Veteran interviewer Charlie Rose has done a two-part look at General Motors in the wake of the company's recent losses and its pending centennial celebration. In the first part, Rose sits down with Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner to discuss all manner of issues surrounding the ailing automaker, including the Volt. Aside from reiterating that the engineering teams are making excellent progress on the Volt and are on track to meet the late 2010 Job 1 date, Wagoner was asked about price. He replied that they haven't worked out final pricing yet but expects the initial cars to come out in the mid to upper 30s. That's clearly more than they would have liked but it is the reality of battery costs. Wagoner said the company hopes that the government will implement tax incentives that make the end price more palatable to consumers. On the subject of incentives he said that GM doesn't expect the government to pay for the development of vehicles like the Volt, but would like to see the government encourage the demand side to help build volume. That would be a combination of incentives to buy, and also allowing fuel prices not to drop too much. The company is already realigning its production capacity to the reality of high gas prices and they would hate to see a reversal in demand for trucks at this point. You can check out the video after the jump. A second part, featuring an interview with Bob Lutz, hasn't been posted online yet.

[Source: Charlie Rose]

Over the past week, Bob Boniface has been doing a lot of talking about the Chevy Volt and Tuesday afternoon he'll be at it again. For those who may not recognize the name, Boniface is the director of the E-Flex Design Studio at GM which includes responsibility for the look and feel of the production Chevrolet Volt. This time around Boniface will be participating in an online chat over at the GM Next site. If your questions about the design direction of the Volt or other E-Flex vehicles haven't been answered sufficiently yet, you can log into the chat room at 3 pm EDT on Tuesday Aug. 19 and ask them yourself. We should be getting our first official look at the production Volt within the next few weeks.

[Source: GMNext]

Click above for more high-res shots of the production Chevy Volt

General Motors has rather quietly released two new shots of the production Chevy Volt. We get a glimpse of both the front corner and the very rear of the game-changer, which is expected to be shown in production form at the upcoming Paris Motor Show in October. Looking at the two new shots, it's clear that GM designers have tried their best to make the new car recognizable as the concept Volt shown back in Detroit in 2007. Clearly, though, the car's rougher edges have been smoothed over in an effort to cheat the wind and therefore improve aerodynamics and overall efficiency. We can also see the high-tech look of the headlights and fog lights, which glow a cool blue color. The rear gives an early glimpse into the production-ready badge.

Also released were ten shots of engineers doing their thing on the model's chassis and stylists molding the production-spec bodywork from clay. We really aren't sure why GM has released these early teasers, but we're certainly not complaining. Take a good look at our gallery below and let us know what you think.


[Source: General Motors]

Let's get something out of the way right now. Not every vehicle we write about here is going to be as efficient as a Prius or have a plug or require pedal power. There is a huge market place of vehicles out there. None of those vehicles are for everyone. Not everyone needs or wants a Prius or a Mitsubishi iMiEV or a Chevrolet Silverado. However, in spite of rapidly falling sales of big trucks there is still a very significant need out there for such vehicles. I am in no way advocating (nor have I ever done so, in fact for many years I have done the opposite) that people should buy a Silverado or other truck for personal transportation or commuting. Having said all that, these vehicles and others all need to become more fuel efficient, for economic and environmental reasons. In a market segment that will still amount to about 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S. this year, GM is scaling back production but they are still trying to make the vehicles they sell more efficient. To that end they are introducing the both XFE and two-mode hybrid variants of the GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado for the 2009 model year. We had a chance to sample both versions on a brief drive this week and you can read about it after the jump.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

In a bid to try and salvage some sales from the rapidly deflating full size truck market, General Motors has decided to add XFE models to its big pickups and SUVs. As with the Cobalt XFE the new label is short for Xtra Fuel Economy. While the new XFE models don't come close to matching the mileage of the Two-Mode hybrid models, they do provide a boost in mileage at a much lower price point. The XFEs get a 1 mpg bump in both city and highway mileage going from 14/20 mpg to 15/21 mpg city/highway. GM has used an array of mass and drag reducing tweaks as well as a taller final drive ratio to achieve the improvement. The engine block, spare tire and wheels of the XFE models are all made from aluminum while the lowered ride height and deeper front air dam improve airflow around the vehicles. The pickups also get a standard soft tonneau cover on the bed. The XFE. The improvements may not seem like much but every little bit helps, especially for those that are actually using trucks for work purposes. On the other hand those that used to buy the trucks for personal transportation are unlikely to be swayed back.

