We finally get our hands on Chevy's much-anticipated extended range hybrid, the Volt, and take it for a spin. Is this the car that will bring GM back to life?
Awesome! Between the ZR1, 2010 Camaro, Volt, and many other new vehicles, I think GM has proven to be a worthy adversary to all car manufacturers once again!
I am so glad to see that GM is finally coming out with this car. I currently have a Prius but would consider a Chevy Volt because you can go 40 miles in all electric mode. That is 90% of my driving!
The Volt actually has a range of over 300 miles. The electric motor has a range of 40 miles, after that a 1.0 liter gas engine kicks in to charge a generator that propels the vehicle. The electric motor has 160 hp, while in ‘generator mode’ it has 71 hp. The overall mpg rating is estimated at least 85mpg by the EPA, 100+ GM estimate. Brought to you by the friendly folks at Wikipedia.
What a cool car! I will be buying one as soon as they are available in my area! Its exciting to see this come out of GM. Their engineers are amazing, but I never pegged the top brass to go for a program this progressive. Kudos GM. Now dont stop!!!!!!!!!!
People need to realize there is a $7,500 tax credit for purchasing an electric vehicle and in some states you get additional rebates on top of that. MSRP for the Volt is about $41,000 dropping it to $33,500 with the credit. The Leaf has an MSRP of $32,000, or $24,500 with the credit. The Leaf can get really affordable if you live in certain states that give you even more credits or discounts. Determining which one is better depends on what kind of driving you do and which state you live in.
@srsomario The point is that the battery powers the car for 40 miles then the motor kicks on and charges powers the battery so it can power the wheels. The motor also shuts off when you stop and it does not trun on when traveling slow after the battery has gone low.
The battery range is 39-42 miles depending on driving style. After that, 40mpg using the 9 gallon tank or 360 miles before you get gas. In practice 82% of the population drive 40 miles or less a day. This has proven true for me although I doubted this when I bought the car. Batteries warrantee 8 years. DOE says battery cost will be 40% less by 2015 so its a non issue. Cost to charge is $1.20-$1.50 depending on where you live. I use AC every day and have noticed virtually no change.
@emforty2 That's because it isn't a hybrid. it is an erev (extended range electric vehicle) A hybrid is where to different power sources move the car. In the volt only the electric motors do, the gas engine only charges the battery enough to get places.
Andy Farah seemed to be a marketing fluffer more than anything else but it was nice to see a top hat in the program. Most of the stuff I have been over in the past week about the car's progress is inspiring. I'd like to hear Mulally's personal thoughts on whatever the rumor mill has supplied him, but I am guessing that's not going to happen. Still, congrats to GM and partners for the great work that is behind them so far. I can't wait for the 2012 model year. Here's to work ahead :)
I hope this succeeds. I have been anticipating the Chevy Volt for many years but for now I will make do with my trusty Prius. I have never had a better car in my life, and love getting 52 mpg in the city. I will give it a few years to iron out the kinks and maybe give it a chance, but until then I will stick with the trusty Prius.
It's about time major car companies started looking at different means of vehicles that are not solely dependent on fuel. It's a fact that petrol and oil reserves are being depleted, so eventally we will have to switch to other methods if we wish to keep driving. The price tag might be hefty, however that is usually the way when somthing new is introduced onto the market for the first time. Given time, the prices will drop - especially if other companies start getting in on the act as well.....
I see to many ppl mad about the looks of the car. I understand because i love the style of the late 60s muscle cars too. I have a 68 roadrunner. Unfortunately its not all about looks but functionality, and compared to the leaf this is a damn good looking car! Also if your looking for an electric car so you can save money you shouldnt be concerned about power. If you want power get a Vette!! SUPPORT AMERICAN!!!
I love it, 40 mile range on batteries only should satisfy 75% of american commutes, and the high-octane generator/engine or extended range is of course E85 complaint, so its not only electric friendly its biofuels friendly as well!
Bonjour Xiber1 La Chevrolet Volt embarque également un moteur essence. Ce dernier, un petit 1.4 litre 86 ch, peut maintenir la batterie en charge pour prolonger les 80 km d’autonomie. Ainsi, on peut parcourir 500 km d’un coup avec la Volt. (French) Bonne route
@LIGHTRONIX It takes 8 hours on 120 volts. On 240 volts, which is what someone would have in their garage or with public charging stations, it only takes 3 hours.
Bravo GM - This is THE car to watch. Given the Golf Oil disaster I think this will be the car to own not just because it is a great historic car but because of its moral significance. I've been amazed to see the pries displace bmw's in power circles while also being an average persons car. The leaf is great too but I'm afraid when you start to see them out "of gas" on the roadside people will make fun of it and if it were the only EV it could be a setback for EV's. The Volt will start a new era
They don't use a diesel because GM currently doesn't have a small diesel engine that's used in the American market, but the 1.4L engine is used in several cars already. It's cheaper to retune and modify that engine for efficiency on the volt platform than to retool a factory to build a new engine.
