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IBM, GM Collaborate on Technology for Chevrolet Volt Electric Car

November 5th, 2010 | No Comments

The announcement of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt highlights the recent work between General Motors and IBM, showcasing the Rational products used to develop the software system on the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. GM is one of the first U.S.-based automobile manufacturers to produce a next-generation "plug-in, range-extended electric vehicle." It is directly propelled by an electric motor, for up to 40 miles, with a gasoline engine that will drive the vehicle up to an additional 300 miles. The Chevy Volt features 10,000 lines of code, and each car has its own IP address. IBM’s software and simulation tools helped GM engineers develop the software in the advanced control systems on the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, which was designed and engineered in just 29 months, a record for GM, a company spokesman said. GM engineers used IBM products to develop some of the Volt’s critical electronic controls for the vehicle’s innovative battery system, electric drive unit and cabin electronics.Â The Volt’s unique propulsion system required the design of an unprecedented "system of systems," centered on software that seamlessly integrates the Volt’s 16kWh lithium-ion battery pack with its highly sophisticated electric drive system.Â IBM Rational software tools were used to help GM engineers model the interactions of the Volt’s embedded systems, helping to increase the quality and efficiency in developing this systems approach. – …

Tim Allen Is The Voice Of Chevrolet

September 8th, 2010 | No Comments

American automotive manufacturer General Motors has tapped television and film actor Tim Allen as the new voice of Chevrolet.“Tim Allen brings the right combination of a recognizable voice with the credibility, likeability and humor that will connect with viewers,” Joel Ewanick, Vice President of US Marketing for General Motors, announced Tuesday. “His passion for [...]

Spark

February 11th, 2010 | No Comments

Chevrolet Spark is an interesting vehicle and the latest instalment in the ambitious Chevrolet project. The thing with Chevrolet is to look at the global scale of sales for the value brand. There is a lot of volume for the BRICs, naturally.

And in Western markets – like the UK? The Aldi of the automotive world? UK MD Mark Terry spins an upbeat tale of not having enough Captivas to meet demand last year, of getting into new segments. The Orlando will be an interesting one.

I still don’t quite get how Volt works as a Chevrolet in markets outside the US where Opel/Vauxhall is selling it as Ampera. Well, they don’t sell fresh lobster in Aldi or Lidl do they? Actually, I’m told, they do. With more people from the more upscale supermarkets downtrading in the recession, they found demand for it. Brands and the way people perceive them aren’t set in stone.

Incidentally, I stayed in a prison cell for the Spark launch – well, it was once a prison but has been converted into a hotel. Cool place. You know that prison scene in the movie The Italian Job? When Noel Coward’s Mr Underworld walks down the staircase in the prison gallery to a rousing chorus of ‘England!’ from the other inmates. That was filmed there.

INTERVIEW: Chevrolet eyes organic UK market growth

Chevrolet Spark

February 9th, 2010 | No Comments

I’m up to Wellingborough (Northants, southern fringes of the English midlands) today for a Chevrolet Spark drive event. The Spark, you may recall, is the small car that was picked for production by the public from three concepts. The styling certainly looks very interesting, though I note the car has already received some criticism for its drive in some quarters. I guess that depends to some degree though on what you are comparing to; eg new Fiesta or the outgoing Spark/Matiz…

I’ll be interviewing Chevrolet UK MD Mark Terry later on today.

Besides the usual drive in the car, the Chevrolet PR people have set up a ‘Spark and Ride’ depot at the home of the Chevrolet World Touring Car team where they have commandeered a warehouse for the week. There are some interactive product presentations and we are also promised ‘monkeys, bananas, Welsh footballers and magic pianos’. That’s some combo. Ryan Giggs on acid?

The week ahead

November 30th, 2009 | No Comments

We are perhaps getting a warning this week that for all the talk of imminent – if slow – economic recovery, the world’s financial system can still throw a few spanners in the works.

While it’s not all that surprising to see the fizz going out of the Dubai speculative boom, a slightly worrying aspect is the exposure of banks around the world to the debts of that strange place and the extent to which the local ‘government’ of the UAE will step in to help the biggest and most vulnerable Dubai companies.

It’s something to watch. Hopefully, things will calm down with a minimum of international ‘spillover’.

Something else to watch this week is GM’s board meeting tomorrow (Dec 1). Options for Saab will be discussed, but it’s not looking too good for the quirky premium brand after prospective buyer Koenigsegg decided to walk away.

COMMENT: Sad demise for Saab in prospect

And then on Wednesday (December 2) we can enjoy the distraction of sunny California and the first press day of the Los Angeles Auto Show. The LA Show is getting bigger and getting more attention these days – it seems to have found a niche and a place in the industry’s calendar that suits many.

