2016 Chevrolet Volt: Seats Five, But Not (Really) On A Fifth Seat

2016 Chevrolet Volt, 2015 Detroit Auto Show

The new 2016 Chevrolet Volt, its designers and engineers say, carries many features requested by owners of the first-generation Volt built from 2011 through this year.

Among them are more electric range, an illuminated charging port ... and a fifth seating position.

Note the phrasing, please, because what Chevy calls an "occasional seating position" is not the same as a seat.

One of the biggest mysteries before last week's reveal of the new Volt in its entirety at the Detroit Auto Show was exactly what any fifth seat might be like.

2016 Chevrolet Volt

The mystery got more attention once GM released photos of the compact hatchback's battery pack, which retains its T-shape and again sits in a wide tunnel between the two front seats and under the rear seat.

In the end, the "fifth seating position" is effectively padding over the middle position of the rear seat--which previously had a hard plastic insert to prevent a fifth passenger--plus a seat belt. No headrest, incidentally.

When we spent some time with the 2016 Volt, we decided that a test of the "seating position" was required.

We took three adult men with a range of body sizes: one burly, one about average, and one skinnier, fitter, younger auto writer to play the role of your teenage kid's friend who unexpectedly needs a ride home from after-school practice.

2016 Chevrolet Volt, 2015 Detroit Auto Show

The bottom line: We all fit, but none of us was particularly comfortable. The two outboard riders were tilted toward the center of the car by the deeply dished lower cushions in the Volt's two real seats.

Meanwhile, the center rider sat slightly higher, requiring him to hunch slightly, and with his legs splayed into the outboard footwells. He was by far the least comfortable.

In other words, it's usable, but only for "occasional" passengers, over short distances--and it's best that the fifth occupant be slim and lithe, and not like to complain.

(Our thanks to Jake Lingeman of Autoweek for accepting the role of the fifth passenger. With luck, he won't have to do it again any time soon.)

Elon Musk: Tesla Will Sell “Millions” Of Cars By 2025

Though Tesla didn’t have a press conference on the floor of the Detroit Auto Show, Elon Musk did come to the Motor City to speak at the Automotive News World Conference. And boy, did he have a lot to say. Musk came to Detroit both encouraged and disappointed in other automaker’s EV efforts while also admitting that Tesla was coming up against some unexpected obstacles. But that didn’t stop Musk from making some pretty bullish claims of his own, like selling “millions” of cars annually within 10 years.

For Musk, his speech in Detroit came with a small slice of humble pie as the Tesla CEO admitted he had an “issue” with punctuality, referring to the again-delayed Model X. “It’s been two steps forward, one step back,” Musk said in reference to the falcon-wing doors. “Really, it was important to me that the doors were not just a gimmick, but a fundamental improvement to the functionality of the cars.” Musk promised that the Model X would go on sale this summer, and also said that the electric SUV was indeed sold out for the entire first year of production. That said, the automaker wasn’t actively seeking any new partnerships with major automakers, and so far no company has taken up Tesla’s offers to use its patents, at least that he knows of.

Musk also had to concede that Tesla sales in China had fallen in the fourth quarter compared to expectations, with many customers concerned about a lack of available charging stations. Tesla also underestimated the issues with installing and maintaining the high-powered Superchargers, leading to a delayed rollout. However, he says that “miscommunication” has since been “corrected” and sales are already starting to improve. That’s a far cry from Musk’s bravado last year when he said China could become Tesla’s largest market.

And that bravado came out full blast yesterday when Musk went on to diss on hydrogen fuel cells, calling the technology “extremely silly” and “terrible.” He also talked on the just-revealed Chevy Bolt, expressing excitement that GM was finally getting serious about electric cars, but dissing on the $30,000 price tag, which factors in the $7,500 Federal tax rebate. Musk repeated a previous claim that the upcoming Tesla Model III will cost $35,000 before incentives.

For Musk, the Model III also represents Tesla’s future profitability, as he says it is the car that will allow the automaker to finally start making real money, and he expects to sell a lot more than earlier projections of about 500,000 units in 2020. “I think we’ll try to aim to do more cars than that. I think we’ll continue past that. We probably should get to a few million cars by 2025. We could probably get to a few million cars per year.” He also said that 2014 Q4 sales of the Model S were the best yet, and that Tesla was going to revise its sales reports to a more standard monthly basis.

A mixed bag of news for Tesla fans, and probably not what most were hoping to start off 2015 on. To me though, that just means there’s a lot left to look forward to from Tesla, including the Model X debut, monthly sales reports, battery swapping, the Roadster upgrade, and whatever other surprises Musk might have in store.

