GM Hybrid Volt Styling Changes: Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory?

[KeepItReal]

I hope this is some huge misunderstanding, but GM looks to be on the verge of making a huge mistake.

The Chevy Volt Hybrid has gone from this prototype...



to this (potentially)....



"DETROIT - If images circulated on the Web this week are representative of the Chevrolet Volt General Motors Corp. plans to deliver in two years, the General had better hope potential customers appreciate the engineering - because the Volt's design is a corporate brownout.

The most common reactions range in a bandwidth from disappointment to derision. The Volt concept car was widely applauded, and although GM subsequently warned certain aggressive aspects of the Volt concept would be sacrificed on the altar of production-car realities, the overwhelming blandness oozing from the images of what is purported to be the production Volt is inescapable. "

http://www.autoobserver.com/2008/09/chevy-volt-styling-is-a-short-circuit.html#more


"DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. blamed "human error" for the premature release today of production model photos of the Chevrolet Volt, the automaker's much-anticipated, yet little-seen, extended-range electric vehicle.

"This car went from super cool...to super lame (Toyota) Prius wanna-be," one poster wrote on Padgett's site.

Another poster wrote: "The original Volt concept looked futuristic for futuristic's sake. This one looks like an actual car that will get GM to the forefront of next-gen automotive innovation." "

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/AUTO01/809080428/1148/rss25