Chevy Volt Mule Test Drive

[MrEnergyCzar]

I love the silent high instant torque acceleration of my Volt.....

[JOHNINCOLUMBUS]

Lots of road noise.

[tinderinc]

If a New Volt car payment is less than your current monthly gas/fuel bill wouldnt you be stupid to keep your current car?

Is an asset better than feeding the oil companys? Over the next 10 years more than 1/3 of all cars will be electric

[chevywhereitsat87]

if you go green your still spendin green, cough cough...

[NickEw000d69]

i baught a volt no homo

[NickEw000d69]

no homo

[Pumpkinjews]

thats hoe u drive after waiting for it for 2 yrs??? what a fag!

[cars2cars]

I hate blackberry's @:35

[AlienZygote010]

I think they made a mistake by not using a transmission. If a 50hp 1958 VW bug engine had no problem climbing the Alps, then it would have gotten a high torque /low hp engine up that hill with no problem. Why no tranny? The engine needed to be reinvented, not the entire drivetrain. Why fix what isn't broken. This perceived lack of power caused by the absence of a transmission will be why this vehicle will fail, and will therefor set electric cars back a decade due to public misperception

[HavocGunStar]

@AlienZygote010 If not that, the extra consumption on our power grid certainly will.

[muscatbr]

@AlienZygote010 it doesnt need a transmission 100% of the power/torque is available 100% of the time. It is not an internal combustion engine...does not have a "power band"

[AlienZygote010]

@muscatbr - interesting.  thanks for the reply.

[Daewolet]

voltergate

I just read in one of europes biggest car magazines, that the volts engine is connected to the axels, and not just the generator. GM says it saves fuel, i say hoax

[Daewolet]

voltergate



[kolaski33]

@DroidNoid Did you say acid ? You obviously don't have a clue as to what you are talking about . These batteries are lithium ion batteries . Not lead acid . Some people are so arrogantly subjective .

[juanlozanoism]

$40,000 for a Government Mortors car??? Shit!!! no thanks.

[lalaha22345]

haha at 0:35 you can hear the cameramans blackberry

[Musicmagnet1]

Best part of the video: 4:03, a Mustang demoralizes everyone who was thinking of buying a Chevy Volt xD

[corvetteboy10]

I cant believe the road noise. my 93 blazer is quite as a mouse compared to that!

[GNNStudios]

Not worth it ....... Yet

[Sk8ordieknarlysk8er]

9 people who viewed this video are the oil companies ha

[WalterSolano]

Any video of the full test of the car? this is like he is about to get his license...

[DBSpy1]

Wow happy for you, Ive been watching you dream about the Volt since I put my E Mail on the list with under 200 people on it. Sadly don't have that E Mail anymore but oh well. Nice to see what you look and sound like in video,not just still pictures of you standing around gas pumps and so on. Its turning out the Volt is why to much for me to buy,but I think G M should give you one at the very least for all you have do for them. S.Calif.

[NetteFraulein]

they need to fix the road...

[ANONfapfap]

@NetteFraulein

It's a Michigan road. Most of our roads are like this.

[97VR4]

OMG - what a piece of shit. Are people really going to spend that kind of money for 40 miles or driving? Without air, defrost, heatere, etc. Oh boy. Obama calls it an "investment". I call it for what it is, a piece of shit. Good luck government owned GM, good freaking luck.

[Sylinic]

@97VR4 /sigh

[Wickedclownman12]

its funny to watch Gm run a bunch of stop signs lol

[bonds911]

everyone just tell volt what we want we want full electric car no tailpipe zero emissions and right now nissans got the lead so keep up with the next model gm if you want real seriousnumber of buyers

[Tamayo1980]

lol, Extended range electric car. WTF all they have to say its a fregin Hybrid. You know what they say about people/company who mover backwards in chess. Hope it fails, because GM is still a sell out to the oil companies instead of manufacturing PURE electric vehicles. Tesla model S starts @ 47K with tax incentives with 2 battery options of 160 -230 miles per charge. Chevy Volt 35K starting with an initial 40miles per charge before a gas operated motor takes over. GM sucks Tesla American revol

