Chevrolet Volt/Cadillac ELR Thread: 2016 EPA Ratings

[Jim Prower]

The gas/diesel/bio-fuel/hydrogen engine does not power the wheels, the electric motors do.

Gee, that's what G.M.'s been doing for years, though without batteries, in a much heavier application.

 

[niky]

That's probably the one good reason why GM's hybrid could prove better, in the long run, than the current traditional hybrids... if they can get the cost down.

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RE: Top end speed: That's the trouble with modern cars. Too much suspension suppleness, too much sound insulation, too little driver communication. My car feels and sounds like it's going fast at 60 mph. Many other modern cars feel completely boring at under 100 mph. So I tend to drive other cars around 80 mph, while I tend to drive my car (which can hit 130... or could go faster, if it didn't redline at 130 in 5th) at just 55. And it's still fun at those speeds.

I think $40,000 is going to be too much for the people who will want a green car. It probably won't pick up any Prius potentials, which is what they probably should be aiming for price-wise. I'm sure they could draw quite a few customers who would otherwise find themselves in a Prius if the Volt ran for $30,000.

Save the planet in three easy steps.

1. Sell your current car.

2. Buy a bicycle.

3. Grow ethanol to sell to those rich saps who buy hybrids.

 

[Steeda]

For example, I've never been anywhere in Maryland on a highway that people were going under 80 (well, unless they were on the side of the road on fire). And I'm sure Texas is the same way.

+1 I live in Maryland. Im not sure if you're familiar with Route 50 (Annapolis to D.C.), but ive officially dubbed it the US Autobahn. I love that highway, ive never seen it jammed up. The average speed I see on it is about 85-90.

 

[Tornado]

Im not sure if you're familiar with Route 50 (Annapolis to D.C.), but ive officially dubbed it the US Autobahn.

Familiar with it? My uncle practically has an off ramp that leads to his house from it. I've only driven on it once, and it was...interesting.

 

[Steeda]

Familiar with it? My uncle practically has an off ramp that leads to his house from it. I've only driven on it once, and it was...interesting.

Cool, I drive on it every chance i get.

 

[YSSMAN]

Big News on Volt Development:

General Motors inched closer to making the Chevrolet Volt a reality in November 2010 as the vehicle's innovative gas-electric powertrain is being test-driven for the first time on public roads and is hitting its target of 40 miles on pure electric power.

"Today is a big day," GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told Edmunds' AutoObserver in an exclusive interview Tuesday. "Today is the first day it is running on the street on battery power."

Lutz said the Volt's powertrain, comprised of an advanced lithium-ion battery and a small gasoline engine, was installed into a mule vehicle and is being driven on public roads around the automaker's proving grounds in Milford, Michigan. More important, Lutz said, the battery is hitting GM's goal of 40 miles on pure electric power.

"It is reliably meeting its objectives," Lutz confirmed. "Even with a rough calibration, even with the wrong drive unit, the wrong body, etc. etc., it has been hitting its 40 miles on electric power."

Tuesday's road test comes after last week's testing of the Volt powertrain on a dynamometer that simulated real-world conditions, such as varying road surfaces and changing ambient temperatures.

So, with the wrong body, the wrong engine, etc... Its already getting 40 miles on a single charge. That leads me to believe that if all the kinks can be worked out before the end of next year, they'll be able to extend that slightly.

 

[Philly]

So, with the wrong body, the wrong engine, etc... Its already getting 40 miles on a single charge. That leads me to believe that if all the kinks can be worked out before the end of next year, they'll be able to extend that slightly.

Aren't they supposed to be selling it before the end of next year?

Anybody know how hills will affect range on electric power? To get anywhere from my house, the first mile you are looking at maybe 9 mpg and a four mile round trip to the grocery store will be lucky to get you 15.

It'll be interesting to see how well all the tree-hugger hippies around here will take to an American car in the land of bad gas mileage.

 

[Jim Prower]

That could be a problem...tree-hugging Hippies seem to hate America.

 

[mustangGT90210]

That could be a problem...tree-hugging Hippies seem to hate America.

So where'd they go anyway? Where can they fight the man, smoke their weed, grow their hair out, and play their rock and roll all the time being told not to?

 

[Philly]

So where'd they go anyway?

They're all here on the West Coast. I think it'll be Washington, Oregon and California that determines whether the car will succeed or fail.

 

[superberkut]

"If the rednecks are convinced, [then the car] will succeed."

The Volt actually looks... somewhat good, certainly solid. But it doesn't evoke any emotion.

 

[YSSMAN]

They're all here on the West Coast. I think it'll be Washington, Oregon and California that determines whether the car will succeed or fail.

It will all depend on the third-generation Prius. Thats what will decide its fate.

 

[niky]

You mean... if the Prius still looks like a shoebox, the Volt wins?

That may be one of the deciding factors in the Volt's success or lack of... but one other factor is space... the Honda Insight might have been a cleverer car than the Prius, but it certainly wasn't practical... which is why it was dunked... how big will the Volt be? Will it be as small? Will it at least have a rear seat?

 

[YSSMAN]

My sneaking suspicion is that the Volt will essentially be a re-dressed Cobalt that ends up being a little bigger in the end. Think of the jump from the Civic to the non-American Accord and you get the idea...

My guess is that it will end up being more practical, but I don't know for sure. My neighbor has a brand-new "sport edition" Prius, and while I do like the look of the car, a look on the inside makes it seem a little cramped. And it sure as hell doesn't look like it could have held as much stuff as my old Jetta either.

If Chevy can get the car out in the $30K area, make it in on the small side of the mid-size car class, and easily achieve the 40+ miles of all-electric power, my guess is that they'll sell in droves.

