GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

UPDATE: 6/7/11: (See shareholder meeting video below)
Simultaneously acknowledging challenges yet speaking in strident tones regarding General Motors’ future, CEO Dan Akerson recently gave highlights to a strategy – that if it comes to pass – will mean great things for the Chevrolet Voltec platform.

Akerson’s two-hour interview with the Detroit News focused mostly on GM’s big picture as a company, including the rebounding automaker’s intention to learn from and take back market share from Toyota, which in 2008 surpassed GM as the world’s largest automaker.

Regarding the Chevrolet Volt, Akerson said the extended-range electric vehicle that is now still in its infancy, and holding off critics in light of a conservative roll out, will in just five years be “an old, old technology and old news.”

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson flashes a V for either victory or Volt after driving the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle on stage during a Volt production celebration Tuesday, November 30, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan.

Unfortunately he did not let the cat out of the bag as to what the next Volt news will be, but we have heard similar hints from GM executives already, and this now is coming from the top.

At the very least this is another commitment to the Voltec platform hinting much more is yet to come over the next half decade. GM is being very careful not to reveal specifics until it is good and ready, and we are not surprised its top man kept to the policy.

The encouraging part of it for Volt fans is Akerson is presented as a man who means business, and has the ability to get the job done.

Akerson, 62, said he intends to perform a 3-4 year stint to revamp the GM culture and reinstate GM to number one as a legacy to his successful career that only recently included the auto business.

To do this, he left a high-paying job at the Carlyle Group, a private equity fund, and his net worth is estimated at around $190 million. Akerson essentially said it was a step down in pay, if not prestige, and the move cost him more than $100 million to be the one to stand at the helm and steer the American carmaker to dominance once again.

“This is modern man’s version of war,” said Akerson, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. “We must win. You can’t go home at 5 and check out. And that was the culture here.”

In order to win, Akerson, who took control of GM Sept. 1 and became its board chairman Jan. 1, is pressing to make GM leaner and faster on its proverbial feet. This includes quickening production and reaction time and changing GM’s corporate culture from the inside out.

Akerson said the new focus is to be on consumers, rivals, and emerging technologies rather than who is on the fast track to the CEO’s office.

GM CEO Dan Akerson.

“I think we lost the competitive gene here,” Akerson said to the Detroit News, “The competition was to get to this office.”

Meanwhile, he said, “it was the guy across the globe that was picking us clean” – referring to Toyota, which has shown itself to be smarter and leaner.

Today Akerson will have opportunity to expound on these concepts at GM’s first annual shareholders meeting as a new company.

The gathering, which in previous years met in Delaware, will be in Detroit for the first time since 1990, and it would seem Akerson’s talk of “battle plans” to the Detroit News is preparation for continuing the rally for the rebounding company.

Within the last year, GM made a $4.7 billion annual profit, had a then-world record $23.1 billion initial public stock offering, and introduced the first mass-market plug-in electric car – achievements for the most part already in motion before Akerson come on board.

But GM has much yet to overcome. Akerson spoke of the company being yet weighted down by too much complexity that is hard to control, and a waste of time, energy and funds.

“Literally, we have 7,000 more people working on the same amount of work as our competitors,” he said. “We’ve built so much complexity, and I’ll tell you complexity is the hardest thing for a leadership team to manage.”

Akerson said he wants to play Toyota’s strategy back at it, and rely on only two or three global vehicle models – as Toyota does especially well with the Camry and Corolla – to account for the bulk of GM’s sales revenues.

“We have the scale,” Akerson said. “We’re just not pushing it hard enough to get the profitability.”

Other sore spots for GM include Europe – essentially German carmaker Adam Opel – which lost $1.8 billion last year.

Four years ago, GM committed to this Volt Concept. In five year’s time, Akerson said today’s production Volt will be old news with presumably better products having made the first generation more of a distant memory than the concept car is today.

GM also disappointed investors by its heavy use of incentives to lure buyers earlier in the year and its stock price has fallen 21 percent this year. It fell Friday to its lowest intraday price since the IPO: $28.90 a share.

Other equally if not more daunting market challenges include volatile gas prices and unstable global economies. This summer, GM also meets with the United Auto Workers union for contract talks.

