Lutz describes Chevy Volt hybrid development
Bob Lutz exits the Volt at NAIASIn clean and green circles there have been serious questions about whether the Chevy Volt hybrid is a real idea or just a publicity stunt. Quite frankly, clean and green consumers neither like nor trust GM. For this customer segment GM is best known for gas hogs and for killing the electric vehicle.
Yet, has GM turned a leaf with its Volt concept?
According to Bob Lutz, we'll know within 3 years. More important, GM is going to be "transparent" with the Volt development process, letting the media and consumers know about both important progress and important setbacks of the Volt's development.
Lutz recently stated that since there are is "not mystic technology involved" in the Volt concept, the production of the Volt is now "basically a development effort". As a result the Volt could, and probably will, adapt and evolve from the show car presented at NAIAS and other auto shows.
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Labels: bob lutz, Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, GM
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:59 AM
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(Rest of Story)
For example, the GE plastic composites used in the show car Volt might not make it into the production vehicle. This could make the car heavier, while significantly affecting the aerodynamics and design lines of this hybrid concept. Additionally, the length of the wheel base is almost certainly going to be reduced. As a result the real Chevy Volt - if it is ever produced - could be quite different than the Chevy Volt show car.
Still, that's not surprising and it is a normal part of the concept process. Nonetheless, it seems to indicate that the Volt must have been designed, somewhat last minute. Perhaps GM was reacting to high gas prices, growing concerns over foreign energy dependence and the threat of global warming? I'm also sure that Toyota's hybrid success coupled with the negative press GM received from Who Killed the Electric Car also helped push GM towards the Volt.
Thus, heading into NAIAS, GM knew it needed some serious mojo. GM knew it needed a concept that could change the way people would perceive GM, and synchronizing hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicle technologies into one concept was the perfect P.R. mojo machine.
Now that NAIAS is long over, however, is the Volt still more hype machine than actual production vehicle?
Right now, according to GM, the Volt concept vehicle is being developed by a dedicated team working on this hybrid. Moreover, there is a dedicated battery expert working with battery suppliers to hammer out the final chemistry of new lithium-ion batteries, as well as the production capabilities of those batteries. Furthermore, the production Volt will probably be built on the Saturn Astra/Chevy Cobalt/Opel Astra new global architecture.
Early in year one of a three year process, these are excellent first steps.
Finally, we know that GM has promised to keep us informed of the Volt's development process.
Sure, this path also provides GM the ability to continue to garner some very positive press during the next three years, without ever producing a Volt. Of course, while this path could probably be a pretty good PR effort for GM, even if GM's Volt efforts fail, I continue to believe - perhaps naively - that GM is serious about the Volt. Inevitably, I believe that because of Toyota's hybrid success, GM really has no choice. Besides, the more attention the Volt creates, the more pressure it puts on GM to succeed.
In three years from now, if GM can't make the Volt a reality, maybe the future just doesn't need an old, stuck-in-the-box thinking GM. For GM its produce Volt and thrive, or fail to produce Volt and perish.
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