The only thing I don't like is the lack of acceleration surge. That's one of my favorite things about driving, is to feel the acceleration kick in. Other than that, the car is awesome.
I own a 2012 Volt. I'm not sure about a single day maximum because when you are out of battery charge, the gas engine picks up. When the gas engine runs out, you just stop and fuel up again like any normal car. Yes... you can take it out of state. Don't know about replacing batteries. GM warrants the battery for 8 years/100,000 miles. Daily charge is about $1.50 per day (depending on your location, time of day, etc...). The heater draws from the battery, but it's not too bad.
no, its a hybrid. its runs on the electric motor for i believe 40 miles, then the gas engine kicks in and continues to drive the car. it has an electric motor, plus a 1.4L turbo I4 that makes 130hp.
@Iamcartmanxd I guess you didn't hear the part about the onboard electrical generator that runs on premium gas @ 50+ MPG. It gives you about the same range of 300-400 miles before you need to refuel. The electric-only mode will keep the air clean during your normal day-to-day use.
These companies need to start building charging stations. With electric and gas combined this car get 95 MPG city and 93 MPG highway, meaning if I drove from Florida to New York, I would only spend $90.36 on gas if gas was $3.75, that's AMAZING!
@iooo007: The Chevy Volt can get 99mpg or even more. It depends on how you use it. If you are a person that drives under 40 miles per day. Then you are not gonna use gas at all in the Chevy Volt.
if you floor it from the start will the wheels spin? or do they have gradual acceleration each time? if you can't control the full power at take off then it sucks.
Man this is a definite buy for me, but I will have to wait for a year or two to see what people have to say. Reliability, long term cost , if any unexpected issues come up specially battery discharge or quality issues. Charging time ,…etc I really hope GM has a winner car here, only time will tell. I own a quality electric bike and I know that the battery should be replaced after 700 recharges only and cost 1000$ just imagine.
@usery3zz The car actually fully recharges in 2 1/2 hours with GEs new 240volt charging stations. They have already begun distributing them at Hotels, rest stops and parking garages.
I imagine you're still way better off because when you coast and idle you're not using an energy. And let's not forgot that it still is a hybrid, you can let the gas engine do its thing and you'll be able to charge the batteries.
@iTouchHelp100 well, I did counter it, but Ill be more direct. (try to direct your next comment towards this statement): using electricity does NOT harm the environment. The methods to create it do (for the most part). Converting to electric will (theoretically) allow us to more easily use cleaner FUELS to make the necessary power. And, having millions of small emission sources is much more difficult to deal with than a handful of power plants.
@beatznstreetz The biggest complaint about the Chevy Volt going to be about that darn electric cord. "You have to take out the trunk, unwind it, plug into the car, plug into the wall.. then 8 hours later, unplug the car, unplug the cord from the wall, then wind the cord up, and put it in the trunk." Do you see the problem.? GM can easier make the cord retractable, and access the cord reel from the trunk. Why have such a great car and this technical pain. The Japanese are going to do it right.
@grontesy I disagree. For one that adds costs. Second, some cars already have that, but it only generates enough power to run a fan to keep the car cool. It would be way too underpowered to charge the car. Third, most people with a Volt would be parking it in their garage near an outlet, and the solar panel would only work outside.
@scatpack68 i understand your opinion and i can quite share it to a certain extend, but it is never wrong to have some diversity in the marketplace and the chevy volt helps to bring in an "energy mix alternative" and diversity for the kind of buyer that doesn't necessarily need to have a big rumbling V8 (as lovely as that sure is) all day just to go to work or to get some groceries. greetings from germany :)
@Iamcartmanxd The Prius, like any parallel hybrid, is far more complicated than a series hybrid like the Volt. The Prius' electric motor and gas engine both power the wheels and that is not easy to coordiate. The Prius needs a transmission. And the Prius gas engine is almost always on when you accelerate. The gas engine on the Volt just has to turn its electrical generator to charge its battery. There is no transmission on a Volt.
@frosted1030 you are wrong it costs about .16 cents of electricity on the volt to produce the same energy with one gallon of gas @ 3.30 per gallon. A combustion engine is only 20 to 30% efficent at best. Electric motors are 100% minus the heat that is produced from the motor. Electric motors run at or around 90% efficient, some of the oil cooled ones run higher than that
This thing gets about 37 MPG at best. Those who choose to spend hours charging it will not see much difference as the electric motor works for only 33 miles before consuming gas. Take a hard look at the price, $41,328. You can get a Prius or two for that. Edmunds says that the Volt has the: "equivalent to a gas-only car that achieves 30.9 mpg on 91 octane. It also turns out the Volt's miles driven on electricity cost us more money than if it'd simply consumed gasoline instead."
