Many in motoring are looking forward to an all-electric future, but as long as we’re burning fuel we’ll need to keep incentivizing low emissions. In California, a limited number of low-emissions vehicles are given stickers that let them travel in the HOV lanes, which residents know is a hell of a perk. Now Volt owners can get in on that action.
Chevrolet is making a low-emissions package… → Read More
GM makes money from platforms, not just cars. With that thought, Cadillac just announced the ELR Coupe, a sleek sportster built on the Voltec platform that also powers the Volt. The dual-powertrain Caddy has been rumored ever since a concept (pictured here) was shown off at the 2009 North American International Auto Show. Well, friends, it’s on.
The ELR will use the same version of the Voltec… → Read More
Another day, another car of the year award. The Nissan Leaf just won the World Car Of The Year award at the New York International Auto Show. An unnamed World Car juror notes Leaf’s tech specs of 100 mile range, 8 hour battery charge and that it’s the first mass-produced 5 seat EV hatchback. “It feels just like a normal car, only quieter.” This award is now in it’s… → Read More
The Chevy Volt might soon have a stateside cousin if a Bloomberg report is correct. The outlet quotes two sources as saying GM is developing a Buick vehicle that uses the Volt’s series hybrid Voltec powertrain with a scheduled 2013 release. Apparently the Buick would be a reworked Opel Ampera, which itself is a modified Chevy Volt for the European market. The new model however would have… → Read More
Mr. Chevy Dale Earnhardt Jr. was wrangled into an interview and of course the Chevy Volt was brought up. His take? “I think that the Chevy Volt’s a good product.” Fair enough. He then goes on to gently explain that it’s hard to make a vehicle like the Volt, but “the technology isn’t there yet.” Taken out of context, that sounds like Junior is blasting the… → Read More
There’s a lot of buzz out there surrounding EVs; why shouldn’t there be? So far, the mass marketed EVs: the Volt and the Leaf, with the Focus Electric and Tesla Model S on the way, are pretty exciting. The offerings seem to be pretty solid, but as of right now, the cars aren’t selling in huge numbers. Adding to the gloomy forecast, a panel of experts thinks EVs are over-hyped and Obama’s plan to… → Read More
The Chevy Volt is going national a little bit ahead of schedule. GM just released a statement proclaiming that the “don’t call it a series hybrid” vehicle will be available from dealers in all 50 US states by the end of 2011. Currently the Volt is sold and delivered only in D.C., California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Texas. An additional eleven states will have… → Read More
It’s official: the automotive press loves General Motor’s Chevy Volt as it walks away from the NAIAS as the North American International Car of the Year. The don’t-call-it-an-extended-range EV essentially sweep 2010′s consumer automotive awards, earning the top spot as Motor Trend’s 2011 Car of the Year, Green Car Journal’s 2011 Green Car of the Year, Automobile’s 2011 Automobile of the Year, and… → Read More
Who’s ready for 2010 to expire? Man, we are. It’s not that 2010 was a bad year or anything, but it was all iPad-this, iPhone-that with a bit of Android news bits scattered here and there.
With the products in the following list lined up for release, 2011 is set to be a much more balanced year. Of course Apple will still be a major part of the news cycle, but everyone from Nintendo to HP to even… → Read More
Lazy Friday? It happens. How about firing up the ol’ office laser printer and printing out the entire Chevy Volt user manual on your work’s dime? Or you could always peep the PDF but that’s not nearly as fun. [Chevrolet via GM-Volt] → Read More
Ward’s AutoWorld routinely grades vehicle powertrains and this year awarded one of the spots to the Chevy Volt’s 1.4L/111-kW electric drive unit mashup dubbed Voltec. Here’s what Ward’s AutoWorld Editor-In-Chief, Drew Winter, said about the propulsion system. Brave. Inspired. Brilliant. We don’t often use these words in the same sentence as ‘propulsion system,’ but… → Read More
Here it is, treehuggers and haters. The EPA’s rating of the Chevy Volt: 93 when on electric, 37 combined city/hwy on gasoline, which works out to a 60 MPG composite . Those combine to give the Volt an average range of 379 miles, although, just like with the Leaf, the total range for EV-only topped off slightly less than what the manufacturer advertises. Those keeping score will also note that the… → Read More
The 102-year-old car company General Motors (GM) is set to go public on Thursday after a government-forced bankruptcy and bailout in November 2008. The bailout cost taxpayers about $50 billion. Analysts estimate the stock price would need to hit $53 dollars before the government can recoup its investment. GM plans to sell about half-a-billion shares for $33 each in its IPO. The company stands to… → Read More
Today, General Electric (GE) offered details about its committment to encourage the widespread adoption of all-electric vehicles. The company plans to walk the walk with a purchase of 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015, including an order for 12,000 Chevy Volt vehicles in 2011 from General Motors (GM), a GE business partner.
Within the next three years, GE expects to generate up to $500 million in… → Read More
Today, General Electric (GE) offered details about its committment to encourage the widespread adoption of all-electric vehicles. The company plans to walk the walk with a purchase of 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015, including an order for 12,000 Chevy Volt vehicles in 2011 from General Motors (GM), a GE business partner.
