GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

By MrEnergyCzar

Today’s post is a guest submission.

September 30, 2011 was a day I’ll never forget. It took longer than the gestation period of my child to finally take ownership of my Volt and drive it away from the dealer.

The excitement that day was punctuated by the torrential downpour that ensued during the ride home. Roads disappeared under streams of water as tree branches rustled in the wind. While driving I recalled the videos of the Volt barreling though knee-deep water on the test track and I instinctively knew which button to push to clear the windows. The Volt pushed confidently through standing water as the windows magically cleared. Upon arriving home I silently pulled into the garage and plugged into the awaiting fast charger. This moment symbolically marked the beginning of a new era: that of 100 mile-per-dollar driving.

Following, I’ll discuss how the Volt fits in my 10-year plan to wean off of oil, my review of the vehicle, people’s reactions, pros and cons, model year differences, as well as future thoughts.

Why the Volt? – Background Information

Realizing how our economic system dangerously relies on the availability and abundance of dwindling cheap liquid transport fuels, mainly oil, I began preparing my family five years ago for the inevitable consequences that this “peaking” of cheap oil will cause to society. For starters, I wasn’t going to be caught with my pants down in a gas-guzzling SUV with $6-per-gallon gasoline. I knew there were a number of efficient vehicles coming on the market, but had not determined which one would meet my needs.

After deciding to ditch the SUV I began to analyze my family’s total energy usage and make numerous modifications at home. Some of the most significant changes involved cutting my electricity use by 75 percent and purchasing a solar-powered electrical system. These changes make my home one of the few net-zero solar homes in the country, with no traditional utility bills. I chronicled these changes in detail on my Youtube channel.

In summary, my average-sized home’s energy footprint, inclusive of the SUV, uses the equivalent of 50,000 kwh annually. It takes just over 3,000 kwh of electricity to power the home; three tons of wood pellets to heat it and 1,000 gallons of gasoline for driving. My solar system was designed to power my entire home and also power a plug-in vehicle at about 6,000 miles per year.

The Volt emerged as the logical solution to help me achieve my goal of using the least amount of oil possible, while eliminating any range anxiety typically associated with electric vehicles. The Volt’s total annual energy use will be about 40 gallons of gas and about 4,700 kwh of electricity. This will reduce my home’s total annual energy footprint, inclusive of the Volt, from 50,000 kwh to 23,000 kwh. I’ll be using about 8,700 less gallons of fuel with the Volt over eight to nine years. The Prius would have required me to use about 2,500 more gallons versus the Volts 320 gallons over the same time period. That was not in line with my goal.

2012 Volt review

The Volt springs off the line in near silence. The instantaneous 273 pound-feet of torque was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. It’s hard to resist punching it from a standstill when next to fancy sport sedans or against my favorite friend, the Prius. While 0-30 mph in 3 seconds is no record, doing it in near silence sets it apart. Fortunately, flooring it regularly will not degrade or damage the 400-pound lithium-ion battery according to the experts.

The 3,800-pound Volt’s low center of gravity makes hugging corners sports-car inspiring while the multiple drive modes satisfy both the hands-off driver and the hyper miler enthusiast. Most should expect 25 to 50 miles of EV range in varying weather conditions; the former in extreme heat or cold and the latter in temperatures between 60-80 degrees F.

When the battery is depleted, the gasoline engine generator kicks in to propel the car another few hundred miles with its 9.3-gallon fuel tank. The transition is seamless and difficult to hear while driving above 50 mph. The engine can actually come on while the battery still has range left in eight different unique scenarios, but that’s another discussion.

I have already reached 50 miles of EV range on one charge; the record is around 75 miles. I have driven 1,200 miles on my first gallon just by charging at home. With gas at $3.50/gallon, the average car gets about seven miles per dollar (MPD). The Prius checks in at 14 MPD while the average Volt driver should get an incredible 20 to 30 MPD. On average, Volt drivers will fill up every 30 days. In my case, the solar surplus of 6,000 miles of electricity from home and a courtesy charger being installed at work, makes the Volt a 100 mile-per-dollar no brainer.

