2011 Chevy Volt appears in order schedule, Job 1 November 1!
2011 Chevrolet Volt – Click above for high-res image gallery
Up until now, General Motors has remained deliberately vague in public about the scheduled Job 1 date for Chevrolet Volt production. Given the complexity and new technology involved in the program, we certainly can't fault GM from wanting to get locked in until much closer to the appointed day. After all, when you don't know what the future holds or what problems will crop up, who would want to give a date and time years into the future when something might happen.
Internal schedules, on the other hand, are something else all together. Every program has to have deadlines so that people will know how much time they have and how many resources to apply to a task. Those internal Gantt charts have undoubtedly had the magic date on them for several years. Among the stakeholders that need to know when a vehicle will launch are dealers that have to schedule orders for inventory. Around about this time of year, automakers let the dealers know when the current model year vehicles will end production and new ones will start.
With less than ten months to go, GM has put November 1, 2010 as the Volt's Job 1 date on the production start list for dealers. By September, dealers will have start giving GM an indication of how many Volts they want to order so the head office can determine allocations. Interestingly, the GM chart indicates that dealers won't know their allocations until two weeks after production starts and won't be able to start placing orders until then. Typically, those last two items happen about two months before production starts. The timing for start of production is still far enough out that those dates may yet change in the coming months.
A final item of interest is that the Cruze, which was originally slated to launch in April and then pushed back to September, is listed as TBD.
Gallery: Quick Spin: 2011 Chevrolet Volt
Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: GM-Volt.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Unknown 6:34PM (2/06/2010)
Hell fire!
Reply
Dan Frederiksen 8:24PM (2/06/2010)
too little too late. over engineered, holding back, too few. it's nowhere near enough and we can't let us be pacified by this token effort. look at the years tick by and they are still pushing their SUVs in super bowl ads..
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alex 5:44PM (2/07/2010)
Wow. If you said they were pushing SUVs in ads on some Lifetime movie last week, people might take your word for it... But everyone watches the Super Bowl. That means everyone will see that there are no GM ads (SUV ads or not) and they'll think "wow, that dan frederiksen is full of shit"
Dan Frederiksen 9:07PM (2/07/2010)
well any thought in a person watching the super bowl would be an improvement :)
but I meant big auto in general and I think at least Kia will push their planet killer Sorento and GM has certainly pushed their GMC terrain a lot.
I hope autoblog green does an article on which car ads were aired during super bowl as an indication of the attitude of the big evil. it's nice that there are green news item here on autoblog green but if the activity outside the green zone is business as usual then we are just being pacified while the evil goes on.
wincros 8:28PM (2/06/2010)
Business as usual. A limited production, low margin, expensive car with a limited market is job 1 while the Chevy Cruze which looks to be a profitable, high production car that most people can afford is moved not just to the back burner, but off the stove. If GM keeps this up I will not be surprised to see them drop to number 3 behind Ford and FIAT/Chrysler in a few years. Or owned by the Chinese.
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Turbofrog 11:32PM (2/06/2010)
I think it sends a pretty powerful message about priorities, though, and that's extremely important. The Cruze is just a nice, competitive compact. The Volt is what GM is going to be building its brand, its technology, and its future around.
Pudgie 5:56AM (2/07/2010)
@ Turbofrog,
"The Volt is what GM is going to be building its brand, its technology, and its future around."
If that is the case, they're sure to go bankrupt.
Again.
nrb 12:29PM (2/07/2010)
wincros, if GM didn't have the Volt, they'd be criticized for not having any advanced technologies and not taking chances.
No matter what GM does, there are some people that wont' let them win.
!!D 9:00PM (2/06/2010)
I'd wager the first N vehicles are to be delivered to government agencies rather than dealers.
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phez 9:40PM (2/06/2010)
The Volt's performance in michigan's winter will be the deal breaker for this car, imo.
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Chris M 2:55AM (2/07/2010)
Excuse me, but do you really believe that with their headquarters in Michigan, their research labs in Michigan, and their test facilities in Michigan, that they somehow haven't tested it to work in Michigan?
LOL
BTW, H2 fuel cells don't work at all when below freezing, so all of their H2 fuel cell prototypes rely on batteries to operate the car until the fuel cell can be warmed up to operating temperature.
Pudgie 6:00AM (2/07/2010)
@ Chris M
The electric-only range will be significantly lower in extreme cold.
"LOL"
letstakeawalk 1:28AM (2/08/2010)
As, usual, Chris M is making a dig at FCVs in an article that has absolutely nothing to do with them.
Does it matter how an FCV warms up? The point is, they work just fine in cold weather.
Watch the Winter Olympics to find out more...
letstakeawalk 1:39AM (2/08/2010)
"So GM has designed its Generation IV fuel cell assembly to eliminate all water from the stack when it stops operating. "It started up no problem in cold weather," Recchia-O'Neill says, even in a snowstorm and on days the temperature dropped below freezing."
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=pollution-free-hydrogen-vehicle-hits-driveway
"The new package also offers superior cold-weather capabilities, including the ability to operate in sub-zero temperatures."
http://www.kbb.com/kbb/green-cars/articles.aspx?BlogPostId=1292&r=275648348474076930
"Cold weather starts? Not a problem, the car is good to -13 degrees."
http://maineautomall.blogspot.com/2008/05/h2-oh-future.html
That was the last generation stack prototype. They're on gen V now. Do try to keep up, Chris M. Maybe you should watch the Winter Olympics, the Gen IV FCV Equinox will be used up there among other FCVs.
andrichrose 8:14AM (2/08/2010)
come on then , lets have one (fuel cell that is ) for the price
of the volt ! after all they have only been around for around
150 years !
Wanted 10:49PM (2/06/2010)
Chevy Cruze: dead on arrival? I once held interest in the car, but I've since taken the pictures off my wall.
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Rick 12:28AM (2/07/2010)
I want to be positive about this car and I'm sure it will be great around town for those who can afford it, but if it can do well on the freeway trip on a long incline with that little generator motor providing all the juice, I'll be very pleasantly surprised.
The thing about the volt is once it's battery is depleted - thats it - until you plug in again. It doesn't recharge on the flat and downhill sectiions - so how does that little generator provide enough energy and power for the high demands of long distance driving. It's just a 1.2 L engine, right?
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Chris M 3:00AM (2/07/2010)
The "range extender" generator starts up when the battery still has about 35% charge, so the battery can still assist for bursts of extra power. While the range extender is mainly to provide electrical power to the motor, it may partially recharge the battery, up to about 40% or so, if there is excess power available. Regenerative braking also recharges the battery, and that can include long downhill runs.
Leo 9:24AM (2/07/2010)
..plus: the volt apparently knows when the vehicle is being driven on an incline (i.e. motor drawing more amps over a prolongued period) and, when needed, will switch on the generator to give that little extra 'boost', irrespective of the 35 % charge threshold. That's how i understand it at least.
UH2L 1:08PM (2/07/2010)
The gasoline engine never directly powers the wheels with mechanical energy. It only charges the batteries and sometimes the energy is converted to electrical energy which is then sent to the electric motors.
http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/open/default/future/volt.do?seo=ysm_|_2009_Chevy_Awareness_|_IMG_Chevy_Volt_Phase_2_Content_|_Chevy_Volt_|_dummy_volt_content