On the executive level, some of GM’s talent has jumped ship, and Akerson has otherwise shaken up management by hiring younger engineers with fresh thinking from rivals Hyundai, Honda and Nissan. Yet because the U.S. government has an ownership share in GM, it restricts what it can offer.

Akerson said, “you have to be sitting in here on sales mode” when courting a prospective executive hire.

In addition to the home market, as has been widely published, emerging markets such as China and South America represent new streams of revenue for the increasingly global company.

While GM recently pulled the plug on the Cadillac SRX plug-in project – at least for now – Akerson said he aims to make Cadillac and Chevrolet its global brands.

“There are a couple milestones in my tenure I want to accomplish,” he said, “I want to earn $10 billion a year profit. I want get the U.S. pension fund to fully funded – and we’re making real progress there. I want to make Europe profitable on a sustainable basis.”

For his part, former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz vouched for Akerson who has also worked for General Instrument, MCI, Nextel, and XO Communications, describing him as a forceful leader.

“He’s a very hands-on guy. He doesn’t believe in huge books of numbers,” said Lutz, who regularly meets with Akerson.

Lutz said it is actually a plus that Akerson has not been in the auto business “for 30 years, doing the same thing.”

He described Akerson as willing to ask tough questions, encourage debate and upset the status quo. Lutz said GM has long had a top-down management style, not used to acting on gut instinct, and the “boss-worshiping” culture was a challenge for Akerson even as he is now the boss in position to change it from the top down.

“It’s starting to come around. It’s starting to loosen up,” Lutz said of GM’s culture. “I think there is a healthy give and take in the company.”

Akerson (center) rings the opening bell (and the sound of a Camaro SS engine revving) at the New York Stock Exchange, as GM’s common stock begins trading publicly again Thursday, November 18, 2010 in New York.

One of Akerson’s many tasks in the next year or so is recommending his own successor. Will it be someone from within the company or another maverick outsider?

“Whoever comes after me – it’s going to be a more important appointment than mine because he or she will have to carry on a cultural revolution here,” Akerson said. “It’s just like the Communist party in China in the 1960s: There has to be a cultural revolution here.”

We don’t know about you, but we see this as highly relevant to the Volt, if not directly. As it goes for GM, so also will it go for the Volt and related products to come.

As things stand, the company keeps reinforcing its commitment to emerging technology, and not making the same mistakes twice.

GM has revived from bankruptcy yet its management knows it has much to prove, and improve.

If the thorough plowing of the field Akerson is working for goes as planned, then the environment the Volt was born into will be all the more fertile for it and its platform descendants to grow.

UPDATE: We considered making this a story, but decided to tack it onto this story. It’s a bit dry, but here is the CEO speaking today on the topics above.

On stage, GM Corporate Officers from left to right: Mary Barra, GM Senior Vice President, Global Product Development; Dan Ammann, GM Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer; Steve Girsky, Vice Chairman, Corporate Strategy, Business Development, Global Product Planning, and Global Purchasing and Supply Chain; Mike Millikin, GM Senior Vice President and General Counsel; Anne Larin, Corporate Secretary; Dan Akerson, Chairman and CEO.

Source: The Detroit News

Last Friday, General Motor announced the 2011 Chevrolet Volt became the first electric vehicle to earn a five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The extended-range electric vehicle actually earned two out of three possible: It received a four-star front crash rating, a five-star side crash rating and a five-star rollover rating.

“Safety is a key consideration for all buyers no matter how a car is powered – gas, or in the case of the Volt, electricity,” said Doug Parks, Volt global vehicle line executive in a press release.

The Volt received a four-star rating from NHTSA for front impact. It received five stars for the other two tests.

This latest confirmation of the Volt’s exceptional safety engineering adds to the Top Safety Pick status the Volt earned from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety near the end of April.

Last fall, NHTSA imposed a more stringent vehicle rating system for the 2011 model year. The tests now evaluate crash avoidance technologies and also include a new side pole test simulating a 20-mph side-impact crash into a 10-inch-diameter pole or tree at a 75-degree angle just behind the A-pillar on the driver’s side.