I invited several co-workers, friends and acquaintances to get behind the wheel and experience the electric drive feeling first hand. All those who accepted loved the Volt and were surprised by the futuristic interior, quick acceleration and silent operation. Two declined to drive or even get in however. One felt the federal tax credit dollars would be better spent by oil companies drilling for more oil. The other got angry over something to do with the government telling him what car he has to drive.

On a deeper level, I sense that many people dislike the Volt because we were raised to believe we need to consume more to be happy. The Volt goes against this societal norm. The Volt is the next iteration of the motor car on a shrinking planet. Whether it’s the lighter weight chrome-like polished wheels, fuel-efficient tires, low co-efficient drag, reduced air-intake grill, energy efficient premium Bose stereo system, lighter hand-powered seats, no exposed exhaust pipe or the air-pump with built in tire sealant in place of a spare tire, the mark has been hit.

After the $7,500 tax credit, a fully loaded Volt comes in around $37,000 or about $7,000 more than the average new car. You’ll get leather heated seats, navigation, a 30 GB hard drive to store thousands of songs, DVD player, CD, FM, AM, XM (three months) and the unique ability to pause and rewind live radio. Throw in top safety rating in its class, eight airbags, traction control, three years full On-star, keyless exit/entry, 8 years/ 100,000 mile battery and related component warranty, ability to experience pure electric car like driving most of the time but with no range anxiety, mpg numbers people dream about, a Volt app for your I-Phone or Android phone, and dare I say it, it supports American jobs.

The Negatives

The additional $7,000 for a Volt (after federal incentives) compared to an average internally combusted automobile is often seen as too much extra to pay up front to save $10,000 – $40,000 on gas over nine years because our culture desires instant payback and savings. This assumes gas prices do not increase.

Other perceived negatives are it only has four seats and is a compact. Also you need an accessible outlet to charge it and it is front wheel drive. It is harder to maintain your weekly chit chat with your local gas station clerk and it takes premium gasoline. On a more serious note, it can take a very long time to obtain one as they’re producing around 700 per week and are on their target to sell only 16,000 this year and 60,000 next year. Lastly, while some have found it a positive conversation starter, I’ve more often found it to draw undue attention.

Model year differences

Unlike the 2011, the 2012 Volt comes with keyless entry with door access buttons on all doors and passive auto locking. You get three years of On-star instead of five and the base price is lower due to de-contenting. There are now seven color choices. The 2012 is now EPA-rated 94 MPGe instead of 93 MPGe. The center display shows kilowatt hours used while the battery discharges and the navigation instructions also appear in the driver display.

There is now easier-to-read lettering and backlighting on the center display buttons and gear shift lettering. You can now turn off traction control manually and the taillights have white reflectors in them.

Future thoughts

Politics, jobs, resource wars, overpopulation and misconceptions aside, I think extended-range electric vehicles like the Volt fill the needs for most until pure EVs have either widespread charging infrastructure or longer battery range. As my teenager moves toward driving age, I feel better knowing that when she gets her first job she won’t have to put half her paycheck in the gas tank to fund far away oil dictators. Her boyfriend just better have an outdoor accessible outlet.

Follow MrEnergyCzar on Youtube and Twitter.
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Web Chat Today

The Volt Team will host another Web chat today at 1 p.m. Eastern time (10 a.m. Pacific). Andrew Farah, vehicle chief engineer, will be joining Kim Reynolds and Frank Markus from Motor Trend. Yesterday was Chevrolet’s 100th birthday, and its newest brightest star, the Volt, is coming up on its one-year anniversary of being named the Motor Trend Car of the Year.

As many of you know, yesterday Ford Motor Co. began accepting online orders for its 2012 Focus Electric, which was first unveiled a year ago in Las Vegas.

The company is coming in with a limited and partially delayed launch a year or more after Nissan, which has has sold over 8,000 of its (now) $35,200 all-electric Leafs in the U.S. alone.

The plug-in Focus will cost a bit more, starting at $39,995, and Ford – which quietly delayed release dates to 17 initial markets till next spring, then denied it – says buyers can “virtually build and price one” at its dedicated Web site.

Get ready world. Here comes Ford’s electric car.

