GM releases new production Chevy Volt teasers

[Intrepidation]

We're not sure why General Motors has released two new teaser shots of the production Volt as well as ten images of engineers and designers working hard on its development, but we'll gladly take and show them to you while we find out. Though GM certainly isn't going to let the whole cat out of the bag this early, we are given a much better view of what we were shown in that ABC News video. We can now see just how high-tech the lighting appears to be on the Volt, with the blue glow of its headlamps upstaged by what appear to be some sort of LED foglamps. We can't tell you what their function is, except to say they look cool and give the impression that the Volt is a car from the future on sale now, or rather sometime in 2010, which is technically the future, but you get our drift. The other pic is not as revealing as the first and shows only a small portion of the Volt's rear end including its bow-tie emblem and model badge. The rest of the images show designers and engineers working on a full-scale clay model of the Volt as well as the car's high-tech drivetrain. A few of the pics give up even more of the production Volt's design, so be sure to view each one in the gallery below.

Source: Autoblog

[SuperSport623]

head lights remind me of the Edge....

[BuddyP]

I'm lovin it! The fog lights look awsome

[SingleStylish]

So we now know it is a 3-cyl gas engine for generation. Think it is leftovers from GEO?

[SingleStylish]

You know the big deal I totally missed until now? Are we sure that isn't an aluminum body?

[ZL-1]

New wallpaper, yay!

[BuddyP]

Yeah I wondered if it wasn't alum as well... kinda just assumed it was alum. skinned

New wallpaper, yay!

Heh, yup!

[toesuf94]

Nicely detailed. Cannot wait to see the whole thing.

[BigPontiac]

Fastlane also has a video of a (camo'd) Volt scale model in the wind tunnel. Link to Article

[Newbiewar]

i beleive this vehicle will be availbe in show rooms before GM is saying it will be, they said all engeneering will be done next month, they just have to finnish up final tests on 50 preproduction models... sounds to me like this could be in showrooms in the next 6-9 months...

hrmm, alluminum would be a costly mistake for GM, unless it dramatically reduces weight and aerodynamics... i guess, reducing say 500 lbs would contribute to a bit less energy required to get her up and moving, but likely she'll be heavy, with batterys, a motor, a generator, transmission, battery coolers, regular radiator, likely, she'll weigh in more then the malibu, with an all aluminum frame

[Windy-57]

i beleive this vehicle will be availbe in show rooms before GM is saying it will be, they said all engeneering will be done next month, they just have to finnish up final tests on 50 preproduction models... sounds to me like this could be in showrooms in the next 6-9 months...

Yeah, it seems like they could be out with it early...that would be great.

[daves87rs]

[Newbiewar]

Yeah, it seems like they could be out with it early...that would be great.

the original estimate was late 2009, as a 2010 model, and then they changed the timeline, but now they say its on track, or on time... which timeline are they refering?

[ToniCipriani]

For some strange reason, whenever I see the front shot of the production Volt it makes me think of Saab.

But that's a good thing.

[enzl]

Guys---lets not get carried away.

This car will be lucky to be in the hands of a few, hand-picked individuals by late-2010. If they're still working clay model and hand fabricating proto-parts, this thing is NOT just around the corner.

There is simply no comparison, nor precedent for what they are attempting to produce: This is simply an entirely new vehicle with a new electrical architecture/battery application/propulsion system requiring the re-engineering of tons of parts because of the need to conserve electrical energy. GM couldn't put a Camaro on the road in 4+ years..there's no way this goes from idea to driveway in less time than that.

Trust me, you wouldn't want to be the guinea pig in this experiment. It's not even GM's incompetence I worry about, it's the complexity of the task ahead of them that makes putting this thing out shortly a pipe dream.

The problem with Hail Mary passes is that few are actually successful plays. I certainly wouldn't bank a company's future on one.

[Newbiewar]

Guys---lets not get carried away.

This car will be lucky to be in the hands of a few, hand-picked individuals by late-2010. If they're still working clay model and hand fabricating proto-parts, this thing is NOT just around the corner.

There is simply no comparison, nor precedent for what they are attempting to produce: This is simply an entirely new vehicle with a new electrical architecture/battery application/propulsion system requiring the re-engineering of tons of parts because of the need to conserve electrical energy. GM couldn't put a Camaro on the road in 4+ years..there's no way this goes from idea to driveway in less time than that.

