Yesterday was a big day for General Motors, with the company celebrating its 100th anniversary with the unveiling of the production Chevrolet Volt. While GM vice chairman has gone on record saying the production would look radically different from the concept shown in 2007, many people were still shocked to see the Volt had transformed so much over the last 21 months. Being the outspoken exec that he is, Lutz popped on GM’s corporate blog to defend the Volt’s new styling shortly after its unveiling.
As you may recall, the Volt concept had a very muscular front end with plenty of sharp angles. However, due to very stringent aerodynamic restrictions, GM engineers quickly realized that the concept’s aggressive styling just wouldn’t do – it just wasn’t slippery enough. It was at that point in the Volt’s development, according to Lutz, that the Volt’s designers took a back seat to the car’s engineers.
“The challenge to the designers wasn’t to design the most beautiful car imaginable and accept the compromises you have to make to do so,†Lutz said. “It was, make no compromise to fuel efficiency and electric range, and then do the most beautiful design possible, around those aerodynamic dictates.â€
After seeing the Volt in person, we can say confidently that it is not a bad looking car. That being said, it is radically different from the concept car and perhaps not as futuristic looking as some people might have liked, prompting the sea of complaints. Whatever the case, as Lutz points out, people will fall in love with the Volt’s powertrain if not the car’s styling.