One thing to look out for at LA is an announcement on initial retail markets for the Chevrolet Volt and confirmation that all is on track in terms of timing for the vehicle. The American production version of the Chevrolet Cruze will also be shown at LA and that is a very important product for GM – it’s indicative of the US market trend toward smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles and it will be made in the US (going on sale in the third quarter of 2010).

Much of the engineering work for Cruze was, however, undertaken by Opel in Germany, so it perhaps serves as a tangible reminder of one reason – engineering capability – why GM was so keen to keep Opel.

US: Chevrolet to announce retail markets for Volt at LA

Nov. 25, 1920: Gaston Chevrolet Dies in Race Crash

November 25th, 2009 | No Comments

1920: Race driver Gaston Chevrolet dies in a track crash in a Los Angeles race. He’s the first of three famous brothers to suffer a tragic end.
Gaston was the kid brother of Louis Chevrolet, co-founder of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company, later part of General Motors. Louis and the middle brother, Arthur, were born in [...]

Opel cliffhanger

July 16th, 2009 | No Comments

It’s a pretty intense competition going on for control of Opel/Vauxhall. From what I can gather, GM in the US is having major second thoughts over selling to Magna. Now that it is out of Chapter 11, tails are perhaps up a bit at the Ren-Cen.

Losing control of its European operations might not look to clever in the future. GM is said to be keen on a buy-back clause – which is not at all attractive on the Magna side. But RHJ International might not mind that at all – in fact, its investors might be reasonably optimistic of a sizeable return and, let’s face it, they probably don’t want to run a car company for fun or the long-term.

There is a big but, though. That ‘but’ is German politics. German PM Merkel has entertained Russia President Medvedev today. Medvedev’s timing looks good, but actually might backfire. He has apparently got Merkel to voice strong support for the Magna bid.

However, that very explicit Russian political involvement might serve to highlight to the Americans at GM that they are perhaps on the verge of giving away something really rather valuable. The US financiers behind RHJ are more of a known quantity (and potentially more pliable) than the Russian interests standing just behind Magna.

The Atlantic divide here may actually be getting deeper.

So, RHJ needs to address the German question. A problem: the hard-nosed financiers may well have concluded that Opel’s biggest competitive problem is its heavy German manufacturing costs. Ah…

And from the other side, the Magna bid needs to give GM in the US more of what it wants. But Magna has Russian backers who are going all out for a strategy that could help secure a sustainable auto industry in Russia. And it also wants the rights to build and sell Chevrolet models in Russia.

Who will be first to meet somewhere in the middle? It could drag on.

Incidentally, I got the chance to drive a Chevrolet Cruze today. This car is important to Chevrolet’s future growth, globally. What’s it like? Nicely styled saloon. A bit plasticky inside (the hard plastic, that is) but it is a value brand product and is perfectly fine for the money. Myself and my co-driver Mark Bursa have fairly different body shapes, but at least it comes with an adjustable steering wheel (it took him ages to get comfortable…).

June 30, 1953: Corvette Adds Some Fiber, Flair to American Road

June 30th, 2009 | No Comments

1953: Chevrolet introduces the Corvette. It’s a time when “new” and “Space Age” are the big buzzwords, and the Corvette fits the bill.
The Corvette featured a gorgeous body made entirely of a new wonder material called fiberglass, and it was the first production car made of the stuff.
There is only one truly American sports car, [...]

‘Chevrolet Group’

June 17th, 2009 | No Comments

Is the pending creation of a ‘New GM’ via a spell in Chapter 11 also a good point at which to consider some corporate re-branding? Yes.

It could be a way to jettison some of the negative baggage that comes with maintaining the name of the failed company, while emphasising that the new company really is a full-on fresh start – a new beginning. Hell, there’s a whole new name and the General is really gone.

Unlike Ford, ‘GM’ itself doesn’t figure too much as a brand on yer actual vehicles. It’s primarily a group umbrella brand that is perhaps crying out to be dropped or changed.

A re-branding would also provide an opportunity to elevate a constituent brand – one that is vital and already pre-eminent in the company’s future plans. Chevrolet fits the bill. Chevrolet is a globally crucial brand for New GM. It’s already established as a high performing brand in long-term automotive growth markets like Russia and China. It also has that striking gold bow-tie logo that is surely ready-to-go for corporate branding.

‘Chevrolet Motors’? You could maybe add the word ‘American’, too – highlighting the new company’s geographical origin and that it is actually more than just Chevrolet. ‘Chevrolet American Motors’? Mind you, there has already been an ‘American Motors’, and maybe throwing the word American in there doesn’t quite work for a global company.

Dunno. Maybe Chevrolet Group is the way to go, keeping it simple. Or how about GM2? No, that’s horrendous.

And no, I don’t think Government Motors – a mocking term bandied about by critics of the Obama administrations actions – quite works.

Anyone else out there got any suggestions?

ANALYSIS: New GM needs a new name