Hybrid Car Review

It seems like every day I see a new story on the plug in hybrid Chevy Volt. It will be on time, it won't be on time, the design has been drastically changed, it will still look the same, the battery is not ready, no it is ready and set to be produced in numbers...

Enough already. The Chevy Volt is a concept vehicle slated to be produced in about three years from now. Of course the timeline is going to change. Of course the design is going to change. Of course there will be issues with the battery/ engine/ seats/ whatever. That's the nature of developing new vehicles.

The latest story comes from Jon Lauckner, vice president, global program management and the ranking engineer overseeing development of a production version of the Volt’s E-Flex powertrain architecture saying that Wagoner is just being cautious by not committing to a release date of 2010. (Which is smart of him, BTW)

Lauckner sounds confident that things are on schedule and that all the rumors about battery development (or lack thereof) are amusing because they are so far off. In fact, Lauckner thinks GM will be testing the Volt outside the proving grounds sometime in 2009.

The only surprising thing in the story is how the Volt has "near 50/50 weight distribution and the 0-60-mph target of around 8.5 seconds, “the Volt will not disappoint” in terms of driving dynamics."

Update: See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Another story on the date the Volt will appear: Lutz insists GM is holding tight to 2010 deadline on Chevy Volt. And all of this with it just being one year since the Volt was introduced.

In the meantime, I wish the furor would die down a little bit. This car is still several years away. If we (as in the online hybrid car enthusiasts group) continue to jump everytime someone says the word Volt, we'll be burnt out by 2009, never mind in 2010 when it may arrive.