Kicking Tires has apparently been curious about yet another potential pitfall of the Volt’s Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) design: gasoline aging. If gas sits in the Volt’s fuel system for an extended period while its owner stays within the EV range, will it degrade over time and harm the gas engine performance? That’s what KT asked GM alt-energy poobah Britta Gross, and guess what? Her answer wasn’t wildly convincing! Writes KT’s Kelsey Mays “It’s certainly a concern, Gross said, but it shouldn’t be a problem: The Volt’s system stirs fuel in the tank about once a month to fight fuel-system buildup. At most, ‘it’s a minor impact on performance and emissions,’ she said.” Unconvinced, May took the query to Volt spokesman Dave Darovitz. “I wish I could talk about it,” he said, “but we will have solutions in place to address the aging-gasoline situation. It’s a great problem to have . . . [and] the engineers are addressing that situation.” Darovitz says the issue came up in product planning, and that GM wasn’t disclosing its workaround for “competitive reasons.” Not that consumers need convincing, or anything.

Saw this ad on TV for the first time whilst fantasizing about a Rachel Maddow vs. Bill O’Reilly death match (rules upon request). The first thing that struck me: the Aptera is the only car in the world with less sideways visibility than the 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Coupe. Second, what is that hulk those guys are washing, and does the man from Griot’s Garage wince every time he sees that paint-scratching action? And lastly, I reckon the Volt has had its day in the sun. It’s not a profound Insight, but by the time Chevy’s not-so-slammed electric/gas hybrid appears, the Volt’s gee whiz factor will have drained off into the gestaltosphere. The Volt will have to compete with real cars in the real world, offering real advantages to real buyers. As you may have noticed, GM isn’t so good at reality. Still, where there’s a will, there’s an Uncle Sugar. The feds are lining up some $10k worth of tax credits for GM’s Hail Mary. Per vehicle. Is it enough? And will the clock run out before The General can even send in the special teams? Your guess is better than theirs.

GM will invest $30m in the Michigan LG Chem/Compact Power battery plant which will assemble lithium-ion cells for its Chevy Volt. Of course the actual cells are made in Korea, a fact which make the Volt’s many taxpayer subsidies less than exclusively patriotic affairs. But fear not, American taxpayer! Korean subsidies make your subsidies go farther! GM’s Bob Lutz reveals to MLive that one of the reasons GM picked the Koreans over homegrown A123 Systems was because “LG Chem has massive support from the Korean government in terms of a whole research campus was paid for by the Korean government because Korea recognizes that advanced battery technology is a key component of the country’s competitiveness.” Hint, hint. Since LG Chem is farther along with prismatic (flat) cells, we’ll all just have to live with the fact that our tax money is flowing through GM to foreign firms, although to be fair, A123 did its cell manufacturing in China. So much for “supporting domestic industry.” Anyway, in his announcement of the $30m investment, GM’s Ed Peper tells Reuters to forget any CadiVolt dreams. “We chose Chevy because we can’t be niche with the Volt,” explains Peper. “We have to make it a mass-production vehicle.” A $40k “People’s Car” which depends on foreign technology, and will lose money even with “government support” coming from all sides? Niche? Never.

Remember the Converj concept Caddy rolled out for the Detroit show? You know, the good looking Volt coupe? The one that was held up as a reason to bring PNGV back from beyond the grave? Anyway, you probably had your hopes up for a quick production run. After all, GM’s Car Czar Bob Lutz hath already proclaimed that a production Converj would look “exactly” like the concept. So it’s official, right? Right? When Automotive News [sub] actually asks the question, Lutz’s maximum takes a moment to aknowledge the presence of reality. “Ready to go? Well, first we have to prove to ourselves that we have the money,” Lutz says. “And then that it’s a high enough priority to displace something else, and that we can actually make money on the vehicle, and that there is potential customer interest and so forth. We haven’t done any of that work yet.” So now we know: “proving to ourselves that we have the money” is step one (post-concept) for GM product development. With an estimated debt load of $60b and a market cap of you-depress-yourself-with-the-math, that process of “proving to ourselves that we have the money” must make for some entertaining material. Reality series!