[bonds911]

@Tamayo1980 i fully agree with you right now nissans got the lead in the sedan class but have you seen the new coming tesla sedan is sick greater than the leaf or ford electric its sick 0 to 60 in about 6 seconds 4 door 160 miles per charge tesla the revolution of american cars since the big three are lost

[Tamayo1980]

@bonds911 Yeah the Tesla Model S its amazing. Kinna pricey, but i would love to have one. I know the days is coming when people will start fighting @ the gas station for gas. This is how the government, big three, and the oil company wanna control us. The monopoly of transportation is possible the biggest crime in humanity both morally and economically. Just funny to me that people this because its electric its gonna die on you. Well gas vehicles die all the time.

[Tamayo1980]

@bonds911 i just wanna drive by the gas stations and don't have to worry about paying for fuel, nor worry about the pollution i am contributing to the planet. However, I am not advocating that ALL gas vehicles should be replaced by electric, i simply believe that consumer should have the option to buy a safe and reliable electric car to commute around town and has a range of more than 100miles or so Not a p.o.s hybrid. The big 3 aren't lost they are just cowards to the oil company and profits

[mooserman911]

@bonds911 Dude stop bashing chevys and go rape you little pos leaf. Maybe you'll have eco-babies.

[mooserman911]

@Tamayo1980 you are misinformed. the gas engine just charges the battery to keep the wheels moving, just like a train. There are no other vehicles that can even compare to the volt, so stop trying to compare it to pure electric vehicles. The volt and ev's are in different segments of the market.

[Kentsfield1979]

I like the Opel Ampera much better.

[wasjunk]

i like the huge KILL button on the dash

[americanstylefreak]

yea.. imagine driving a 1000 mile trip with one of those cars.. wish ya fun!

these cars ain't got no heart.. when you start up your car with a real engine, you hear it living, and it's good sound.. you dont have that here..

[Blackgam3r]

This guy isn't making complete stops at the stop signs. lol The passenger even said "There's a stop sign here" and the guy just kept going.

[Crazyazun]

@Blackgam3r

yea no kidden lol, he is a terrible driver. I noticed they cut out a part of the video as he was approaching the first stop sign at 1:35 as the passenger said "Go straight." I bet the driver went "straight" alright, right past that first stop sign.

[Corkoth55]

the guy that was driving was annoying as shiiittt

[dontlietoo]

I understand chevy claims that on a full charge and full tank, the car can travel 300 or 340 miles non stop. If the Volt comes with a 10 gallon gas tank, then it would get only 30 or 34 mpg non-stop. I have yet to hear a rep say how large the gasoline tank will be, but if it is like I describe above, that would explain why chevy reps are always so low key about this car. A one gallon gas tank and traveling 340 miles, non-stop, is much more exciting. The size of the gas tank will make or break.

[reidclifford]

Why isn't the electric cord for the VOLT built in and retractable. That is the one fault I find with the Chevy Volt. The owner has to take the electric cord out of the trunk plug in both ends, then un-plug both ends and wind up the cord and put it in the trunk. You know the cord is going to be all over the trunk. Too much work. I hope GM goes with a retractable cord, to make the Chevy Volt almost perfect. You know the Japanese will do it.

[ndyt]

@reidclifford, the cord is part of the charging station in your home and elsewhere.

[wasjunk]

we will see....

Lyle Dennis can't drive ducks to water....

he sounds like he has never drove a car before it just takes right off....i like the the huge kill

button on the dash

they never talk about the loud dragging sound,the car made ever time they drove it

[wasjunk]

f overnight everyone had one these vehicles how many more power stations would have to be built to supply power? how do they dispose of a bank of expired batteries?, how much/how often do batteries need to be replaced? cost? ,internal combustion engine ,electric motor, electric solenoids, regenerative braking,more complexity, down the track more to go wrong and cost, or am i wrong? many unanswered questions.,...the next American bail out

the new VEGA is here

[reelmagic]

We need a car powered by farts. Mexican food will then see more success.

