Reversing the flow to Australia, Volts headed down under
The Lutz has spoken yet again (imagine that!) and the subject once more is the Volt. This time it involves reversing some of the recent flow of machinery between Australia and U.S. GM's Holden division down under was tasked with developing a global rear wheel drive architecture for the company which has resulted in the recent launch of the Pontiac G8. According to Maximum Bob, the Australians will get a crack at the Volt a couple of years after it launches in the home market. As with all new GM platforms, the E-Flex architecture is being designed to meet requirements in all major markets. That means passing U.S. and European crash requirements as well as mounting the steering wheel on either side of the cockpit.
Right from the initial briefings on the Volt, Jon Laukner and others indicated that E-Flex was meant for world-wide application with different power-train variants that are best suited to local markets. That's why the company has shown different E-Flex concepts in various countries with flex-fuel, fuel-cell and diesel range-extenders as well as three different body styles (Volt, Opel/Saturn Flextreme and Cadillac Provoq). What body style and power plant gets sent to Oz in return for the G8s and Utes is unknown at this point but the gasoline engine seems most likely.
[Source: Go Auto]
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