Speaking with Automotive News Europe, an inside source said “rumors that a production version of the Volt will show up at the celebrations are true.” GM’s product czar Bob Lutz also revealed back at the London Motor Show in July that the Volt would be unveiled this fall, but not at October’s Paris Motor Show.
Last month GM released the first official teasers for the production Volt, revealing a much smoother and more aerodynamic shape than the original concept car. The car’s design director Bob Boniface also revealed more details about its aerodynamic modifications in the video below.
According to Boniface some of the key changes from the concept include a rounded and flush front fascia, tapered corners and closed grille, all of which are designed with an eye to moving the air around the car more efficiently while maintaining the ‘look’ of the Volt.
Bob Lutz, meanwhile, previously revealed that test fleets for the production Volt would start running as early as next year and that the first customer cars could start rolling of assembly lines earlier than the proposed November 2010 release date. In the meantime, click here to see shots of the car on the set of the Transformers 2 movie.
Reader Comments
Thu Aug 14 2008 2:24 PM
Michael D. says
I posted this on two other blogs/sites (www.carspyshots.net & wwwautoblog.com), and I figured that I'd post it here, too:
I just saw these, and I also saw the video on line. That grille - is this the production grille or is it just a mock-up fill for now; it appears solid with a pattern, but with a slit opening around the whole peripheral. I know that it's a series hybrid where a small gasoline engine will charge the batteries and not drive the wheels, not unlike the more upmarket and exclusive Fisker Karma. Also, similarly, a basic set-up to a Electro-Diesel railroad locomotive.
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Thu Aug 14 2008 2:53 PM
Laz says
If the Engineers can shave off some cost it would be awesome!
Thu Aug 14 2008 3:41 PM
Gus says
Agreed.
Anything more than about $30k for a well optioned car is silly.
Thu Aug 14 2008 5:40 PM
Chris says
This thing is going to be awesome. I'm convinced. for the first couple years, sell the thing at 40k. hell, ask 50k for it and you still might sell out.
Thu Aug 14 2008 6:03 PM
Axial6 says
I shall hope that GM can actually pull this off, if for no other reason, then to spit in the oil companies collective faces. I will gladly sell my 2006 Range Rover and buy this in a heartbeat!
Thu Aug 14 2008 11:59 PM
james says
awesome LEDs. i'd love to see that on the production version. i know that's not at all the point of this car but i had to make that observation...
Tue Aug 19 2008 7:34 AM
Oliver says
If it is 40k in oz it will still sell well prious starts at 37k and it sells well
Mon Aug 25 2008 4:42 AM
Brett says
GM has been sandbagging for some time. They live in the pockets of oil men. They are managed by paid for dinosaurs. This following link by angry people who know.
http://www.ev1.org/msg/29.htm
Thu Sep 4 2008 10:53 PM
www.mywheelsonwalls.com says
Brett- You need to understand something about economics and GM. They was more money to be made by pumping out SUV's to the masses at that time than EV1's that were only wanted my a select few.
Obviously times have changed but who knew the automotive landscape would change in as little as six months. Right now the industry is changing at a rapid rate that has never been seen before. The switch from horses to cars did not even happen this fast some 100 years ago.
I would say your anger is more based on ignorance so be patient and something similar to your precious little EV1 will be in your drive way sooner than any one at GM or any other manufacturer would have thought.
Fri Sep 5 2008 7:35 AM
Will says
The fact that the Detroit 3 are losing money hand over fist suggests that even if they are in the pockets of the larger American/British/Continental European Oil companies, they still had better revise their product line in order to survive.
In some ways, if GM fail with the Volt, due to limiting the technical capabilities of the car i.e range (for whatever reasons) then I do hope they crash and burn as a company. If the control of what the World uses to transport itself and, in particular, America, is taken out of he control of those with Oil interests, then we will certainly move away from the black gold in order to power our transport quicker than we all think.
As someone said with regard to the high oil price, "there is nothing like high prices to cure high prices." How true. It's only now with oil touching $147 that America has sat up and realised (I'm Scottish so this is how we spell "reaslied!") that their national security and economy is at risk by fluctuating oil prices. Moreover, with battery technology existing for so many years and being used in practical automobile applications, you have to wonder why we haven't moved toward it sooner. Even if you forget Americans desire to drive SUV's, many other parts of the World would have elected to drive electric cars.
Regardless of why we aren't there yet; we are headed there, whether GM & co like it or not. The awareness of Global Warming, even amongst a sedate American public, combined with the $147 oil price, a desire to stop sending millions of dollars to the Middle East and the Japanese Car Makers desire to lead the automotive world means almost certainly we will be driving electric cars by the 2015 in large numbers.