[Lahcen78]

hahaha that's a good idea! but farts r one of pollution reasons :p

[Pvtjamesryan2]

What a piece of shit car!!

[xcrazywhiteboyx73]

ur an idiot dude its extremly revolutionary its taken a lot of oey to produce and for how many flaws it could have had and doesnt is amazing ur just stupid

[Maorisidol]

Why don't we concentrate on a nuclear powered vehicle?

I mean all our cellular phones have small nuclear active parts in them.

[TheWTFers]

What happens when two nuclear powered vehicles collide?

[ndyt]

Maorisidol, there is no such thing as a nuclear powered cell phone, tard.

[Maorisidol]

U idiot, read my message, i didnt say they were nuclear powered, Every cell phone has small uranium parts in them. Why do you think they recycle them?

[ndyt]

@Maorisidol, there is no uranium in cell phones, tard.

[hohosrgood]

lol i guess stop signs dont mean anything to him

[TheWTFers]

he does not seam to know how to drive very well.

[tyrellc303]

this car will be an ugly boring P.O.S.

[kyanite2]

Hello! Where is the EV1? This is so maddening given the huge subsidy, read "bail out", from the respective Canadian and US governments. I cannot, with a clear conscience, support any GM products. Here in Canada we should have done the German pre-war thing and made the people's electric car, with several variations (2 door, 4 door, wagon, etc.). This way the workers would have jobs and the air would be cleaner. More research on batteries and less war overseas would be great!

gadrogeek

[xcrazywhiteboyx73]

ur stupid becausea lot of gm cars and trucks are more reliable then toyotas and also get better gas milagethen them you dont see gm cars gas pedals sticking

[happyboyy8k]

prius coming the new plug in that rated at 134mpg.

[xraeptiem]

$45k? LOL I'd rather much have an Audi with a 2.0t for 40k. :)

[thebankcard]

so how much is the a/c and keeping the warm in winter goinh to take away from the 40k you get before gas kicks in because it gets pretty cold and hot in different seasons in toronto

[emforty2]

a car built for the rich who can afford $45K

to be affordable taxpayers will have to subsidize this unproven new car from GM

[GoFastStudios]

omg this guy driving didn't even know what a car was before this day... What a nerd...

[ixfxi]

yes, the driver is a douchebag

[1impalaman]

In response to this statement: "i honestly dont understand how putting a generator to the engine to drive the electric motors, "

This is an extremely efficient method of propulsion. This is how ALL of the diesel-electric trains operate.

This is the way electric vehicles should be done until we find the holy grail of batteries.

[americanrealist1]

@1impalaman I'd like to add that this isn't just a giant battery. there is way more thought and efficiency put in this vehicle concept. like every time you break or decelerate that is converted into energy. might I add they are doing it in a compact vehicle platform, can you imagine the distance you can get from a SUV size battery configuration, the bigger the battery capacity the further distance you could travel. similar to SUV's with large fuel tanks, 400 miles until you have to fill up next

[NewsSocial]

@1impalaman We found it.

[bonds911]

@1impalaman booooooooooo tesla is only pure electric now thats green

[WoodyMathias]

@1impalaman not to mention many large ships etc.

[gabbogabbo]

In theory it should be much better. Gas engines are only 20% efficent, so as long as its better then that, and it is, nothing is 100% efficent anyway. But it is a GM so it will probably srew up anyway!

[SaGalv]

i honestly dont understand how putting a generator to the engine to drive the electric motors, makes it any better then any other hybrid in production...idk maybe i dont understand it. look at it this way, the generator isnt 100% effiecent, some of its energy turns to heat...and is wasted. so how is this more effiecent then having the motor drive the car directly? i see very little gain from this, if not possibly a decrease compared to a normal hybrid.

