GM admits the Volt concept car's aerodynamics suck

[instarx]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Instarx, I wouldn't blame the styling of the original Volt concept on GM's engineers. That's got "stylist" written all over it.

You're right - I apologize to all engineers. I should have said management apparently didn't have a clue.

[lunarhighway]

Just remember that Opel is also Detroit!

I should have said management

i may be biased about opels but they rellay had some more than decent cars in their linup the last 10-20 years, so even if the engineers eleswhere at gm where incompetent, they could have just picked a real car with a low Cd off the shelve and started from there. i think gm underestimates the intelligence of the american custommers... or at least made some very wrong assumption about them... in a country where trucks are seen as cars and where muscle cars where born it's normal the averagge person might find a more boxy and powerull looking car more appealing, but that's just looks and they can be deceptive.... it's perfectly possible to build a car that has good aero and than make it look boxy to the eyes and not the air. supposed custommer expectations are no excuse to build bad cars.

stylists are needed but they should become last, not first in the design prosess

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by lunarhighway

i may be biased about opels but they rellay had some more than decent cars in their linup the last 10-20 years, so even if the engineers eleswhere at gm where incompetent, they could have just picked a real car with a low Cd off the shelve and started from there. i think gm underestimates the intelligence of the american custommers... or at least made some very wrong assumption about them... in a country where trucks are seen as cars and where muscle cars where born it's normal the averagge person might find a more boxy and powerull looking car more appealing, but that's just looks and they can be deceptive.... it's perfectly possible to build a car that has good aero and than make it look boxy to the eyes and not the air. supposed custommer expectations are no excuse to build bad cars.

stylists are needed but they should become last, not first in the design prosess

Perhaps GM will let Opel resurrect the EV-1,slap a Blitz-bolt on the nose and call it the "Lightning Volt".With the Ft.Stockton boat-tail,they'd be starting at Cd0.168.

[Peter7307]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

0.30 is respectable for a 4 door passenger car.

Citroen built the 4 door , five seat CX model in the mid 1970's.
That had a CD of 0.30 AND it was a production vehicle meeting all
(and exceeding most ) of the safety requirements of the time.

They also built an "e" model which claimed numbers in the 0.27 range.
Flush wheel trims , diesel engine , no air con , etc.

For a concept car 0.30 is pathetic.

Hell , even Mitsubishi's iCar claims numbers in the twenties.

Seriously if this is the best they can come up with I am not surprised they are on the decline.

Pete.

[Christ]

anyone have the numbers on the saturn sky? W/ the top up, of course, I'm sure it beats the Volt concept.

But, in all honesty, didn't it take GM like 5 or 6 generations of the Corvette to go from "streamlined" to "actually aero" and it still wasn't that good even at that?

Frankly, when I see the older (pre-84) Corvette, I think "wedge of cheese in the wind".

[lunarhighway]

teh opel insignia that's just lanched has a 0.27Cd... a special "green" version wich is a little lowered has 0.26

this is a big 4 pasenger sedan and hatchback... just slap a different front bumper on it (and that's not even difficult as the panal lines seem to sugest the cars face comes of in one piece) et presto a chevrolet.

not saying this car's underlaying structure will permit easy convertion to an EV, but really....

this car can park shamlessly next to the newest bmw's merc's and audis. it's a low drag car that doesen't look like a jelly belly bean on wheels. make it electric and it will sell (well it would before the crisis hit)

yet the same people who brought (and took from you) the ev1, now think the brick is the most aerodynamic shape on the planet...

on the other hand it must be noted that in the late 80's and early 90's those opel models, of wich most had Cd's below 0.3... where regarded as boringly styled, without much character... an image opel strugled with for years.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by lunarhighway

teh opel insignia that's just lanched has a 0.27Cd... a special "green" version wich is a little lowered has 0.26

this is a big 4 pasenger sedan and hatchback... just slap a different front bumper on it (and that's not even difficult as the panal lines seem to sugest the cars face comes of in one piece) et presto a chevrolet.

not saying this car's underlaying structure will permit easy convertion to an EV, but really....

this car can park shamlessly next to the newest bmw's merc's and audis. it's a low drag car that doesen't look like a jelly belly bean on wheels. make it electric and it will sell (well it would before the crisis hit)

yet the same people who brought (and took from you) the ev1, now think the brick is the most aerodynamic shape on the planet...

on the other hand it must be noted that in the late 80's and early 90's those opel models, of wich most had Cd's below 0.3... where regarded as boringly styled, without much character... an image opel strugled with for years.

I think the whole concept of "style" is going to have to go the way of the Dodo Bird.We're either looking at Planet extinction or Stylist extinction and I know what I'd vote for.-------- Let the stylists fight over the "interior" and leave the outside to the scientists.