Within the next three years, GE expects to generate up to $500 million in… → Read More
The Chevy Volt is fundamentally a new sort of vehicle and so maintenance will be a tad different. Chevy just went public with oil life numbers and it seems that with the proper oil, Volt owners who drive mainly on the battery might only have to change oil every two years. This only makes sense really as the on-board I-4 engine only kicks on to charge the battery and therefore isn’t used if the… → Read More
I had the rare pleasure of driving a brand new Chevy Volt up the Eastern seaboard yesterday, a four hour trip from DC to New York in the driving rain of a dying nor’easter. Organized by beleaguered carmaker GM, the drive was an attempt to reach out to tech geeks and bloggers to drive what amounts to the most high-tech car I’ve ever driven. According to a GM spokesperson, the… → Read More
CrunchGear’s Matt Burns recently called the Chevy Volt GM’s “knight in shining chrome and white plastic.” Burns was not citing projected sales numbers, instead he was making the point that the Volt has saved GM by forcing the troubled automaker to “change internally and reinvent nearly ever aspect of how it does business.”
In support of Burns’ thesis, IBM and GM revealed new details on Monday on… → Read More
The Chevy Volt is pretty much here. They’re everywhere here in the Detroit area. I must see one every other day. But they should start hitting dealers in the coming weeks and so, right on cue, the Volt’s TV ad spot appears.
This isn’t the first commercial for the Volt. Oh no, the Volt was shown off through numerous TV commercials since its announcement as more of a PR campaign for GM, rather than… → Read More
The time has come to fiddle around with all the options for your new Chevy Volt. Assuming you’ve got a spare $42K laying around. Yes, it’s not exactly the most affordable vehicle, nor is it, strictly speaking, an electric vehicle, but it is a practical, good-looking, and high-tech car, which is perhaps better.
At any rate, the official configurator is now live, and you can add and subtract trim… → Read More
While the Volt will charge overnight on a normal outlet, those with less predictable schedules may understandably want to opt for a 240V charging solution, which can cut the charge time to four hours. But you better believe you’re gonna pay. → Read More
Chevrolet has just announced the price for the Chevy Volt home charging kit : $490. That’s the price “before installation,” mind you. How much are you looking at with installation? → Read More
It seems that the Chevy Volt will soon have competition from within its own ranks. General Motors is said to begin fleet testing a rather potent Cruze EV next month in South Korea. US availability is still up in the air apparently, but if all goes well, chances are GM will be the latest automaker to offer a pure EV vehicle like the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV. → Read More
One thing is clear to me now: GM gets it. Government Motors now understands the importance of cutting edge technology. They understand rapid development processes. But most importantly, the once largest auto maker understands the future. If only they had “gotten it” back at the turn of the century, they wouldn’t be in the mess they’re in now.
I recently spent some time at a couple GM facilities… → Read More
GM is banking large on the Chevy Volt and apparently feels confident about its success. The auto maker just issued a statement, which conveniently coincides while President Obama is touring the assembly plant, detailing the increased production estimate for 2012. The Detroit-Hamtramck facility will now pump out 50% more than previously detailed, an increase to 45,000 from 30,000.
Chances are this… → Read More
I honestly laid in bed last night thinking about the Chevy Volt’s $41k price tag. Seriously. When I got the press release shortly before it crossed the wire yesterday, the price seemed about right for a first-gen Voltec vehicle. The $350 lease program looked even better. I was already totally sold on the Volt after driving an early mule over a year ago and the price tag didn’t even bother me one… → Read More
It’s hard to ignore the looming EV vehicle showdown between the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf even though the vehicles are totally different in nature and target market. While the Nissan Leaf is simply a beautifully-packaged electric vehicle with around a 100 mile range, the Chevy Volt takes a different approach by having a somewhat limited 40 mile EV range but an on-board gas-powered… → Read More
The Chevy Volt will cost $41,000. GM finally went live with the second to last piece of the Chevy Volt puzzle and select dealers are ready to take orders with delivery expected “later this year.” After the available $7,500 tax credit, the effective price drops down to a much more reasonable $33,500. A tad pricey, yes, but GM is fully prepared to counter that higher price with an affordable leasing… → Read More
GM is going live with the Chevy Volt‘s pricing today at Noon Eastern but Bloomberg apparently got word early from a source within GM. Apparently the price will be “about $40,000.” That means buyers will end up spending about $32,500 after the $7,500 tax credit is figured in. We’ll have to wait a couple more hours before GM’s VP of US marketing, Joel Ewanick, takes the… → Read More
The Chevy Volt is slowly and surely creeping towards dealers and GM is set to unveil the price tomorrow. At 12:00 pm ET Joel Ewanick, VP of US marketing, will make the announcement at the Plug-In 2010 Conference in San Jose, California.
Of course a lot has changed in the three year span it has taken the Volt to hit production. Nearly every major car company either already sells a few hybrids or… → Read More
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