Reader spots Chevy Volt prototype parked in a driveway
by Sam Abuelsamid on Oct 18th 2009 at 7:07PM 
One of our ever-alert readers has been out walking the neighborhood armed with a camera this weekend when he spotted one of the most anticipated cars of the next few years. Sitting in a neighbor's driveway was a Chevy Volt IVER prototype. We know GM has been out running the Volts on public roads including a 1,200-mile, three-day drive from Michigan to Virginia last week.
However, it's unusual a year before production to see the engineers driving these types of pre-production units home for the weekend. That doesn't usually happen until much closer to Job 1. On the other hand, it's also unusual to see such cars running undisguised this far ahead of production. GM has been so open about this program from day one that they haven't bothered with camouflage on any of these prototypes.
The fact that GM has seen fit to allow these vehicles off the proving ground is a sign that they have a reasonable degree of confidence that it is going to work reliably. That's a good sign for Job 1, which should come just about a year from now. Thanks to Eric for the photo!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Wanted 8:05PM (10/18/2009)
Too bad it's parked in front of a Dodge.
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jm 8:21PM (10/18/2009)
Even GM employees know not to by a GM minivan.
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jaguar879 8:39PM (10/18/2009)
...an easy decision considering they don't exist anymore.
frothe3 9:17AM (10/19/2009)
HELLO!!?? What planet are you from!!!?? GM stopped making their minivan about a year a two ago. We had the Oldsmobile Silohuette GLS and that van was MUCH better than either Chrysler or the imports could build. AND NEVER BUY A TOYOTA UNLESS YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH!!
meme 12:53AM (10/19/2009)
Well, a real-world test of a plug-in hybrid vehicle would be to see how it handles household charging in a variety of situations...
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rosing 10:38PM (10/18/2009)
Too bad it is not plugged in!
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NeilBlanchard 10:51AM (10/19/2009)
Hi,
In all fairness, all we can say is we cannot see if it is plugged in or not...
Neil
autobahnw2 11:02PM (10/18/2009)
i see a prototype volt drive out of the tech center every other day, the only one i remember driving from gm to gm property was one driving right across the street to one of the auxillary gm buildings, otherwise, its probably the owner in that picture.
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Laurens 4:21AM (10/19/2009)
It's a decent size, that's a plus.
Put a diesel in it, and it may make a profit as well...
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3PeaceSweet 6:27AM (10/19/2009)
Cut the size of the battery by 2/3rds and stick a 1 litre, 3 cylinder TDI in there.
12 miles all electric, 60+mpg
Sammy E 7:55AM (10/19/2009)
were was the photo taken (what state, city???)
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GTP_NISM0_SKYLINE 8:19PM (10/19/2009)
I saw it outside of Fenton on the 18th of October
tinman 8:31AM (10/19/2009)
Only seats 4. It will be DOA on that and $$ cost. Prius will prevail.
Nothing has changed at GM. Still the same failed managers as before.
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John Pelletier 9:01AM (10/19/2009)
and the prius seats what 20? come on. I give them credit for sure for working on a quality product, yes they should not have killed the ev1 and might have had a much better product today if they had not but none the less. Whatever it was that made them decide on the volt its a good thing in the long run and a good option for a lot of people.
J 9:09AM (10/19/2009)
Maybe someone stole it and took it home.
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Jim 9:21AM (10/19/2009)
"However, it's unusual a year before production to see the engineers driving these types of pre-production units home for the weekend. That doesn't usually happen until much closer to Job 1."
the sole reason for that is that normally prototypes are camouflaged until they've been publicly unveiled (typically 6-8 months before start of production) and no automaker allows camouflaged cars out for overnight drives unless they're on a test cycle.
Since the Volt has never been camouflaged, then it makes sense that people are driving them home.
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KK 11:05AM (10/19/2009)
> the sole reason for that is that normally prototypes are camouflaged
Don't you think theft (industrial espionage or otherwise) is also a major concern? The exterior may be widely publicized, but I expect engineers from many other companies would love to take one apart.
Epyx 10:02AM (10/19/2009)
Hopefully everything keeps going as planned. Pretty amazing engineering feat so far. Now, just need to ensure it does what has been promised (40 all electric miles) and I will be very impressed.
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Tomasz Bania 4:58PM (10/19/2009)
I saw it again this morning, as for the state/city, state is michigan and city is not far from the tech center
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autobahnw2 1:22PM (10/19/2009)
I saw it again this morning, as for the state/city, state is michigan and city is not far from the tech center
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