@midgety1 Actually the controller for the motor is most likely programmed to progressively ramp up the speed instead of instantly ramp up the speed which has nothing to do with motor characteristics. Someone with good hacking skills could reprogram the controller to make the motor burn the wheels of each time your floor the pedal.
I have a lemonade stand and sell 10 cups for 10c a pop. So I make $1. But the batch of lemons and cups and sugar cost me $10. I can sell more lemonade but then I'll just lose more money. I have to do something to reduce my costs, buying larger bags of sugar for example, but even if I get it down to only $5 for a batch I'll still lose money. THAT is where GM is. Read the Reuters article "GM's Volt: The ugly math of low sales, high costs."
I suggest you actually read the Reuters article before you comment further. The key quote from the article: "It currently costs GM 'at least' $75,000 to build the Volt, including development costs, Munro said." That's right: INCLUDING DEVELOPMENT COSTS, which were over $1bn. Given that they've only sold ~20,000 Volts so far, OF COURSE they are "losing money" if you include development costs! And unless it cost Apple less than $500 to *develop* the iPhone, they also lost money on those.
The point I was trying to make was that every1 claims to have the best mpg's, and when compared to the Prius, Insight, or any other hybrid the Japanese make GM's hybrids haven't seemed to be as focused. To me it seems like they throw on an extra battery and there's their hybrid. I know the Ford Fusion hybrid can go up to 45mph on pure electricity, and get great mpg. Until now I've yet to see great innovation from GM in that regard. I think they use the stickers to make people think they are.
Incorrect. The Reuters article has already been called out (by Bob Lutz, among others) as having faulty math. The more correct analogy would be to say that it cost you $100 (in materials) to build the lemonade stand and $5 for enough lemons+sugar to make 20 cups of lemonade. You're selling lemonade at $1/cup, and after the first 20 cups have sold, Reuters comes along and says $105 in costs - $20 in revenue = you're losing over $4 per cup of lemonade! stand materials = Volt development costs
@JasonGorr With electric cars more range is always better. I too would like to see a 100 mi range from the Volt...but there just isn't any more room underneath that car. The problem is that while the Leaf made room for a larger batter than the Volt, they also decided to pass on any sort of heating/cooling system for the battery. Thats a big deal. The Leaf battery is cooled by a fan. Volt has its own HVAC system that keeps the battery in its optimum operating temperature = longer battery life
GM does hybrids as well as anyone whether you like the stickers or not. They're responsible for most of the hybrid busses out on public roads. They're 2-mode system they use in their trucks and SUVs works just as well as any competing system as well. The only question is why they don't use it on any of the cars they make...
@Iamcartmanxd You do not have to recharge this every 40 miles, it will go 40 miles on stored battery power, the gas engine starts and you can continue to drive the car till the fuel runs out... just like any other car, total range is 300-400 miles. then refuel. Caar cost $40K but there is a $7500 tax rebate, plus the fuel saved over the life of the car brings it closer to $22K. Car average is 100MPG including the 40 fuel free miles, runs about 50MPG on the gas engine.
Have you ever heard of the laws of physics? The electric line that goes to your house in designed to only handle so many BTU's of electricity going through it in a given time, or watts if you want to think about it in terms of rate. If any more electricity, energy, is pushed through those lines, they will melt. That's why they can't charge it any faster on a home line. It's a very basic energy balance with time factored in.
I would wait and see what the Toyota (and now Honda) plug ins will be like. The only thing I got from this vid is the center console looks like a giant iPod. Haha.
What type of electric motor does the Chevrolet Volt run on? Does the Synchronous Magnetic Motor help improve electric range on the Volt from 40 miles on electricity to 50 miles on electricity and improve 35 mpg to 50mpg when running on the generator?
It looks to me like GM has nicely spaced the non touchscreen buttons for easy blind usage. Functionally, I hope for a user selectable default touchscreen or a base interface screen with easy-to-use-blind touchable tabs running along the driver's vertical axis but who knows what you'll have to access there? I just need an iPod 3 or 4 touch(step) max system in place for all functions at the touchscreen's whim. All & all I think the car as a total solution is looking just ahead of promising.
@allteeth Not really. If the battery goes bad it will simply run as a series hybrid (engine turning a gen to power electric motors) which Locomotives in America have been since their first inception in the early 1900's. A lot of people don't know this since schools do not teach these things which is unfortunate.
@scatpack68 well i do think that there is some solid demand for chevy volt and the likes, plus we have to try and move on to new things as fossils are finite, plus by having cars that don't use gas to be propelled that in turn will stretch availability of gas in the long run, and keep prices stable/low as overall demand decreases or at least won't rise much further because people can switch between their needs/priorities,helps a V8 friend to simply longer enjoy the rumble of a gas propelled car
@emforty2 This isn't a hybrid. The gas motor isn't connected to the wheels and does not power the car. All the gas motor does is charge the batteries for the electric motor, which actually powers the car. This principal has been used on trains for nearly a century, but car manufacturers are consistently behind the curve for technology unless heavily prodded. Fact is, electric motors are far superior for most tasks, but since gas was historically so cheap, the technology was never developed.