 

[Joey D]

..."sport edition" Prius...

That made my day, I wasn't aware there was one.

If Chevy can get the car out in the $30K area, make it in on the small side of the mid-size car class, and easily achieve the 40+ miles of all-electric power, my guess is that they'll sell in droves.

They want this car to succeed, hell I want this car to succeed, so I'm guessing it will do what they hope and claim it will do. I just hope it isn't rushed to the market and becomes another EV-1.

 

[Joey D]

More Volt news:

Production-trim Chevy Volt to be shown in Paris
Britain's Channel 4 reports that GM will be making an announcement related to the Chevy Volt when the curtain lifts on the 2008 edition of the Modial de l'Automobile, better known around here as the Paris Motor Show. Channel 4 reports that we can expect to see the U.S. production-spec Volt on display in the City of Lights. That's big news in and of itself, and we're wondering if GM will use the occasion to tell Europe when they can plan on getting an Opel-branded E-Flex ride of their own. Hmmm... An official Camaro unveiling this summer and now the production Volt in Paris? Color us intrigued about what GM plans to blow everyone away with in Detroit next January.

I agree with the article, why unveil it in Paris and not Detroit? GM better have somethings...dare I say it?...epic to show us in Detroit in 09.

 

[Philly]

If Chevy can get the car out in the $30K area, make it in on the small side of the mid-size car class, and easily achieve the 40+ miles of all-electric power, my guess is that they'll sell in droves.

Haven't they said we were looking at $40K for the Volt?

I agree with the article, why unveil it in Paris and not Detroit? GM better have somethings...dare I say it?...epic to show us in Detroit in 09.

If they want to get it out by MY2010, Detroit might be a little late for the unveiling of such an important car. Same with the Camaro. Detroit should be interesting, but I can't imagine what they could have up their sleeves.

 

[YSSMAN]

The Volt will end up being a global car, so seeing a production version debut in Paris (the oldest continuous auto show, no?) isn't that big of a deal. I believe every "major" brand on every continent will eventually get a version of the Volt... However, I think that while Chevrolet North America will have the "flagship" version, it will be Opel/Vauxhall and Holden that do their own deal as well. As for the Asian market, I have no idea if it will be Buick (China) or Daewoo (Korea) that will end up with the car...

 

[Joey D]

I honestly can't wait to see the SS version of this (you know chevy will do it). It will be both fast and fuel efficient.

That's from December, either I'm a mind reader or I just know GM's marketing strategy .

Volt SS? Chevrolet considering turbocharged 1.4-liter for Volt
The Chevrolet Volt mystery may have unfolded just a bit more as GM-Volt.com is reporting that GM CEO Rick Wagoner has confirmed that the General is considering a 1.4L four cylinder engine for the production Volt. So far, nothing official has been announced, but the decision to use the 1.4L engine would make plenty of financial sense. After all, it's the same engine that is expected to power the first-generation Chevy Cruze, which may actually follow the Volt to market. Both the Volt and the Cruze will sit atop the next Delta platform, another bit of cost savings. We'd imagine that Chevy could drop the turbocharger and run the engine on the Atkinson cycle while still making plenty of power for this application.

GM has promised fuel mileage of around 50 mpg when operating in range-extended mode as the engine provides the power for the electric motor's operation. Equivalent miles per gallon will be highly dependent on the final output of the lithium battery pack, and the engine still won't be required for the first 40 miles of operation. What's more, the internal combustion engine will have little to do with actual performance numbers like acceleration or top speed. Therefore, we don't really care what engine GM chooses for the Volt so long as its original mileage targets aren't sacrificed along the way.

 

[YSSMAN]

I could see them doing a Volt 'Sport' model, but no SS. Especially since the gas engine doesn't power the car at all...

Still, the idea sounds funny either way.

 

[Tornado]

Wow. Something even more pointless than the Prius Touring models.

 

[YSSMAN]

GM Is Showing Off the Volt to ABC

It looks like GM has it further along than I had expected, much, much further along. Could we see a "production prototype" in Detroit this year? Possibly...

That interior is pretty interesting as well. You can clearly see where the Opel/Vauxhall influences are coming in, and that new iPod-like interface is pretty nifty. That can't be cheap...

 

[Tornado]

To answer the question ABCasked: No.

However, I do like what GM has done to the car. It looks more like an automobile and less like a gun emplacement.

 

[Jim Prower]

At's ABC, Toronado. But, agreed, it does look like a car should, which is a good thing.

 

[V1P3R]

"Some other car companies are following suit."

um... yeah that's ass backwards.

 

[YSSMAN]

GM Is Being Tricky; New Production Model Photos

BTW: The 'VOLT' badge is awesome!

 

[Jim Prower]

It does look like an actual car, now, in fact, makes the Prius look old and stodgy by comparison. at least, from the press photos.

 

[YSSMAN]

I think that will be one of the great successes of the Volt. It won't look "green" (per-se) like the Prius, or at the very least, it won't hit you over the head with the fact that it is something like that. It just looks nice, and I'm willing to bet that GM won't be able to make enough of them to keep people happy.

 

[Joey D]

I'm a bit of a geek with automotive lighting, I love the way both the fog lamps and headlamps look although I doubt they will be blue neon when the car hits the market but rather LED. Which begs the question, will the Volt use LED headlamp bulbs? Or are they still illegal in the US?

 

[Tornado]

I think they stopped being illegal last year (it was either '08 or '09). I know the Audi R8 had to have a headlight change when it was sold here, but other than that...



Edit: This year seems to be the year, as Cadillac has a version of the Escalade with LED headlights in it coming out for '09. So its possible the Volt will get them.