Volt Revealed!

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by skipj3

the economically correct comment was intended for the motor, as far as a family car, in my eyes anything with a back seat is a family car and a 4th gen was pretty aerodynamic, was it not? so why not tone down the fender buldges and round off the back a little. and ill strike the brick camaro comment from the record, it is late. lol

Something I've learned in Physiology...

Structure limits function.

If the car has the aerodynamics of a brick, then the E-Flex drivetrain is completely wasted on overcoming drag.

And what's wrong with the Volt being a family car? Not every car has to be a sports car, especially considering that the Volt is meant to be used as a daily driver. That's one of the reasons the EV-1 failed, it was too small and was a two-seater.

[DGthe3]

OMG OMG!!!!11! They completely ruined the concept!!!1!!!!11

Wait a minute, wasn't the concept of the Volt a range extended electric car that can go over 40 miles on a charge? Thats what the Volt is, not a sporty hybrid. The Camaro Concept was mostly a visual concept, and GM has stayed true to that concept with the Camaro. We knew by default that there would be great performance with a Corvette sourced engine and better fuel economy with a V6. The Volt was an idea, not a form.

[HOTCIVIC]

Originally Posted by divvichild

I like the look of my prius thank you. Not to mention that I use little or no gas while stuck in traffic. Oh, and if your car can get 1000 miles on a single tank, you tell me.

^^^^ I've done it. Denver to Los Angeles on a single tank.

Yeah and I put 4.56s in my '95 Suburban and drove from Miami to Seattle on a single half tank of gas. True story. My secret is the Tornado Fuel Saver.

[CaptianSam]

wow... I think this is probably the car that will save america and BRING GAS PRICES DOWN collectively... you need it to be a sedan not a tesla vette battery racecar... this is the technology that will save the world eco-wise... and its probably way faster then a prius... looks better then that fugly hatchback... imo... the prius looks like a aztek haha this actually looks like a classy little car with a big backing behind it

[Zhawk]

The concept created a lot of excitement for the e-flex platform, if it had looked like this then most people would have overlooked it.
This version will fulfill the promise of the concept and that is what will sell them.

[Hylton]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

The Volt was an idea, not a form.

Did GM say that? I ask because form is what everyone finds appealing in a concept. Form is what will sell a car regardless of what the idea behind the car is. The Aztec is a perfect example of that. It had a specific niche but it's form was ugly enough that nobody bought the thing.

What was appealing in the original Volt concept car was that it looked like the first electric vehicle that didn't look like a sperm whale or half the car missing. It was classy looking and you could actually take your wife out to an expensive restaurant in it.

Sure the car's design may not have been great in the wind tunnel but that is no excuse to be parading the concept around to the general public saying it will look like this when in reality they switch it for a 4 door Civic and graft a Chevrolet front facia onto it. I call that bait and switch. GM's marketing spin doctors will do their thing like they have always done.

I am surprised how many people (and GM) have this attitude that instead of staying true to the original look AND purpose of a concept (which I think they did with the 5th gen Camaro), they change it and accept that it is the same car. It's not.

As far as meeting it's gas mileage goals, they could have tried to keep more of the original design and focus on technology to accomplish the results. Maybe I would not be so disappointed about the car if they had originally had this production version as the concept. At least then people would realize they were getting a 4 door Civic with a 10K premium price tag over the Civics.

[Hylton]

You decide what the production version looks more like.....

2008 Honda Civic:


2006 Acura CSX:


2011 Volt:



Volt concept:

[Mr. Wyndham]

_

Originally Posted by Hylton

Sure the car's design may not have been great in the wind tunnel but that is no excuse to be parading the concept around to the general public saying it will look like this when in reality they switch it for a 4 door Civic and graft a Chevrolet front facia onto it. I call that bait and switch. GM's marketing spin doctors will do their thing that they have always done.
Saying it "wasn't great" in the wind tunnel is a gross understatment. It was so bad that Lutz was prompted to joke about how it might have been better if they put it in backwards...

And they never, ever, ever, ever said the Volt would look like the concept they showed. One of the very first things that they told us about the design, in fact, was that the front end would be significantly changed due to aerodynamics. They said they'd keep some concept cues (the edgy lights, the grille, etc) but that it would be significantly more fluid-looking. I have to admit, that I wasn't expecting THIS much change...but still, they did tell us it was coming.