Whether GM, even though I personally quite like the Volt, manages to release a range of cars that competes is another matter. If they don't, they only have their own greed to blame. Sadly, it will be the blue collar worker that relies upon the company for employment that will suffer, not those execs that made the blunders.
Fri Sep 5 2008 12:58 PM
Gus says
My take on the Volt is this; I hope it works well and succeeds. It is certainly a step forward, a car that can go 40ish miles without using it's gas tank is a big deal. No other company seems to have been able to manage that for some reason (why Toyota didn't do this with the Prius from the beginning, I don't know).
Being an American who owns a Ford Expedition and a Mustang GT, I cna tell you I keep an eye on gas prices. Though we don't drive to commute, and only really use gas on weekends, towing the boat around, going on drives, it adds up.
Personally, I would love to see cars all electric, but I won't have a single car that takes all night to charge, or which can't be recharged in about the same time as a normal car today.
The reality is, 99% of people out there feel the same way. Unless you can improve upon current convenience, and unless there is an overwhelming pressure (which it looks like there isn't, with oil falling again) there won't be an overwhelming rush to buy something different. The fact is, gasoline is a great, easy, quick way to store massive amounts of energy.
I'm excited for the day when I hear someone has come up with a battery that can accept a full charge in just a few minutes. THAT will change the WHOLE game, and it WILL happen someday soon...
Fri Sep 5 2008 1:40 PM
Laz says
I think Will is right. This is GM's most important car in the line-up which will anchor their MPG average to meet CAFE standards in the near future! Thiis could be a big winner with folks here in the US who choose not to drive a Japanese hybrid. With the current money problems a bust would mean that GM would have to sell off a couple brands to survive.
Fri Sep 5 2008 1:48 PM
www.mywheelsonwalls.com says
Will- You may want to use the following website http://www.bloomberg.com/energy/ As of this morning crude futures were at $105 (American) a barrel.
So with MacCain promising to drill off shore, no longer giving some 700 billion in aide to counties that dont like the U.S. and generally cutting the fat. The American SUV may not be completely dead just reduced in numbers.
As for global warming cars are not the main contributor. Ships are #1 followed by air craft and then trains. Its not that Americans do not care its that they are not lemmings when it comes to listening to politicians. Other major polluters out there are cattle (methane is #1 green house gas). Further compounding cattle is that we then spay thier waste on crops so as it decomposes it releases even more methane into the air. Buildings for instance contribute some 12% of the worlds CO2.
What I'm getting at is that countries will need to become more dependent on themselves. Use thier own natural resourses, their own engineering skills to survive, or isolationism as it is more commonly called. That way you would need less ships, less aeroplanes, less cattle (since you'll be only feeding your own people).
Once this master plan is in place It would be interesting see what America gets blamed for next.
P.S. My tongue is firmly pressed against my cheek.
Fri Sep 5 2008 1:53 PM
Gus says
You're forgetting the most important statistic of all: That humans are only responsible for just under 3% of total global-warming gas emmisions on the entire planet. The rest is caused by natural sources such as volcanoes.
Maybe if we tried plugging a few of them with Al Gore and his cronies... :)
Fri Sep 5 2008 1:54 PM
Gus says
That said, I'm sure if even one more volcano blows, it'll be considered America's fault (too many heavy SUV's causing too much pressure on the tectonic plates)... :)
Mon Sep 8 2008 2:14 PM
Will says
Hey, I'm not bashing Americans. Unlike most Europeans, who forget that without America's muscle we would all be speaking Gernan, I like you goofy American barstewards!!!. I think most Scots do. Not so sure about the English though. They tend to have an arrogance about them, which America's power tends to undermine. As a Scot you learn to pretend that you are heavily influenced by a larger nation, but ulitmately know that you run the show i.e PM Gordon Brown (Scot). At times you can be a little amusing with the "We're the greatest nation on Earth. God Save America" malarky. What even constitutes a "great nation?" We all have idiots, we all have heroes, we all sadly have self-serving politicians that pander to big business.
I like the Volt. I hope it succeeds. I suppose my ulitmate hope is that we ALL stop sending millions of dollars, pounds or Euros to the Middle East, as we have a viable alternative to the combustion engine. I await it's launch with baited breath. Oh, a little shout out to Mr. Andy Murray. Here's hoping he puts one over the "cheese eating surrender monkey" Mr Federer.
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