Tweet
nasaman is a user on the GMVolt.com site, which BTW is not a GM but a fan site, and is retired from NASA (Astrophysicist/Director of an Advanced Technology Group in the U.S. Space Program). GM saw fit to give the lucky SOB a test drive in the Volt and the below is his report to the community....
Matt Lauer of NBC, speaking of NYC’s weather, said “Of the 13 yrs I’ve been here this is one of the worst days ever!†Temperatures dropped into the low 40’s/high 30’s, rains were causing street flooding and winds gusting to 45mph turned umbrellas inside out. The traffic-cone track GM had set up for our test drives at New York’s Pier 92 stayed soaking wet from the endless rain —and it was as slick as a 42nd street huckster. I thought, ‘hey, this slippery track should be a great test for the Volt’s handling and its FuelMax tires‘. It sure was!
I arrived 15 min early and informally met and chatted at some length with John Hughes (Chevrolet Marketing Manager) and Bob Boniface (Volt Lead Designer). I gave each a copy of my 26 questions and tried to discuss the questions with them (to little avail —another GM staffer later told me, “I can’t ever remember in reference to other new car introductions being told so many times by management that we can NOT answer questions, except for those based on already-released information)â€. I therefore have NO formal responses to any of these 26 questions, and GM people all made it clear that I couldn’t expect one. However, I’ve formed a few opinions/educated guesses based on their collective reactions to certain questions that I’ll share here.
But before going into that level of detail, let me give an overall impression of the test drive…..
THE VOLT IS BY FAR THE EASIEST TO DRIVE, THE MOST RESPONSIVE & THE MOST EXCITING CAR I’VE EVER DRIVEN!!! It’s impressive from the getgo! Just a touch of the accelerator starts the car rolling without even the slightest hesitation or jerkiness like I’ve come to expect from any ICE-powered car. From a replay of the video I shot, I blurted out, “Oh man! ….talk about torque!!!“ at the first nudge of the Volt’s ‘go pedal’. We turned the first short-radius corner so sharply that my new HD video camera, on its normally very-secure dash mounting rig went careening across the dash —and as I grabbed for it the Volt ignored my ‘panic antics’ and continued smoothly around the sharp turn on the wet, slick pavement with no detectable leaning or sliding —it felt like it was on rails!
By the way, our own “Harrier1970â€, an ARMY Major and overall essay contest winner from California, shot HD video with his new Nikon from the back seat while our GM host helped hold my camera to the dash (so I’d keep both hands on the wheel). Next on the course was a long straight stretch, and our GM host said, “go ahead and accelerate and I’ll put us in ‘sport mode’ about half way down this stretch“. Again, the camera’s audio caught my surprised reaction when sport mode kicked in: “OH BOY, I REALLY DO FEEL THE DIFFERENCE!â€
After several more sharp turns on the slick surface (thru which the FuelMax tires felt glued to the surface), we came to a fairly steep, sharp down ramp typical of parking garages & our host suggested dropping the car into “Low†as we approached it. Once again I was pleasantly surprised at how docile, yet effective the “braking effect†was. The Volt —still seeming to be on rails— negotiated the steep, sharp turn so perfectly I thought, “WOW, I’m driving like a pro!†There were 3 full, fast stops on the course from fairly brisk speeds, and on this very wet pavement the hard braking needed to get stopped quickly gave me a great demonstration of the solid, user-friendly feel of the regenerative brakes —no grabbing and smooth as silk, yet extremely fast stops without the tires loosing their firm grip on the very wet surface! I doubt even these fast stops ever made the brake pads even touch their discs.
At the end of the run, we all stayed seated in the car for about 3 times as long as we’d been on the track, discussing/re-living the test drive —too excited to want to climb out!
Now to my questions……
>
(follow the link for these, though as noted answers were few but he did glean some interesting info)
Matt Lauer of NBC, speaking of NYC’s weather, said “Of the 13 yrs I’ve been here this is one of the worst days ever!†Temperatures dropped into the low 40’s/high 30’s, rains were causing street flooding and winds gusting to 45mph turned umbrellas inside out. The traffic-cone track GM had set up for our test drives at New York’s Pier 92 stayed soaking wet from the endless rain —and it was as slick as a 42nd street huckster. I thought, ‘hey, this slippery track should be a great test for the Volt’s handling and its FuelMax tires‘. It sure was!
I arrived 15 min early and informally met and chatted at some length with John Hughes (Chevrolet Marketing Manager) and Bob Boniface (Volt Lead Designer). I gave each a copy of my 26 questions and tried to discuss the questions with them (to little avail —another GM staffer later told me, “I can’t ever remember in reference to other new car introductions being told so many times by management that we can NOT answer questions, except for those based on already-released information)â€. I therefore have NO formal responses to any of these 26 questions, and GM people all made it clear that I couldn’t expect one. However, I’ve formed a few opinions/educated guesses based on their collective reactions to certain questions that I’ll share here.
But before going into that level of detail, let me give an overall impression of the test drive…..
THE VOLT IS BY FAR THE EASIEST TO DRIVE, THE MOST RESPONSIVE & THE MOST EXCITING CAR I’VE EVER DRIVEN!!! It’s impressive from the getgo! Just a touch of the accelerator starts the car rolling without even the slightest hesitation or jerkiness like I’ve come to expect from any ICE-powered car. From a replay of the video I shot, I blurted out, “Oh man! ….talk about torque!!!“ at the first nudge of the Volt’s ‘go pedal’. We turned the first short-radius corner so sharply that my new HD video camera, on its normally very-secure dash mounting rig went careening across the dash —and as I grabbed for it the Volt ignored my ‘panic antics’ and continued smoothly around the sharp turn on the wet, slick pavement with no detectable leaning or sliding —it felt like it was on rails!
By the way, our own “Harrier1970â€, an ARMY Major and overall essay contest winner from California, shot HD video with his new Nikon from the back seat while our GM host helped hold my camera to the dash (so I’d keep both hands on the wheel). Next on the course was a long straight stretch, and our GM host said, “go ahead and accelerate and I’ll put us in ‘sport mode’ about half way down this stretch“. Again, the camera’s audio caught my surprised reaction when sport mode kicked in: “OH BOY, I REALLY DO FEEL THE DIFFERENCE!â€
After several more sharp turns on the slick surface (thru which the FuelMax tires felt glued to the surface), we came to a fairly steep, sharp down ramp typical of parking garages & our host suggested dropping the car into “Low†as we approached it. Once again I was pleasantly surprised at how docile, yet effective the “braking effect†was. The Volt —still seeming to be on rails— negotiated the steep, sharp turn so perfectly I thought, “WOW, I’m driving like a pro!†There were 3 full, fast stops on the course from fairly brisk speeds, and on this very wet pavement the hard braking needed to get stopped quickly gave me a great demonstration of the solid, user-friendly feel of the regenerative brakes —no grabbing and smooth as silk, yet extremely fast stops without the tires loosing their firm grip on the very wet surface! I doubt even these fast stops ever made the brake pads even touch their discs.
At the end of the run, we all stayed seated in the car for about 3 times as long as we’d been on the track, discussing/re-living the test drive —too excited to want to climb out!
Now to my questions……
>
Comment