More sophisticated crash test dummies were also brought in to use, including, for the first time, female dummies.

The new system’s overall crash score also is a new feature.

Last October NHTSA also said from among 2011 model year vehicles, it would test 24 cars, 20 SUVs, two vans and nine pickup trucks using the new system.

Thus far, 13 vehicles for 2011 have been evaluated, including the Toyota Prius and Chevrolet Cruze, both of which also earned NHTSA’s five-star safety ratings.

Safety features on the Volt include:
• GM’s StabiliTrak electronic stability control system
• Front-, side- , knee- air bags as well as roof-mounted head-curtain air bags that help protect occupants in a side or rollover crash
• Optional rearview camera system featuring a display integrated into the navigation system screen
• Five-year subscription to OnStar’s Directions and Connections Plan including Automatic Crash Response, stolen vehicle assistance and connected navigation

NHTSA has not tested the Leaf.

Source: GM, Automotive News

Note – We considered covering this earlier this week, but let it ride because a forum thread was started on it, and we decided to wait and see. Since then several outlets have repeated the story, and rebuttals also have come out, so we thought now would be a good time to chime in.

Is the Chevrolet Volt a failure out of the gate? Is the dealership network run by the allegedly corrupt GM and even the Obama administration being faced with new embarrassments?

Sounds like the stuff of big headlines and in-depth investigative journalism – and to be sure, the story of how Chevrolet dealers have been allegedly “gaming” the system to pocket the $7,500 federal tax credit from “many” Volts for themselves has been making the rounds.

Is there any truth to it? Maybe a little, but it has almost certainly been overblown.

The Volt is weathering its latest allegations. Previous attempts at negative publicity were dealer gouging and a garage fire where headlines outweighed the evidence.

For those of you who have not yet heard, the May 28 story written for the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) is a series of allegations titled, “Are GM Dealerships Gaming Chevy Volt Tax Credit?”

The piece is rightfully posed as a question because evidence supplied is thin and inconclusive, yet this screed-in-disguise goes on to allege GM is lying, its dealers are participating in a widespread series of ethical no-nos, and more.

The blog post that has practically been given the weight of an investigative piece by news organizations more than ready to smear a good headline as long as they can pin the piece on another source begins as follows:

“I recently set out to determine how honest General Motors is being when it claims that demand for the Chevy Volt is exceeding supply,” the author wrote, “It was not hard to discover that this is not the case as retail sales remain dismal.”

He goes on to cite Volts for sale on eBay with no bids, six dealers he said he found with unsold Volts within 70 miles of his location, and a couple dealers that have unjustifiably taken the $7,500 tax credit for themselves. These dealers, the writer contends, bought the car, claimed the tax credit, then turned around and put essentially new cars up for sale as used at inflated prices – with no credit available to the buyer.

And indeed, it does appear true that a few dealers have tried charging almost as much for a used Volt as a new one. At least one has even tried for over MSRP.

It is not true GM endorses this or is at fault because what a few bad apples do.

After its one-two rhetorical uppercut last week, the NLPC followed through with a second piece yesterday reasserting its previous allegations, and defending itself with jabs against those who disagreed and said the NLPC was just a biased, right wing hate group.

“This seems to be a popular political tactic used when certain ideologies are presented with criticism; ignore the facts and attack the source,” the NLPC writer said.

Regarding allegations against GM, and his “facts,” he is sticking to his guns, which is not surprising coming from a known Volt critic.

Here is a fact: This is the same writer who wrote the gem titled, “Chevy Volt Suspected of Causing House Fire” in which a Volt and home-made EV burned. His lambaste of “Government Motors” ensued beneath an all-American symbol of the Statue of Liberty, and the writer showed himself willing to hold the un-American view of alleging the Volt was guilty until proven innocent.

Since then, we have shown the fire marshal does not suspect the Volt was the cause, but the NLPC writer is still playing similar tactics.

Plenty of shoddy journalism in this video. Our favorite? Notice 3:18-3:40, after having pronounced “shame on Chevy for doing this” and saying “we have to hold our public elected officials accountable,” the female news deliverer tries to explain the alleged scandal “in layman’s terms,” gets it wrong, and has to be corrected by her peers.