I am surprised how many people (and GM) have this attitude that instead of staying true to the original look AND purpose of a concept (which I think they did with the 5th gen Camaro), they change it and accept that it is the same car. It's not.
I think so many have this 'attitude' because they realize WHY it was done...nobody's disputing the fact that the concept looks GREAT...But it simply was not suited to the Volts electric-car application. I have no doubt as electric drivetrains become more advanced, the designs of cars will start looking 'better'. But you've got to work with what you've got.

As far as meeting it's gas mileage goals, they could have tried to keep more of the original design and focus on technology to accomplish the results.
If they took this route, they'd probably have to dedicate half the Volt's power to overcome drag...then you get a range of 25-30 miles on electric only...

What's more important to this project:

The 'performance' of the car (range, etc)?
Or solely the way it looks?

[Hylton]

The performance of this car is indeed important but they went too far from the concepts looks. They could have called the production version something else because it does not look like the concept Volt.

If they could not keep the same shape, they could have stated the Volt is only a concept car but the technology will be used in this new car called the 2006 Civic Hybrid..... that was a joke btw.

[Camaro Lives On]

Originally Posted by Hylton

The performance of this car is indeed important but they went too far from the concepts looks. They could have called the production version something else because it does not look like the concept Volt.

If they could not keep the same shape, they could have stated the Volt is only a concept car but the technology will be used in this new car called the 2006 Civic Hybrid..... that was a joke btw.

OK... I hate you dude (kidding)!! If you hadn't pointed out that the production Volt looks like a Civic 4-door... I would have never made the connection!!! Not cool!!! I still like how the production car looks... but i miss the wide-ish stance, and the flared fenders. Those were 2 of my favorite design cues of the concept. Without those, it does resemble the the Civic. I still like it a lot though.

[FenwickHockey65]

I'm starting to think that people have lost sight of what the word "concept" means. Get this straight people, concept DOES NOT equal production car. The concept is just a preview of things to come. It does NOT necessarily have to be the final production car. In a vehicle like the Volt, GM needed an edgy, eye-catching outer shell to draw interest to the technology inside. They never said, "Here's the 2010 Chevy Volt, this is pretty much what it will look like." I knew from the start that the concept would not be the final production version, and it's ridiculous of anyone to think that. Very rarely is any concept directly translated to production, even the Camaro's missing some conceptual elements.

So, for the last time, the concept was perhaps the most un-aerodynamic thing GM's ever built, and that's why the production Volt doesn't look like the concept. Sure, GM can build you a Volt that takes directly after the concept, but would you rather a 40+ mile range or a 20 mile range?

And yes, the Volt does indeed look a lot like a civic, but like it or not, the civic is very aerodynamic, which is one of the secrets behind its fuel economy.

By the way, the acura csx posted above IS a civic. Honda just slapped an acura badge on a civic si as well as different tail lights.

[Jamestwilliams]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

I'm starting to think that people have lost sight of what the word "concept" means. Get this straight people, concept DOES NOT equal production car. The concept is just a preview of things to come. It does NOT necessarily have to be the final production car. In a vehicle like the Volt, GM needed an edgy, eye-catching outer shell to draw interest to the technology inside. They never said, "Here's the 2010 Chevy Volt, this is pretty much what it will look like." I knew from the start that the concept would not be the final production version, and it's ridiculous of anyone to think that. Very rarely is any concept directly translated to production, even the Camaro's missing some conceptual elements.

So, for the last time, the concept was perhaps the most un-aerodynamic thing GM's ever built, and that's why the production Volt doesn't look like the concept. Sure, GM can build you a Volt that takes directly after the concept, but would you rather a 40+ mile range or a 20 mile range?

And yes, the Volt does indeed look a lot like a civic, but like it or not, the civic is very aerodynamic, which is one of the secrets behind its fuel economy.

By the way, the acura csx posted above IS a civic. Honda just slapped an acura badge on a civic si as well as different tail lights.

Everyone was spoiled by the Camaro, it doesn't look a whole lot different than the concept. If you hadn't seen the concept for a long time then saw the production model you wouldn't realize there was a difference. So people seem to expect this to happen with every vehicle now.