FastLane

(Editor’s Note: Challenge X is a four-year competition series that challenged teams of students from 17 top North American universities to re-engineer a stock Chevrolet Equinox to achieve better fuel economy and lower greenhouse gas emissions, without sacrificing performance, utility and safety. It began in the 2004-2005 academic year and concluded today in Washington, D.C. GM and the U.S. Dept. of Energy [DOE] were the headline sponsors of Challenge X.)

By Beth Lowery
Vice President, GM Environment, Energy & Safety Policy

Today I had the privilege of waving the checkered flag at the final Challenge X finish line.

The Mississippi State University Challenge X team with its Chevrolet Equinox

This is the second time in my life that I’ve been an official at an important race. Two years ago, I was the Official Starter at the GM FlexFuel 250 at Daytona International Speedway, which opened the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.

And for the second consecutive year, Mississippi State University was the winning team today at Challenge X.

But Challenge X has been much more than just a race to see who takes home the first-place trophy; it is also part of an international race to find new choices to our current reliance on oil to supply the world’s automotive energy requirements.

In this extraordinary student engineering competition, governments from the U.S. and Canada, industry, and academia joined forces to explore sustainable and innovative vehicle solutions to energy and environmental issues.

The winning Challenge X team from Mississippi State designed a through-the-road parallel hybrid vehicle powered by a 1.9L GM direct injection turbo diesel engine fueled by bio diesel (B20).

In a very real sense, all of the teams were winners - as were GM and the DOE.

We’ve found Challenge X to be exceptionally valuable, not only for the students, but for the sponsors as well.

The program has provided students with the necessary hands-on education to learn the skills they need to start an engineering career with an important, competitive advantage.

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Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept

General Motors Vice President for Global Design Ed Welburn just gave a speech unveiling the Cadillac CTS Coupe concept car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Here are some highlights from his speech:

• “As the design team was completing the development of the CTS sedan, the creative ideas continued to flow. Our designers had a great idea for a CTS coupe. The design quickly progressed from a hot sketch to a wonderful full-size clay model. It looked so good that we had to build it!”
• “The CTS Coupe concept builds on the success of the CTS sedan, but is an expression of the ‘Art & Science’ design language that is even more dramatic. The body shape is crisp, lean, and has a lot of energy. The bold front end is straight from the CTS sedan and the rear is just as striking as the front. The rear has a strong centerline crease, and aggressive proportions and plan view sweeps.”
• “The interior is based on the production sedan, but we used this opportunity to explore new materials, colors and finishes. I was so excited about the seat design that I had an extra seat designed to display as a piece of artwork at the Design Center.”
• “In terms of performance, the CTS Coupe concept offers the flexibility to accept a broad engine range of gasoline and diesel engines for international markets.”

Click over to GM’s media web site for more information about the CTS Coupe concept, including a complete list of specifications and comments from the car’s designers. And check out Flickr for more photos of the CTS Coupe concept.

This just in: Spotted on The GM test track, this early, preproduction Camaro Coupe. The new Camaro is quickly evolving into final form, but some of the details you see here (such as the headlamp design) may change before production begins this year. -Alicia Dorset, blog editor

…from America

By Ed Peper
Chevrolet General Manager

If you were online yesterday and had even a passing interest in performance cars, you probably read about the new 2009 Corvette ZR1. The car will go on display to the public during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, but we released some photos and the all-important technical information on this ultimate Vette. It’s the Corvette that challenges the supercar hierarchy, with world-beating performance offered at a world-beating price.

Just in case you missed it, here’s the story: The ZR1 is the fastest and most powerful Corvette ever produced. In fact, it’s the fastest and most powerful production car in General Motors’ history. We’re still conducting performance testing, so I can’t throw out 0-60, quarter-mile and braking numbers, but suffice it to say that we couldn’t use the Corvette Z06’s 200-mph speedometer because there weren’t enough numbers on it.

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By Eric Clough
Director of Design, Cadillac Interiors

Thank you to all who responded about the new CTS interior. I appreciate the feedback and enthusiasm. I’d like to answer a few of your questions and topics that have been posted here on FastLane.

Radio and screen
The radio is usable with the navigation screen retracted. In fact, the only time the full screen is necessary is for nav use.

Wood
The Sapele wood is a species of African mahogany and is nursery grown for consistency, sustainability and to avoid rainforest depletion.

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By Eric Clough
Director of Design, Cadillac Interiors

Designers are often asked, “What inspired you to create this design?” It’s a natural question about the creative process, but it’s seldom easy to answer.

Unlike an artist’s singular vision, designers are awash with influences, competitors, requirements and history, and work in teams to synthesize a vision for a specific product for a select range of customers. What inspired us? The desire to create a bold new direction for Cadillac interior design, to build a car that is better than the competition, and to raise Cadillac to its rightful place as a luxury brand.

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John Manoogian

By John Manoogian
Director of Design, Cadillac Exterior

We all know plenty of examples of “one-hit wonders” in literature, music, cinema, and, yes, even in car design. When the time came to redesign the original Cadillac CTS, the design team wanted to steer clear of this syndrome.

As Cadillac’s design vocabulary suggests, its brand essence is extravagant, exclusive and one that offers a dramatic presence. Let’s face it, the CTS is bold and makes a very strong statement about Cadillac’s “Art & Science” design philosophy. The design team understood that the successor to the original CTS needed to be recognizable as a Cadillac, but look like a CTS with a great upscale presence.

All these things were going through my mind as I was given the assignment to lead the exterior design team of designers and sculptors to design the 2008 CTS. And believe me, there was a lot of competition. It’s said that competition improves the breed. Well, I am convinced it certainly raised the bar for the CTS design.

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The Chevy Volt is a new electric concept car from General Motors. It’s designed to go up to 40 miles on a home plug-in electric charge. Since many people drive less than 40 miles a day, it’s possible they would never need to buy gas for this car. Beyond 40 miles, an on-board electric generator charges the battery for up to 650 miles of driving on a single fuel fill-up. General Electric’s OEM Director Kelly Wesmer and Volt engineer Tony Posawatz talk about their contributions to the Volt’s innovative concept. GM’s Vice President of Environment and Energy Beth Lowery talks about her excitement over the new technology. —Bill Betts, Manager, GM Blogs

Rick Wagoner, Buick General Manager Steve Shannon, and Tiger Woods with the Enclave

By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman

The Los Angeles Auto Show is under way in southern California, and General Motors has a high profile at this year’s event, now moved to November from early January, which I think was a good move on the part of the organizers.

It began last night with the introduction of the Buick Enclave by Rick Wagoner, with an assist from Tiger Woods. The Enclave, which we first showed as a concept at the 2006 Detroit show, is now ready for production. I think it’s a great example of what we’ve been discussing all year right here — the renewed emphasis on quality and craftsmanship and attention to detail at GM Design. But I’ll let you investigate it for yourself and tell me if you agree.

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By Dave Rand
Executive Director of Interior Design

In about a month, Chevrolet will unveil an all-new Malibu. I believe it will be unlike any Malibu you have ever seen, inside and out. My focus is the interior, not just in the Malibu, but within all GM products. GM is committed to producing interiors that rival the best from around the world. We have made a lot of progress in that area and have begun to deliver on a promise I made four short years ago.

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