The Volt: Saw it ~Touched it ~ took pics

[inventor00]

Alt Car Expo- The Volt (non working model- it did have tail lights that worked) , the EV1, and some friends from the OC and San Diego Prius Clubs.

[hill]

Originally Posted by justlurkin

Having seen the Volt first-hand, can you give us an idea of how the Volt's interior compares with the Prius? Is it anywhere near as roomy, and are the backseats as cramped as they looked in previously-published photos?

Thanks for sharing!

The seats looked a little on the plastic-y side. Yes, the rear seats look cramped, too. Regarding rears seats, our Prius has a tight look from the outside, but once seated in the back? ... it's deceiving, so you never know.

Originally Posted by patsparks

Who is the hot blond, wow!!
Oh, nice car pics. Thanks.
Second question, what is WKTEC ? (sorry I'm Australian)

Who killed the electric car. Go see it!

Originally Posted by efusco

"Working Volt"??
AFAIK all they have right now are a low power electric motor in a body. The mules are still some other car.

That's what I thought too (btw this dinner was at Director Chris Payne's home). But the Volt WAS described to us as a working prototype. High speed or low? I didn't corner 'em on that.

[Tideland Prius]

Nice!

[patsparks]

I'm not to know who the blond is, OK.
The grill looks like it is a NASCAR grill, you know, just a sticker. Am I right?

[Rybold]

For those of you that were at this event, what was your subjective opinion of how the car looks in person? Sometimes, car magazines can post thousands of pics of a car, but until you see it in person, you don't know how it REALLY looks. So, how did the Volt look in person?

Second question: Previously, GM was being very secretive about the Volt. After they "publicly unveiled it," does this mean they are no longer being secretive? Will I likely see it at the LA Auto Show? (Nov. 21-30, 2008) I know you might not be able to answer that, but maybe you could make a prediction.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE PICS!!!

[bedrock8x]

Looks like the Volt is a hatch back, is that correct?

How does it compare in physical size with the Prius?

Originally Posted by inventor00

Alt Car Expo- The Volt (non working model- it did have tail lights that worked) , the EV1, and some friends from the OC and San Diego Prius Clubs.

[hill]

I heard the grill was stick on too but no, this grill was metal.
IMO, the grill is better looking in person than via pic's.

Edit:

Originally Posted by Rybold

For those of you that were at this event, what was your subjective opinion of how the car looks in person? Sometimes, car magazines can post thousands of pics of a car, but until you see it in person, you don't know how it REALLY looks. So, how did the Volt look in person?

Second question: Previously, GM was being very secretive about the Volt. After they "publicly unveiled it," does this mean they are no longer being secretive? . . . . . . . snip
THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE PICS!!!

My pleasure!
It looked 'decent'. From me that's pretty good, after developing aversive feelings for GM. The lines were much smoother in person than in the pictures, hinting a better drag coefficency than the early mockup. The tires/wheels looked wider than I'd expect for hypermiling, and the hatchback compartment didn't look as roomy as the Prius, but again, the Prius hatch compartment looks a lot smaller than it is.

I'd guess PR secrecy is done since they're letting it be displayed like this, and there'd be a 50/50 shot of it making the autoshow circuit.

[Solar_Powered]

My wife and I also attended the "Alt Car Expo" in Santa Monica (California) this past weekend, and saw (touched) the Volt.

I doubt that this was a drivable car. From what I could see of the undercarriage, the wheels and brake rotors were on a simple axle in the rear with no suspension parts visible. It appeared as if the front wheels could be steered though. The undercarriage was smooth.

The body panels appear to be metal, and the interior door structural panel (of the left rear door, the only one I could touch) was either fiberglass or vacuum formed plastic.

The taillights were red neon behind red prismatic plastic lenses, and the side mirrors were illuminated with accents of yellow neon. All the front lighting (headlights, "fog lights", etc.) appeared to be from "projector" type lamps (a blue-white color to the light).

The dashboard LCD panels were running a pre-programmed sequence, with the various displayed numbers running up and down, bar graphs moving, indicators flashing, etc.

The driver's seat appeared to be fully functional, and was slid toward the rear, leaving only about 5" of space between the back of the front seat and the front of the rear seat.

The charging port (located in front of the drivers side door) has a short orange extension cord plugged into it, but the cord ran nowhere. However, from the undercarriage of the Volt, another extension cord ran to a standard 120 VAC receptacle to power up the car and its lights and displays.

From the outside, this Volt has a black tinted glass roof. However, looking inside the car, it had a conventional interior fabric roof liner as you would expect in any car; i.e. no see-through roof. The interior of the Volt was illuminated by a single fluorescent tube, hanging from the middle of the interior fabric roof liner.

The Volt had 4 bucket seats with a long, high console (with cupholders) bisecting the interior of the car.

It is much larger than a Prius, but does not make as good use of the interior space. I don't think the front end styling is very exciting, but it does look very nice from the rear. I don't think the 4 bucket seats with a hatchback will survive into production, as all of your rear cargo will simply slide forward (between the two rear bucket seats) when you hit the brakes!

[priusuk2008]

Hill, if ever there was a person who I would put money on to condemn GM at the first opportunity, my first choice would be you out of all the people in this forum. I've seen it many times where you pop up with your 2c worth and vilify GM (don't get me wrong, i whole heartedly agree with you !).

However.... after a few snackies and drink poohs and a touchy feely session with a model Volt you've gone all mellow... was this the fine wine or fine company, or have GM indeed made something rather nice ?

I know, the acid test question ? - Would you buy it if it were real and for sale? That ought to get you back on track.....

... and I presume in answer to Patsparks questions which you avoided twice, that the blonde in the photo is your husband..

[jpadc]

I know I have my trip planned to the Detroit Auto Show - I want to see it and I've read they will have it there,