Tesla Model X At CES 2015 – Video

Tesla Model X At CES 2015

At the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Tesla Motors once again wheeled out its pre-production prototype of the Tesla Model X:

“Tesla Model X in a short Hands On at the CES 2015 in Las Vegas.”

States the video description.

Unfortunately, we’ve yet to see the production-intent version of the Model X, as it’s now been delayed more times than we can remember.  This particular X we have seen appear at several events over the past couple years.

Hopefully this is a case of Tesla keeping their powder dry ahead of the big NAIAS in Detroit next Monday and the production version of the X, along with all the specs and pricing, will still be revealed at that time – or shortly thereafter.

The latest official word from Tesla on the Model X launch is:

“…we now expect Model X deliveries to start in Q3 of 2015, a few months later than previously expected.”

And this:

“Work continues on the finalization of Model X with the testing of Alpha prototypes and initial builds of the first Beta prototypes. Model X powertrain development is almost complete with the early introduction of Dual Motor drive on Model S. We recently decided to build in significantly more validation testing time to achieve the best Model X possible. This will also allow for a more rapid production ramp compared to Model S in 2012.”

Bonus Model X at CES 2015 video below:

Confirmed: Tesla Model X Offered In 60 kWh, 85 kWh & Performance – AWD Standard

Will The Base 60 kWh AWD Model X Survive Through To Production?

We expect to see the production-intent version of the Model X shortly.

One Of The Original Tesla Model X Prototypes Appeared At CES 2015 Last Week

But until then we have this.  Tesla is now taking reservations on the X saying it will be available in the following options:

• 60 kWh
• 85 kWh
• 85 kWh Performance

It should be noted that all Model X SUVs will come with “All Wheel Drive” (or “D” if you will) as well as the much promoted Falcon Wing Doors that may or may not have been one of the reasons behind the delays in the vehicle.

We expect to see an even great capacity Model X (and S) added to the lineup at some point in the future.

Of note: while the Model X and S are essentially the same platform with a different application, it is interesting to note the Model X is being offering in a 60 kWh AWD version, while the Model S that was also initially promoted as having this less expensive AWD option was quickly deleted.

Editor’s Note:  Don’t forget we will also be breaking all the specs and news on the next generation Chevrolet Volt shortly

Why 'Bolt' Is A Really Terrible Name For Chevy's Electric Car

2014 Chevrolet Spark EV - First Drive, Portland, July 2013

Monday morning, General Motors CEO Mary Barra is expected to unveil a new battery-electric concept car at the Detroit Auto Show.

It's the first look at a future production vehicle with a projected 200 miles of electric range, at a price said to be around $30,000.

Assuming the leaked stories are correct, the concept is called the Chevrolet Bolt.

And that's just an incredibly bad name for Chevy to use.

We can understand why GM's marketers would want to allude to the Volt in naming a new, all-electric model.

The Volt has the highest customer satisfaction of any vehicle GM has ever sold, and a sterling reputation for advanced technology and battery durability.

But "Bolt" is still a really, really bad name for the production car that we'll likely see during 2017.

Bolt

Why? Those of us who have surnames starting with "V"--including this editor--are deeply familiar with the inability of many people to distinguish between "V" sounds and "B" sounds.

To say that there will be a great deal of confusion at dealerships between the Chevy Bolt and the Chevy Volt would be a gross understatement.

And that's not even starting to address the issue of, ummmmm, bolt jokes.

Discussions among startled and incredulous members of the auto industry circulated through Detroit and the media diaspora all of yesterday.

Social media overflowed with one-liners about the rumored new model name.

Poster for 'Bolt' movie starring John Travolta and Miley Cyrus (2008)

Here are just a few. The names of the authors have been redacted, and obscenities removed, to protect any reputations they may have left.

