Chevrolet sketches out forthcoming Agile

Chevrolet Agile - Click above for a high-res image gallery

This fall, our friends to the south will have a new hatch to choose from when the all-new Chevrolet Agile hits the market. GM released a few sketches of the new compact five-door ahead of its official unveiling, complete with Chevy's two-tier grille, angular headlamps and a strong shoulder line flowing over the front wheel arches and through to its sculpted haunches.
The Agile was developed entirely in Brazil, and production is set to begin in a few months at GM's manufacturing center in Argentina. It's also likely that the Gamma II-based B-segment hatch will be built at the General's Lake Orion, Michigan facility and what we're looking at is the next generation Aveo, due to arrive sometime in 2011.

Before you weld a Chevrolet Volt, you have to stamp out the bodies

Volt body panels being stamped - Click above to watch the videos after the jump

The other day, we pointed you toward a video produced by General Motors that is part of a series on the building of the pre-production Chevy Volt prototypes. That video showed the model's IVER (Integration Vehicle Engineering Release) bodies being assembled, welded and painted in the body shop at the pre-production operations center in Warren MI. However, before you can weld and paint, you have to take sheets of steel and stamp them into the right shapes. It turns out that there were other videos that came ahead the body shop video show this aspect of the Volt's development.

How did GM arrive at 230 mpg for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt?

Neither General Motors nor the EPA are making declarative statements about how, exactly, the 2011 Chevy Volt will achieve it's much-touted 230 mpg rating that was announced today. GM's most clear statement (available in full after the break) says that some consumers "may be able to be in pure electric mode on a daily basis without having to use any gas" and that "key to high-mileage performance is for a Volt driver to plug into the electric grid at least once each day."
Without access to the actual method that the EPA is tentatively going to apply to plug-in vehicles (we have requests for clarification out to the EPA), all that GM's Dave Darovitz would tell us is that the number is "based on city cycles and we're not really talking in detail yet." Instead, the press release says that:

Under the new methodology being developed, EPA weights plug-in electric vehicles as traveling more city miles than highway miles on only electricity. The EPA methodology uses kilowatt hours per 100 miles traveled to define the electrical efficiency of plug-ins. Applying EPA's methodology, GM expects the Volt to consume as little as 25 kilowatt hours per 100 miles in city driving. At the U.S. average cost of electricity (approximately 11 cents per kWh), a typical Volt driver would pay about $2.75 for electricity to travel 100 miles, or less than 3 cents per mile.

Frank Weber, vehicle chief engineer for the Volt, told AutoblogGreen that the EPA's method takes into account the two extremes: People who plug in every chance they get and therefore barely ever need gasoline and people who never plug in (if you're buying a Volt and never plug it in, we'd like to offer you a bridge or two. Call us). By figuring out what the average driver will do with the Volt, the EPA has declared that 230 mpg is reasonable. Weber said, "The number is in the ballpark, it is not unrealistic. The moment you are driving shorter trips, or you go on longer trips and look at your average fuel economy, this number is achievable."

Chevrolet Volt IVER prototype (w/VIDEO)

Chevrolet Volt pre-production IVER prototype - Click above for high-res image gallery

While visiting General Motors' product technology showcase this week, we had the opportunity to take a tour through the pre-production operations area where the integration vehicle engineering release prototypes (IVER) Volts are coming together, and then later we went for a ride in one with chief engineer Frank Weber. GM started building these integration prototypes in late May and is currently finishing them at the rate of 10 per week. By the time the whole fleet is done later this summer, 80 Volts will be running through a battery of tests to evaluate all aspects of the car. There are currently about 20 IVERs running at Milford, Warren and elsewhere.
After the tour we went over to the Milford Proving Grounds and Weber brought out the newest Volt to take journalists for quick rides around the loop on "Black Lake", the vehicle dynamics area. Unfortunately, only Weber was allowed to pilot the Volt and since it arrived with a full charge, we didn't get an opportunity to experience the charge sustaining mode. Read on after the jump for more about how the Volt feels from the passenger seat and to watch a short video of our experience.

Chevrolet Camaro reportedly already sold out in Nippon

2010 Chevrolet Camaro - Click above for high-res image gallery

Sales of the born-again Chevrolet Camaro have been notably strong in its first few months on the market here in the United States, even beating its longtime crosstown rival from Ford in June and July.
Now, word comes from General Motors Asia Pacific that the Bowtie's latest muscle car is a hit (of sorts) in Japan as well. We must qualify the term "hit," as the car's total number of takers in Japan is very small, at "over 120 orders" - we could see at least that many within eyesight at any given time last weekend at the Woodward Dream Cruise. However, that's reportedly the American automaker's quota for Japan, although it isn't clear if the tiny allotment is part of General Motors' brand strategy or if the volume is limited by local government regulations. Either way, if you live in Japan and you want a new Camaro, you'd better put your name on Chevy's list for next year.
According to Inside Line, the new Camaro is expected to sell in Japan for the equivalent of $45,325 to $56,390, depending on the buyer's choice of either the six-cylinder or muscular V8 powerplant.

Bill Ford, AdAge chide GM over 230 MPG Chevrolet Volt MPG projection

The Chevrolet Volt's 230 mpg number continues to be questioned. The latest to criticize is Bill Ford, who takes issue not only with the General Motors-approved 230 figure, but also Nissan's claim that its Leaf EV will get 367 mpg. The real culprit here, Ford said, is the EPA's methodology, which he argues is meaningless. "This question devolves into madness," Ford reportedly told Green Car Advisor:

"The government will have to come up with a meaningful number for customers - a user-friendly label. And I think they will. I can't dispute that number, but I'm not sure it's relevant to the customer either."

Ford also said that since his company doesn't "have any particular expertise in batteries," they'll probably buy the batteries from established manufacturers for their own electrified cars.
Speaking of relevance, Advertising Age, the publication that was first to guess that the whole 230 teaser campaign was a GM plot, has determined that the stunt was a bad idea. The big problems it sees with the campaign are that it often gave people the wrong idea (that 230 would be the U.S.'s new a standard voltage for outlets) and didn't give people enough breadcrumbs to follow to the Volt. It created more questions than answers, until the big reveal last week. In any case, the whole thing was targeted at a younger, hipper audience, but are these the people who have $40,000+ to buy a Volt?

2010 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 launch control

Aside from the addition of the Grand Sport model, the biggest upgrade to the 2010 Chevrolet Corvette lineup is arguably the addition of launch control. The Corvette is by no means the first sports car to get launch control, but judging from our first impression of it this week, it may well be the best system out there.
Unlike a certain Japanese competitor, General Motors' Corvette chief Tadge Juechter made it eminently clear this week that use of the car's launch control will in no way kill your warranty. In fact, he explained that while a highly skilled driver could potentially beat the launch control system by a bit, the vast majority of drivers will find themselves getting of the line much more quickly and with markedly better consistency.