Lutz defends Volt design (THE MAKING OF THE CHEVY VOLT)

[DainBramaged]

General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz on Tuesday wrote a lengthy defense of the newly unveiled Chevrolet Volt on his GM fastlane blog.

Here is a copy of the posting:

We've weathered a lot of skepticism since the Chevrolet Volt concept was introduced at the 2007 Detroit show. The Volt has been called "vaporware" by some members of the media. We've heard executives from other manufacturers tell the press that the battery technology won't work. We've even been accused of using the Volt to "greenwash" our image.

Well, as everyone knows now, the Volt is real, and the covers have come off. And it represents nothing less than the first step in the reinvention of the automobile.

The vehicle's design has come under some criticism, most of it, to me, unwarranted. The challenge to the designers wasn't to design the most beautiful car imaginable and accept the compromises you have to make to do so. It was, make no compromise to fuel efficiency and electric range, and then do the most beautiful design possible, around those aerodynamic dictates.

When you look at the exterior of the Volt, you might notice certain aerodynamic shapes and design elements of some other cars you might see on the road. But beneath the skin, it shares very little with any other car that's ever existed. So I submit that while it's typically design that makes an emotional connection with buyers, in this case, the Volt is going to be bought for emotional reasons, but it will be for the emotion tied to the technology contained therein.

The Volt means a lot to General Motors, and to the industry, on a variety of levels. First of all, this is solid technology that is going to be proven reliable. It's a practical way that we can electrify the automobile and drastically reduce our dependency on imported petroleum. It's also important to GM to help reinforce and continue its proud history of technological innovation, and to help restore the image of leadership that accompanied that history.

In terms of the impact of Volt on the automobile industry, I think you'll see lithium-ion technology filter out to the rest of the industry, even to our competitors who initially said it wouldn't work. I think they've figured out that we may well be onto a winning formula here, with 40 miles of driving powered by electricity from a battery and a small engine -- powered by gasoline or E85 -- to create additional electricity to power the vehicle for several hundred additional miles. I suspect most of our competitors will have vehicles with technology similar to the Volt within four or five years.

What does that mean for society at large? I think it can have an enormous benefit. Our statistics show that 78 percent of Americans drive 40 miles a day or less. That means that nearly 80 percent of Americans can commute powered by electricity from the grid, never using a drop of gas.

When we achieve substantial production, and if our competitors do as well, and the public takes to this new way of driving -- and there's no doubt in my mind they will -- we will drastically reduce gasoline and/or diesel consumption and we will simultaneously be drastically reducing our dependency on oil. This puts the country in a much more comfortable place geopolitically and also helps the environment. So at this point, I think it's very hard to overestimate the importance of the Volt for GM, for the industry and for society in general.

The production version of the Volt represents our progress, and our commitment to seeing that all become a reality in short order. We'd like nothing more than to see everyone drive a Volt and stop going to the gas pump so often to fill up on ever-more-expensive fuel imported from an ever-more-unstable part of the world.

With the Volt, you go home, you plug it in, and you're done. And for roughly 80 cents' worth of electricity, you've got a fully-charged battery, ready to take on another forty miles of gas-free and tailpipe-emission-free driving. If that's greenwashing, then come on in -- the water's fine.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20080917/ANA02/809179987/1144 (posted in total, subscription only)




On edit,

Lutz stated on The Colbert Report that a photovoltaic roof will be available for static recharging. THAT is nothing short of cool.

[Auggie]

1. I think it's a lot better looking than the Prius

Functionality and durability is something else. But all that aside, for once GM is leading the way instead of watching. For the sake of the company and country I hope the Volt is a big winner.

[DainBramaged]

3. I am looking forward to driving one (and a Camaro too)

[kristopher]

2. Even if they had to be dragged here by the scruff of the neck

I suppose the important point is that they are finally here. Every EV on the road is a step in the right direction.

Kudos to GM. I wish them great success.

[tinrobot]

4. That color is horrid.

Why they chose that light grey color for the first one is beyond me. It's boring and very unflattering. I spent 10 minutes in Photoshop and came up with a few different color schemes just to see.



I think it looks better in just about any color other than light grey. I like dark blue one, myself. I also think it looks better with a darker grille because it echoes the dark strip under the side windows.