[Kimble275]

For 40 miles. It doesn't turn on. For most people who are in the city. The GAS ENGINE, if at all you paid attention to the video, does not turn on. Untill the batteries are depleated. Then, it has charge density enough to charge the batteries while you drive. Then it turns off, and the process repeats itself. So when you turn off the engine? You saying your still burning gasoline? Dementia

[Kimble275]

DOESN"T is another word for "DOES NOT"

Now you understand.

[SaGalv]

does it plug in to charge while your at home not using it? if so, then yeh for people who only drive 40 miles or less a day this car is fine. if it doesnt...well then its going to use as much gas as a hybrid. if you cant plug it in, then how is this better? the engines going to input enough energy into the batteries to keep the car moving, and burn enough gas to keep it moving, like any typical car.

[SaGalv]

okay i watched another video, and saw that you can plug it in....THAT is the ONLY thing that makes this car get better mpg. becuase you can change the gas bill from you car from the 1st 40 miles of the day to your electric bill. which is a quite a bit cheaper, but once that 40 miles is up, it uses as much gas as any other car. to be honest, everyones making to much of a big deal over this car then it deserves. they already make a kit for the pruis to have that car do this same exact thing.

[wasjunk]

this guy has never seen a car befor

this is the new vega..just wait....

[mrtorro]

@wasjunk he wait until this car is made

[mrtorro]

@wasjunk he wait until this car is made

[praetorian2150]

not gonna lie that looks so much fun to drive

[xISCxOpTiiMuZ]

woah my name is lyle 2

[wasjunk]

Bail us out and watch us go

THNX usa

[soicuw]

this guy acts and drives like he never has been in a car before

[Duke3231]

lol it seems like he's taking a driving test..."turn here" lol

[jmcbrew]

KrellLab, they mention that it takes a max charge rate of 16 amps at 240 volts. Any electrician will know what wire size to use for that. I'd go on the larger side so that you could plug larger appliances into that outlet if needed, such as a backup electric heater, a welder, or a large air compressor.

[jmcbrew]

Actually, RVs have 120v hookups. They are unusually high amperage... usually 30 or 50 amp, but they are 120 volt.

[bonnhew]

is that a bumble bee at 5:45 ?.. i would rather get that car..

[WorldIslamicOrder]

I ll buy that any time.

[Craigipedia]

the vehicle should have photovoltaic cells on the 2012 model year. Just like the Prius, use it to power the air conditioning

[forrest225]

That would be a great add on package. It could soon become standard like powerwindows and locks :D

[praetorian2150]

i was thinking the same thing but could it also charge the batteries, maybe give our electric bills a slight break :)

[formula88]

Camaro! 5:45

[Rell09ny]

its $32,500

[marotblat]

Michigan rodes might as well be off-road!

[KrellLab]

I was interested in the possibility of pre-wiring for 240 Volt charging. The problem is that NO ONE seems to know with any degree of reliability what size wire should be used for the Volt. 240 Volt circuits can probably use anything from 14 AWG to 6 AWG.

As many are probably aware there are at least a dozen styles of 240 Volt outlets. The particular type of outlet to use is not important at this point, what I am trying to figure out is the correct wire size (gage) to have installed.

[ApeWithBone]

RV's have 240 hookups. I'm assuming it'll be the same as that.

[d3f4c3d]

i dont like how car breaked

[boguslife]

it looks like a nice car, but my question is how are they going to sell it to the people in the midwest. We get snow an i want to see how it handles in snow, what kind of mechanical problems if any is going to have, if its all wheel drive.

[mvlady]

Who gave this guy a drivers license? i hope he gets a ticket

[rahul1248]

Wow.. New era of cars...

[pjkPA]

I'm on the list to buy one.. hope I get the chance.. this is the first of a new generation of automobiles.

No transmission. I would like to buy one without the gas engine. I only have a 9 mile commute. 40 miles would be plenty for me a day. Maybe instead of the gas engine opt for larger batteries.. many possibilities here.

My Thanks goes to GM and the American Engineers.. I know this car will be copied because it is good technology.

Great video .. glad to see the progress.

[afleececooper]

"I know this car will be copied because it is good technology."