Once again you're wrong ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU SAY. The GE stations are being distributed nation wide exactly matching the distribution of the Volt. SO EVERYWHERE you can buy a Volt, you can charge your Volt. At Hotels the chargers are complimentary. It will cost 5 Dollars to charge at a "Pay" station. So 5 Bucks for 40 Miles.
lol i imagine 50 volts parked on a parking lot in a few years and when you try to find your own volt will be like looking for a needle on a needlestack
@midgety1 I say they should have a control that lets you have enough power to take off fast. It would appeal more to the younger generations. Just saying. I plan to buy it either way :)
GM's version is better than the Nissan Leaf by far. Interior design aswell as exterior. GM is really actually looking good. Their Equinox was an excellent crossover suv so those obama dollars are actually paying off.
@bbonta The EV-1 is long gone. When the leases expired on the initial cars, GM declined to renew them or allow the owners to purchase the car so they took all of them and, except for a couple destined for museums, they were all destroyed. No one knows why.
Well I must've gotten those figures from the wrong source, and I meant HIGHWAY mileage when I was comparing to the F150. And that's a good point, my 07 328i gets 30 on the highway and if I try really hard I can get over 50. No joke.
They aren't technically biggest anymore, Toyota and VW passed them :P What I'm trying to tell you is they already have. You brought up the Vue hybrid before and how ugly the stickers were. What you probably didn't know then is that before they pulled Saturn's plug the Vue hybrid was the most fuel efficient hybrid SUV you could buy according to C/D at least. Only the Escape hybrid was more efficient, but it also has a full hybrid system, and the Escape wasn't as good an SUV in any other measure.
@70camaro406 Yes ur right, u can buy 3-4 volts for the price of one tesla, and b/c u pay a fraction of the price u get a fraction of the car. The Tesla does somewhat resemble an Elise, but it only shares around 5-10% of the same parts and components (look it up). All of Chevy's cars share significantly more than that (20-30% minimum). So really, the volt is much more similar to a Malibu or Impala, than a Tesla is to an Elise. Plus it only has a fraction of the range of a Tesla, 40 miles I think
@takumiscion No, this car works like a locomotive, in that the electric motor powers the wheels and the engine simply turns a generator which provides power for the motor and charging for the battery pack. You should still be able to work on the engine.
@shivrajvishnu Your statement is dubious due to a few facts Fact 1) 93% of Americans travel less than 40 miles a day, with the Volt that amount is entirely electric. 2) There are 108 Nuclear Power Plants in the country that require no delivery of resources anywhere......Since the wheels are NEVER driven by the gas engine it makes this car the stepping stone to the same engine being LPG and finally Hydrogen cell powered. Someone had to take the first LOGICAL step and you should be glad GM did.
The beauty is that it can come from any number of sources. Water, air, underground (geothermal), sunlight, etc. Even if you went with the worst option, coal, it is still much better for the environment than using ICE cars. Much less carbon footprint than burning fuel.
That was in the 90s. The only reason those manufacturers had electric vehicles was because of that California law. As soon as it was repealed, they also ditched their electric programs.
@YodaPala I like diesel vws too. But They really suck in the winter where I live when the diesel gels up on ya. Or it's too cold to start even with a battery booster.
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I love my Volt. This is an excellent car. I couldn't happier - driven over 2,500 miles and used less than 2 gallons of gasoline.
Best looking hybrid. Pretty sure it's a lot more comfortable and interactive/feature packed than any of the others too. I'm impressed
Awesome! Between the ZR1, 2010 Camaro, Volt, and many other new vehicles, I think GM has proven to be a worthy adversary to all car manufacturers once again!
I am so glad to see that GM is finally coming out with this car. I currently have a Prius but would consider a Chevy Volt because you can go 40 miles in all electric mode. That is 90% of my driving!
The Volt actually has a range of over 300 miles. The electric motor has a range of 40 miles, after that a 1.0 liter gas engine kicks in to charge a generator that propels the vehicle. The electric motor has 160 hp, while in ‘generator mode’ it has 71 hp. The overall mpg rating is estimated at least 85mpg by the EPA, 100+ GM estimate. Brought to you by the friendly folks at Wikipedia.
What a cool car! I will be buying one as soon as they are available in my area!
Its exciting to see this come out of GM. Their engineers are amazing, but I never pegged the top brass to go for a program this progressive. Kudos GM. Now dont stop!!!!!!!!!!
It seems cool. I hope to see it in the future on the roads of my country.
People need to realize there is a $7,500 tax credit for purchasing an electric vehicle and in some states you get additional rebates on top of that. MSRP for the Volt is about $41,000 dropping it to $33,500 with the credit. The Leaf has an MSRP of $32,000, or $24,500 with the credit. The Leaf can get really affordable if you live in certain states that give you even more credits or discounts. Determining which one is better depends on what kind of driving you do and which state you live in.
@srsomario The point is that the battery powers the car for 40 miles then the motor kicks on and charges powers the battery so it can power the wheels. The motor also shuts off when you stop and it does not trun on when traveling slow after the battery has gone low.
agreed, seemingly the most important info needed for anyone in a metro area
The battery range is 39-42 miles depending on driving style. After that, 40mpg using the 9 gallon tank or 360 miles before you get gas. In practice 82% of the population drive 40 miles or less a day. This has proven true for me although I doubted this when I bought the car. Batteries warrantee 8 years. DOE says battery cost will be 40% less by 2015 so its a non issue. Cost to charge is $1.20-$1.50 depending on where you live. I use AC every day and have noticed virtually no change.
those buttons actually are extremely easy and not really that crazy. its just the first time in a car but this is maybe the car of the future
@emforty2 That's because it isn't a hybrid. it is an erev (extended range electric vehicle) A hybrid is where to different power sources move the car. In the volt only the electric motors do, the gas engine only charges the battery enough to get places.
Andy Farah seemed to be a marketing fluffer more than anything else but it was nice to see a top hat in the program. Most of the stuff I have been over in the past week about the car's progress is inspiring. I'd like to hear Mulally's personal thoughts on whatever the rumor mill has supplied him, but I am guessing that's not going to happen. Still, congrats to GM and partners for the great work that is behind them so far. I can't wait for the 2012 model year. Here's to work ahead :)
Great car! Really looking forward to drive it!
Over 100 years ago, the Roberts electric vehicle got 40 miles to the charge. Now, the Chevy Dolt gets...40 miles to the charge. Now THATS progress!
I hope this succeeds. I have been anticipating the Chevy Volt for many years but for now I will make do with my trusty Prius. I have never had a better car in my life, and love getting 52 mpg in the city. I will give it a few years to iron out the kinks and maybe give it a chance, but until then I will stick with the trusty Prius.
The electronics look awesome! More future cars should have interactive displays like the Volt
It's about time major car companies started looking at different means of vehicles that are not solely dependent on fuel. It's a fact that petrol and oil reserves are being depleted, so eventally we will have to switch to other methods if we wish to keep driving.
The price tag might be hefty, however that is usually the way when somthing new is introduced onto the market for the first time. Given time, the prices will drop - especially if other companies start getting in on the act as well.....
I see to many ppl mad about the looks of the car. I understand because i love the style of the late 60s muscle cars too. I have a 68 roadrunner. Unfortunately its not all about looks but functionality, and compared to the leaf this is a damn good looking car! Also if your looking for an electric car so you can save money you shouldnt be concerned about power. If you want power get a Vette!!
SUPPORT AMERICAN!!!
I love it, 40 mile range on batteries only should satisfy 75% of american commutes, and the high-octane generator/engine or extended range is of course E85 complaint, so its not only electric friendly its biofuels friendly as well!
Bonjour Xiber1
La Chevrolet Volt embarque également un moteur essence. Ce dernier, un petit 1.4 litre 86 ch, peut maintenir la batterie en charge pour prolonger les 80 km d’autonomie. Ainsi, on peut parcourir 500 km d’un coup avec la Volt. (French)
Bonne route
@Xiber1 it comes with a charging kit by the spare tire in the trunk that can be used to charge it if you are not at a charging station
@LIGHTRONIX It takes 8 hours on 120 volts. On 240 volts, which is what someone would have in their garage or with public charging stations, it only takes 3 hours.
Bravo GM - This is THE car to watch. Given the Golf Oil disaster I think this will be the car to own not just because it is a great historic car but because of its moral significance. I've been amazed to see the pries displace bmw's in power circles while also being an average persons car. The leaf is great too but I'm afraid when you start to see them out "of gas" on the roadside people will make fun of it and if it were the only EV it could be a setback for EV's. The Volt will start a new era
They don't use a diesel because GM currently doesn't have a small diesel engine that's used in the American market, but the 1.4L engine is used in several cars already. It's cheaper to retune and modify that engine for efficiency on the volt platform than to retool a factory to build a new engine.
The only thing I don't like is the lack of acceleration surge. That's one of my favorite things about driving, is to feel the acceleration kick in. Other than that, the car is awesome.
I own a 2012 Volt. I'm not sure about a single day maximum because when you are out of battery charge, the gas engine picks up. When the gas engine runs out, you just stop and fuel up again like any normal car. Yes... you can take it out of state. Don't know about replacing batteries. GM warrants the battery for 8 years/100,000 miles. Daily charge is about $1.50 per day (depending on your location, time of day, etc...). The heater draws from the battery, but it's not too bad.
no, its a hybrid. its runs on the electric motor for i believe 40 miles, then the gas engine kicks in and continues to drive the car.
it has an electric motor, plus a 1.4L turbo I4 that makes 130hp.
@Iamcartmanxd I guess you didn't hear the part about the onboard electrical generator that runs on premium gas @ 50+ MPG. It gives you about the same range of 300-400 miles before you need to refuel. The electric-only mode will keep the air clean during your normal day-to-day use.
The german engineers from OPEL did an awesome job on that!
These companies need to start building charging stations. With electric and gas combined this car get 95 MPG city and 93 MPG highway, meaning if I drove from Florida to New York, I would only spend $90.36 on gas if gas was $3.75, that's AMAZING!
@iooo007: The Chevy Volt can get 99mpg or even more. It depends on how you use it. If you are a person that drives under 40 miles per day. Then you are not gonna use gas at all in the Chevy Volt.
if you floor it from the start will the wheels spin? or do they have gradual acceleration each time? if you can't control the full power at take off then it sucks.
Good job. Innovative direction towards smarter ecotech future. Hope to see the Volt in europe asap. Huge market.
Man this is a definite buy for me, but I will have to wait for a year or two to see what people have to say.
Reliability, long term cost , if any unexpected issues come up specially battery discharge or quality issues. Charging time ,…etc I really hope GM has a winner car here, only time will tell.
I own a quality electric bike and I know that the battery should be replaced after 700 recharges only and cost 1000$ just imagine.
@usery3zz The car actually fully recharges in 2 1/2 hours with GEs new 240volt charging stations. They have already begun distributing them at Hotels, rest stops and parking garages.
I imagine you're still way better off because when you coast and idle you're not using an energy. And let's not forgot that it still is a hybrid, you can let the gas engine do its thing and you'll be able to charge the batteries.
Rchiwawa, the Equinox is a fuel cell vehicle which are 30 years away. The GM Volt is now.
@iTouchHelp100
well, I did counter it, but Ill be more direct. (try to direct your next comment towards this statement): using electricity does NOT harm the environment. The methods to create it do (for the most part). Converting to electric will (theoretically) allow us to more easily use cleaner FUELS to make the necessary power. And, having millions of small emission sources is much more difficult to deal with than a handful of power plants.
@Xiber1 Thats why it has an internal combustion engine to generate electricity and provide some mechanical power....
If I kept this as a local car I'd rarely ever have to see a gas station again.
nice ride!
@beatznstreetz
The biggest complaint about the Chevy Volt going to be about that darn electric cord. "You have to take out the trunk, unwind it, plug into the car, plug into the wall.. then 8 hours later, unplug the car, unplug the cord from the wall, then wind the cord up, and put it in the trunk." Do you see the problem.?
GM can easier make the cord retractable, and access the cord reel from the trunk. Why have such a great car and this technical pain.
The Japanese are going to do it right.
I like the capacitive electronic buttons.
@grontesy I disagree. For one that adds costs. Second, some cars already have that, but it only generates enough power to run a fan to keep the car cool. It would be way too underpowered to charge the car. Third, most people with a Volt would be parking it in their garage near an outlet, and the solar panel would only work outside.
@scatpack68 i understand your opinion and i can quite share it to a certain extend, but it is never wrong to have some diversity in the marketplace and the chevy volt helps to bring in an "energy mix alternative" and diversity for the kind of buyer that doesn't necessarily need to have a big rumbling V8 (as lovely as that sure is) all day just to go to work or to get some groceries. greetings from germany :)
@Iamcartmanxd The Prius, like any parallel hybrid, is far more complicated than a series hybrid like the Volt. The Prius' electric motor and gas engine both power the wheels and that is not easy to coordiate. The Prius needs a transmission. And the Prius gas engine is almost always on when you accelerate. The gas engine on the Volt just has to turn its electrical generator to charge its battery. There is no transmission on a Volt.
@frosted1030 you are wrong it costs about .16 cents of electricity on the volt to produce the same energy with one gallon of gas @ 3.30 per gallon. A combustion engine is only 20 to 30% efficent at best. Electric motors are 100% minus the heat that is produced from the motor. Electric motors run at or around 90% efficient, some of the oil cooled ones run higher than that
the interviewer guy is very enthusiastic
Fuel max tires? End up in ditch during the winter tires?
This thing gets about 37 MPG at best. Those who choose to spend hours charging it will not see much difference as the electric motor works for only 33 miles before consuming gas. Take a hard look at the price, $41,328. You can get a Prius or two for that. Edmunds says that the Volt has the: "equivalent to a gas-only car that achieves 30.9 mpg on 91 octane. It also turns out the Volt's miles driven on electricity cost us more money than if it'd simply consumed gasoline instead."
@midgety1 Actually the controller for the motor is most likely programmed to progressively ramp up the speed instead of instantly ramp up the speed which has nothing to do with motor characteristics. Someone with good hacking skills could reprogram the controller to make the motor burn the wheels of each time your floor the pedal.
I have a lemonade stand and sell 10 cups for 10c a pop. So I make $1.
But the batch of lemons and cups and sugar cost me $10.
I can sell more lemonade but then I'll just lose more money.
I have to do something to reduce my costs, buying larger bags of sugar for example, but even if I get it down to only $5 for a batch I'll still lose money.
THAT is where GM is.
Read the Reuters article "GM's Volt: The ugly math of low sales, high costs."
I suggest you actually read the Reuters article before you comment further. The key quote from the article:
"It currently costs GM 'at least' $75,000 to build the Volt, including development costs, Munro said."
That's right: INCLUDING DEVELOPMENT COSTS, which were over $1bn. Given that they've only sold ~20,000 Volts so far, OF COURSE they are "losing money" if you include development costs!
And unless it cost Apple less than $500 to *develop* the iPhone, they also lost money on those.
Wow! A hybrid vehicle that actually looks good.
The point I was trying to make was that every1 claims to have the best mpg's, and when compared to the Prius, Insight, or any other hybrid the Japanese make GM's hybrids haven't seemed to be as focused. To me it seems like they throw on an extra battery and there's their hybrid. I know the Ford Fusion hybrid can go up to 45mph on pure electricity, and get great mpg. Until now I've yet to see great innovation from GM in that regard. I think they use the stickers to make people think they are.
@Xiber1 100 miles total with battery and gas spending after that you can still drive without recharging but u have to fill your tank !
@aylera oh yea and the Crz frm Honda is also a hybrid. Which tops the hybrids in the book for a car enthusiast.
Incorrect. The Reuters article has already been called out (by Bob Lutz, among others) as having faulty math.
The more correct analogy would be to say that it cost you $100 (in materials) to build the lemonade stand and $5 for enough lemons+sugar to make 20 cups of lemonade. You're selling lemonade at $1/cup, and after the first 20 cups have sold, Reuters comes along and says $105 in costs - $20 in revenue = you're losing over $4 per cup of lemonade!
stand materials = Volt development costs
@Jurocket no doubt, actually reminds me of the Civic front end and the Kia Forte front end.
@JasonGorr With electric cars more range is always better. I too would like to see a 100 mi range from the Volt...but there just isn't any more room underneath that car. The problem is that while the Leaf made room for a larger batter than the Volt, they also decided to pass on any sort of heating/cooling system for the battery. Thats a big deal. The Leaf battery is cooled by a fan. Volt has its own HVAC system that keeps the battery in its optimum operating temperature = longer battery life
you do that buddy. keep the fire extinguisher nearby!!
GM does hybrids as well as anyone whether you like the stickers or not. They're responsible for most of the hybrid busses out on public roads. They're 2-mode system they use in their trucks and SUVs works just as well as any competing system as well.
The only question is why they don't use it on any of the cars they make...
@Iamcartmanxd
You do not have to recharge this every 40 miles, it will go 40 miles on stored battery power, the gas engine starts and you can continue to drive the car till the fuel runs out... just like any other car, total range is 300-400 miles. then refuel. Caar cost $40K but there is a $7500 tax rebate, plus the fuel saved over the life of the car brings it closer to $22K. Car average is 100MPG including the 40 fuel free miles, runs about 50MPG on the gas engine.
Have you ever heard of the laws of physics? The electric line that goes to your house in designed to only handle so many BTU's of electricity going through it in a given time, or watts if you want to think about it in terms of rate. If any more electricity, energy, is pushed through those lines, they will melt. That's why they can't charge it any faster on a home line. It's a very basic energy balance with time factored in.
How many miles before it needs to be recharged and where do you recharge if you are on a long trip?
I would wait and see what the Toyota (and now Honda) plug ins will be like.
The only thing I got from this vid is the center console looks like a giant iPod. Haha.
What type of electric motor does the Chevrolet Volt run on? Does the Synchronous Magnetic Motor help improve electric range on the Volt from 40 miles on electricity to 50 miles on electricity and improve 35 mpg to 50mpg when running on the generator?
but cool interview.. the guy sells the car really well. I want one.
I would love a VOLT. Good job GM. Made in the USA for sure.
@xMITCHx336 how long does it take to charge and where can you charge it if you are away from home and how far can you go on one charge?
It looks to me like GM has nicely spaced the non touchscreen buttons for easy blind usage. Functionally, I hope for a user selectable default touchscreen or a base interface screen with easy-to-use-blind touchable tabs running along the driver's vertical axis but who knows what you'll have to access there? I just need an iPod 3 or 4 touch(step) max system in place for all functions at the touchscreen's whim. All & all I think the car as a total solution is looking just ahead of promising.
@allteeth Not really. If the battery goes bad it will simply run as a series hybrid (engine turning a gen to power electric motors) which Locomotives in America have been since their first inception in the early 1900's. A lot of people don't know this since schools do not teach these things which is unfortunate.
@scatpack68 well i do think that there is some solid demand for chevy volt and the likes, plus we have to try and move on to new things as fossils are finite, plus by having cars that don't use gas to be propelled that in turn will stretch availability of gas in the long run, and keep prices stable/low as overall demand decreases or at least won't rise much further because people can switch between their needs/priorities,helps a V8 friend to simply longer enjoy the rumble of a gas propelled car
@emforty2 This isn't a hybrid. The gas motor isn't connected to the wheels and does not power the car. All the gas motor does is charge the batteries for the electric motor, which actually powers the car.
This principal has been used on trains for nearly a century, but car manufacturers are consistently behind the curve for technology unless heavily prodded. Fact is, electric motors are far superior for most tasks, but since gas was historically so cheap, the technology was never developed.
Looks like a pretty neat car. I actually think it looks quite good inside and out. The price kills the appeal for me though.
if you had a small generator (Briggs and stratton or Honda) running in the back automatically topping up the battery, that would be really economical
he sounds so enthuisiastic!
@teta809 But it does take hours to recharge batteries.
Battery charging time has improved but its just a limitation of the technology.
Once again you're wrong ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU SAY. The GE stations are being distributed nation wide exactly matching the distribution of the Volt. SO EVERYWHERE you can buy a Volt, you can charge your Volt. At Hotels the chargers are complimentary. It will cost 5 Dollars to charge at a "Pay" station. So 5 Bucks for 40 Miles.
Saw two of these on the street and both look seriously awesome. Went to the website and was disappointed with the price. :(
lol i imagine 50 volts parked on a parking lot in a few years and when you try to find your own volt will be like looking for a needle on a needlestack
@midgety1
I say they should have a control that lets you have enough power to take off fast. It would appeal more to the younger generations. Just saying. I plan to buy it either way :)
@JonTheChron Maybe from a Canadian perspective that's true but here in the US I can tell you for sure many minimum wage workers need this car.
GM's version is better than the Nissan Leaf by far. Interior design aswell as exterior. GM is really actually looking good. Their Equinox was an excellent crossover suv so those obama dollars are actually paying off.
@bbonta The EV-1 is long gone. When the leases expired on the initial cars, GM declined to renew them or allow the owners to purchase the car so they took all of them and, except for a couple destined for museums, they were all destroyed. No one knows why.
Well I must've gotten those figures from the wrong source, and I meant HIGHWAY mileage when I was comparing to the F150. And that's a good point, my 07 328i gets 30 on the highway and if I try really hard I can get over 50. No joke.
They aren't technically biggest anymore, Toyota and VW passed them :P
What I'm trying to tell you is they already have. You brought up the Vue hybrid before and how ugly the stickers were.
What you probably didn't know then is that before they pulled Saturn's plug the Vue hybrid was the most fuel efficient hybrid SUV you could buy according to C/D at least. Only the Escape hybrid was more efficient, but it also has a full hybrid system, and the Escape wasn't as good an SUV in any other measure.
this car looks futuristic :) cool
wouldn't the touch sensitive buttons or w/e use more electricity?
great step in the right direction
From all reports this is a very nice car. But what is the battery guarantee, and what does it cost to replace?
@70camaro406 Yes ur right, u can buy 3-4 volts for the price of one tesla, and b/c u pay a fraction of the price u get a fraction of the car. The Tesla does somewhat resemble an Elise, but it only shares around 5-10% of the same parts and components (look it up). All of Chevy's cars share significantly more than that (20-30% minimum). So really, the volt is much more similar to a Malibu or Impala, than a Tesla is to an Elise. Plus it only has a fraction of the range of a Tesla, 40 miles I think
@takumiscion No, this car works like a locomotive, in that the electric motor powers the wheels and the engine simply turns a generator which provides power for the motor and charging for the battery pack. You should still be able to work on the engine.
@shivrajvishnu Your statement is dubious due to a few facts Fact 1) 93% of Americans travel less than 40 miles a day, with the Volt that amount is entirely electric. 2) There are 108 Nuclear Power Plants in the country that require no delivery of resources anywhere......Since the wheels are NEVER driven by the gas engine it makes this car the stepping stone to the same engine being LPG and finally Hydrogen cell powered. Someone had to take the first LOGICAL step and you should be glad GM did.
i wonder what maintence is like for it
The beauty is that it can come from any number of sources. Water, air, underground (geothermal), sunlight, etc.
Even if you went with the worst option, coal, it is still much better for the environment than using ICE cars. Much less carbon footprint than burning fuel.
That was in the 90s. The only reason those manufacturers had electric vehicles was because of that California law. As soon as it was repealed, they also ditched their electric programs.
@YodaPala I like diesel vws too. But They really suck in the winter where I live when the diesel gels up on ya. Or it's too cold to start even with a battery booster.