[Source: General Motors]

Up until now all examples of Chevrolet's smallest car, the Aveo have come from GM's South Korean affiliate, Daewoo. With high gas prices causing buyers to snap up Aveos at a similar rapid rate to all other small cars, GM is now adding more production capacity. Aveos are now rolling off a new line at a factory in San Luis Potosi Mexico at the rate of 30 cars per hour. Not only is the Aveo fairly thrifty in its use of petroleum, the new factory itself has been designed to have a minimal impact. All lighting in the facility is motion activated and no water is discharged. Instead water is recycled with in the factory. Aveos from the Mexican factory will be sold throughout North America.

[Source: Automotive World]

Click for high res images

ABC news has just posted another video discussing the Chevy Volt. As expected, it's basically a puff piece with nothing particularly earth shattering being revealed as far as technical details. Car and Driver editor Csaba Csere expresses his skepticism that GM can make the Volt happen on target. However GM exterior design executive director Michael Simcoe does peal back the cover off the latest production styling buck and reveals some new details. Compared to the version that we saw in the studio back in December, the current version doesn't appear dramatically different but GM has refined some details. The shape of the lower edge of the headlight cluster has changed with a step up in the middle and the trailing section with the turn signals now being narrower and stretching further back. In a side view, it's clear that the whole nose is now far more sharply swept back than the concept. As we saw in December the whole Chevrolet signature grille area is now closed off with all air coming through the opening below the bumper. There is also a prominent splitter that didn't exist on the concept. Even with the cover on the buck, it's apparent that the car retains the up-swept belt line and high rear deck of the concept but the green house is significantly taller. The increased rake of the windshield compared to the concept is also apparent in the side view as are the more subdued fender flares. We'll be getting our definitive view of the Volt soon enough but for now we'll just have to keep settling for these teases. You can check out the video after the jump. Thanks to Jacob for the tip!


[Source: ABC News]

Here in the Ann Arbor office of ABG we don't have access to a public hydrogen filling station yet. The only ones around here at the EPA national testing lab, the NextEnergy Center in Detroit and at various automakers facilities. That means that we're not eligible to get one of GM's Project Driveway fuel cell Equinoxes. We've driven it (full disclosure: In my previous life working as an engineer I was involved in developing the brake system on the FC Equinox so I've spent plenty of time in them) on public streets for a short jaunt around Las Vegas during this year's CES. With a home base in Los Angeles, the team at Motor Trend was found to be eligible and has been given one of the Equinoxes to drive for a few weeks. MT Editor Angus MacKenzie gives his first impressions over on their blog and not surprisingly finds it to be pretty unexceptional to drive. That's not a slam by any means, but more a statement of the fact that the Equinox basically just works. Aside from some compressor whine and some occasional clicks of opening and closing valves in the fuel system, It drives like a conventional Equinox but with a better low end torque thanks to the electric drive. MacKenzie's biggest complaint? Make a car of the future look more futuristic (take a hint from Honda's FCX Clarity here).

[Source: Motor Trend]

In an interview with Design News, GM Vice President for R&D and Strategic Planning Larry Burns reiterated the company's intention to have the lithium ion battery pack last essentially the life of the car. Since early on the program, GM officials have set the target lifespan of the battery pack as 10 years and 150,000 miles. Since the battery is such an integral part of making the car work, the company needs to ensure its durability. In his response Burns indicated that the battery would be covered under warranty for that time frame although at this point it far too early to know what the details of such a warranty might be. Regular 12V car batteries typically have pro-rated warranties that that cover less as the age of the battery increases. With only a three year development time for the Volt GM will have a tough time validating the durability of the battery although a lot of accelerated testing is happening. The pack itself will have 200-300 cells inside and will have to be carefully manufactured so that all the connections are robust. Beyond the Volt, Burns expects all of GM's cars to eventually be electrically driven either with batteries or fuel cells. He indicated that a commercial fuel cell market should be going by about 2012-14 although that depends on the expansion of fuel availability.

