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newVideoPlayer("/ChevyVoltReveal.flv", 494, 400,""); As the production-ready 2011 Chevy Volt drove onto the turntable for all to see, as much electricity was in the air as was in the Volt's batteries. GM clearly hopes this will be the start of a revolution for the company, and if the Volt lives up to the hype, it very well may be. As for how it looks? Well, judge for yourself from the video. The proportions are pretty sleek, though vaguely similar to the 2010 Honda Insight and Toyota Prius , but at the same time more distinctive than either.
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The video and images of a Chevy Volt on the set of Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen showed a car very similar to the Volt that GM has been lifting the skirt on . But now GM is saying the dark-blue car is "not the final version at this stage." GM spokesman Rob Peterson told Inside Line that it is "representative of the production vehicle," which makes sense as we've now learned that this prop is just a re-bodied Malibu. Though it should be noted that he wasn't even aware the car was out in California on the movie set. galleryPost('voltsneakpreview', 3, 'Chevy Volt On The Transformers 2 Set'); "I've never seen that vehicle and I've never seen that color... You can tell it caught me off guard. I didn't even realize it (the Volt) was out of the state of Michigan." Jalopnik Snap Judgment: Of course this isn't exactly what the production Volt will look like. The production model likely won't have the big showoff rims...
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Opel has announced plans to launch two electric cars in the European market sometime early next decade utilizing GM's E-Flex hybrid banner and be built in the United States for export to Europe. One of the models would be based on the Segway-pooping Opel Flextreme concept and the other, a Vauxhall version of the same vehicle. As of now we're unsure whether the Vauxhall version will poop Segways . galleryPost('FlextremeSegway', 4, 'Flextreme Has Electric Segway-Pooping Action'); The new Opel models will be built alongside the Chevy Volt atop the Delta II platform at GM's Hamtramck Assembly plant. Jalopnik Snap Judgement: More models on the line makes sense as the Ham-town plant would be sorely underutilized if only building the Volt. Seems like the real story here is GM Europe using the US domestic market for labor. One would imagine Eastern European countries would be more attractive for building new models, but the dollar's valuation apparently makes up...
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GM is accelerating development of the 2010 Chevy Volt in an attempt to ready the production version to reveal as the company celebrates its 100th anniversary in September. Although we know GM desperately needs a cutting-edge Prius-killing success to stem the sales slide, given past RenCen rush jobs, we're not sure that setting a time deadline instead of a performance benchmark is the best way to move forward. A look at potential pitfalls after the jump. Exploding batteries: Remember the flaming plug-in Prius from a few weeks ago? No, that wasn't a manufacturer-sanctioned ride, but it still plainly shows the dangers inherent in releasing unproven technology. The fact that GM has yet to name a supplier for Volt's lithium-ion battery pack is another red flag for the power source. Embarrassing show mishaps: GM needs a win...and they need it to be a clean win, both on the stage and showroom floor. No panels falling off, stalls, massive oil leaks, fires, or collapsing spokes-robots...
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When we heard that Th!nk was coming to America our cynicism censors immediately lit up. Is this the same Th!nk that failed here before , went bankrupt , had their electric bike recalled and has annoying punctuation in their name? Yes. But they got that sweet sweet Kleiner Perkins VC money, right? True, that money has yet to produce a commercially successful car. The interesting history of all that below. Our first introduction to Kleiner Perkins and the world of electric vehicles came with their investment in EEstor , a company based in Texas working on an electric battery for ZENN Motors. Unfortunately, the Canadian governor is making it hard for ZENN to sell cars in Canada . So as of now, things aren't looking great, though battery development continues. Most recently, Kleiner Perkins came up with relation to the Fisker Karma Luxury Hybrid , which is a vehicle that piqued our interest due to its attractive proportions and relatively low price tag of $80K. Though the company has yet...
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Suck it Ed Begley, Jr! Maximum Bob Lutz says that the Chevy Volt, which he also promised wouldn't look like the Volt concept, is going to be road tested early next year and put into production by 2010. Said Lutz, "When [people] think of GM, the iconic brand is, unfortunately, the Hummer." And now the iconic image is going to be the Volt? Really? A vehicle that can only go 40 miles on electric power? Lutz later admits that, you know, they totally blew it by not developing a hybrid sooner and thus losing laps in the "green car race." Thankfully, the Escalade hybrid is helping them make up much needed ground with its stunning 18 MPG! [ Reuters ]
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