[DainBramaged]

5. (sigh) of course the color is more important than the technology, what were we thinking?

:eyes:

[tinrobot]

7. Of course it is....

...for a lot of people - particularly those who aren't as interested in the technology as us geeks. Sadly, most people still buy cars because of how they look.

Besides, there will be a bunch of electric cars and plug-in hybrids going on the market at about the same time as the Volt. People will be presented a choice between a number of cars with similar technology. When presented with such a choice, the technology becomes less important and factors such as styling and color become more important. I think making the Volt as attractive as possible can only help GM sell more Volts.

Besides, I really really really hate that light grey color. ugh. :evilgrin:

[DainBramaged]

8. Of the 10 most popular colors this year, THAT is number four

so your taste doesn't reflect the tastes of America. Grey is the new black.

[tinrobot]

19. What are the top three colors?

I bet two of them are black and white.

[emmadoggy]

22. Probably, but

personally I will NEVER own any black vehicle - it shows every tiny flaw, scratch, smear, and speck of dust. Plus, it's boring. No thanks.

White isn't much better. Some of the new whites are much prettier. If I HAD to choose one over the other, it would have to be white, but I would prefer not to have either.

I much prefer metallic colors like the silver color shown on the Volt. I also like some of the light metallic greens and Mazda has this new chocolatey color for the CX line that is gorgeous.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I've noticed that men have much different opinions on what makes a good car color than women. Especially men who are really "into" cars. :-)

[Indenturedebtor]

37. Can't give a black car away in Arizona

White and silver are probably the most popular down here.

I think it's a nice looking car, and I'm glad to see that they are actually releasing this thing! Finally!

[Auggie]

13. You're retouching is impressive. But I prefer Grey -- looks more high-tech.

[TreasonousBastard]

28. Actually, light gray is a very popular color, not least because...

it shows dirt less than any other color. And, here where it snows you can hardly see the salt that builds up on cars.

Black is the worst, btw, and white is almost as bad.

[CRF450]

42. Black with a real glossy finish look awsome.

But its a pain in the ass to keep clean!! My Dakota is a metallic grey, though I usually didn't like grey on any vehicle, it looks great with the sun is out to show the metallic texture/glitter of the paint.

[meow mix]

6. but you can drive 40 MILES!!11!

with such an unlimited ranged i dont see why people arent dancing for joyness.

[DainBramaged]

9. Another genius

you can plug it in, it won't cost $100,000.......

Why am I bothering, you obviously aren't a customer for GM products anyway.

learning to walk comes before learning to run, or don't you get that either.

[meow mix]

12. ok im sorry i poo'd on the new electric car

i actually love it to tell the truth..

im just bit disappointed because i live remote in a massive rural state and everything is at least 150-500 miles apart over various steep mountain passes.

and i love driving small cars and really need the gas mileage. grrr

[Auggie]

14. It's not going to be for everybody. Hardly any vehicle is.

[meow mix]

15. yeah hehe thats a hard order to fill

i just miss the closest big town with that one, need 100 miles really! =)

[Greyskye]

16. Volt (total) range = 640 miles

Electric only range = 40 miles. However, there is a 12 US gallon fuel tank, that powers the on-board range extender which keeps the batteries charged. If you take that into account, the Volt has a range of 640 miles.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/01/07/detroit-auto-show-its-here-gms-plug-in-hybrid-is-the-chevy-v/

Sounds like the perfect car for you. :hi:

[Greyskye]

20. Correction: 360 miles.

The 640 mile range was what GM initially stated. I just found this:

The new goal is to give the Volt a range of 360 miles without any help from the initial charge, so that would imply a tank of maybe eight or so gallons - still plenty for most drivers most days in a PHEV like this.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/07/08/chevy-volts-gas-tank-gets-downsized/

Even with a 300 mile drop in range, it is a reasonable range. Works for me, anyway.

[DainBramaged]

21. They haven't made the smaller tank firm yet, the 12 gallon is still 1st choice

and if and when a diesel replace the gas generator, look out.

[Howzit]

24. That is only 30 MPG running on gasoline only

I guess you use the gasoline as a back-up and try not to use it. The question is, is the tank 8 or 12 gallons? 30 MPG is based on 12 gallons. It would be 45 MPG for 8 gallons.

