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4:01

Andrew Farah - I'm here and ready to go. Before we get started, I wanted to quickly address a question I've seen already while surfing the net. First, some of the parts that you have seen on the pre-production vehicle may not look as they do on the production show car. This is because these parts are not needed in their production form yet for development...things like head lamps, tail lamps, paint on the spoiler, etc. Now, fire away.

4:02	[Comment From Scott ] How was the drive and how does it compare to other hybrids such as the insight and prius?

4:04	Andrew Farah - Clearly I enjoyed the significantly longer EV distance that is available with the Volt. I had to drive quite some distance before the engine came on, even though I didn't start with a full charge. By comparison, our chassis is much more sporty than either of the other vehicles.

4:05

[Comment From Augie Churchill ]
Mr. Farah, Do you have any preliminary projections yet for the “Mean Time Between Failures” of the Volt’s Lithium-ion battery? Will there be a warranty for the battery separate from the car’s basic warranty? Have you thought of leasing the Volt’s battery so customers can swap out batteries as the technology evolves and better batteries become available?

4:06	Andrew Farah - We're designing for the battery pack to have a 10-year life and there has been discussion of all sorts of battery business models, but we're working form the perspective that it will be sold with the car.

4:07	[Comment From EricR ] How goes the software development and GUI for the interior?

4:08	Andrew Farah - Basic controls software architecture is complete. The GUI is one of the areas that we will be refining over the next months. Still, a number of controls areas will continue calibration activities.

4:09	[Comment From Yakov ] What will be the approximate size of the fuel tank and maximum range?

4:10	Andrew Farah - We're still balancing the size of the tank with other factors, but the range will be more than 300 miles on a full charge and with a full tank of fuel.

4:10	[Comment From Tom Hayden ] Are you driving the VOLT solely on battery power so far?

4:11	Andrew Farah - No, we've been driving the Volt on battery and generator. However, keep in mind, that when the generator is running, we're still driving electric and the battery still plays a load leveling role.

4:12	[Comment From alexander ] What will the volt mean for the long term survival of GM?

4:14	Andrew Farah - The Volt is an emerging technology vehicle and any company that wants to continue to improve/progress has got to be ready to move with the technology quickly. Electrified vehicles will certainly be a significant portion of our future sales, and the Volt is a great next step.

4:14	[Comment From Greg ] Is the round charging port the design that will be used on production models?

4:16	Andrew Farah - We have adopted the revised SAE J1772 charge port/connector specification. While this is a bit larger than what we have shown previously, it will enable interoperatibility with public charging that is greater than 120V. So yes, this is production intent.

4:17	[Comment From Rick ] Have you driven the IV in charge sustaining mode yet? If so, what can you tell us about the experience?

4:18	Andrew Farah - Just yesterday, I was driving the latest calibration of charge sustaining mode, and I'm extremely pleased. This is one of the more challenging development activities over the next months.

4:20	[Comment From Bill Secinaro ] Could you explain how the Volt is different from the current hybrids in that the electric motor is actually powering the vehicle at all times? Is this true?

4:22

Andrew Farah - Hi Bill...you're correct that the electric motor is always powering the wheels, whereas in a typical hybrid vehicle the electric motor and the gasoline engine can power the wheels. The greatest advantage of an extended-range electric vehicle like the Volt is the increased all electric range and the significant total vehicle range combined.

4:23	[Comment From Aaron Crossen ] Will the Volt be available in different trim levels?

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