GM Anticipates Buzz On Electric Volt
September 15, 2008;
Detroit -- General Motors Corp. on Tuesday plans to officially unveil its most important model in decades -- and possibly the key to its survival.
A GM engineer with the Chevy Volt, due to hit the market by late 2010
The Chevrolet Volt is a battery-powered compact car scheduled to hit the market by the end of 2010. It is designed to give GM the kind of highly fuel-efficient vehicle it needs to compete in an era of near $4-a-gallon gasoline.
But the car also has another, more-strategic purpose: to change minds.
GM is hoping the Volt will be such a technological leap forward that the many consumers who have turned their backs on Detroit will give the company and its cars a fresh look.
The auto maker also hopes the Volt will become its signature product, supplanting the big sport-utility vehicles like the Hummer and Chevrolet Suburban that now define its image.
On Tuesday, as part of its 100th anniversary celebration, GM will show off the version of the Volt it plans to put into production. And it looks like the increasing buzz about the car already is having an impact.
Some 40,800 people have put their names on an unofficial waiting list for the car, many of them former devotees of GM rivals like Toyota Motor Corp. or environmentalists, once among GM's toughest critics. The waiting list is compiled by gm-volt.com, a Web site created by a New York neurologist named Lyle Dennis.
It isn't clear how accurate an indicator the waiting list might be of eventual demand for the Volt. While GM watches the list closely, it hasn't said it will honor it. Some Chevrolet dealers, meanwhile, are keeping waiting lists of their own.
Among those eager for the chance to buy a Volt is George Kalkas, a 61-year-old business owner who lives in suburban Chicago and owns two Toyotas -- a Camry and a Prius hybrid. "There is no doubt I'm going to get a Volt," says Mr. Kalkas, an enthusiast for fuel-saving technologies. "I wake up in the morning thinking about it."
While the rising enthusiasm for the Volt offers GM an opportunity, it also poses some big risks. The biggest is that it isn't yet certain that the car will arrive in dealer showrooms on time, or even work as advertised.
It is also unclear how well the Volt's lithium-ion batteries will stand up to years of use. Lithium-ion cells can get very hot. Indeed, certain laptop computers were recalled in recent years after their lithium-ion batteries caught fire.
GM says fire isn't a likely risk for the car batteries it is developing, thanks to the chemical formula it will use and a sophisticated cooling system.
If the Volt fails to work as GM has promised or its launch runs into significant delays, the company could lose credibility with some of its newly won fans, says Elizabeth Lowery, GM's vice president for environmental and energy issues.
"We have to deliver," she adds. The vehicle is "very important to our entire strategy."
But Ms. Lowery, like other GM executives, says the Volt's development is on track.
GM knows the dangers of disappointing avid fans. In the 1990s, it was developing a battery-powered car, the EV-1, which garnered a devoted following. When the company pulled the plug on the car early this decade, its fans were outraged. A documentary film, "Who Killed the Electric Car?," cast GM in an unfavorable light.
Like the EV-1, the Volt has attracted many supporters. Both presidential candidates have either referred to the car or used it as a prop on the campaign trail. Chris Paine, the director of "Who Killed the Electric Car?," who has been a highly touted guest at various GM events, has said the Volt could redeem GM's credentials as a technology leader.
The Volt is supposed to be able to travel 40 miles on electric power alone if its 400-pound battery pack is fully charged. After that, a four-cylinder gasoline engine generates electricity to power the car and recharge the battery.
GM estimates that, on certain trips, some drivers may be able to go 100 miles or more per gallon of gasoline. The vehicle is designed to be recharged at home by plugging it into a power outlet.
Last month, GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the Volt will likely cost in the mid- to high $30,000 range, roughly double the cost of conventional compact cars. Tax credits for high-mileage vehicles could lower the cost to consumers.
The notion of a hefty premium isn't scaring away potential customers like Mark Bartosik. A 39-year-old software engineer from Bay Shore, N.Y., he saw the general manager of GM's Chevrolet division, Ed Peper, at an event hosted by gm-volt.com, and tried to hand him a check for $10,000 as a deposit on a Volt. Mr. Peper declined the check.
Mr. Bartosik says his chief interest is reducing energy consumption. His home is outfitted with $100,000 in solar panels that generate electricity.
Before hearing about the Volt, Mr. Bartosik says he thought of GM as the company that put its heart into the Hummer and wasn't very interested in improving fuel economy. Now, he says, "I want to buy a vehicle from them."
GM is working hard to deliver the Volt on schedule. It is planning to spend between $400 million and $500 million in the next few years on the engineering and remaining development work, according to people familiar with its budget.
Along with its domestic rivals and U.S. suppliers, GM also is lobbying Congress to approve low-cost loans to the industry. The company says it would use such a loan to fund the retooling of a Hamtramck, Mich., assembly plant to give it capacity to build 60,000 Volts annually. Some of its suppliers are already making plans to furnish parts for more than 100,000 annually.
The company also is scrambling to develop long-lasting batteries. At GM's development center in Warren, Mich., engineers have set up test benches with battery packs charging and discharging continuously to see if they can last 10 years or 150,000 miles. Those tests won't be complete, however, until March 2010, just seven months before the Volt is supposed to be ready.
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