Test Carwash Reveals Design Flaw on Chevy Volt

As General Motors engineers race to finalize the Chevrolet Volt in time for sale next year, a test run through a carwash revealed a flaw in how the door to the electric car’s charging port was attached after it fell off during washing, according to a report by the Detroit Free Press.

“The guy who runs the carwash came up to me with a box of parts and said, ‘You might have a problem here,’” lead development engineer Rob Bolio told the newspaper.

Bolio and a designer engineer redesigned the assembly and spent four hours running test Volts through the carwash without incident, the article said.

GM is currently road testing the Volt, an extended-range electric vehicle with a gasoline generator. The car has a 40-mile range on battery power, but its engine serves as an electric generator for longer trips, the report said. When battery power is depleted, the gas engine kicks in to provide enough energy to power the car for several hundred more miles, according to GM literature.

GM has predicted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will give the Volt a fuel economy rating of 210 miles per gallon for city driving. 2011 models are expected to go on sale next fall.

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