Interview with Ed Peper of Chevrolet

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

Rob and I had a sit-down with Ed Peper, General Manager of the Chevrolet division of GM. Of course I had to ask about the Volt sheet metal again. Ed says we can expect one more revision to it that will bring the edges of the hood down onto the fenders. The rest of the panels are very close to the production version, so don’t expect any big changes. FYI – apparently there are over 20 Volt drivetrain mules running around Michigan and Arizona to cover both cold and hot weather conditions. More details after the jump.

Rob had some more Camaro questions, and Ed told us that there are 10,000 sold pre-orders for the car. The V8 version is a clear winner, with about 80% of build so far. The build will start on March 16th up in Oshawa. Camaro enthusiasts will be treated to a very extensive accessories program that may rival the Silverado program (GM’s largest). So far, all tuning and motorsports activity will take place in-house at GM.

So what’s up with the Spark/Beat thing? I asked Ed if there was any-tie in to the Transformers movie with the rename. It turns out that GM already has a microcar named Spark in global production, so the Chevy version will have the same name. When I mentioned the AllSpark, he laughed and said “yeah, that’s not too far from reality.” I bet that when the sequel comes out, the Volt guy plugs a Spark into his chest for more power.

Rob asked about the Colorado and GM’s receding role in the small truck market. “We ceded too much of that market to Nissan and Toyota,” said Ed. GM wants to return to the market, but admit that a lot of energy and focus is on the small cars right now. A proper return to small trucks is in the works, eventually.

Thanks, Ed. You rock!