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Lutz
describes Chevy Volt development process
Monday,
February 12, 2007
Bob
Lutz exits the Volt at NAIAS
In 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.
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.
posted
by Dahcredyns at
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