Chevy
Volt is GM's Number One Priority
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Still
planned for November 2010
Frank Weber, Global Vehicle Line Executive of the Chevy
Volt, told a group of reporters today that the Volt
was now GM's "number one priority", and that
"several hundred engineers are now feverishly working
on this project."
To prove the point, reporters were shown the Chevy Volt
that has been road tested for the last 6 months with NiMH
batteries, as the first lithium-ion battery packs
underwent lab testing. By the end of April, however, the
same road-tested Volt will be fitted with lithium-ion
batteries, and by June there will be about a dozen
lithium-powered Volts undergoing every type of testing
imaginable.
To illustrate GM's seriousness, reporters were treated to
GM's 3D Global Visualization Center and its role in Volt
engineering, actual lithium battery tests, wind tunnel
tests, and even a few glimpses of the absolute latest Volt
design updates - both interior and exterior. And, yes, the
Volt has changed. The proportions of the vehicle have been
altered rather dramatically to improve aerodynamics - the
Volt is no longer so Camaro-looking.
GM still has a lot of testing and a lot of engineering to
finish before the Volt hits the road, but as Frank Weber
stated numerous times today, the Volt is not a
"theory" or even a "concept". It is
real and GM is prepared to do "whatever it
takes" to put the Volt on the road in November 2010.
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