By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Imagine our surprise when our Mopar-loving father in law was looking through an old copy of Hot Rod magazine from 1969 and found the GM ad below. It’s for an “experimental” model called the Stir-Lec 1 and it is a freaking hybrid, using a little gas motor to generate electricity for the batteries that actually provide the power for the car.

We’ve never heard of this thing before, haven’t seen any photos, and didn’t know that it existed at all, and we’re kind of blown away that the company has not at least made mention of it with the promotion it has been doing with the upcoming and much anticipated Volt.

Sure, in terms of the technology of today this thing is about as crude as a concrete block, but it must have been space-aged stuff back in the late 1960s. The whole thing was packaged up in an Opel Kadett body per the wording in the old advertisement.

Is there a chance that this car is buried in the basement of a GM engineering building? Did it ever actually exist as a real car? Does anyone know anything more about this project? Once again, there’s nothing new under the sun. This is wild!

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

Did you see Bob Lutz on Letterman last night? You should have. Maximum Bob, maximum Voltage, maximum not the final production sheet metal!

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

Over on GM-Volt.com, readers got a personal response from Rob Peterson, spokesdude for the EV group. The initial build is due to start on June 1st. The cars from this initial production run will be used for safety and other testing, and general working-the-bugs-out of the production system. The goal remains to drive the official first consumer-ready car off the line on July 4th. For those who wonder about the concept cars’ suitability for the road, no, none of the concept bodies shown have been runners. It’s a poorly-held secret, but nearly every mobile concept car shown at an auto show is a golf cart underneath. They wouldn’t be concepts if they were in production, would they?

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

The way some people talk about it, GM put the EV1 in a box, held a funeral, and buried the thing. Those people wouldn’t be Tony Pasowacz, the leader of GM’s electric vehicle and Volt team. “The people who designed and built the EV1 are mostly still here, and for the Volt, we got the band back together.” That goes a long way to explaining the speed at which GM has been moving on the Volt project. Rob and I sat down with Tony for a few minutes at the 2009 NAIAS to talk about electric vehicles and where GM is going. Continue reading…

Continue reading "Chevy Volt Team" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Kathy and I just got back from the big GM press conference/pep rally, where they rolled out the whole fleet, from the Chevy Volt to the new Cadillac Converj (basically a Cadillac Volt). Other highlights included the new Chevy Spark (previously known as the Beat) and Chevy Orlando. Wagoner started the proceedings, and Bob Lutz finished up. Tons of pics of the cars rolling out after the jump.

Continue reading "GM Rolls Out the Fleet at NAIAS" »

GM-Volt.com is reporting that a Volt mule is being taken to Washington, DC for Rick Wagoner to pilot around as he approaches Congress for loan guarantees today. The mule will have a Cruze body, giving the General the opportunity to showcase its forthcoming very small car. Wagoner reportedly made the bulk of the trip in a Malibu Hybrid.

So if you were wondering what the plug for Chevy’s Volt would look like, the wait is over. Now, is it just me, or does it have a Norelco kind of vibe? More pics over at Jalopnik.

Yesterday, some dude flew a jet-pack across the English Channel. I have to admit, I think this is one of the most totally bad-ass things I have ever seen. Ever. How awesome would it be to take commute to work with one of these babies? I mean, it’s probably not the greenest thing in the world, but whatever. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Starting in 2011, no V10s or V12s will be allowed in European Le Mans racing. The organizing body wants teams to use less fuel and have quieter engines, which makes me wonder if they’ve heard Audi’s near-silent diesels. AutoWeek
• When the new ZR1 hits UK shores, the General is going to be asking $200,000 for it, which is about double what US customers will pay. Why not just buy one in the States and have it shipped over? That has to cost less than 100 grand. CarScoop
• Last time I got a speeding ticket, it cost me $140, and while I wasn’t happy about it, I figured it could have been worse. I mean, I could have racked up almost two million bucks in fines, like this dude in Brazil. The New York Times
• Chevy’s Volt uses electricity to power the wheels, but it also has a small gas engine to recharge the batteries. So should it be classified as an electric vehicle? The General thinks so. Automotive News
• Are you one of those people who can never decide what to listen to while on the road? Then check out Amplified Journey, which plots your route and offers suggestions about tunes. Automotive Traveler

Yesterday I spoke to Greg Cecil, who is one of the men in charge on the Volt project. I am the co-host of the "RPM" radio show on Maxim Magazine channel 108 on Sirius Satellite every Thursday from 2-3pm Eastern, and he was our guest.

The Volt is a very interesting car and Greg was very quick to point out that it is NOT a hybrid but an "extended range" vehicle. You can charge it with a 220 or 110 standard outlet. A full charge with a 210 outlet can be done in about three hours, whereas with a 110 it will take about eight hours. The first 40 miles will be done solely on electric power, no gas. After that the gas engine kicks in to recharge the batteries. However, the Volt’s wheels are ONLY powered by the electric motor, never by the gas engine. Once the 40 miles of electric charge runs out, fuel economy will be that of an average four door sedan. He would not go into details about the price of the car.

All electrical systems in the car run off the batteries–even the heaters are electric. All in all it’s a really cool piece of technology. Batteries are said to have a 10+ year life span as well. If you do a 40 mile commute you can essentially run to work, charge the car and run home for about 80 cents. 0-60 times are said to be in the 9 second range, with a top speed of around 100 mph. Styling is ok, as a lot of thought was put into the aerodynamics to make the car as efficient as possible. All in all a really cool little scoot from GM.

I didn’t get to see the entire interview. But fortunately, our buddies over at Jalopnik posted this choice segment. If you’re curious as to whether the Volt will get you laid, Bob has an answer for you, and it’s beyond hilarious. While the whole conversation reportedly didn’t go quite this well—hey, nobody survives an encounter with Colbert unscathed—I think Bob deserves props for just stepping into the ring. Enjoy.