GM's Day-Long Anniversary Fete Highlighted by Volt, Lots of Chat
By Bill Visnic September 16, 2008DETROIT - By lunchtime on the day General Motors Corp. chose to celebrate its 100th anniversary with a massive celebration here and an ambitious interactive program on the Web, it was apparent the world's largest automaker had the tech requirements figured out. There were no major glitches and GM deftly executed a global multimedia presentation - drawing from four additional regions around the globe - that would have done Microsoft proud.
The culmination, however, was the official unveiling of the vehicle that has emerged as the symbol - and rallying point - of GM's drive to remain as pertinent in the next 100 years of personal transportation: the Chevrolet Volt "extended-range" electric vehicle.
Introduced by CEO Rick Wagoner and driving silently onto a stage at GM's downtown headquarters here, the Volt engendered massive applause from the crush of company insiders, journalists and dignitaries on hand, and the rollout was seen live on the GMnext website that was created as a portal to the company's wide-ranging centennial-celebration activities.
The fact that images of the production Volt's sheetmetal already were leaked last week did not appear to diminish the impact of the Volt's unveiling - and some in attendance immediately commented the Volt, in the metal, is much more appealing than it appeared in the images GM allegedly distributed by mistake. The car evidenced more intricate and appealing surface detail and was unveiled with more attractive wheels than last week's leaked images revealed.
Wagoner, meanwhile, despite difficult market conditions and sputtering nearterm outlook for the auto industry, seemed upbeat and almost defiant in his remarks to the crowd, paying homage to GM's storied past and promising equal impact for the future.
Other key executives were scheduled to hold online chats during the day, and scheduled for later in the day, GM promised an intriguing roundtable discussion on the future of automotive transportation with participants that included Chris Paine, the director behind the controversial - and uncomplimentary to GM - film, "Who Killed the Electric Car?"
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As I said in response to several negatively worded blogs about the images shown before:
1) It was somewhat attractive even in those photos, but
2) The reality would most likely be much better received, as has been the case with LOTS of vehicles
The styling is fine. Despite aerodynamic and functional constraints, it's a unique and solid design. The detailing seems nice, especially the front and rear lamps. If the car's functionality is close to what is promised, we've got a very exciting car which the styling can not dampen.
The main concern is what GM didn't show: the price. $40K and this car is dead meat.
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