One point that worries me. The touch-sensitive ‘buttons’ on the center stack, this poses the same problem as touchscreen nav units. You have to take your eyes off the road to find the button. Without any tactile sensation from one button to the next, this is a major ergonomic and safety factor.

I do hope real buttons find their way to the production vehicle.
Love the LCD gauge cluster though, I think this is the way all cars will go in the next few years. The resolution is high enough now that it won’t strain the eyes, but I wonder how an LCD will perform under direct sunlight, compared to a traditional gauge. It needs to be deeply recessed to hide it from reflections, etc.

Well, apparently not. But I can translate it for you:

“Robert Lutz, (…)is placing a large bet on the Chevrolet Volt”

“…the Volt has the potential to place GM on top of the auto world again.”

In my world, that translates into “Volt will save GM:s ass”.

It does say that it has the potential to make GM a technology leader in this area which I agree with if they pull off the range they are going for with the car.

I’m certainly not going to tear it down before GM delivers it and we see how it performs for ourselves. I give them credit for going through with this car. If it the range is delivered it could have major ramifications on the automobile and the Volt’s grandchildren could end up being pretty common if GM survives that long.

I like what I see so far. Kudos to the team and I hope for their sake (as well as ours) that they can pull the car’s range off.

YES! The car’s overall design seems thick-ish. I don’t like this car. C’mon everyone, IT’S AWFUL!

Are you kidding me? Where have you been the last year? After googling for 48 seconds I come up with this:

“General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), after seeing sales plummet for larger cars and SUVs over the past 18 months because of higher energy prices, is now doing a major about-face. It’s no secret that a large part of GM’s future strategy is tied up in alternative fuels and electric vehicles for the consumer market. Translation: inflation and energy prices are changing consumer gas price attitudes.

Lutz, who speaks the best geek-speak there is concerning vehicle dynamics and drag coefficients, seems certain that GM can outfox Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) by getting a popular, 100% electric vehicle into mass production first. Toyota’s existing Prius is a hybrid (gas and electric), and the race is on to get a completely electric car onto the showroom floor. Since there is no gas engine, which provides power for air conditioners and many other components, all systems from entertainment to windshield wipers had to be created from the ground up for the new Volt. From reading this Lutz interview, the Volt has the potential to place GM on top of the auto world again. That is, if done right and before the competition beats it to the electric vehicle game.”

And there’s tons of spin out there, saying the exact same thing: Volt is the moon-shot that will save GM:s ass. And I’m not talking about Lutz being caught with his pants down. This is nothing I just invented, they have been pushing this furiously for the last three years. I mean, where have you been?

I’ve got it. You’re shorting GM’s stock. Bravo, now it all comes into focus.

Nothing about the car screams mediocrity to me, if anything it looks like they got everything so far exactly right. The car looks very good inside and out.

The big question is the range, if it works as projected then GM has delivered a revolutionary car to the market. A huge stride. Whether people will buy it at the pricing guesstimates is an entirely other matter.

Because the Volt was supposed to be the be all and end all of cars since the 55′ Chevy. The Volt has been pushed as the saviour of GM per se. And pushing that concept whilst delivering that production car doesn’t spell saviour to me. It sounds more like mediocracy talking. And if GM is counting on that car to save the company, then the leadership is delirious bordering on criminal negligence. I’m sorry, GM is f****d, there’s no other way to see it.

“I didn’t really mean to make my post sound like an apologist’s argument. I just figured it’s GM and this really is the best we can expect from them. It’s like when teachers use positive reinforcement to provide encouragement to the kids who perform poorly in class.”

I’m sorry, Bancho. I used some comments merely to make a point. It’s a war out there, you know…

What is up with the Impala/Malibu front end on everything coming out of GM? That half-smiley face look does not do it for me. The Volt should stand alone and have it’s design set it apart. It should NOT look like a cookie cutter GM car.
stupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupid ..

What do you mean, Impala/Malibu front end?

The first Chevy with that front end on it that I recall was the 2005 Chevrolet Uplander. We all know how that worked out! I don’t recall seeing any other Chevy that year or earlier with the hideous monstrosity masquerading as a “grille” that the Uplander brought to the table. I distinctly recall my first in-person encounter with an Uplander in a shopping center parking lot and the unmistakable WTF reaction it gave me the way no other production vehicle has. I want to like the brand new Malibu, I do, but that grille…

Ingvar, why should GM strive for design excellence when mediocrity is making their competition billions?

I think they need to put the Volt drivetrain in an SUV with batteries under the floor. But then you need even more expensive batteries, of course, to get 40 miles of electric range.

Guyincognito nails it.

http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/

(click on “Video” in the top banner)

The Volt concept looked pretty cool….and pretty damn impossible to bring to fruition as it was designed. The whole project is a big let down and they’ll be lucky to rival the Plymouth Prowler in overall sales when all is said and done.

The Volt will arrive in showrooms someday and find itself out priced, and outclassed by the competition. I can’t envision any outcome that would be different. Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I surprised? No.

Did they really think they could get away with this?

I am really underwhelmed!