As likely as we are now to be lumped in with “apologists for the Volt,” as the NLPC writer calls those who have rebutted his assertions, unlike the accuser, we bothered to ask GM its views on the “gaming” allegations.

GM Spokesman Rob Peterson does concede it is possible a few dealers may be not completely above board. If so, he said, GM has found it to be such a minority as to render an accusation of pervasive fraud “baseless.”

And before any skeptics think this is like the fox guarding the hen house, an independent article titled, “Haters to the Right,” by Jalopnik did a great job of debunking the NLPC piece.

“Cars.com lists 18 used Volts for sale nationwide, compared to 603 new ones,” wrote Jalopnik, “Several of the used Volts are in far-flung states where GM has yet to officially put the Volt on sale, suggesting those dealers bought one as a demo driver or showroom showoff. Only one dealer — Glendale Hyundai in Glendale, Calif. — has more than one.”

Coming back to our talk with Peterson, he said GM found similar results. GM checked its record of dealer-to-dealer Volt sales and found 10 in the country to date.

“Of those 10 vehicles that we had exchanged between Chevy dealers,” Peterson said, “five of them were from an in-market dealership to a non-launch dealership like the one in Chicago.”

The one in Chicago was one of the NLPC writer’s two dealership case examples. Whether or not the other dealers put the Volts up for sale as “used,” or merely attempted to deliver a Volt to a ready to pay customer in a non-launch market is unknown.

As GM-Volt readers know, the initial Volt launch was in only seven states, although GM is hastening to roll the Volt out for the rest of the country by year’s end.

Peterson said “a dealer in a non-launch market cannot sell a new/unused Volt to a customer without a MVA [Motor Vehicle Addendum].” Essentially, this form gives permission for a Chevrolet dealer to sell the Volt as new in the dealer’s state.

GM only filed in the seven launch markets, so the Illinois (Chicago) dealer cannot legally sell a new Volt as of yet. This is true in all non-launch markets, so they must be sold as “used” in non-launch markets if dealers want to sell them at all.

The five Volts GM knows of that were sold to non-launch areas accounts for half of the 10 sales, and Peterson believes it is more likely these sales were for legitimate orders.

There are also cases of dealers buying Volts in non-launch markets to demonstrate to their customers and in their communities which these dealers do not intend to immediately resell.

As for sales to non-Chevrolet dealers like the Glendale, Calif. dealership (alternately named a Kia and Hyundai seller) which had “used” low mileage Volts for sale, these are also out of GM’s control. This being the most egregious alleged offender is not even a Chevrolet dealership, and either way it may be legal for dealers to do this, if they want to.

And while we are recounting the real and imagined sins of Chevrolet dealers, it is also true some dealers were gouging on new Volts. That was a verifiable problem that got its fair share of press, then for the most part went away.

So, it is true: dealers can gouge on new or used Volts.

As for being proof of failure by GM not being “honest” about strong Volt demand, the opposite is likely. As pointed out by Jalopnik, it is actually suggestive that the car is in the cat-bird’s seat with regards to the supply-demand question.

Mark-ups over MSRP or book price are only done because dealerships can – or at least think they can – based on high demand.

And yes, dealers have been known to skirt the edge of decency. It is a possibility for any brand, and while not justifiable, it is not a unique phenomenon.

Individual dealers of all brands are people trying to make a buck, and some have been known to be ethically challenged. Big surprise there.

This said, Peterson said thus far GM has not received any consumer complaints.

“We don’t have much control over what the dealers do but we encourage them to be as transparent as possible about the transaction,” Peterson said, “Most importantly though Jeff, we’ve heard from no customers in which they have quote-un-quote been “gamed” by the Chevrolet dealership in purchase of a used vehicle.”

Peterson said he also does not know of any dealers that have successfully sold highly marked-up used Volts.

As Bob Lutz and many others have demonstrated, the Volt has become the poster child for the new, clean, green and profitable GM. Its publicity value at this point is arguably greater than a few short-sighted scams. Note the dealer named most as “gaming” is a non-Chevrolet dealer.