An ironic number for this post, of course, as A123 Batteries just lost their chance to supply batteries for the Hail Mary-shaped plug-in electric – gas hybrid Chevy. But one has to wonder: will GM last long enough for Volts to hit the showroom? Speaking to NPR, GM CEO Rick Wagoner put the onus on you, the taxpayer, to make it so. “”My own view is that the opportunity for these [electric cars] to develop into high-volume vehicles is good,” Wagoner told the taxpayer-funded news org. “But to be honest, it’s going to depend on our ability to work on things like getting the cost down and it’s going to be very much dependant on government policies which support the growth of electricity in vehicles.” Whoah, Dude! Does that mean that GM is acknowledging that the Volt is a non-starter? “Wagoner says electric cars are very expensive to make. Even if the Volt rolls out in 2011 or 2012, as a new technology its cost will be ‘significantly more than the consumer will be willing to pay for.’ That means GM will have to take losses on the vehicle in order to advance the technology, Wagoner says.” And who, pray tell, is going to cover those losses? You! The non-Volt-buying, tax paying consumer.

Or not, we might add. As usual, the latest chapter in the Volt saga is both convoluted and taxpayer-funded. Automotive News [sub] reports that “A123Systems, the battery supplier for the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid vehicle, will make lithium ion batteries for automotive use at a Michigan plant if it receives federal (136) loans, the supplier said today.” The plant would employ up to 14k, and supply batteries for 19 contracts including the Volt, Chrysler’s ENVI and Project Better Place. But this information is based on A123’s filings. There’s still no official confirmation from GM on the Volt contract, although Business Wire does quote GM’s Bob Lutz as saying “A123’s proposal to manufacture advanced battery cells and packs right here in the United States is a positive development for our industry and the nation.” The strangest part of the story is that the GM-Volt.com cheerleaders, usually privy to info straight from GM, were previously convinced that LG Chem/Compact Power had beat A123 to the contract. Back in October, GM-Volt’s Lyle Dennis seemed to confirm a Reuters report that LG/Compact had won. “As we have heard before in a subtle way from GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz,” wrote Dennis, “GM was only using one supplier’s packs in the mules. Concurrently, we had heard from Compact Power’s CEO that his batteries were being used in the mules. Sources have now confirmed this is the case and that the mules packs are performing flawlessly.” So really, who knows. GM may well be saving the announcement for the forthcoming Detroit Auto Show.

Autoblog Green has picked up a press release from Alcoa, which reveals that the aluminum giant has secured the wheel contract for the Chevy Volt project. And though we could justifiably complain that this is literally putting the wheels before the horse (we still have no official confirmation of the battery contract status) there’s even more to dislike about this move. Obviously the Volt has to justify its sky-high MSRP on its green credentials (given that GM’s green credentials are riding on this single program), but choosing Alcoa as a wheel supplier further degrades the program’s green cred. Alcoa was recently named number 15 on Political Economy Research Institute’s (PERI) Toxic 100 of 2008 for releasing 13.11 million pounds of toxic air this year. The firm has run afoul of the Environmental Protection Agency several times for violations of the Clean Air Act and creating at least one groundwater superfund site. But hey, Alcoa’s wheels are about 20 percent lighter and twice as strong as other cast aluminum wheels. So whatevs, right? Then again, we are talking about a firm that trumpets paint burning as an environmentally friendly move.

The new Flint, Michigan engine plant slated to build the ICE for the Chevrolet Volt has been put into deep freeze. AP (via Yahoo) has this latest tale of woe. Word is that GM has shut down construction because it doesn’t have the cash to pay for steel structural members. The Volt’s 1.4 liter four banger is to be shared with the Chevy Cruze, and both engines are planned for the brand new factory. Why is GM constructing a new building to manufacture this engine while at the same time closing factories by the dozen? Ah, the answer is hidden in Spokeswoman Sharon Basel’s statement: “The company already makes the 1.4-liter engine at a plant in Austria, she said, giving it another option for engines.” The last thing cash strapped GM needs is another engine factory while global automotive demand is imploding. If the Volt ever appears, look for its exhaust note to have a distinctly Austrian accent. California’s Governor Schwarzenegger will be so proud! Only four short months ago GM said it would spend $370 million building the new engine plant, and scored $132.5 million in Michigan tax incentives for its efforts. Hopefully Michigan didn’t put cash on the barrel. Bailout or no, the prospects for this factory going online are only slightly better than those for the revival of the GM Rotary Engine, likewise “put on hold” decades ago.

