed and cheaply made vehicles as their business model. They have been dragged, kicking and screaming into the hybrid market. They have taken every opportunity to attack the very demographic that they claim to be marketing to with this Volt.
Oh yeah, I believe the Volt is going to be a smashing success....not.
Couldn't find buyers? What a bunch of f'in liars. They didn't sell them, they only leased those cars, and despite the pleads of the owners to keep the cars, they took them and squished them all.
At least they're 'trying' now.
If It was available, I would've purchased a EV1 in a second, then constructed a 'pusher' gas powered trailer for long road trips, something with trunk space.
A "pusher" gas powered trailer for long trips would be unstable and unsafe. works for locomotives, not highway vehicles. pesky physics again...
"There was huge, HUGE demand for the EV1."
At the massive loss lease rate there was huge demand. At an actual cost of the vehicle basis there would have been ZERO demand.
Anyone who bothers to look at the amount of money poured into the EV1 realizes it wasn't a financially viable project. In business, the bottom line is, well the bottom line.
Why the pic of the Impala? That doesn't look like the Volt?
::AUTHOR RESPONSE::
As the post states, the lithium ion battery is testing using a late model Malibu shell that has nothing to do with the final design of the car. Thanks!
geo
40 mile EV range is more than enough for most - especially considering it does have a gas engine for long trips. Nearly everyone's work communite is
Will I buy one? Probably not. I have an 07 Civic Hybrid that does just fine for me. But when it finally keels over ( should be many, many years ), hopefully the Volt's offspring will be attractive.
So GM has another public announcement bragging about their progress. They've never SOLD an electric vehicle, only rented (leased) them out. Then they took them back. Finally, they sold the battery technology that allowed for commendable range to an oil company.
They speak of lack of demand, but the car wasn't mass produced, and it wasn't offered except in a narrow market and then only as a lease. Mass produced and widely distributed, the price could've been lower and the profit higher. GM tossed aside the opportunity for being a world leading automobile company and exported their manufacturing and wonder why sales are declining.
The reality is most small EV companies will never be able to sell a high-volume of their cars, because unlike numerous other items, where people see no difference between a no-name TV and a name-brand one, the name MATTERS to many people who buy cars. And not because their looking to impress anyone, necessarily, but because people don't want to be stuck with a lemon.
When you buy a car from GM, or Ford, or Toyota, or even one of the smaller import brands, you know that the company is not going to go belly-up tomorrow, no matter how bad their quarterly sales are. They have dealerships, numerous independent repair shops that service them, and a fairly long warrant. Companies like Aptera cannot provide that. Living in the southeast, I don't want to have to ship my car off somewhere just to have it repaired.