The unanswered question therefore remains: how big is the problem, or rather, how many Chevrolet dealers would be so foolish?

Putting it charitably, it would be highly unenlightened for a Chevrolet dealer to play unethical and possibly illegal games on a new or used Volt.

Peterson said the Volt has already been recognized as a “halo” vehicle that is responsible for drawing new floor traffic to Chevrolet dealers.

Even in non-launch states, it has become a symbol of corporate pride that is putting a shine on the New GM’s formerly tarnished reputation. A dealer that did anything to damage that reputation at this point would not be smart.

New shoppers are visiting Chevrolet dealers for the first time. Even though the Volt is being rolled out conservatively, its PR value has netted a significant number of sales for other Chevrolet models and the momentum shows no sign of slowing down.

For example, a record number of shoppers are going home in cars like the Cruze which are snapping up sales from buyers who just a couple years ago might have gone for something like a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla.

The tables are turning for the domestic car dealers, and it is thus in their own self interest to avoid pricing shenanigans over a limited supply of Volts when they have much more to gain by offering new fuel-efficient cars that they can sell fairly and in quantity.

Chevrolet dealers have more to lose than to gain in trying to scam a few thousand here and there.

Peterson said GM has ongoing and open communications with its dealers, and if a dealer is found to be playing unethical games, it will hear about it in no uncertain terms.

At this point, what the latest mudslinging actually shows is the political realities the Volt and GM are yet contending with.

Potential tax code loopholes also suggest it would be best if the initiative to make the federal credit into a point-of-sale rebate is hastened.

The sooner Chevrolet gets past this and Volt production comes back online in force, the sooner the Volt “apologists” will have less to explain to critics still eager to foist on the public their points any which way they can.

Note – It’s the beginning of a new month and that means last month’s sales figures are coming out. Rather than give you a straight news story, we’ll offer some interpretation on what we see.

When it comes to rising fuel prices and their provocation of reactionary buying behavior in the U.S. market, it is clear that nothing is clear.

These are times of uncertainty and an entire way of life born in an era of cheap fuel is in the throes of adapting, and people are reluctantly contending with forced changes.

In short, many new car buyers are faced with fundamentally shifting how they drive and think about cars as gasoline hovers around a national average of $4 per gallon while cresting toward $5 in other areas besides.

A market for fuel efficient cars is here, and while GM is updating its production plant as we speak, the Volt’s main production is otherwise still waiting in the wings.

Our read on this is the real threat is not the $4-5 per gallon now – as painful as that is compared to significantly lower prices even only months ago. The real bogey man is the fear of where prices could go from here – that is, when, if ever do rising prices stop rising?

Since this is a big unknown facing the American way of life, car buying behavior is changing faster than a congregation of pigeons flitters in the opposite direction from a firecracker.

A look at May sales at least partially illustrates this contention. To keep things simple, we’ll look mainly at domestic manufacturers’ sales, although similar trends are happening for imports.

Last month heavier vehicle sales declined sharply, while light vehicle sales continued to set new highs.

Although Chrysler reported a slight gain, GM and Ford recorded steep dips in light truck sales.

General Motors reported its U.S. dealers made 221,192 total sales in May, including a 9 percent increase in retail sales compared to May 2010. Automotive News however reported GM’s overall sales dropped 1 percent as did Ford’s by 3 percent.

GM’s large pickup truck sales declined 14 percent in May and crossover sales fell 1 percent. In contrast, its car sales increased 13 percent based on a 32-percent spike in retail deliveries of smaller, more fuel-efficient models.

While the Volt is considered a “halo car” Chevrolet’s other shining star, the Cruze, saw sales jump by 150 percent. In all, 22,711 Cruzes were sold, which included 18,996 retail sales. Similarly, Ford’s sales of the Focus, including the redesigned 2012 Focus, jumped 32 percent in May for a total of 22,303 units.

The Volt’s cousin (Cruze LTZ shown) sold 47 in May for every one Volt. Yes this low Volt number was planned, but we look forward to the day when plans allow for greater parity.

Regarding the overall U.S. market, tight inventories – particularly for some Japanese models – plus fewer incentives and discounts, along with increased prices here and there were cited as additional reasons for declining May auto sales.

