Chevrolet Volt

[Mr. Wyndham]

What about Electrobot, or spark...

[alleykt123]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

I thought Bumblebee used to be a VW bug...which is why Camaro was such a radical departure for the character.

As an in-joke for fans and a tribute to the original cartoon, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, which Bumblebee originally was, can be seen at the car dealership where Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) buys the Chevrolet Camaro, that is later found out to be Bumblebee. Bernie Mac's character Bobby Bolivia, even attempts to sell Sam and his father, Ron (Kevin Dunn) the Beetle when they refuse to pay his asking price for the Camaro.

– http://imdb.com/title/tt0418279/trivia

I get a kick outta Camaro-Bumblebee whacking the Beetle with its car door. I know, I'm weird…

[DGthe3]

I noticed that too. my girlfriend didn't understand why i was laughing.

[TAG UR IT]

OMG, that flew right over my head.

[Mindz]

We were talking about it in the thread tag. How'd you miss it? for Tag

[KILLER74Z28]

Originally Posted by alleykt123

– http://imdb.com/title/tt0418279/trivia

I get a kick outta Camaro-Bumblebee whacking the Beetle with its car door. I know, I'm weird…

Nice find alley...

[Mr. Wyndham]

Time to ressurect this thread.
More great news on the Volt!

Volt's on-road target date: November 2010

Timetable for car's production called aggressive

November 15, 2007

LOS ANGELES -- General Motors aims to have its revolutionary Volt electric vehicle on the road by November 2010, company vice chairman Bob Lutz said at the Los Angeles Auto Show Wednesday.

It's the most specific date Lutz has given for the rollout of the Volt, the concept GM unveiled in Detroit in January with the hopes it will leapfrog the advantage Toyota's hybrids have given the Japanese company and establish GM as a leader in advanced, environmentally friendly technology.

"It is aggressive," Lutz said of the target, "but we're not going to let up" on development of the concept car's drivetrain, which combines advanced lithium-ion batteries -- a still unproven technology in vehicles -- with plug-in capability for recharging from household current and a small gasoline engine to keep the batteries charged on trips longer than 40 miles.

Lutz's comments also ratchet up a war of words between GM and Toyota on whether lithium-ion batteries will be ready for production cars by 2010. Toyota has postponed using lithium-ion batteries because of problems it had developing them.

Lutz was only too happy to further the battle.

"There's a showdown at the OK Corral coming," Lutz said, "About Easter, we'll find out who's right and whose credibility takes a hit" over battery claims, Lutz said.

GM plans to test the system on the road extensively in the first half of 2008.

The Volt would not use any gasoline to go 40 miles or less, and the combination of battery power and the efficient small engine to generate electricity could give it fuel economy ranging from 50 m.p.g. to 150 m.p.g. on longer trips. Actual fuel economy and the amount of time the gasoline-powered generator was running would depend on the length of the trip.

GM is to begin testing the system with lithium-ion batteries late in the first quarter of 2008, slipping the revolutionary powerplant into versions of its 2007 Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan.

GM has been working with battery development partners A123 and LG Chem to produce safe, reliable lithium-ion batteries.

The batteries are lighter and easier to recharge than those that current hybrids use. That raises the possibility of a vehicle like the Volt that can recharge quickly from household current. However, the batteries produce a lot of heat, and avoiding vehicle fires and battery failure is a major concern.

The production model using the Volt concept's drivetrain will look different from the model GM revealed in Detroit last January.

The automaker's new contract with the UAW revealed plans to build the car, which GM calls an extended-range electric vehicle because of its on-board generator, at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.

Lutz has said the Volt would be sold around the world, and that GM hopes to sell around 100,000 a year initially. Company executives have said that, if they could get it to work, GM would use the Volt's drivetrain in a wide variety of vehicles produced around the world.

Lutz revealed GM's plan for the Volt following a news conference at the LA auto show, where Chevrolet unveiled a campaign to improve its environmental image by promoting the fuel-efficiency of its vehicles, its growing line of hybrids, and a fleet of 100 hydrogen fuel-cell Equinox SUVs it plans to have consumers evaluate next year.