• "Has no one at GM ever heard the phrase 'bucket of bolts'?"
• "At least they're giving it the worst car name in history. I guess Jolt was taken."
• "If it flops, we can call it the Dolt."
• "That's just Usain."
• "I actually thought of Bolt the Dog." (This is a 2008 movie starring John Travolta and Miley Cyrus; don't ask.)
• "We wanted to re-imagine the Volt. But we didn't want to use the same nameplate, so just think of the Bolt as re-Volting."
• "I can hear it now: 'Only a nut drives a Bolt.' "
• "When a Bolt gets stolen, will it be stripped?"
• "I can see it now: 'Police recovered a stripped Bolt today.' "
• "I think the base model Bolt will be called the Stripped trim. The high level will be called Lightning. I'd be SHOCKED if they didn't have some sort of Black & Decker Edition."
• "That's so ratchet."
• "GM is ready to tap into the Bolt market; when they drive it, [it will] be to die for."
• "Was [a GM employee named Holt] with Dodge when they did the Colt?"
• "I think it would make more sense to roll out a CrossVolt on Monday than the Bolt."
• "Here I was hoping that the Bolt would be the two-door sports coupe version of the Volt."
• "So can we look forward to the Bolt Dance?"

You get the idea.

Thankfully, there's plenty of time for GM's marketing mavens to reconsider the Bolt model name.

If the rumors of a tall five-door hatchback shape with crossover styling turn out to be true, we rather like the CrossVolt name--but we understand why Chevy would want to keep "Volt" for range-extended electric vehicles.

Prevalent rumors say Chevy has trademarked the Amp; how about that one?

There's also Electra, although Buick marketers may fight Chevy's team to hang onto that one for some future plug-in electric Buick model down the road.

But, hey, marketers get paid to solve tough branding problems.

Back to the drawing board, folks.

Source: Green Car Reports

The weekend before the dawn of the second-generation Volt

As the last post here before the cover is taken off the second-generation Chevy Volt, having learned more, I can tell you the 2016 Volt is better in several key respects – although really, this much you already knew.

A question that will remain even during and after the initial disclosure is how the vehicle will be received this year by the general public. The media will have a heyday contriving stories, churning up tons of information most people here know about like the back of their hand.

Some of the past lore involves details some of us are glad is behind the Volt.

Positive details are many as well. One biggie is that the first Volt was ever built by a restructured new GM in the first place – and now it’s carrying forward the new car having listened, it says, to you – the most enthusiastic supporters who’ve bought the first generation car.

For the “fast followers” as the marketing parlance has it for next-wave buyers behind “early adopters,” if there were ever an objection not to buy the first generation of any product – let alone an all-new big ticket item like a car – that objection is gone.

Many new buyers may be willing to entertain the notion that GM has fixed perceived issues, or otherwise evolved the product.

The present Volt already has super high customer satisfaction ratings and it’s been documented how many conquest sales and new faces to GM it’s brought.

But for some time now GM has marketed the car mainly to California where easily 40 percent of the sales come from, and at tech events.

Will it break out of a niche status? Again, GM has hinted the answer could be yes, but wide open is the question of by how much?

While we’ll have plenty of fodder to speculate on this question and more on Monday, its mainstream acceptability factor will not be known with absolute certainty Monday, and will be something that proves out in time.

Meanwhile, I will be interested to see how the media mill handles the new data that is the 2016 Volt revelation. It may dispassionately handle it, maybe spinning it a little off color in cases, and others will likely cover it with greater care and accuracy.

Look here Monday Jan. 12 at 12:01 a.m. eastern time (Sunday Jan. 11 at 9:01 p.m. Pacific time) for a story revealing specifics on efficiency, performance, and more.

GM Readies Electric Rival to Tesla - Auto Maker to Show Concept of Family-Size Car That Gets 200 Miles on a Charge

General Motors Co. plans to launch a $30,000 electric vehicle called the Chevrolet Bolt that would be capable of driving 200 miles on a charge by 2017, according to people familiar with the strategy, a move to gain ground on Tesla Motors Inc.
GM will show off a concept version of the Bolt on Monday at the Detroit auto show, eight years after the auto giant disclosed it would re-enter the electric car market with the Chevrolet Volt. The Volt, on sale since late 2010 and redesigned for 2015, is being upgraded to get better capability and sharper design, and has a backup gasoline motor on board in case juice runs out.