Overall, automakers’ sales continued to shift to small vehicles which helped bolster their bottom line. Just the same, in contrast to U.S. light vehicle sales in April which were up 20 percent for the year, Automotive News said May sales fell by 4 percent, the first decline since August.

As for the Volt, sales of 481 units in May was a modest drop in the bucket as its internal combustion-powered, lower-priced cousin continues to sell in record fashion.

GM says the Volt’s sales are on track, and it is selling every one it makes.

Readers on this site mostly believe the Volt and Voltec-based cars have a strong future, and if not for a deliberately low-volume roll out, some of us might wonder why we’re not hearing of thousands of Volt sales – and we at least expect it will not be long before this is the case. Indeed, GM is preparing to build 60,000 of them next year – four times the number it will build this, its inaugural year.

Reflecting further on the big picture – and while this is certainly not a new topic – it bears repeating that fuel prices are cited as the single most influential provoker of buying behavior.

And this makes us wonder: As a people, are Americans being metaphorically dragged kicking and screaming away from their preference for larger vehicles? Are they at least in some ways only reluctantly buying fuel-efficient cars the way a heart patient develops a preference for non-fatty foods for his own good?

The unspoken message behind so many headlines commenting on buying behavior in response to fuel prices is this is the case. The implications are that if fuel prices look like they will start going down, or even remain steady, Americans will go back to buying gas guzzlers.

This was what happened in 2008 when fuel prices spiked resulting in hybrid and fuel sipper sales rising, then declining as fuel prices leveled off.

Evidently, many have learned nothing since, and we are experiencing the same old merry-go-round in 2011.

In our view, this is a big part of why hybrids and electric cars are still such a minority. Aside from the fact that they tend to cost more up front, their appeal is to forward-thinking people who see the long-term cost savings, as well as environmental and political benefits of weaning away from heavy fuel dependence.

The world will be more than ready for the next Voltec car. (MPV concept sketch shown)

It is rather sad when you think about it. What must we do for real lasting progress? Wish for more financial pain for others to accept the inevitable fact that fuel prices will continue to rise, and America is already on an unsustainable track?

We know that many advanced-tech transportation enthusiasts do just that – some subtly, some overtly – but we otherwise sit on the sidelines watching fuel prices increase and wait for others to catch on to what is patently obvious to us.

In another sense, it could be seen as mildly humorous. It’s a case of reactive behavior contending with reactive behavior.

One group (the majority) reacts to high fuel prices and begins buying fuel-efficient cars as though struck with a revelation. The other (alternative transportation enthusiasts) sees this and reacts by hoping (or passively predicting) fuel will get even more expensive so even more people will wake up and “get it.”

Aren’t human beings curious creatures?

As it is, our view is the advanced-tech advocates are the ones who do see more clearly. And the only way they will be proven temporarily wrong is if some new oil reserve no one has yet found is miraculously discovered, or a way to synthetically create an alternative fuel is perfected.

In the mean time, we’ll keep documenting the ups and downs – the monthly and quarterly sales, new developments, all of it – as a lifestyle that climaxed just a few short decades ago when gasoline was around $1 per gallon reluctantly heads toward its end, but not without a fight.

Source: GM, Automotive News

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Tell us your story!

We read your comments every day and some of you who own the Volt are reporting remarkable mpg figures and low cost of ownership.

Chevrolet says OnStar data proves average mileage between full-ups is 1,000 miles. How about you? Are you experiencing the same, or more distance between dropping by your friendly local gasoline station?

If you would like to share your story, and have it featured on GM-Volt, contact us.

We can’t promise anything, but we also happen to know GM is on the lookout for real life Volt owner stories to spread the word about this remarkable car, and GM’s people do read GM-Volt …

By Malcolm Hogan
Automotive Addicts

Note: We received this review from Malcolm yesterday. GM-Volt has an open invite for article submissions, and we thought it would not hurt to post a fresh perspective.

The new Chevrolet Volt is one of the most talked about vehicles today. After spending countless hours behind the wheel of one, I completely understand why. The new 2011 Chevrolet Volt just may be “the car” that helps set a new trend towards weaning us off of our abundant dependency of oil in the United States.