[Source: Design News]

Back in June when GM CEO Rick Wagoner outlined product realignment decisions at the company's annual meeting, the Flint engine plant was identified as the home of a new family of small engines. GM has now filed paperwork with the city of Flint indicating that the new Family 0 engines would be built at the facility. The Family 0 engines will include three and four cylinder powerplants ranging from 1.0-1.4L in displacement. Among the first engines will be a turbocharged 1.4L that will go into the new Chevrolet Cruze. Last week GM's Larry Nitz identified the normally aspirated 1.4L will be used to drive the range extender in the Chevy Volt ER-EV. A new factory will be built adjacent to an existing engine plant and truck plant. The $326 million facility will cover 530,000 sq ft when it launches production in 2010.

[Source: Flint Journal]

Click on the photo for a high res gallery of the Trax

Although we were deeply saddened by the notion that General Motors would not be bringing its Beat subcompact car to the Unites States, the General is apparently planning to send a new minicar to America to replace the Aveo that we are currently saddled blessed with. We don't yet know what the car will be named, but rumor has it that it will be built in Mexico atop the General's Gamma platform and will share plenty of design cues from either the Trax or Groove concept from last year. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that GM would choose to offer a four or five door hatch in the States, as consumers have generally gravitated away from coupes here. Still, the Beat was apparently the best received of the three small car triplets that GM showed last year in New York.

U.S. safety standards will enlarge the car somewhat, which is one major reason why GM won't be offering the Beat here. Somehow, smart and Toyota have figured out how to engineer small vehicles which can pass Federal crash tests, so we know it's not impossible. Regardless, the new vehicle is expected to be in showrooms no sooner than 2011, so there is plenty of time to stew over the decision.



[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

On Friday GM officially kicked off use of its new Powertrain Engineering Development Center in Pontiac MI. The new $463 million facility includes 120 dynamometer test cells for exercising all manner of new drivetrains. Among those cells 20 are specifically dedicated to testing motors for electric and hybrid drive systems. Others are split among fueled and non-fueled cells for testing gas, diesel, and flex-fuel engines and transmissions respectively. A new quick connect pallet system allows technicians to assemble a test configuration outside the cell and then have it installed and running within 20 minutes. The photo above showse a technician connecting the 1.4L engine and generator combination that will serve as the Chevy Volt range extender.

[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]

The man in charge of hybrid powertrain development at GM Larry Nitz has confirmed that the E-Flex team has made the decision to switch engines for the range extender in the upcoming Chevy Volt. The original concept was to use a turbocharged 1.0L three cylinder engine to drive the generator. Instead they have decided to use a 1.4L normally aspirated version of the engine that will power the upcoming Chevy Cruze in turbo form. Nitz also discussed the issue of why performance of the Volt won't be degraded when running in charge sustaining mode, the status of the Plug-in Vue and expansion of Two-Mode hybrid availability. Full explanations are available in the Green Fuels Forecast interview.

[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]

Chevrolet apparently has a hit on its hands in the form of the new XFE model of its Cobalt compact car. Relatively easy tricks such as revised gearing, low rolling-resistance tires and some computer reprogramming was enough to boost the XFE to 36 miles per gallon on the highway, up from the standard model's 33 mpg. GM says it took just eighteen months to make this new version a reality, and rumors indicate there could be more XFEs on the way.

Nancy Libby, a spokeswoman for Chevrolet, says that demand for the car surprised the automaker, as it had estimated that the XFE would make up just two to three percent of Cobalt sales. In actuality, the XFE model accounts for eight percent of sales and sits on the lot for just eighteen days on average -- lowest of any Cobalt model. Perhaps the best news of all is that other automakers are observing the success Chevy has had with the XFE, and the concept is spreading across from GM to both Ford and Chrysler.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

The General, along with the rest of the American automakers, has a long established history of making the most profits from the largest vehicles. Small cars from the Detroit 3 have therefore fallen way behind the imports when it comes to desirability. GM Global Design Chief Ed Welburn went so far as to say, "In North America, we never did a good small car." Ouch. Instead, all the best designs come from overseas, which GM has plenty of experience in. "Today, we are able to draw on resources of design centers in Korea, Brazil and Europe who really know how to do small cars," says Welburn. Like the ones who designed the Aveo?

So, if the Cobalt and Aveo are not good small cars, at least they'd better be cheap, right? Sure, but expect that to change too as upcoming replacements for its aging small cars will be more expensive than current models. The Chevrolet Cruze, not expected in the U.S. for at least a few more years, will cost an extra few thousand dollars compared to the Cobalt. Hopefully by then, the Beat will be properly engineered for the American market as well.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]