Chevrolet Volt Hybrid: From Concept to Production

So now that all the pizzazz surrounding the Volt has calmed down and while we wait… a couple of years to see how GM’s revolutionary plug-in electric / gasoline hybrid drivetrain works in real life conditions, let’s take a closer look at how the 2007 Detroit Show concept evolved into the final production car that was revealed to the public last week.

If you’re expecting to read a 2,000 word analysis on the Volt’s design, sorry guys, you lucked out. We’ll be short and to the point: our take is that Chevy’s design team essentially went back to the drawing board and created a conservative 4-box saloon sprinkling it with a handful of styling elements from the concept. -Continued

We understand that Chevy’s designers had to adapt the Volt’s styling and body analogies to our everyday needs but the end result is nothing out of the ordinary and that’s a damn shame for a car that means so much for the future of a troubled company like GM.

Yes, it may look more distinct than the current Toyota Prius or the forthcoming Honda Insight, but then again, what’s the difficulty with that? We can think of more than a dozen or so everyday family cars that manage to stand out from the crowd and they’re not even hybrids.

If you want an example then how about the European market Honda Civic hatchback? Now here’s a production family car that not only looks futuristic in and out having most of the competition licked for style, but it also does it without any compromises whatsoever in terms of interior space or functionality. Why is it so hard GM?

Picture Quiz: Who Designed the Chevrolet Volt?

All in all, GM gave out 13 pictures of people that took part in the development of the Chevrolet Volt electric hybrid. From this group of GM employees, six were involved in way or another with the Volt’s design. In the photo gallery after the jump there are two lead exterior designs, an exterior design manager, an interior design manager, a lead interior designer and a design director. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Think you can prove the saying right by distinguishing the designers from their coworkers in other departments? Just to help you out, we’ve added the first name of the employees on each photo. And since we're apparently being sarcastic, humorous answers will be widely appreciated. -Continued

Volt vs Insight vs Prius: What are your initial thoughts on their design?

Sure we’ll have to wait until the Detroit Show to see the production version of the Honda Insight and yes, we don’t have enough pictures of the Chevrolet Volt to make a totally safe judgment on its design. But how about your first impressions on the styling of both the Insight and Volt based on what we’ve seen up until now and how do you think they compare with the current Prius, which by the way, will be replaced by a new generation model in 2009?

And since it’s only fair that you know what we think, here’s our take on the styling of all three models: conservative to the point of boredom. The only reason we’d give the Volt an extra point is because the other two dedicated hybrids look so similar. Other than that, the production Volt is no more adventurous than any other mainstream Chevy sedan while the Insight looks like a rejected concept proposal for a liftback version of the new Fit / Jazz based City Sedan. Tell us what you think by leaving us a comment.

Quiz: How Much HP will the 2009 VW Golf GTI’s 2.0 TFSI Make?

As soon as Volkswagen released official pictures and details on the new Golf VI that’ll debut at the Paris Show in October, it was just a matter of time when car sites of all sorts would turn their attention to the forthcoming GTI. And while it is evident that the sixth generation Golf GTI will be equipped with the VW Group’s 2.0 TFSI engine, the million dollar question is how much horsepower it will have. We’ve read everything from 200 to 207 and from 211 to 245 HP.

If you want our opinion, we really doubt that VW has revealed to anyone specific details on the GTI VI’s output. Plus, we’re talking about the VW Group – a company that changes the output of its turbocharged engines more often than a chameleon in plaid factory…

Design Poll: Fiat 500 vs Ford KA

Our first thought when we saw the 2009 KA was what an excellent job Ford did to disguise the minicar's Fiat 500 origins. Even though Ford’s designers were limited by the architecture of the car, the KA bears no resemblance to its Italian sibling. But different doesn’t necessarily mean better - or does it? What we want to know is if you prefer the Fiat 500’s retro looks or the Ford KA’s modern “Kinetic” design. Yep, it’s a tough question but someone had to ask it. Enlighten us with your answers in the comment section. (Image: CarScoop)

What’s Your Favorite Production Rally Car?

A lucky friend in Germany just bought a used Toyota Celica GT-Four Carlos Sainz and it made us wonder what production rally car we’d like to see in our dream garage. Since we wanted to keep it realistic, we sorted out any specialty cars like the Lancia Stratos HF and narrowed it down to two vehicles: the Lancia Delta HF Integrale (given that only a handful of Club Italias were produced, we’d take the Evoluzione II Martini 5/6) and the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO (preferably the IX or the Tommy Makinen VI).

Now that you know what we’d like to see parked in our garage, tell us what your all-time favorite production rally car is by leaving us a comment here. You might also like to refresh your memory by checking out our rally-car image gallery after the jump. -Continued

What’s Your Favorite “Ugly” Car?

There’s ugly and there’s ugly; a Pontiac Aztec or a BMW 7-Series E65 are just plain hideous whichever way you see it while a 1990’s Alfa Romeo SZ or its roadster sibling, the RZ, are ugly in an alluring kind of way that’s hard to be explained in words. The best description that we’ve ever heard about the Zagato penned “beast” is from a 1990 issue of Car Magazine that stated, “Ugly as a sin and just as tempting.” Now that you know what our favorite “ugly” car is tell us what’s yours by leaving us a comment here. (More images after the jump).

Why the Corvette Z1’s Nurburgring Time Shouldn't be Compared with the Nissan GT-R

We’ll give GM plenty of kudos for creating a sports car that officially lapped the famous Nurburgring in a mere 7 minutes and 26.4 seconds as it puts plenty of supercars costing double its price to shame, but ultimately, its somewhat unfair to compare the Corvette ZR1 with the Nissan GT-R. True, in our article on the ZR1’s Nurburgring time we mentioned that GM’s sports car beat the Nissan GT-R (7 minutes and 29.03 seconds), but we only did it to give you a comparable example of how good the Corvette is.

However, we must put things into perspective. The 640Hp Corvette ZR1 is priced from $103,300, the 480Hp Nissan GT-R from $69,850. That’s a huge price difference -$33,450 or nearly 50% more. Practically, the GT-R should be compared with the 505Hp Corvette Z06 that starts from $72,125. Although this is not an official time, various sites (including Motortrend) have stated that the Z06 lapped the Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 42 seconds or 13 seconds more than the GT-R. -Continued

But to be totally honest, a sportscar’s Nurburgring time would be the last thing that would matter if we were in the market to buy one. Well before that we’d take into consideration a variety of factors including the emotional impact that the car has on us, the way it communicates with us on the road -maybe even on the track, and of course, the price tag. (Pic: Carscoop)

GM to Merger with Ford? The Idea was actually thrown on the Table!

Some could see it as a “MegaMerger”, others as a “MegaDisaster”. Either way, BusinessWeek magazine learned from an unnamed source that at a few recent meetings, unammed General Motors executives shared their thoughts about the possibility of a merger with arch American rival, Ford Motor Company.

However, some narrow minded fellow execs (before you start commenting, we’re being sarcastic now…) dismissed the idea as they believed a merger with a company that has even worse problems than GM would be a huge distraction at a time when management needs to focus on a turnaround.

Commenting on the report, David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research said, "I don't think a merger is likely. But you'll see a lot of options considered if they think bigger problems will come by." -Continued

What do you think about the idea of a “MegaMerger” between Ford and GM? Would GMF (that stands for General Motors Ford and not for Genetically Modified Fords…) be something worth looking into or would it be the end of both automakers?

Via: BusinessWeek