Even though the Chevrolet Volt is a technological marvel of today, tomorrow it may be that one stepping stone which paved the way for something greater. This car may possibly be the one setting in motion the chance that the majority of vehicles sold will consume very little fuel. Until then, the Chevrolet Volt starts its life as a hot commodity for all things eco-friendly and gas saving.

I had the opportunity to review the Chevrolet Volt for a week. During my time with the Volt, I attempted to put it through its paces in every imaginable circumstance that I could conjure up on the sunny streets of north Florida. I have to say after my experience I walked away from the Volt pleasantly surprised and at the same time scratching my head. Since you are probably wondering about the scratching my head part, let me explain that first.

The new Chevrolet Volt encompasses a different style that contrasts every other gas and hybrid-variant vehicle on the road today. This contrast is obviously due to the Volt’s drivetrain that consists of two robust electric motors putting out a combined 150-horsepower/273 pounds-feet of torque responsible for propulsion and brief periods of battery regeneration and its generator, a 1.4-liter gasoline engine. Acting as a power source for the electric motor, is the 1.4-liter, 80-horsepower 4-cylinder gasoline engine, which requires premium fuel. The gasoline engine acts solely as a generator to passively and actively charge the battery so that the Volt’s electric motor has a steady flow of electricity. The electric motors provide instant torque, which means all 273 pounds-feet of torque is available at any time. This makes moving all 3,781 pounds (plus occupants’ weight) from a standstill an easy task allowing the Volt to go from 0 to 60 mph in a respectable 8.9 seconds.

There have been many lengthy discussions among automotive journalists and experts about whether or not the Volt’s gasoline engine provides any direct power to the wheels and to quickly answer that question from my own research, I would have to say, yes it does.

To better understand the complex nature of the Chevrolet Volt, (how the gas engine only provides a small percentage of direct power via the planetary gear-set and electric motor above 70 mph at times near full depletion of the battery), one would first need to have the capacity to understand rocket science. At the same time, a person would need to interpret a new foreign language. In other words, all of the answers can be found with a simple Google search and some technical thinking. Doing this research would also question whether the Volt should be classified as a hybrid vehicle, plug-in hybrid, or extended-range electric vehicle. If you go out and drive a Volt, you would probably come to the conclusion that it is mostly an extended-range electric vehicle. Basically, the Volt can be whatever the heck you want it to be until it comes time to collect the $7,500 Chevy Volt federal tax credit, which will apply to plug-in-electric cars.

With everything previously mentioned taken into consideration, the Chevy Volt drives and behaves like an electric car. Things get complex underneath the skin, but it is easy to void out the complexity when you are able to just jump in the Volt and drive anywhere you want without any electric-vehicle range anxiety.

The Chevy Volt has a small gas tank and for good reason. Only 9.3 gallons of fuel is needed to give a fully charged Volt the “extended” range of over 370 miles. I was able to get exactly 34 miles out of a fully charged battery during a normal driving commute consisting of about 40 percent city and 6 percent highway. A second run, after charging the Volt’s 16 kWh lithium-ion battery via the included 120-volt charger overnight, I was able to get 28 miles using my heavy right-foot and utilization of the A/C in comfort mode. Putting the A/C in eco mode would decrease energy consumption allowing a longer range.

You may be tempted to start conserving power use unconsciously after you have performed a charge on the Volt.

I know because I did this just trying to get a “feel” of things and how the Volt’s power management all comes together. Full electric mode is selected automatically anytime the battery is charged enough to sustain driving without the gas engine’s assistance. All of the accessories play a part in depleting the battery from the headlights to the air conditioner. Because the air conditioner draws a considerable amount of power, especially during extreme outside temperatures, the Volt provides an energy efficiency monitor. How efficient your driving style is will also be displayed through the energy monitor to aid in a driver’s ability to monitor energy consumption.

