What's Wrong With This Picture: Volt Lumina Edition
Patent drawings of what appears to be a compact/subcompact MPV bearing the Chevy Volt’s grille have surfaced at GMInsidenews, setting off much speculation as to what it all means. And boy is there room to speculate. Initial impressions are of a Chevy Orlando/ Buick Granite with a Volt-alike grille, but upon closer inspection the line drawings appear to show a smaller vehicle. After all, Orlando is supposed to offer a seven passenger option, and it’s hard to imagine sitting aft of those rear doors. And yet the Volt drivetrain was built around GM’s Delta II platform, which underpins both the Orlando and Granite (in concept); why would GM downsize its expensive EREV to the Aveo’s Gamma II platform before building out Delta II variants?
Other speculation: this is simply a five-door Volt, which is being developed specifically to address the Volt’s lack of five-place seating. Or maybe it’s an EV-only hatchback aimed at a more Leaf-like price point than the Volt’s $40k-ish. One thing is certain: GM is already moving towards a lineup that’s heavy on compact crossover/MPVs like this one. Unless this replaces a planned Buick-branded, plug-in Gamma II-based MPV, there’s overlap breaking out all over. Besides, isn’t it starting to look like GM is turning Volt into a new brand? For a former branding addict, straight out of a government bankruptcy rehab, this is a dangerous sign…
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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As far as 5-doors go, here's your choice so far from GM: Small: Aveo5 Medium: Terrain, Equinox, SRX, CTS wagon Large: Traverse, Enclave, Acadia In 2-3 years: Small: Spark, Aveo5, Orlando, Granite, Rendezvous*, Volt5* Medium: Terrain, Equinox, SRX, CTS wagon, Regal wagon* Large: Traverse, Enclave, Acadia, Lambdalade* That's a lotta hatchbacks!
Like a hole in the head, we need that.