Assembly Of First True Chevy Volt Integration Vehicles Begins Today

Exactly nine weeks ago we were shown a countdown clock in front of the office of Andrew Farah, the Chevy Volt’s chief engineer. That countdown clock was clicking off the days until the start of the first Chevy Volt integration vehicle build. The integration vehicle, or IVer, is an actual full functioning Chevy Volt with authentic exterior, interior, and powertrain. It is in effect, fully production intent.
Today is the day says Andrew, “We will start general assembly build, what that means is the body in white comes out of the body shop and is positioned at the beginning of this pre-production assembly line over at the Warren Tech center. The whistle blows, all the parts are in line, and they start doing it.”
“The first ones go very slowly (and) we call them template builds and they take about 2 weeks,” he says. “Eventually we’ll be able to crank them out at ten a week.”

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bfghemicuda - 5/27/2009 11:30:04 AM

+5 Boost

Good looking car

Agent00R - 5/27/2009 12:06:16 PM

+3 Boost

Better than the third generation Prius?

That's a bold claim.

inspirion7 - 5/27/2009 12:45:47 PM

+3 Boost

Better than the 3rd gen Prius, oh hell yes. What is the design of the new Prius up for a Coty award, please. Look at that car and tell me, do you DESIRE it for looks or function? Thought so. Look at too images, one the Prius and the other the Volt. Dude, what are you smokin'?

inspirion7 - 5/27/2009 1:00:52 PM

+2 Boost

Invisible, what is mythical about the Volt? If GM goes under, the Volt still stands. Chevy could be purchased by another firm and move on. So, what is mythical about the Volt? Porsche almost went bankrupt, and if that happened would all of their future product line become "mythical" as well?

LACMAN - 5/27/2009 1:03:29 PM

+2 Boost

^^^I think you missed his point. The TRUE hybrid vehicles (Prius/Insight) is probably what "1UAW" was suggesting not a car with a hybrid "system" added.

When you are referring to hybrid vehicles period, I would have to agree with you. The GS is the only hybrid from Toyota and Honda that looks better than the Volt, IMO.

inspirion7 - 5/27/2009 3:53:54 PM

+1 Boost

The GS is the only hybrid from Toyota and Honda that looks better than the Volt, IMO.

LACMAN I agree with that statement.

LauderdaleDriver - 5/30/2009 2:30:35 PM

+1 Boost

I like the interior of the gen III Prius quite a lot, but I still think the car looks like a highly styled toaster......

The distinctive styling makes it the Hummer of the environmentally correct.

henbmw - 5/27/2009 1:02:02 PM

+2 Boost

Those headlights are lifted straight off an Acura TL

Whelan - 5/27/2009 4:04:59 PM

+2 Boost

Let's not forget the mileage factor of this Hybrid. And yes, this car looks 1000x times better than the new Insight and the 3rd Gen Prius, better lines, better appointments, and much cooler.

Back to the mileage. The car's engine does not power the car, it powers a generator that runs the car. So you have 40 miles on a charge, then the engine kicks in and runs at a constant rate to charge the batteries and run the generator that powers the wheels. Then you have the regenerative braking that puts power back into the batteries as well.

Factor in that most commutes are within at 40 mile range, you can almost drive to and from work on the charge. My commute it 50 miles round trip each day, so even if I could not plug it in at work I would still only be using 10 miles on the engine, that is nothing. So in a 5 day work week I would only be using the engine for 50 miles technically speaking. (for work only, not counting other trips). That leaves 200 miles of gas free driving.

Yes yes you bring up that the batteries need to be plugged into the power grid and blah blah blah. But for a car, the mileage will equal out to be higher than what you get on a Prius and Insight.

inspirion7 - 5/27/2009 7:06:05 PM

+1 Boost

The Volt will revolutionize the automotive landscape as we know it. The overall cost of owning a Volt or leasing one far out weighs the cost of ownership. I've thought of purchasing hybrids from Saturn (2 Mode) or the Escape for utility reasons and will get one eventually, but I'm looking at the Volt for sure.

Total MPG = 50xM/(M-40) depending on miles traveled using the gas generator.

To recharge the Volt, 6.5 hours using a 110 volt (standard home) outlet, and about 3 hours if you have a 220 volt supply. That is far better than any Telsa $100k car that uses cell phone tech.

LauderdaleDriver - 5/30/2009 2:34:58 PM

+1 Boost

Right on target, Whelan, and even though a battery-powered car does consume energy, it's far more efficient to send energy down wires to a plug, than shipping heavy barrels of oil from deep underground.

PlanB - 5/27/2009 5:17:24 PM

+2 Boost

I like the car but I can't help but wonder, would this be a news story if it wasn't the Volt?

AMiodynski - 5/27/2009 8:00:48 PM

+2 Boost

The one in the picture above looks great !! If manufactors would build cars like they show them off, they would have an easier time selling more !!