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]

Triumph of technology set the stage for the future

• Our gift is a world of opportunity. To leave it a better place than we found it is our greatest gift to the next generation. – Ken Baker, GM Electric Vehicles
• "Since when does being an auto engineer makes you smarter than scientists specializing in the field?" – ABG reader John, on my 8/3/08 column, "Global Warming Pro." (Yes, "Pro")

Well, John, maybe not smarter, but maybe educated enough to have a valid opinion.

Engineers become engineers because - like people who become scientists - we are good at math and science, including physics, chemistry and biology. We study the same things eventual scientists do, then branch out into specialties. Some choose geology or climatology. I chose automotive engineering because I love cars and wanted to help make them better.

As technically trained people, engineers have a good understanding of what makes things work, how elements interact and what is physically possible...and not. We know that vehicle fuel economy is mostly about size, weight and aerodynamics. We know that technology can incrementally improve efficiency, but also that technology costs money. To redirect an old racing adage, how efficient can you afford to be?

Unlike typical non-technically trained people – including most government bureaucrats, lawyers, legislators and journalists – we form opinions and make decisions based on facts and data, not emotion and opinion. We have long-established BS alarms that go off when someone tries to tell us that something we know is physically impossible is not. We know there is no 100-mpg carburetor or 40-mpg SUV (If either was possible, why wouldn't someone be making a fortune building and selling them and blowing away all their less-enlightened competition?).
That said, let me tell you about the most exciting, challenging and inspiring engineering assignment I've ever had: Vehicle Test and Development Manager for what became the GM EV1. I know the real story behind General Motors' 1990s electric vehicle effort very well; I was there, working my proverbial tail off on it, and you can start reading this tale after the jump. A warning, though: those who harbor strong negative perceptions about EV1 and GM's intent for it - from that recent ill-informed crockumentary or some other non-knowledgeable source - may not want to read this, because the real true story will not reinforce what you already think you know.

Bob Boniface the director of the E-Flex design studio at GM is in Traverse City MI this week for the Management Briefing Seminars. We already saw the new teaser shots of the Volt released yesterday and Green Fuels Forecast had a chance to speak with Boniface following his presentation. Boniface elaborated on some of the design changes that have brought the Volt to where it will be for production. The slim packaging of the battery pack down the center tunnel and the re-shaping of the body have not only reduced the drag but also increased interior volume. As we've heard before, the drag reduction was key to helping achieve the 40 mile electric range target for the Volt. GM has also posted a new wind tunnel video that gives a further hint about the overall shape of the Volt that you can check out after the jump.

Update: There's an extra video added after the jump of the Boniface presentation from MBS that includes additional images.


[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]

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.

One of the lucky participants who got to drive one of GM's Fuel Cell Equinoxes as part of Project Driveway ,Matt Mackey, blogs about his experience at the wheel of the vehicle. He's not the first one to do so, but as with the other fuel-cell blogger, he comes back greatly impressed. He considers this car the future of the automobile and what a revolution it was, since he believes that the fuel will be made at home with solar cells and tap water. Mackey also explains how the 3-month test was not a technical experience for him but rather about how it is a necessary step to educate people in what a fuel-cell is, and what's the role of hydrogen is in our future energy needs.

[Source. GMnext]

Yesterday a National Hydrogen Road Tour kicked off in Portland ME. A motley collection of ten hydrogen fueled vehicles from a variety of manufacturers will be making their way from Maine to California over the next two weeks. The cars including the VW Tiguan HyMotion along with cars from BMW, Honda, Toyota, GM and others will be making 31 stops in 19 states along the way. Not all of the vehicles will be driven the entire route. General Motors for example will bring out its Project Driveway Fuel cell Equinox in the cities where that program is running, New York, Washington and Los Angeles. BMW will be using the mono-fuel (hydrogen only) version of the Hydrogen7 and is planning to cover the entire route. The tour is being sponsored by the California Fuel Cell Partnership, the Departments of Energy and Transportation and the National Hydrogen Association to promote hydrogen as a way to promote hydrogen's potential as a fuel. VW's John Tillman is writing a tour blog as they cross the country in the Tiguan. The VW press release is after the jump.

[Source: Volkswagen]

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]

They say that an image tells more than a thousand words. The same can be said about this GMNext video, which you can find after the jump, which has GM's diesel guru Gary Arvan answering, some common questions from some Los Angeles passers-by, The diesel questions include queries such as why diesels are more popular in Europe than in the U. S., why diesel is more expensive at the pump, what happens if you use the wrong fuel at the pump and how it affects your health from the exhaust pump.

[Source: GMNext]

Researchers are competing to meet a challenge from the U.S. Department of Energy: Improve fuel economy 10 percent by converting wasted exhaust heat into energy that can help power the vehicle. That's not a trivial improvement: 10 percent savings would amount to more than 100 million gallons of fuel per year in GM vehicles in the U.S. alone.

So this is where a group of researchers have created a metallic device which is attached to the exhaust pipe, producing electricity from the otherwise wasted heat: a thermoelectric generator, a device that uses temperature differences to create electricity. When installed on a Chevy Suburban, it improved by 1mpg (which is 5 percent). The generated electricity was used to reduce the load on the alternator, therefore using less fuel through reduced parasitic losses. A Suburban produces 15 kilowatts of exhaust heat energy during city driving, which is enough to power three or four air conditioners simultaneously. When cruising between 50 and 60 mph, the generator can produce about 800 watts of power, which is enough to power the GPS device, the DVD player and potentially the water pumps. This device will be installed in a 2009 Suburban and a BMW to check how effective it becomes in real life.Thanks to my friend Chuck for the tip.

[Source: Associated Press]

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]

Australians looking for a cheaper alternative to gasoline now have a very cost effective option with a dual fuel conversion being offered by Holden. The installation allows Commodores and derivatives to be operated on either LPG or gasoline. Holden recently dropped the conversion price of the system by $1,000 (AUS) from $3,900 to $2,400. The Ute pickup variants went from $4,900 to 3,400. The net cost for sedan buyers can drop to as little as $400 thanks to a $2,000 tax rebate from the federal government. That expense can be recouped in operating cost savings in about four months for the sedan and one year for the Ute thanks to LPG costing less than half the price of gasoline right now. The conversion is done on vehicles with the 3.6L DOHC V6 that also use in a wide variety of North American market GM cars and CUVs. The fuel system can automatically switch from LPG to gasoline on the fly when the fuel level drops too low. The press release is after the jump.

[Source: General Motors]

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]