Chevy shows updated and mature EN-V 2.0 concept at Auto China 2012 Auto Show

Credit Chevy for its guts. Yesterday the company that brought you the ‘69 Chevelle with the ‘396 showed its EN-V 2.0 concept on the corporate Facebook page to stir interest and commentary. A close look at the feedback on the page, written by fans who follow Chevy on Facebook, shows an overwhelmingly negative reaction and the written feedback is close to hostile. However, in the halls of Washington where our next vehicle purchase is being carefully planned for us by bureaucrats who take “the tube” to work, this is of no concern. One fan sums up the feedback well stating “I want to park on top of it.”

Our Sustainable Future
The concept is a micro-electric car designed to transport small humans to places they used to drive to or walk to. Transport is the word, because in Chevy’s future vision of the world we won’t really be driving ourselves anymore. The mobility device will interface with our personal digital assistant, or the chip implanted behind our ear, and come for us when we desire it. It will then take us to our next appointment or to our job at the renewable energy factory. Kevin Whale, GM China’s President and Managing Director, sums it up this way “The EN-V 2.0 concept would use technologies such as the mobility Internet, electrification and telematics to help change the automotive landscape and ensure a sustainable future for our industry,”. Since the US taxpayers bought GM a few years back it really is our industry.

All Weather Design
Like all “future mobility concepts” the electric EN-V 2.0 (say that 10 times quickly) is a bubble the human sits in and then uses the internet. The wheels look small and the body is extremely low to the ground. GM says not to worry because the EN-V 2.0 will be capable of driving in all weather and in city conditions. Apparently in our future we will no longer have snow or potholes. In a huge leap forward in vehicle design, Chevrolet has announced that EN-V 2.0 features “in-vehicle climate control and personal storage space.” This is far more efficient than controlling the weather outside of the vehicle and more practical because storage space shared with other users is confusing.

Yes, it is easy to poke fun at Chevrolet for creating concepts that are test beds for technology, but one has to wonder if they read their own proclamations and have ever really tried to drive this thing in Detroit during an ice storm when the power is out.