Trust me, you wouldn't want to be the guinea pig in this experiment. It's not even GM's incompetence I worry about, it's the complexity of the task ahead of them that makes putting this thing out shortly a pipe dream.

The problem with Hail Mary passes is that few are actually successful plays. I certainly wouldn't bank a company's future on one.

i know there will be no silver bullet, and there will be nothing to revive GM completely.

I know if i had GM's parts bin, i could put together a working car within a week, might not look pretty, might not be reliable... but it could be done. any additional time just cements it's refinement. The biggest obstical for GM on the Flex concept, was not actually GM's obstical to overcome, it was the battery manufactures. I might make an ass of myself on this assumption but fuel cell development is not a propultion system, rather a generator for a vehicle similar to the volt or flex platform. meaning GM has been working this for over almost a decade, i'm sure the propultion is of working order and has been for some time. keep in mind, lutz just recently(6 months ago) did his test drive on the camaro, and that is due first quarter of 09, so the volt being test driven a few weeks ago shows its progress and development. the body pannels of a car are one of the last details to work out, while a pretty important detail, the guts of the car, are by far the most complex. I'd say it would be possible to see this car sooner then GM says, while im not going to hold my breath, because i've been let down time and time again by GM, lutz knows the importance of this vehicle, which could suggest it going slowly or quickly depending on which side of technology GM wants to be on.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Why must all Chevrolets wear the same bland, ugly 5 spoke wheels?

[Newbiewar]

Why must all Chevrolets wear the same bland, ugly 5 spoke wheels?

its a marketing thing...

Chevy gets 5 spoke

GMC gets 6

Pontiac gets 6 i beleive...

Cadillac 8

buick 7 spokes

saturn, i forgot...

saab i beleive is 6 soke

each brand has their own spoke number, as if 6 spokes are better then 5... (some of these vehicles get 5 twin spokes like on the ltz malibu everyone enjoys)

[Paolino]

its a marketing thing...

Chevy gets 5 spoke

GMC gets 6

Pontiac gets 6 i beleive...

Cadillac 8

buick 7 spokes

saturn, i forgot...

saab i beleive is 6 soke

each brand has their own spoke number, as if 6 spokes are better then 5... (some of these vehicles get 5 twin spokes like on the ltz malibu everyone enjoys)

Let's not forget the 400-spoke monstrosities on the Aura XR and Enclave CXL...

You probably can't remember Saturn's because it is up in the air with 5 spokes on the Astra/Vue, 6 on the Sky/Outlook.

[cire]

It looks to be a nice alternative to the ugly egg shaped dedicated hybrid alternatives being cranked out by the Asian auto companies. I do hope the faux honeycomb treatment on the grille flaps(?) does not make it to the production vehicle; it somewhat cheapens what looks to be a really cool design.

[ToniCipriani]

its a marketing thing...

Chevy gets 5 spoke

GMC gets 6

Pontiac gets 6 i beleive...

Cadillac 8

buick 7 spokes

saturn, i forgot...

saab i beleive is 6 soke

each brand has their own spoke number, as if 6 spokes are better then 5... (some of these vehicles get 5 twin spokes like on the ltz malibu everyone enjoys)

Pontiac is 5 spoke, I've never seen 6 on Pontiac... then by your means Pontiac are all Chevy rebadges.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

its a marketing thing...

Chevy gets 5 spoke

GMC gets 6

Pontiac gets 6 i beleive...

Cadillac 8

buick 7 spokes

saturn, i forgot...

saab i beleive is 6 soke

each brand has their own spoke number, as if 6 spokes are better then 5... (some of these vehicles get 5 twin spokes like on the ltz malibu everyone enjoys)

Yeah, I was afraid they were sticking to that. (I remember when it was announced)

But still, 5 spokes can be attractive. The original Volt wheels were sweet.

Edited August 17, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[bobo]

I think GM has moved away from the spoke thing. Olds and GMC were 6-spoke. Cadillac 7-spoke, and Buick 8-spoke. I don't recall what Pontiac was.

[pow]

I think GM has moved away from the spoke thing. Olds and GMC were 6-spoke. Cadillac 7-spoke, and Buick 8-spoke. I don't recall what Pontiac was.

Occasionally, three...