2011 Chevrolet Volt: First Production Photos

[reverbbb]

There was a serious error today by a firm in Dallas that publishes media for GM. They accidently posted the photos on the Internet way in advance of the 'big announcement' of the newfangled 2011 Volt. The pix were only online for 12 minutes when they realized that the mistake had been made. But this website was quick to the draw and nabbed them before they were taken down. Now the whole world knows what the new Volt will look like:

2011 Chevrolet Volt: First Production Photos/

[Bullwinkle]

shoulda put chicks in front of it instead of those dudes. and, where's the tow hitch?

[bender-freak]

not for me.....pass....

[casterway]

Sure save money on fuel..no...wait...my local electric supplier is now proposing a 2 tier system in which anyone using power over a certain amount (like charging up an electric car) will pay a higher utility rate. So much for saving money.

[Nick JD]

The word "Concept" is being stretched to the limit these days.

Make an aggressive, cool car:



Then, copy Toyota.



Remember when the Japanese copied American cars?

72 Toyota Celica:



69 Chevy Camaro:

[markothefish]

I wish it looked more like that concept car that was pretty cool looking . .. Hoe many of those "suits" really had something to do with the design and production of that prototype ?

[reverbbb]

If you read the comments on that page link, GM is catching a LOT of negative feedback about falling so far away from their original concepts. It is no wonder GM is struggling. They cannot seem to make any good decisions to satisfy the consumers. One exception is the HHR has been a tremendous success. Why can't they ride that wave? The SSR was a beautiful design, but they ruined it by making it a $50K muscle truck that very few could afford or even want. The original EV failed idiodic 'lease only' program. I say wise up GM. The public will soon vote you out of office.

[Tonemaster]

It'll fall flat on its face. Way too little, way too late. And the range of the thing limits it to local toodling.

T.

[CharlieO]

I just don't understand why major automobile manufacturers think that high-technology hybrid and electric vehicles have to be ugly. It seems as if they're saying, "Well, if we have to build cars for geeks, they're going to have to look like they are cars for geeks."

While I don't like the production version of the Volt, I knew that there was no way that it was going to look like the concept car. That one looks like a seriously impractical design.

GM has greatly improved their build quality and their styling, in my opinion, in recent years. It's a shame that they had to blow it on a car that could be so important for them. Of course, it could be a part of their plan. Maybe they're planning for it to fail, just like they did with the EV-1. If it flops, they'll just tell the world, "See, it's just like we told you. There isn't enough demand for electric cars for us to be able to sell them profitably."

I'm still amazed that they are only able to get approximately a 40-mile range under electric power. The EV-1's did far better.

[CharlieO]

Originally Posted by reverbbb

If you read the comments on that page link, GM is catching a LOT of negative feedback about falling so far away from their original concepts. It is no wonder GM is struggling. They cannot seem to make any good decisions to satisfy the consumers. One exception is the HHR has been a tremendous success. Why can't they ride that wave? The SSR was a beautiful design, but they ruined it by making it a $50K muscle truck that very few could afford or even want. The original EV failed idiodic 'lease only' program. I say wise up GM. The public will soon vote you out of office.

I believe that you are thinking of the Chevy SSR, not the HHR. I don't think anybody is paying 50 grand for HHR's. GM dosn't have a monopoly on dumb marketing ideas. The recent Ford Thunderbird could have been a hit, but they blew it. If they had priced it like a Chrysler Sebring convertible, they could have sold hundreds of thousands of them at a very nice profit.

Going back to the question of the styling and the marketing of the Chevy Volt, I think that GM would have been smart to simply design the Chevy Malibu from the beginning to accept the Volt drivetrain. The Malibu is a good car, and I think it looks great. If you added this drivetrain as an option, it wouldn't have to cost $40,000 and GM could sell a bunch of them profitably. Since the Malibu shares the same platform with other GM cars, they could gradually expand their extended-range electric offerings across numerous brands. Nah, it would never happen...it makes too much sense.

[GhostofJohnToad]

I think GM purposely accidently "released" the pics to gage the public's opinion. GM is banking very heavily on this car. They should have been more radical or closer to the concept.

[reverbbb]

Originally Posted by CharlieO

I believe that you are thinking of the Chevy SSR, not the HHR. I don't think anybody is paying 50 grand for HHR's. GM dosn't have a monopoly on dumb marketing ideas. The recent Ford Thunderbird could have been a hit, but they blew it. If they had priced it like a Chrysler Sebring convertible, they could have sold hundreds of thousands of them at a very nice profit.

My fault, I meant what I typed. Unfortunately, I switched objects in mid-paragraph.

Should have read more like:


If you read the comments on that page link, GM is catching a LOT of negative feedback about falling so far away from their original concepts. It is no wonder GM is struggling. They cannot seem to make any good decisions to satisfy the consumers. One exception is the HHR has been a tremendous success. Why can't they ride that wave?

The SSR was a beautiful design, but they ruined it by making it a $50K muscle truck that very few could afford or even want. The original EV failed idiodic 'lease only' program. I say wise up GM. The public will soon vote you out of office.

Even up until just 18 months ago, the big three were designing and marketing to the wrong narrow queues. They thought that Americans would forever be willing to accept large vehicles that burned lots of gas and and cost $180 to fill up each week. Admittedly, nobody really knew that $4.00/gal gas would slip up on us so quickly. Yet, the Japanese was way ahead of the curve in anticipating what the world would buy.

[lewis]

I think GM purposely accidently "released" the pics to gage the public's opinion. GM is banking very heavily on this car. They should have been more radical or closer to the concept.

Ditto.
This was no accident.

[stephent2]

this is very close to the design sketches I've seen for the new Saab 9-5 which is scheduled for 2010 or 2011. They must be drinking the same koolaid.

[GhostofJohnToad]

[QUOTE=stephent2;1417298]this is very close to the design sketches I've seen for the new Saab 9-5 which is scheduled for 2010 or 2011. They must be drinking the same koolaid.

Saab is owned by GM. Same koolaid indeed.

[stephent2]

[QUOTE=GhostofJohnToad;1417326]

Originally Posted by stephent2

this is very close to the design sketches I've seen for the new Saab 9-5 which is scheduled for 2010 or 2011. They must be drinking the same koolaid.

Saab is owned by GM. Same koolaid indeed.

Same chassis most likely. As a Saab owner who doesn't like GM (at all) that fact has made my car buying decisions much more difficult. I'm at over two dozen saabs in my car buying life, there are rumors that the next saabs will be designed in Sweden, we'll see.

[sixstringbastard]

I want GM to make hybrid fleet vans. I need a plain white van to tour and gig that gets great mileage.
.
Whenever the price comes down I plan on putting the fancy solar shingles on my roof with a small windmill linked to a power convertor. When that happens I'll be generating a portion of my own power. Every little bit counts, especially when it comes to saving money.

[KokoTele]

Are we sure that's not just a photoshopped Jetta?

[Guitar_Ninja]

All I can say is man, are over-sized rims fugly. Only the Camaro posted above pulls it off.

They look just god awful on anything other than a sports car.