Look at the photo above. Anything stick out to you as being a bit, erm, “off?” Like, the shape of the battery pack? Or even more glaring, the position of the electric motor?
Many thanks to Inside EVs for bringing the image above to our attention. This photo of the 2016 Chevrolet Volt’s display was shared by the automaker last Wednesday, February 18th, in celebration of “National Battery Day.” And sure, we know what you might say: “It’s only a schematic. Why should a diagram designed to communicate power flow have to be accurate in terms of scale and physical layout?”
Well the thing is, if you look past the physical layout for a moment, the other elements in the display look as though they’ve been designed with an eye for realism. The ICE, motor, and battery icons all have some intricacy about them, and really, why are the precise shape of the front splitter and rear bumper necessary to convey in a power flow diagram?
That is, of course, a rhetorical question; they aren’t. It simply seems unusual that Chevrolet would choose to show some elements in the display with an eye for exactitude, while placing the electric motor so far back, and simplifying the shape of the battery. The display should be more forthcoming about being a schematic only, lest owners actually start to believe that the 2016 Chevrolet Volt has an electric motor mounted somewhere beneath the front seat occupants’ buttocks.
Or maybe we’re just picking nits.
Comments
Picking nits…yes, the items are detailed in and of themselves, but come on, is it easier for the driver to see the 3 systems in their real world configuration or broken out in this manner? This effectively communicates to the driver what they need to know about battery and which unit is powering the wheels. Not so easy if the gas and electric motors are scrunched up together in the engine compartment, is it? Nope, try again.
Jon R, I absolutely agree: this screen is meant to be informative at a glance and it accomplishes that, even if it’s not an accurate blueprint of the car. (My guess is that it evolved from the animation in the 2-Mode/Malibu Hybrids, possibly even being used as a mockup or placeholder, as these are clearly preproduction graphics.)
My bigger objection is the headline for this story, as it’s completely unrelated to the subject matter. Neither this article nor the one on Inside EVs evaluates GM’s performance in promoting National Battery Day. (To add my 2¢, I think Chevy could have made a big deal out of this “day” if they wanted, promoting the Volt, Bolt, and Spark EV, but did nothing more than post a photo on Facebook to mark the occasion.)
The UI that’s been shown so far is leaps and bounds better than what exists in the current generation Volt. Kudos to the designers who are working hard to accomplish that.
GMA, how about this for a revised headline: “Push for Clarity Leads to Inaccuracy on 2016 Volt Powerflow Screen”
Most things on a cars dash is a representation as if you made everything to exact detail it would make things only more difficult.
The dash as it is shown here is more for entertainment value more than anything else. It is not meant to be a blueprinted technical drawing. To be honest it could be just as easily replaced with a simple light and the DIC to do the same job. This just makes it look more impressive to those whole like the use of graphic’s.
This is just another poor story buy the author as we have seen in the past. Aaron I am not trying to pick on you but you keep serving up stories like this that are pointless and really are not of much value to anyone. Trust me I will be the first to praise you when you get it right so get at it and help me do that.
For what it’s worth, I feel the same about your consistently vitriolic comments. Surely there are other ways you could spend your time?
Much love.
It’s a highly simplified and illustrative graphical display of the Voltec powertrain intended for the lay-person, and in no way should anyone driving the car rely on it to serve as a detailed technical schematic.
That’s it really.
Would it have been slightly more informative and technically correct if the battery graphic was T-shaped and positioned properly in the middle of the car graphic? Perhaps, and it would serve to orient the owner with a pronounced ‘landmark’ inside the car. People aren’t stupid, and I think there is some merit in Arron’s argument. If they know roughly where the T-shaped battery relative to whole operation of the car, there becomes an intimacy of knowledge that the owner discovers and can relate to when they see the display graphics. They start to know where things are behind the scenes.
That is, of course, if they have an interest in knowing the finer technical operations of the car. Since most Volt owners took the time to research, read, understand, and (perhaps most importantly) EXPLAIN TO OTHERS how the Voltec system works, then it might behoove GM to apply a little bit more interest in the graphic display.
Small details matter when examined. The next gen Volt has to not only woo current owners, but woo new ones. The small details that help make the car more easily and happily integrated with the owners life will make them desire a third gen Volt.
Gmauthority, Aaron Birch keeps “dropping the ball” on his articles for your site and should really consider removing him. I think you see there are a more than enough people not happy with his articles that frequent this site, including me. I am less likely to come back if he keeps writing…Sorry, but the truth.
I agree the schematic is kinda goofy.
I’ve had a 2013 Volt for a little over a year, and I love it. The Gen1 graphics are better in the power flow area.
Otherwise, Gen 2 Volt is amazingly engineered.
Charge on.
I agree.
Also, I see that the power is going to the tires. That’s weird. From the generator, power is transferred via shaft to the wheels. And, the shaft is coupled perpendicular to the tires, not in parallel. That’s confusing.
Furthermore, the power to the tires should not be the same color as the power to the generator. It implies that it is the same kind of energy. The power to the generator is electricity and the power to the tires is mechanical.
In my cellphone, why does the battery indicator looks like an AA battery, including the + connector sticking out of the short side of the rectangle, when cellphone batteries are not at all like that?
I have a Volt and I love it. I appreciate that it is probably a slow news day in the car world. However, this is criticism for the sake of criticizing.