Car Throttle

Thanks to the General Motors hype machine, we've been hearing about the Volt for a long time. In fact, it has been pretty much non-stop coverage since it was revealed at the North American International Auto Show in 2007. But its arrival is now imminent - production has begun and deliveries are going to be ramping up over the next few months. Assembly takes place at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck production plant and the entire build process of the Volt has been captured on video. An amazing sight is seeing the high-tech Volt being built on the same line along with the decidedly old-GM Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucurne. Thanks to time-lapse photography we can see it all happen in just 2 minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3dZfvTLbBE&feature=player_embedded#!

We know, we know - we've been hearing about the Chevrolet Volt for a long time. General Motors has maxed out every public relations benefit it can get by spreading out every announcement. It's introduction is nearly upon us though, along with that of the Nissan LEAF, of which Nissan has done an admirable job with as well. However, while pegged against each other, the two are very different in approach. The difference is represented in pricing. There has been a lot of speculation about exactly what the final price of the Volt would be - how low would GM go with it? A price tag in the $20K range really was never feasible for the debut of an advanced powertrain system. $41,000 isn't exactly cheap, but you don't

Well maybe (just maybe) General Motors is starting to get it. It seems that some patent drawings have leaked out that shows the once largest carmaker in the world to be working on (or at least covering their patent bases) on a hybrid minivan. It makes logical sense, in a bunch of realms, so maybe the real surprising thing is that GM came up with it. According to sources, the pictures here are official trademark designs of an unnamed Chevrolet compact minivan. Note the front end and rear end styling. Notice the shape of the headlamps and tail lamps. Looks a lot like Chevy's highly anticipated Volt series hybrid, no? GM Inside News says that the compact people carrier/minivan seen in the drawings looks to

The new Volt is no doubt an extremely important car for General Motors, playing an integral part of its new image and perceived ability to deliver. As such, the PR campaign for the car has been intense, leaving nothing to guess before the official launch. The car is currently undergoing preproduction testing. The video below shows the car completing GM's "flood test" at the corporation's Milford Proving Ground. Right now in the initial development phase, there is no actual battery in the vehicle. In about 8 months, Volts will be run through the test on their own power and with a battery installed. httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rt-qW1uQPM

Electric vehicles offer a lot of great benefits, like becoming dependent from foreign oil and hopefully saving money on gas. Chevrolet has been pressing onward with the new Volt lately, testing preproduction variants and other things as production nears. Electric vehicles bring up a new set of issues though - things like sound. It could be dangerous to have nearly silent vehicles whizzing by - especially for the blind. GM recognizes the dangers and is already working to provide a solution. There will likely be a sound emitted when the car is backing up, as well as a driving sound that engineers are working to develop. Imagine if these vehicles come widespread - in heavily-trafficked parking lots that could be a lot of beeping going on! Anyway, GM's

Chevrolet's all-important (from a public relations standpoint) new Volt is coming, and things are going smoothly so far with testing of the preproduction run. At the this years North American international Auto Show, Cadillac first showed off the Converj concept. The Converj is based around the same Voltec (formerly E-Flex) range-extended electric vehicle drivetrain that is used in the Volt. Many speculated when the Volt was introduced that it would be much better if General Motors introduced an expensive, high-end vehicle under the Cadillac banner first. Most new technologies don't start out being very affordable - Tesla and Fisker are just a few recent examples in the automotive industry. Producing the Volt offered a much needed boost to Chevrolet, but the benefits of a higher pricing factor and

I'm on board with alternative fuel technologies like hybrids and electric vehicles because of their impact in ways like national security and practical matters like less spent on gas. However, there has to be room for performance in there. So in that regard, there hasn't been much promising news. Tesla? Definitely. They've shown us electric technology can be crazy fast and a whole lot of fun. Is the Prius fun to drive though? Not really. Chevrolet may be thinking more along the lines of enthusiasts with new Volt. As I've said before, it's not the technology that isn't fun for performance reasons; it's the way it's used that makes the difference.  How about handling? GM's chief engineer was recently asked how the Volt compares to "rivals" the

Chrysler is trying to show it's serious about it's ENVI Electric Vehicles division by releasing a minivan using their technology to a fleet customer. The announcement is designed to coincide with Earth Month (pictures were released on Earth Day). I was waiting to see if the company would have a press release on the program following the pictures, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Chrysler showed three electrified vehicles as part of it's ENVI electric vehicles program. I speculated at the time that the only model with a real chance at production was the Lotus Europa-based Dodge EV (Now Circuit). The others seemed just an attempt to show everyone that it was working on a family-friendly vehicles. The Circuit EV still will be the one going

Fisker scaring you, Jaguar? After receiving a £340 million loan (Around $450 million at current exchange rates) from the European Central Bank (EIB), it looks like Jaguar is moving quickly to show it's putting the money to good use. The loan was given to Jaguar-Land Rover to speed up by the European Central Bank to speed up investment and production of green technologies. Jaguar must have been working on the EREV Jaguar XJ ahead of time and showed it to the EIB in order to garner the necessary funds to produce it. Otherwise, 2011 is an very quick time frame to see this hit production. In the high-ende luxury market, the electrified Jaguar XJ would go head to head with the Fisker Karma. Who would have thought? An

Even with the future of the Opel (and Vauxhall and Saab and....) brand in doubt, new releases keep on coming. One set for the Geneva Show is the Ampera, a car we've seen teased and leaked recently. Now comes another official "teaser" from GM that reveals the entire front of the car. Well, there it is! As you can clearly see, it's based on the Volt but with some changes that I think, make a big difference. The Ampera follows a similar frontal styling pattern that has been displayed on recent Opel concepts like the GTC and Flextreme. It's fitting that the look would be debuted for production on an advanced production car like the Ampera. Others have commented that the Ampera looks better then the Volt, and I'm inclined to