Focus Electric customers will be eligible for the same subsidies available for the Leaf, Volt or similar advanced-tech vehicles. These include a federal tax credit of $7,500, and state and local incentives, where applicable.

Despite coming later to the market, Ford’s announcement naturally kept to the time-honored tradition of accentuating the positive, though perhaps not unjustifiably so.

“Today is an historic day, as Ford opens up the order banks for the company’s first full production, all-electric passenger vehicle – the Focus Electric,” said Chad D’Arcy, Focus Electric Marketing Manager, Ford Motor Company yesterday. “The all-new Focus Electric is an important part of Ford’s overall strategy, bringing still another option to customers who want a car that is fun-to-drive, easy to own and fully electric.”

According to a statement by Ford:

Focus Electric comes standard with: MyFord Touch with 8-inch touchscreen; two driver-configurable 4.2-inch color LCD displays in cluster for unique EV driving screens; MyFord™ Mobile App (for remotely monitoring and scheduling battery charging with owners’ smartphone as well as remote start); HID Headlamps; 17-inch aluminum wheels, ambient lighting, seats made from 100-percent recycled material; Rear Camera with Rear Parking Sensor; Intelligent Access with Push-Button Start; MyKey®; voice-activated Navigation System; Particulate Air Filter; hands-free SYNC® Bluetooth telephone connectivity with Traffic, Direction and Information Services; electronic traction control; Sony®-Branded audio with nine speakers; SIRIUS® Satellite Radio and HD Radio™.

The only options on the thoroughly appointed Focus Electrics are leather seats and two paint colors.

“Ford believes driving electric doesn’t mean consumers should have to sacrifice on driving experience or vehicle quality,” said D’Arcy. “The Focus Electric comes with more standard features than any other comparable all-electric vehicle.”

Ford is also equipping the vehicle with an on-board 6.6-kilowatt charger compatible with 240-volt fast charging. But when plugged into 120-volt current, Ford says it takes 18-20 hours to recharge the 23 kilowatt battery.

A $999 home-installed charger utilizing 240-volts can zap its 23-kwh LG Chem batteries back to full charge in around three to four hours. This is currently about half the time it takes for a Leaf with a 3.3-kilowatt on-board charger.

So, if you get a Focus EV, you’ll probably want to order the fast charger at the same time.

The 3,691-pound vehicle weighs a little more than the gasoline version. Its battery pack is liquid heated/cooled and drives the 123-horsepower, 181-pound-feet torque motor through its front wheels.

Range is said to be around 100 miles.

Will it sell?

Of course it will, the question is how fast and how soon will Ford – and GM for that matter – get costs down and pass the savings onto the consumer?

We all know energy and emission issues are driving this nascent technology, but even some auto executives have been reluctant to dive in with greater commitment.

Speaking as one consumer, GM-Volt reader Tom W laments that prices are a bit out of reach for his budget.

“My point in short, is the comparable ICE to the EV/EREV. You can add $10,000 for oil savings. You can add $7,500 for the federal tax credit,” Tom said of the Ford. “So that nets to $17,500 off the price for now and after the tax credit is gone, it’s just $10,000 off.”

As much as he loves them, even with financing options, cars like the Volt, Leaf, and Focus EV would be hard for him to justify.

“It’s easy to finance a car knowing you are paying your energy costs in your monthly payments, he said. “But there is a point you can’t go past unless you have lots of money to burn. For a Volt, its probably about $36,000 with the tax credit. For the Leaf and Focus EV its really more like $33,000. These cars are just out of reach of those that have to justify their costs.”

Some people believe advanced-tech vehicles could sell for less if a run for the mainstream end zone was made. Economies of scale would allow automakers to price them lower and make a profit, or so the thinking goes.

All in due time, right? Until then, Tom says he follows technology and trends, and his ideal would be to afford a Volt.

“I appreciate the cause,” he said. “I just wish I could buy a Volt and support the cause that way.”

As for the new Focus Electric, in August we reported the company subtly changed info in its press release to say that only California and New York would be getting the car this year.

The car’s other launch markets for spring 2012 include: Atlanta, Austin and Houston, Texas; Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Orlando, Fla., Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Portland, Ore.; Raleigh Durham, N.C.; Richmond, Va., Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

FoMoCo, Wall Street Journal, LeftLane News.

