First Pre-production Volt hits the road
 

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/06...hits-the-road/

The article doesn't say much but we got a kinda underneath shot.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....eality_opt.jpg
I still prefer the look of the concept. Oh well.....

It will be interesting to see what the results are.

Video:

http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/archives..._schedule.html

B

In this segment of the market function wins out over form. So I think alot of people are just going to have to suck it up when it comes to the looks.

The concept car wasn't practical. If they made a car with that exact body it would have been a flop. Thats not to say they couldn't have given it more Camaro and less Malibu of a look. Either way it should do good in that segment. Especially if gas is back to $4+

The problem is, the "production" Volt shown in the photo's isn't the "production" Volt we're going to see on the streets.

They've moved the charging port to a ridiculous place.

http://www.thegmsource.com/index.php...articleid=1238

Plugs has been standardized.

Make sense to put it there, last thing you need is people rushing to work in the morning and forgetting to unplug it.

This.

Just wanted to clarify this issue...

Posted on the Volt's Facebook page by an engineer...

"The Volt show car charge location does not support the technical hardware of the vehicle charge cord connector. In order to be compliant with the new SAE standard for charging equipment for all new EVs, it required us to relocate the charge location down to the front fender above the wheel. This also minimizes the effect on the body structure at the base of the A-pillar."

Correct sir. That would be an expensive part to replace.

That is a good point, you can't miss the plug if it is right by the drivers side door.

So are you going to remove that article from your "news" site now? Since its just about bashing GM for the plug location? When in fact it was mandated from the government.

1) It wasn't mandated by the Government. GM chose to follow the lead set by the Society of Automotive Engineers.

2) If you read my story you'd know I included the GM statement - afterall, they responded to the issue by my question.

3) GM knew they were using this charger before the "final" design of the Volt was completed.


Here's a thought. I printed out the photos that I published and showed them to family members at a graduation party I attended yesterday. All but one said it was "ugly" and asked "why is there a gas cap at the FRONT of the vehicle?"

The only one that didn't question it was an engineer. How many engineers do you know?

You're right, but it would also be foolish for GM to not program the software to chime, beep, sound an alarm when you "start" the Volt that it's still plugged in. Better yet, if memory serves me right, the Volt won't even start when it's plugged in.

Crisis averted.