Chevy Volt driven by ABG (and good video on Jay Leno's Garage)
 

Hi,

The good folks over at AutoBlogGreen have driven a pre-production Volt, and they are the first journalists to drive it with the ICE running:

Quick Spin: 2011 Chevrolet Volt charges toward production — Autoblog Green

NeilBlanchard -

Neato. I like the air dam detail. It looks verrrrrry familiar :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...lt-air-dam.jpg

It looks like it's in 3 parts. I wonder if it is spring loaded so it can collapse when you hit a curb.

CarloSW2

Hello -

This is an interesting blurb :

I was expecting a single-RPM engine.

CarloSW2

Our cars are starting to look normal again!

Now that this stuff is going mainstream, maybe my wife will let me put the airdam back on the Elantra...

http://www.ecomodder.com/forum/attac...1&d=1206395604

Well, it's a good news it's not fixed rpm. It allows to pick up the most efficient operating point for every load level.

Hello -

Accidently found this image :

http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/...urb-weight.jpg

This means the Volt is designed to ride about 2" lower than the Cruze.

CarloSW2

Yes, you're right. It's just that I've been hoping that the "ideal" would be viable in the real world, aka an engine designed to run at a single RPM. They also ditched the 1.0 V3 Turbo in favor of the 1.4 V4.

[EDIT: V3 and V4 are the wrong term, I meant to say I3 and I4]

CarloSW2

Popular Mechanics has now also driven the Volt, and they have a video that explains the reason for the change in the charging scheme: they want you to return home with an "empty" battery so you will charge it there, where it is the most efficient.

GM 2011 Chevy Volt Test Drive - 2011 Chevrolet Volt Pre-Production Test Drive - Popular Mechanics

I don't think that has anything to do with ride height. It's just that the center of gravity is lower, presumably because of the batteries mounted low in the frame.

More reviews:

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/b.../1201Volt2.jpg

The National Post (Canada) has a review:
Exclusive Preview: 2011 Chevrolet Volt - Posted Driving

So does the LA Times:
Chevrolet Volt: A sneak peek at GM's plug-in hybrid -- latimes.com

I've moved this over to the "Hybrids" subforum. As much as GM is fighting tooth and nail to convince people (journalists) to not call the car a hybrid, it certainly doesn't fit in our Fossil Fuel Free section! Series hybrid EV is probably as close as it gets.

Apparently we can expect to see a video on Jay Leno's Garage too.

Coincidentally, the ride height is also about 2 inches lower than the Cruze.

Not disagreeing about the effect of the pack on C.G.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...volt-cruze.jpg

Of course these are both pre-production vehicles; no saying if their ride heights are definitely what consumers are going to see.