A chassis that Cruzes

To speed development and minimize cost, Volt shares key underpinnings with its high-volume cousin.

Bringing an all-new advanced battery and electrified powertrain to market in less than four years required a significant investment in engineering resources for General Motors, including hiring hundreds of electrical engineers and battery technologists. So when it came to deciding on the car's body structure and chassis systems, Volt's strategic planners wisely chose not to give the vehicle an all-new chassis and suspension system to go with the high-tech drivetrain.

“We had a lot of stuff on the critical path with this new powertrain. Leveraging the Delta II architecture for the body and suspension made sense in terms of keeping the program on target,” former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told AEI in early 2009.