GM looking into Volt pictures leak

[Mr. Wyndham]

They're contacting magazines and websites? Somebody's going to hang for this!

GM to Look Into Leak
Of Chevrolet Volt Photos

DETROIT – General Motors Corp. is looking into the unauthorized release Monday of photos of the company's highly anticipated battery-powered car, the Chevrolet Volt, a spokesman said.

Photos of the Volt were published by a handful of auto industry Web sites well in advance of their planned release later this month. The release was likely planned in coordination with the company's centennial celebration.

"We're looking into the situation," GM spokesman Terry Rhadigan said. He declined to say what GM thinks led to the mishap, but he said the company doesn't believe its computer system was hacked at this point.

The Volt is a cornerstone product in the auto maker's attempt to compete in the heated fuel-economy race taking place in the global auto industry.

Mr. Rhadigan declined to say when exactly the pictures -- which feature various angles of the car and executives standing next to it -- were to be released. He indicated the premature publication is disappointing to the company, but said "it's just one of those things that happen."

It is not uncommon for photos or details of a future vehicle to be leaked either purposely or covertly to media. Unauthorized leaks can take the wind out of a company's marketing plans. A few years ago photos of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 appeared on Web sites weeks before GM's planned unveiling of the vehicle.

The company reacted by sending reproving e-mails or letters to at least three Web-site operators and warned a Corvette salesman to take down photos of the car he had posted online. GM also admonished the editor of one magazine, AutoWeek, for putting on its cover a shot the magazine obtained from the Web.

Mr. Rhadigan said GM did not purposely leak the Volt photos.
Photos of the Volt appeared on several Web sites, including thecarconnection.com, a well known auto blog. An official with thecarconnection.com could not be reached for comment.

"I think it doesn't hurt GM at all to have these photos out this week," Marty Padgett editor of thecarconnection.com said, noting that the vehicle photos could create needed buzz. Mr. Padgett's site published the photos Monday. He said the photos were publicly available, and said GM has not called to follow up with him. "The story of GM taking on the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight only gets amplified with the release of these pictures," Mr. Padgett said, referring to hybrid vehicles that have already been on the market or are still available.

Since January 2007, GM's Volt program has been closely watched as engineers try to develop a car largely reliant on battery power for propulsion. While conventional cars and trucks use internal combustion engines powered by gasoline or diesel fuel, the Volt draws its power from a lithium-ion battery similar to the batteries used in laptop computers.

GM has produced working prototypes of the Volt, but has yet to fully test the durability of the propulsion system. Several niche auto makers, such as Tesla Motors, a Silicon Valley startup, are also trying to commercialize battery-powered cars.

GM intends to put the vehicle on sale in late 2010. Company officials have characterized the Volt as the most important project under development at the company.

Since GM first announced the project, the company has shown at least two prototype body styles. But the auto maker was waiting to show the actual body style it will offer consumers until the most opportune time, such as the centennial celebration, or the Paris auto show.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1220...googlenews_wsj

[drivingincamaro]

the guy will be put in the volts trunk

when were these pictures supposed to be shown to the public officially

[radz28]

I think the article said it wasn't clear when they were going to be released exactly. Maybe at the 100th. B-Day...

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by drivingincamaro

the guy will be put in the volts trunk

when were these pictures supposed to be shown to the public officially

That extra weight would hurt its electric only range