"It's not a short-term effort" to make Chevrolet a global environmental leader, Lutz said. "It's not an advertising campaign. It's a global long-term commitment to technology."

"Lutz's comments also ratchet up a war of words between GM and Toyota on whether lithium-ion batteries will be ready for production cars by 2010. Toyota has postponed using lithium-ion batteries because of problems it had developing them.

Lutz was only too happy to further the battle.

"There's a showdown at the OK Corral coming," Lutz said, "About Easter, we'll find out who's right and whose credibility takes a hit" over battery claims, Lutz said.

GM plans to test the system on the road extensively in the first half of 2008."

...Oh damn ....
I hate to say it...but the Muscle car wars, seem like nothing compared to this battle. This could really break Toyota, I mean perception-wise. "If Toyota couldn't do it...but GM could?!?! Well, Hell must have frozen over, or maybe GM actually is a good carmaker...."

[DGthe3]

Odds are that the Toyota problems are that they are using the batteries which were prone to 'thermal events'. GM is using batteries that can send a motorcycle through a quarter mile in 8.5 seconds. Though I hope that they can do something to improve the life of the batteries themselves. My experience with Li-ions is that they lose half their capacity after only 1 year. That's not very promising

[Mr. Wyndham]

ForbesAutos.com: Why not do the Volt three years ago, when the EV1 was cancelled?

Bob Lutz: The reason we’re working on the Volt now is that lithium ion batteries have made huge progress in the last three years. One of the companies we’re working with has very big lithium ion batteries it uses in power tools, and we’re working with that company, A123 in Massachusetts. We want these batteries to be able to recharge for 4,000 cycles and to last for 10 years. The 4,000 cycles is a tough requirement, but the battery companies think it’s achievable. And lithium ion is a disposable material, whereas nickel metal [used in current NiMH batteries] is not.

Here's the rest of that interview.

[TAG UR IT]

Hell froze over....and GM supplied the ice cubes.

GM won't sell the units w/ battery cells unless all the kinks are worked out. I'm sure it'll be just fine.

[stovt001]

Thems fighting words. GM just smacked Toyota in the face with a leather glove. Break out the popcorn boys, the fireworks are about the start. Yeehaw.

[swazworth]

The production model using the Volt concept's drivetrain will look different from the model GM revealed in Detroit last January.

i wonder how much different?? i think that the volt (@ least the concept) looks great.

[EllwynX]

Originally Posted by swazworth

i wonder how much different?? i think that the volt (@ least the concept) looks great.

The Volt concept has the cool factor about it, but has never looked like something that would transfer over to production very well.

The production Volt needs to more closely resemble a family sedan than a sports car (which is what I've always saw when I looked at the concept).

Personally, I think if they could blend some Volt concept cues with the new Malibu it could be an attractive car. And it would remain unique looking.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Another Q/A with Bob Lutz on the Volt, and other alternative energies.

Here's a small sampling:

How important is the Volt for GM? What's at stake? You've got Toyota going in a slightly different direction, with its hybrids powered by nickel metal hydride batteries. They're playing down lithium.
We now have showdown at the OK Corral. You have one giant auto company saying it won't work, and one saying it will. Ever since Toyota assumed the mantle of technology leader, there's been a certain class of buyer who wants to be associated with the best technology. In that sense, every Toyota has a little bit of Prius in it. The iconic Toyota vehicle is the Prius. The iconic GM vehicle is the Hummer H2. So that creates the impression that Toyota is frugal, GM guzzles. Toyota loves the environment, GM pillages the environment. Perception becomes reality. Well, this is about recapturing General Motors' technological leadership. We want to be the company that has the solutions for tomorrow.

And you think lithium ion batteries are the way to do that?
The problem with lithium ion is scalability. But now Black & Decker has been using it in tools. Segway switched to lithium ion from nickel metal hydride two years ago for their transporter. Then I read about Tesla, these battery-powered cars with a 200-mile range. To do that, they're using thousands of laptop batteries wired together. When Tesla announced they were building a car, that kind of tore it for me. I thought, "If some little West Coast outfit can do this, we can no longer stand by."

I liked that he finally acknowleged Tesla. He always seemed to skirt around them when he spoke of the Volt.