As GM moves toward its goals, October was the Volt’s top month with 1,108 units sold.

All this year the company has resisted calling it a competition with the all-electric Nissan Leaf, but in case you are interested, the Volt’s first month to surpass 1,000 units beat the Leaf’s sales of 849 units.

Nissan has sold 8,066 units since December 2010, thus still has many more of its electric cars on the road than the 5,003 Volts delivered through October – and Chevrolet has just two months to deliver 4,997 more if it’s going to meet its North American goal of 10,000 Volts.

In a phone interview yesterday, GM Spokesman Rob Peterson said the company is not stressing, and still intends to meet its most important targets.

“Our goal is to produce 10,000 and our expectation is that there is enough demand out there for those 10,000 units,” he said.

Peterson initially said a couple times that 10,000 units would be produced.

I asked if he meant delivered by the end of the year?

“Yes,” he said. But added GM will only know in December, and he sounded like if GM falls a little short, it will not lose sleep over it, as GM already sees the Volt as succeeding at this point.

Actually, over 10,000 Volts have already been produced by Detroit-Hamtramck so predicting that was a too-easy statement to make – to be exact, the latest calendar-year-to-date figures indicate 10,896 Volts built, comprised of both 2011 and 2012 model years.

Peterson said Chevrolet dealers have a total of around 1,800 Volts in inventory, and 2,300 dealer demos have been placed, with 300 more demos to go this year.

He noted some Web sites have been known to report more vehicles left unsold, but these were an inflated mix that included demos that GM does not count as for sale.

Peterson also reiterated that the company’s priorities are not overly wrapped up in making the 10,000 number, but in getting the vehicle launched fully to all participating Chevy dealers, and refining its delivery process.

Initially the formula GM used to determine what dealers got how many Volts on allocation was – as you probably know – based on market penetration of advanced-tech vehicles, and respective dealers’ overall sales volume.

Stating that from the beginning GM viewed the Volt as a showroom draw, Peterson said the next step is a “market-driven delivery process,” whereby customers who want Volts in regional markets are not left waiting as they are known to be now.

GM wants to make sure that “every single Chevrolet dealer should have a demo in place before we put a retail units in there. The reason we do that is we know the Volt has a way of attracting customers … ” he said. “So our priority is on treating it as a halo vehicle and once we reach the nationwide [roll-out] and we’ve got a little bit of experience with the vehicle, we’ll have a much better understanding of how to seed the dealerships with the appropriate number of vehicles.”

For instance, Peterson said one dealership in Minneapolis has 21 Volt orders pending, and its allocation was three Volts.

Going forward, GM wants to refine where the car is selling and meet demand.

While naysayers will do what they do best and say the Volt is falling short, until recently and even now, it has had supply issues of one sort or another.

Just the Minneapolis example alone shows 18 would-be deliveries that could not be counted, and Peterson said GM knows of many other dealers with more orders than cars.

Also known are areas where the Volt is not being well received, no doubt including U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly’s Pennsylvania family dealership in which he fired his employee for ordering one GM-mandated Volt. This same representative then declared that this was proof that the Obama administration’s attempts to create jobs through green initiatives were not working – at least in his neck of the (back) woods – and that “there is no market for the car.”

Of course that’s an extreme newsworthy case we thought we’d just drop into this story, but perhaps other Chevy dealers have had difficulty marketing the car, or are all to happy to switch people to the Cruze or other vehicles?

And further along these lines, training is another one of GM’s priorities besides merely delivering dealers their new Volts. Training and getting dealers up to speed in all new regions has been part of the work for the new technology, as Kelly’s extreme example partially illustrates.

At the request of a GM-Volt reader, and for your review, here are month-by-month sales numbers for this year:

January – 321
February – 281
March – 608
April – 493
May – 481
June – 561
July – 125
August – 302
September – 723
October – 1,108

TOTAL: 5,003

Needed for Nov./Dec.: 4,997 more.

Production capacity is not really an issue anymore. Dham was closed for a month in the summer as July’s numbers show.