[kristopher]

25. It could be as high as 90mpg overall.

If we just look at the gas used,
If we figure 40 miles round trip to work for 250 work-days per year,
If we use 15,000 miles per year overall.

The electric powered miles would be 10,000, leaving 5,000 powered by gasoline (I'm ignoring weekend miles that might be electric)

5000 @ 30mpg = 166 gallons

15,000 on 166 gallons of fuel = 90 mpg.

Of course that isn't the full fuel costs, but that is how the EPA mileage will probably be calculated.

Ebox conversions have a range of 120 miles on a charge. GM is skimping on batteries to cut costs.

http://www.acpropulsion.com/ebox/

[Howzit]

30. MPG could be as high as infinity

MPG could be as high as infinity if you never run far enough between electric charges to require any gasoline to be burned.

Instead of pretending to calculate MPG numbers where the denominator is essentially zero, why not tout the cost in $ per mile?

This way, the cost of electricity and the cost of gas are blended and are accurate depending on the actual usage model for each owner? A person who runs mostly on electricity from a wall socket achieves a lower $ per mile than one who either travels outside the battery only range, or who is lazy about plugging in his car every day.

Clearly MPG is a nonsensical measure for a plug-in EV without a back-up gas engine. It is also nonsensical for an EV with a gas engine if the car runs mostly on plug-in power. If the Volt ran only on its gas engine, then MPG is valid, as it is for other hybrids like the Prius.

The Volt offers the ability to run on plug-in power only without the range limitation that would put most people off an EV. It does not achieve higher MPG than many conventional non-hybrids when running in the gas only mode. If people understand how this works, they can do their own calculations and see if it makes sense the way they would use the car.

[kristopher]

32. I disagree.

I disagree that an annually derived mpg rating is useless as it provides important information about use patterns and the suitability of different configurations (how large a battery pack, how powerful a generator etc) for different kinds of users.

I agree that a cross platform measure is needed. I believe you'll find they are using kWh/mile as well as mpg in the government mileage studies.

[IDemo]

36. Tesla uses kilometers per Megajoule (km/MJ)

Although MPG makes the efficiency numbers more understandable for the general public, for a plug-in hybrid or "pure" EV, it lacks a bit from an engineering standpoint. Kilometers and joules represent standard units of distance and energy.

http://www.evworld.com/library/Tesla_21centuryEV.pdf

[CRF450]

26. Somethings not right here, and I dont think its actually GM's milage claim.

I'v seen in one article that says the estimated range of it is up to several hundred miles. **NOTE: Not a few hundred as in around 300 miles, they meant much more than that.** And another article claimed a 300 mile range. Thats between 30 to 40mpg with a 12 gallon tank!! I'v read GM's claim that it can get up to 100+mpg a while ago.

Whats up with this crap??

[kristopher]

29. CNET addresses mileage rating difficulty

The EPA is not sure how to rate the Chevrolet Volt's fuel economy, and GM isn't at all happy about it.

According to Motor Trend, the confusion stems from the EPA's classification of the Volt. Is it an electric vehicle (EV) with an onboard generator, or a hybrid vehicle that relies heavily on its electric drive? It's actually a little of both and a little of neither. The driving habits and battery-charging routines of the operator play a huge role in the classification of the Volt.

The way the Volt is designed, the wheels are powered by the electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack. When the batteries run low, the gasoline engine kicks in to extend the range. There is no direct connection between the internal combustion engine and the wheels. If the driver's commute is longer, driving is more aggressive, or if no plug-in option is available, the Volt will have to use its gasoline engine to keep the batteries charged, behaving more like a hybrid in this scenario. If the driver has a short commute, takes it easy on the accelerator, and plugs in to recharge the battery during the day, the Volt will operate primarily as an EV, and the gasoline engine's role will be greatly diminished.

In this configuration, the Volt can slip through about 85 percent of the EPA's test cycle without even firing up the gasoline engine. Using the EPA's standard formulas to calculate fuel economy, the Volt averages over 100 mpg. The EPA doesn't think that astronomical number is fair and has revised its tests with the requirement that the Volt finish the test with its batteries close to full charge, which means the internal combustion engine must run for the entirety of the test, dropping fuel economy to about 48 mpg.