The Chevy Bolt, carrying a more capable battery manufactured by South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. , will be aimed squarely at Tesla’s forthcoming Model 3, a $35,000 electric car also slated to debut in 2017. The concept version of the electric car will be a hatchback designed to look more like a so-called crossover vehicle, according to people familiar with the design. The Bolt will be capable of driving four times farther than a Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid on a single charge.
GM has thus far struck out in its attempt to match its Silicon Valley rival. Recently, GM launched a $75,000 Cadillac ELR plug-in car that failed to dent Tesla’s dominance among luxury electric-vehicle buyers who have clamored for the Model S sedan.
By placing the Bolt in the high-volume Chevrolet line and giving it a name similar to the Volt, executives hope to polish Chevy’s image as a full-line vehicle manufacturer prepared to meet demand, regardless of prices at the pump, according to people familiar with the strategy. GM expects the Bolt to compete globally, including in markets such as China. It is unclear if a car similar to the Bolt would be inserted in the Opel, Cadillac or Buick brands down the road.
The Bolt represents the biggest risk taken by Chief Executive Mary Barra since taking GM’s helm a year ago. Its development was approved when she was product chief under former CEO Dan Akerson . But U.S. gasoline prices have fallen below $2 a gallon this year, hurting demand for electric cars.
While Tesla has sold relatively few Model S sedans since putting the car on sale in 2012, the Palo Alto, Calif., auto maker’s shares have soared on investor hopes for the company’s future.
Over Ms. Barra’s first year at GM’s helm, company shares fell 14% while Telsa shares soared 48%. Ms. Barra aims to have up to 500,000 electrified vehicles—including vehicles with partial-electric capabilities—on the road by 2017. In contrast, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he envisions up to 500,000 annual Tesla sales of pure electrics by 2020.
One factor motivating Ms. Barra is meeting regulations in the U.S., Europe and Asia that penalize full-line manufacturers when they sell too high a concentration of trucks and sport-utility vehicles, which are GM’s sweet spots. Ms. Barra, however, has insisted the company won’t build electric vehicles just “to check a regulatory box.”
AutoNation Inc. CEO Mike Jackson , who runs the largest U.S. auto retailer, said a vehicle like the Bolt shows a new attitude atop GM. The auto maker is now making big profits in the U.S. on its new trucks and SUVs in an era of low gas prices making the investment into more capable electric vehicles look more like a moonshot than a sound business decision.
“The old GM would have milked the cash cow until it was dry,” Mr. Jackson said in an interview. The new GM, he said, is showing signs that it is willing to take the long view. He estimates electric cars will compose 2% of the U.S. market, at most, in five years. “The industry will lose money on it,” he said.
GM’s track record with electrics remains spotty. The company shut down EV1 production in 1999, pulling the plug on a $1 billion electric-vehicle program that had impressed regulators but failed to reach commercial viability.
The Volt project started several years later. Heavily hyped by former GM CEOs and legendary product development chief Bob Lutz, the $35,000 car has been a disappointment despite hefty government subsidies.

Less than 90,000 Volts have sold globally since it went on sale in late 2010, and only 1,500 were delivered in December. The introduction of pure electric vehicles, such as Nissan Motor Co. ’s Leaf (which achieves 75 miles on a charge), and the relative success of Tesla’s pricey but more capable Model S sedan has overshadowed GM’s efforts.
The Volt is set for an overhaul in 2015. But it will be a smaller part of GM’s strategy than initially expected.
For Ms. Barra and other GM engineers, the Bolt’s proposed 200-mile range is critical because it is seen as addressing concerns about range long associated with electric cars, one person involved in the car’s development said. “Two hundred miles is seen as some sort of barrier where the notion of range anxiety goes away,” this person said.
Tesla has said its Model 3, due in 2017, will achieve about 200 miles on a charge. While less capable than the 85 kwh Model S, Mr. Musk plans to offer the Model 3 at a fraction of the price.
By the time the Bolt and the Model 3 hit the market, an onslaught of competitors, mostly from Europe, are expected to have long-range EVs available. Those cars, which could get more range, will likely be far more expensive than the Chevy.
While the electric car GM plans to build is far bigger than the economy car that has long been rumored, the Bolt will be smaller than Tesla’s Model S. The pouch battery cells that LG uses gives the auto maker flexibility to tuck the battery pack into a unique design in the vehicle.
The pack for GM’s new vehicle could be built in LG Chem’s Holland, Mich., plant, where the Volt batteries currently are made by the same supplier. That plant would have a capacity to build about 60,000 Volt battery packs, or 20,000 of the larger packs for a new EV, or a mixture of the two.
LG Chems’s battery improvements to make it possible to for GM to create the low-cost EV include better durability and electrical controls. Also, LG will use more of the available storage capacity in the cell than it does on the Volt. Plug-in hybrids can use less available storage capacity because of the constant charging from the gasoline engine. If more charge is used, it would limit the life of the battery.

“We have progressed far enough that it gives us a high level of confidence that in the 2017 kind of a time frame, there are no show stoppers or gotchas that we don’t know how to get over,” Prabhakar Patil, the chief executive of LG Chem Power Inc., the U.S.-based battery arm of the Korean electronics giant, said in an interview.