Other U.S. production numbers of interest are: 2,228 model year 2012 Volts were assembled in October. Of the 2011 initial model year Volts, 4,488 were built. Since reopening the assembly plant, a total of 7,627 model year 2012 Volts were built.

As mentioned, the latest grand total of Volts produced for U.S. market is 10,896, so it’s safe to say around 11,000 cars have been built by now.

GM is staying optimistic also because it says demand for Volts around the country remains strong, and “outrageous” positive feedback has come through a variety of independent sources.

General Motors’ Adam Opel division is reporting that it may get as many as 15,000 Volt-based Amperas to sell in Europe for its first year instead of a previously reported 10,000.

According to an interview with Wards Auto, Alain Visser, vice president-sales, marketing and aftersales for Europe, the company was initially supposed to get just 8,000 Amperas. Popular demand however – and sufficient capacity at Detroit Hamtramck to fill it – may see GM shipping more of the still-American-made cars.

“We’ve got over 6,000 reservations, which is way above what we anticipated,” Visser said of a program in which someone can reserve an Ampera online with a E150 (approximately $209) deposit. “We obviously have very direct discussions with Detroit. Our current indications are we have the capacity from a global point of view to fulfill [demand for the Ampera]. So we are OK.”

Somewhere between 10,000-15,000 Opel Amperas will be sent to Europe. It was recently named 2012 Car of the Year in Denmark.

As we covered the other day-e, Opel is evaluating other EVs, has a three-prong electrification strategy, and wants to lead its market.

“I think it is a really big step here in Europe, because there are a lot of manufacturers talking about e-mobility … but we [are] the only one with an electric vehicle with no range limitation that is actually on sale today and not a concept car,” he told Wards Auto. “It’s a massive opportunity for the Opel brand.”

WardAuto data indicates Opel’s light-vehicle market penetration grew to 5.1 percent through August, up from 4.8 percent the year prior. Citing its improved position, and sounding a little like he’s taking a cue from VW and other proud automakers in his country, Visser said the company sees potential marketing opportunities there.

“We want to position ourselves more and more as the German brand, combining the German substance of quality and technology with emotion,” he said, “That’s why design is becoming so important for the Opel brand. The fact that our market share is going up is confirmation we’re on the right path, and we plan to increase and strengthen our position even more in 2012, including growing market share.”

Unknown is if or when GM would set up European production of the Ampera or other e-vehicles. Also in question is the degree to which hydrogen power will eventually play in GM’s electrification strategy, but we know it is being considered as part of the company’s long-term plan.

Is it therefore possible EREVs and EVs are to be a stop-gap measure for a decade or more? Will they only be a limited fraction of the global vehicle pie indefinitely? We have no proof this will be the case, but Opel has spoken of hydrogen vehicles’ inclusion, and GM is still working on them.

While GM’s hydrogen info pipeline may be kind of dry these days, Opel has already gone on record saying what its policy is at this juncture.

“Batteries have a relatively low energy density, so we believe a pure battery-powered car is primarily suited for use in urban areas where limited ranges are sufficient,” said Dr. Lars Peter Thiesen, Manager Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Deployment Strategy.

Part one of Opel’s e-mobility solution for its “complete range of electric vehicles” is the short-range EVs. Part two is the Ampera and future extended-range models which are seen as more versatile and providing no range anxiety. Opel is also holding out hope for future developments of cost-effective hydrogen fuel cell vehicles “with no restrictions on vehicle size or use.”

RAK-e concept.

At the moment GM is emphasizing what it has for sale in the near term – extended-range models and soon-to-be EVs. If hydrogen can be made feasible, no doubt Opel – and GM – would like to be a leader in that technology as well.

But really, anything could happen between now and when or if hydrogen power can be made cost effective. In the meantime, it is not even clear when Opel EVs will become available.

Visser did not add any more fuel to the rumor that the Spark EV might be re-badged as an Opel, and spoke less definitively about the RAK-e concept’s production potential than he did recently with Automotive News.

“Reaction to that vehicle was overwhelming and extremely positive,” Visser said of the all-electric lightweight tandem two-seater. “It is not impossible, but it is not at all decided. It is something we would like to start studying, particularly given the positive feedback of the Frankfurt show.”

Wards Auto