Speaking of wedge issues. In a bizzare inversion of those tabloid baby-bump rumors, there’s a hot tip flying around the autoblogosphere that GM is aborting the Volt program and firing engineers. Things started with an anonymous tip to Jalopnik, saying “My uncle works on the Volt as an engineer. He’s getting laid off Friday because apparantly the project (aka VOLT) is on hold indefinitely.” Early responses from PR flacks was inconclusive, but Autoblog has apparently received word from GM spokesman Terry Rhadigan that “there’s no truth in that statement whatsoever.” Rhadigan went on to hedge a bit, saying “I’m not going to respond to specific speculation. The Volt remains a top priority for our Company and there are no changes to the timing of the program.” With a bailout compromise announcement expected at any time, this little rumor could mean one of two things. Either it’s true, and GM is cutting everything it can to make its “survive to March 31” bill as palatable as possible, or it’s untrue and GM is spreading a lie/allowing it to fester to scare more money out of the pols. Either way, file this under “unpleasant.”

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that GM Chairman Rick Wagoner will “drive a prototype Volt wearing the sheet metal of the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze to the Senate committee hearing on the company’s request for $18 billion in emergency loans.” And though they mention that GM will bring a production prototype Volt as well, they make no mention of where Wagoner will depart from on his drive to the capitol. Here’s a guess: somewhere less than 30 miles away. The WSJ now reports that “Mr. Wagoner plans to drive from Detroit in a hybrid Chevrolet Malibu. He will then drive about two miles — from his hotel, to GM’s Washington office, to Capitol Hill — in a test version of the Volt.” So yeah, a little less than 30 miles.

This is what I get for taking a moment to check in at GM-Volt.com. The angry young Volt-lovers are freaking out about the possibility of GM not surviving until the Volt’s launch date, and the prospect of losing their beloved fetish object has folks in a “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship” kind of mood. The emotional fervor that these people feel towards this nonexistant vehicle is such that their suggestions make handing a blank check to Detroit look like a good idea. The “GM-Volt.com Viability Plan Suggestion,” was put forward by semi-retired NASA engineer Phil Toney, and man is it a doozy. The plan boils down to congress legislating that the entire government fleet (600k+ vehicles) be replaced with, you guessed it, Chevy Volts. But that’s not all…

Read More >

Maximum Bob Lutz was not invited to grovel testify before congress this week, for all of the obvious reasons. So Lutz earned his champagne and cigars the honest way this week: driving cars and blogging about it at Fastlane. Of course, that doesn’t mean Lutz doesn’t have an opinion about the bailout. He’s just strictly forbidden from saying anything besides “I am not going to comment here about any government loans or hearings or GM’s financial situation — just like I wouldn’t engage you in conversation about it if I ran into you in the produce aisle.” Wheh. There goes one recurring nightmare. Besides, as Lutz points out “we have other places online for that conversation, such as gmfactsandfiction.com.” And if that’s not Lutzy enough for you, just wait until he starts talking about the Volt he’s been driving!

Read More >

Obama is doing what he can to avoid getting overly involved in the unfolding government-industry debacle, but as we noted earlier, that’s a luxury he can only avoid for so long (not that we blame him for trying). Nothing illustrates the tough choices that The One will face in a few short months like Chevy’s moon-shot-mobile: the Volt. Accordingly, Holman W. Jenkins Jr has a column in today’s Wall Street Journal about “the car of the Age of Obama — or at least the Honeymoon of Obama, before the reality principle kicks in.” Jenkins devotes a good deal of the column to rehashing the many, many problems with the whole Volt project, a topic we have covered extensively in our Volt Birth Watch series. His logical conclusion? “It’s a car that will be unsalable without multiple handouts from government.” And he doesn’t go easy on Obama either…

Read More >

Curious about how things are progressing on the Volt front? Want to know all about how the Volt team “weighed each metric by importance and factored in what Volt vehicle-line executive Tony Posawatz diplomatically calls “qualitative factors,” such as, Are we going to hate working with these guys?” when choosing a battery supplier? Popular Science has a monster piece on the moon shot’s moon shot entitled Power Struggle that will answer all your questions about the Volt’s battery. Except for who’s going to make it and what the actual specs are. You will, however, learn that “It was a different proposition for the EV1,” according to Jon Bereisa, the chief of propulsion on the EV1 and an early instigator for the Chevy Volt. “The battery technology was not there and we knew it, but we believed that we could make up for it by designing a highly efficient car. You could say we nailed it. But we really did not achieve commercial viability.” And one analyst warns “the battery is too big, too expensive, and we are concerned about the life of the battery, the liability risk and the warranty’ — that’s what I hear at every car company I’ve gone to for the last nine years, and now I’m going to go to plug-in hybrids? The batteries are five times bigger, five times more expensive. The liability risk is five times more, or 10 times more.”