Drivers could get a charge out of Chevrolet Volt

WARREN, Mich.

What’s a mule? A chassis and powertrain from the target vehicle clothed with the body and interior of some other car about the same size.

GM won’t begin making Volt bodies until late May, so it is using the body and some of the interior of the similar-size Chevy Cruze compact sedan atop the platform that GM says is close to what showroom-ready Volts will have. Two such mules were yanked from GM engineers’ test fleet long enough for journalists to roll up a few miles. Once back in the big garage, the cars were abruptly snatched back to the engineering test fleet.

Why the urgency? Volt is as close as the modern auto industry has come to “making it up as we go along.” The car’s lithium-ion battery packs remain under intense development and testing. GM is betting it will know everything it needs to by the time the showroom-ready chassis, body and drivetrain come together next year.

USA Today