GM, of course, argues back that the EPA's new test isn't fair because the test isn't representative of the way the Volt was designed to operate and doesn't reflect the Volt's plug-in option for battery charging.

The truth lies somewhere in between, but the EPA rating assigned will play a big role in whether consumers think the $40,000 Volt is a good deal compared with the Toyota Prius and the upcoming, and even less expensive Honda Insight.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10037173-48.html

A good discussion follows the article. You'll find this DOE link to a site evaluating hybrid performance: http://avt.inel.gov/phev.shtml

[Howzit]

31. GM should not use the EPA rating to sell the Volt, or it would lose to the Jetta TDI on initial cost

Intro: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10045687-48.html?tag=mncol;posts

Driving: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10045716-48.html?tag=mncol;posts

Instead of arguing about the validity and fairness of the EPA test, GM should sell the Volt on cost per mile for the typical user.

Of course, the Volt's $40k price takes some amortizing over the $22k TDI...

[kristopher]

33. I don't think that conveys meaningful information.

The cost of fuels change over time and geography and cannot be standardized in any meaningful way.

The average consumer has no experience evaluating the cost per mile of their transportation so giving them the CPM of the Volt would require GM to, in some fashion, give the customer the cost per mile of everything else.

Although if you did this over the life of the vehicles and compared this entire life cycle cost on a per mile basis, the Volt's high purchase price would probably disappear for most drivers.

[DainBramaged]

18. Well, you can buy a Chevy Aveo sweat and shift (no AC, 5-spd)

for $9995 and it gets 40MPG highway real world, then you can use the money you saved on buying a Toyota or Honda and put solar cells on your roof!!!!!:hug:

[lectrobyte]

35. I'm a potential customer, have they figured out a price? Last I heard was $40K, and

that seems pretty expensive to me. Thanks.

[Throckmorton]

10. I can drive to and from work for 3 days on a charge

for about $1.00, vrs about $5.00 in my impala.

I am on the waiting list, and plan the get a bumper sticker that say this vhicle is 50% nuclear powered.

[DainBramaged]

11. You bet, me too. 15 miles one way. I can plug it in right where I park

at the outlet on the side of my office or with the photovoltaic option, it will recharge itself by the time I go home.

[kristopher]

17. You must read as poorly as you write...

Read the article and then stop and think for a minute or two...

[emmadoggy]

23. I totally want one.

Unfortunately, it will likely be at least 6 years before I'm able to even consider getting one. :-(

[NNadir]

27. I hear this "I want" stuff a lot. It's really, really, really, really, really, depressing.

I want!

I want!

In this country we don't know what want really is, mostly.

Our "all new stuff" car culture of course has involved a lot of other people living in the want we can't imagine.

This car is crap, because all cars are crap.

The automobile should be uninvented. It's the very, very, very, very, very, very bad idea of distributed energy writ large.

Oh. About the solar roof. It's a toy. The entire Maine Solar House - it's a big yuppie McMansion dedicated to consumption - produces in an entire year, the equivalent of about 130 gallons of gasoline. The TV crews coming to view the Maine Solar House have easily consumed more energy than the house will ever produce.

We can call the solar cells on the car the "Sarah Palin Option." Lipstick on a pig.

[emmadoggy]

34. Oh for Pete's sake!

Gee, let me bow down to you, O-holier-than-thou God, who is above such measly, contemptible, HUMAN emotions like WANTING something.

Do you ever have anything positive to contribute around here? :eyes:

[hunter]

38. I want walkable communities.

Turn your three car garages into a neighborhood storefronts, turn your 5000 square foot McMansions into affordable apartments.

Get rid of personal automobiles, install electric bus and streetcar lines, and have a couple of rental cars available on every block.

Being able to get rid of my cars, that's what I want.

[kristopher]

39. Move to New York.

All you are doing is describing a city or the bedroom communities for a city. I don't have a problem with that if urban living is what I'm after, but at this point I prefer space, quiet, and peaceful darkness.

[emmadoggy]

40. Me too, Kristopher.

:)

[Greyskye]

41. Positive?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: