Chevy Says Volt to Get 230 MPG

In a bold move, Chevy claims that the 2011 Chevy Volt plug-in electric will get 230 mpg in city driving; the automaker got this fuel economy number using a newly devised EPA method. This isn’t an official number, but the company hosted a web conference this morning and boldly touted the claim. They even advertised the fuel economy number leading up to today’s announcement in anonymous ads on television. This would be the first vehicle to ever receive an EPA rating of more than 100 mpg.

The skepticism of the claim comes from a number of factors:

1. The 230-mpg rating was devised using a new EPA methodology created specifically for the Chevy Volt and other plug-in hybrids like it.The methodology itself is still not set in stone and is preliminary.
2. The Volt’s overall range will be 40 miles on an electric charge and 300 miles after that. If it packs a 10-gallon gas tank (we know it’ll be less than 12), our simple math finds that it will get 34 mpg overall. GM says it will get 40 mpg once the battery is depleted, which would mean an exceptionally small 8.5-gallon gas tank.

Here is the methodology explanation provided by GM: “Under the new methodology being developed, EPA weights plug-in electric vehicles as traveling more city miles than highway miles on only electricity.”

We’re not sure if that means they’re factoring in a nightly recharge nor do we know how many miles their new cycle includes. If it is only a 40-mile cycle, it would lead to extremely high results.

The Volt’s premise and underlying technology hasn’t changed since our last round of reporting on it. The Volt will likely be an extremely efficient vehicle, and one without the “range anxiety” of future electric-only vehicles. But to the layman, it will likely never get 230 mpg in the real world.  

More Chevy Volt News

Real Volts Now Under Construction

For everyone who keeps asking when the first Chevrolet Volt will roll off the assembly line, you now have your answer: in less than two weeks. Well, we should say the first complete, pre-production Volt will be built, by hand, for final testing by then.

This is the first time the automaker has built a test mule Volt that actually looks like the real thing – inside and out. Before now, all Chevy Volt prototypes looked like the 2011 Cruz or old Malibus. Underneath, the mules carried the Voltec technology that will propel the plug-in hybrid up to 40 miles on just electricity.

The latest prototypes will help validate the Volt’s safety and performance capabilities. Building a complete Volt will also help GM decide how to effectively manufacture the plug-in hybrid to ensure that build quality is consistent and reliable.

The first Volts will take an average of two weeks to build, but by mid-July assembly will ramp up to 10 a week. By the fall, GM expects to have 80 on the streets.

After that, GM will build hundreds of pre-production Volts at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. That’s where the real Volt will be built, showing up at a Chevy dealership near you in the summer of 2010.

That will only happen, of course, if everything stays according to the automaker’s current plans, even amid a seemingly unavoidable bankruptcy filing.

GM Builds the First Chevrolet Volt (Autopia)

Chevy Volt Update: It's Fast and Quiet

USA Today’s James Healey took the latest Chevy Volt test mule for a spin recently, and he was impressed by the car that he says GM is “making up as it goes along.” The Volt has serious torque for quick launches that Healey says will “embarrass muscle-car drivers when the light turns green.”

He also found the Volt to be exceptionally quiet, more so than most hybrids. GM will add some sort of noisemaker to the Volt to alert blind pedestrians at crosswalks.

GM is unsure if it’ll sell the lithium-ion battery pack as part of the car or lease it separately so owners can replace it more easily.

It’s a must read for those interested in the Volt.

Drivers could get a charge out of Chevrolet Volt (USA Today)

Study Finds Chevy Volt Isn't Cost-Effective

Development of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt has been a bright spot amid some bad times for its parent company, but should GM sacrifice future gas-powered cars and trucks for this plug-in hybrid? A new study suggests the answer is no.

The Carnegie Mellon University study suggests that a plug-in series hybrid like the Volt with a range of 40 miles on electricity isn’t an economically prudent choice for consumers, despite the fact that the car hasn’t been priced yet. It’s expected to cost between $35,000 and $40,000. Jeremy Michalek, the chief engineer behind the study, said he believes there would be no way to recoup the cost of the batteries, even if the driver never used a drop of gasoline over the Volt’s lifetime. 

According to the study, the Volt’s steep price will hurt its chance of displacing the Toyota Prius, which starts at $22,000. 

The study reviewed the cost of a single car’s batteries (which could be $16,000), recharging costs and CO2 emissions created both in making the battery pack and in generating electricity for home or commercial recharging. The study is also extremely skeptical about the long-term lifespan of the massive batteries required in the Volt. K.G. Duleep of Energy & Environmental Analysis Inc. said such batteries only last seven years in lab tests. GM has said it hopes to give the Volt a 10-year/150,000-mile powertrain warranty to alleviate such fears. 

Chevy Volt To Pack Energy-Efficient Bose Stereo

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt will have an optional ultra-efficient Bose stereo that uses 50% less energy than an equivalent Bose system in a similar-sized car, Chevy says. Using a smaller amplifier, lighter speakers and unique circuitry to connect the components, the system — dubbed Bose’s Energy Efficient line — is also 30% smaller and 40% lighter, a Bose official said. Naturally, Bose says sound quality remains top-notch. We’ll have to hear it in the Volt before we know for sure.

Using this system instead of the Volt’s base stereo nets the efficiency equivalent of 50 pounds’ mass reduction, vehicle line executive Frank Weber said. Though a regular stereo obviously doesn't weigh that much, the new unit's efficiency gains are reportedly equivalent to reducing the Volt’s weight that much.

What Drivers Will See Inside the Chevy Volt

Front and center last night at a GM media gathering for journalists headed to the Chicago auto show was a 2011 Chevy Volt, with vehicle line executive Frank Weber on hand to detail exactly what the driver sees inside the car. High-tech green driving is the name of the game, and the car offers plenty of it. It starts with two screens along the dash — an LCD instrument panel above the steering wheel and a 7-inch display above the center controls. Both come standard.

On a full battery charge, the Volt can run on its electric motor for 40 miles. It then uses a small gas-powered engine-generator to power the motor to run the wheels. With Nintendo Wii-like renderings, the LCD instruments depict exactly what stage you’re in. Everything from vehicle speed to the remaining battery charge and fuel levels shows up in curvy, bluish renderings. Once you’re past electric range, the display switches “from electric mode to engine-generator mode,” Weber said. We’re not sure of the exact visual differences between the two, as the Volt on display flipped through a prearranged assortment of screens.

What Happens to a Chevy Volt's Old Gas?

There are many questions about the upcoming Chevy Volt. One concerns what happens to the gas in the tank when you only drive the car short distances, using its electric power supply and not the gasoline-powered backup engine.

Local varieties notwithstanding, U.S. gas stations generally pump two types of fuel: winter blends and summer blends. The latter one, formulated to burn cleaner during high-pollution summer months, doesn’t work as well when the icicles form; in fact, it can make engines downright difficult to start. What’s more, fuel will slowly degrade as it sits in your tank. As MSN Autos reports, the components that allow fuel to combust will evaporate over time. And the chemical composition of the gas can degrade, leading to harmful deposits in your fuel system. Bottom line: If it sits, it quits.

So what will happen in cars like the upcoming Chevy Volt, whose gasoline drivetrain could potentially remain dormant for weeks at a time while its driver commutes, recharges and commutes again — all on electric power? At the Washington, D.C., auto show, we queried GM’s manager for hydrogen and electrical infrastructure commercialization, Britta Gross.

Washington D.C. Auto Show: GM's Wish List for Volt

Shocking news: Extended-range electric vehicles like the forthcoming Chevy Volt will need all sorts of municipal infrastructure in order to break into the mainstream, GM told reporters at the Washington, D.C., auto show yesterday. The company says it’s working with cities like San Francisco and Washington, D.C., to make this happen. GM says steps needed include charging stations at offices and in public areas, favorable electricity rates and access to carpool lanes in states that have them. The major hurdle — consumer incentives to make such technology affordable — has already come in the form of a $7,500 tax credit approved last fall.

We asked Britta Gross, manager of hydrogen and electrical infrastructure commercialization (and also quite possibly the owner of GM’s longest job title) about where she sees the state of infrastructure down the road. Would drivers pay money for the electricity used when they plugged into a charging station? Not initially, Gross thinks. She said that in the 1990s, businesses would install such stations — sometimes with a federal tax credit for doing so — and offer up free charging.

Once plug-in cars proliferate, there may be a “business case for charging for access,” Gross said. “I think only time will tell.”

Plug-In Hybrids Could Get $10,000 Tax Credit

Last year, legislators passed new rules about plug-in hybrids and their tax credits. Vehicles like the upcoming Chevy Volt would qualify for the maximum credit of $7,500. However, as part of the stimulus bill being considered in Washington, that amount would jump to $10,000. That means if the Volt cost $40,000, the price after rebate would be $30,000, putting it pretty close to the price of a well-equipped Toyota Prius.

The cap for this credit would also be raised from 250,000 vehicles sold to 500,000. Meaning if you bought the 500,001st plug-in hybrid, you would not get a credit.

The other change in the legislation is that larger plug-in electric vehicles meant for commercial uses, like delivery trucks, would get larger credits of $12,500 and $15,000, depending on their size. That should be a good incentive for companies to buy new plug-in vehicles, if they existed. Currently, there are no such plug-in commercial vehicles planned.

Senate Finance Committee Markup Proposes Doubling PHEVs Eligible for Tax Credits to 500,000 Units (Green Car Congress)

Sign of the Times: GM Cancels L.A. Auto Show Reveals

GM announced it has canceled its plans to host a press conference at next week’s L.A. auto show. Originally, the company had planned to unveil its all-new Buick LaCrosse sedan and Cadillac SRX crossover at the show. Instead, the company says it has decided to postpone those reveals until a later date — we assume the Detroit auto show in January — because any new models would be overshadowed by financial news. You know — the kind about government bailouts and the possible collapse of the auto industry.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be new GM products to see in L.A., though. A restyled Pontiac G6 lineup will be on hand, and it will also be the first time most people will get to see the production Chevy Volt, Chevy Cruze and Chevy Camaro at a major consumer show. GM will also display the Saab 9-X Air concept that debuted in Paris earlier this year. Stay tuned for our coverage of the L.A. auto show next week. We also expect more news to come over the next few days.

GM scraps plans for news conference at upcoming L.A. Auto Show (The Detroit News)