When it comes to giving the driver enough information to successfully manage charging and over-all consumption, Chevrolet covered all angles. The information display via the center-stack LCD touch-screen is a virtual gateway into the brain of the Volt. Not only can you display how efficiently you are driving, but you can get an instant ETA as to when your battery would be fully charged using either the included 120-volt charger or the optional 240-volt charging station. It took about nine hours to complete an overnight charge. This gave me enough juice to drive 35 miles with no noticeable power loss. My average “gas-only” runs yielded 37 mpg to 42 mpg. Steadily driving with a fully depleted battery you notice times when the engine will hum along with the expected buzz sound from a small 4-cylinder engine. Combined electric-only and gas trips sometimes averaged to around 164 mpg. Calculating and taking into consideration the amount that you would spend on charging the Volt overnight, you could considerably save a lot of gas money. If your daily commute is under 35 to 40 miles, the Volt hardly ever uses gas. These are times that the Volt will automatically burn gas just to keep things circulating and eventually forcing you to put gas in the tank. You probably already know that going months on end without firing up a gas engine can cause issues in the long run.

It is rather funny to hear the engine rev up and then level-off at a much lower RPM while driving a steady 70 mph as the system recoups a temporary battery charge. The Volt cleverly manages to always have enough stored energy in the battery to give you 100 percent of the electric motor’s power. The only time that this “reserve” power is in jeopardy is climbing mountains which is why Chevrolet provides a mountain mode which will run the engine more frequently creating a larger buffer-charge. This extra charge or flow of energy would be needed when a mountain climb causes an extended load on the electric motor.

The Volt is virtually silent when running in full-electric mode. At times I found pedestrians walking in front of the Volt when cruising through parking lots because they simply could not hear it. Luckily the high-beam headlight flasher will also sound the horn in several abrupt pulses to get the attention of someone not paying attention. Once again, another useful feature that is specific to the Volt’s unique character.

gas-electric vehicle.

On the inside of the Chevrolet Volt is another untraditional characteristic: 4-passenger seating. Most 4-passenger cars either carry a hefty price tag (luxury car w/ fixed rear-seat center console setup) or are usually considered to be a 2+2 sports car. In the Volt’s case, it must sit its precious cargo in 4 individual bucket seats mainly due to its battery design. The T-shaped, 400-pound battery runs down the middle of the car ending at the rear under the hatch cargo area. Seating space is good but those looking to pack-up a family of four for a week-long trip may have difficulty fitting all of their belongings in the small 10.6 cubic-feet of space. Aside from the cargo area, all 4 seats are comfy and provide ample space for even 6-foot-tall adults. The dashboard makes the Volt very different from any other GM vehicle. The center stack buttons are mostly touch-sensitive, sometimes a bit too sensitive. You will also find a nicely integrated 7-inch touch-screen LCD for navigation, stereo, energy monitor and an optional back-up camera. On the driver side, there is a large LCD screen for all pertinent information to the driver, which comes with some customizable views. All of the colors are vibrant in the driver’s LCD info screen, possibly showcasing more of a “green” aspect of the Volt.

The new Chevrolet Volt is conservatively designed with a stylish edge. Unlike some EVs, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids, the Volt brings a common passenger car style to the table, which is a good thing. The Volt only subtly sets itself off from other normal gas-burning cars. The Volt actually looks good to the majority. Everything about the Volt works in tandem from its styling and innovative electric-gas drivetrain, to the low-rolling resistance tires, and 17-inch light-weight forged aluminum wheels. It all comes together in an intricate package that could potentially appease anyone in the market for either a hybrid or plug-in.

After having spent a week with the new Chevy Volt, I walked away knowing with a certainty, that General Motors made a masterpiece out of a clean “green” sheet of paper. This masterpiece carries several expectations, but I feel confident that it will fulfill most of them while venturing into the realm of an unpredicted electric and hybrid vehicle future. After-all, it is the 2011 North American Car of the Year.

Source: Automotive Addicts

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CONTEST! Win A Free Chevrolet Volt Die-cast!

Last weekend (5/27-29) we ran a post about a Nissan LEAF video advertisement featuring a Chevy Volt driver lumped in with a bunch of archaic (make-believe) ICE appliance users. The man in the photo was shown looking wistfully at the all-electric Nissan LEAF, as though he wished he could know what it is like or something …

Click here for contest details