Much as it's great to see new electric cars, the technology is very old, in-wheel electric motors and hybrids dates back to the 20's. The first ones date back the to 1830s...

Camille Jenatzy held the landspeed record in 1902 in an electric car (65 mph)

There have been some material improvements, like lithium batteries and high strength magnets, but they've always been a better idea,

AC :)

[pjkPA]

"the technology is very old"

GM obtained hundreds of NEW patents for electric propulsion when building the EV1.. and now the Chevy Volt also has many NEW patents to its name... this IS NEW technology.

The GM EV1 also set a speed record of 183 mph for a electric. This is with no transmission and one moving part in the Motor. I am very happy to see the the ability of the Chevy Volt to be fitted for the Hydrogen Fuel Cell which is really where we are headed. Pollution free , abundant, Hydrogen.

[afleececooper]

"GM obtained hundreds of NEW patents"

I was just pointing out that all the fundamentals like in wheel engines, brushless computer controlled motors, and lithium batteries have been around for years, considerably before the EV1!

GM have patents on their control system solution, which any car company would have, and now the 'T' shaped battery. Any other major 'break-throughs' ?

How can you defend hydrogen? Seems pretty silly to me... especially with 10min charge battery tech, Scib.

[mark2073]

GM has done more to keep electric cars away from consumers than anyone else could have. They bought the patents on the NiMH batteries 10 years ago after they introduced their 160 mile range EV1, then sold the rights to Chevron, who now prevents anyone from using them. Instead, we've been stuck with the slower-to-develop lithium batteries. Watch "Who killed the electric car" on youtube and "taken for a ride" on google videos.

[pjkPA]

Got that wrong ... GM has done MORE to bring attention to electric cars than any manufacturer. There is no way that any mfr. can buy all the patents for NiMH technology. If some Chinese or Japanese mfr. wanted to build NiMH batteries nothing GM could do would stop them. The Chinese just laugh at patents and the Japanese always find a way around them while their laughing. "Who killed the electric car" made a lot of money for some yellow journalists that's about all it did.

[mark2073]

China cannot sell anything outside its borders if it violates international patent laws. Therefore, no one outside of China can produce or buy an electric car using NiMH batteries, of which the patent is all-encompassing, so yes, Chevron, and GM who sold them the patent, have prevented consumers from having access to affordable electric cars.

[mark2073]

I can direct you to the actual patent if you like but it's difficult on Youtube because they disable comments with links.

[pjkPA]

And I can direct you to many patents China and Japan have ignored.

You don't actually believe international trade laws are enforced when it comes to benefiting the US? And.. if the batteries are so good they would be built and sold in Japan .. China .. etc.

[drroundtube]

I'm trying to understand the ultimate point of Volt when Tesla Motors has an all electric S model that goes 300 miles between charges; recharges in 45 minules, or swap battery in 5 minutes, and retails - first model - for $49,000, etc.

[robertsullivan1956]

Tesla "has" as in it's for sale now? Uh uh sorry. The S model is just a prototype. It remains to be seen how many years it will take to bring it to market - if ever. At this point it is more of a fish hook to get federal loans to keep Tesla afloat.

[ekuwa69]

It's not to keep them afloat. Tesla is generating profit from their roadsters. The loan is so that they can build the model S. They were already approved for it, so as soon as they get the money they can build the plant and start rolling out the cars. The only reason GM is building the volt is because there going bankrupt and tesla has shown that electric cars are wanted by consumers.

[doinkman007]

David Letterman talking about the Chevy Volt last night on his show (5/20/09) said he owned a Tesla but paid $100,000 for it.

[abram730]

It's one hella car for 100K.. not in my price range lol... not even close..

[abram730]

the volt does have an 80 mile range battery.. they pinch it so it last longer.

Tesla get about what 1000 charges? The volt gets thousands.. so it depends on your commute distance.. you could end up needing to replace batteries sooner then 100,000 miles on a Tesla and that's expensive.

The volt may be the smarter choice for more people.

Yes the Tesla is nice, if the distance works out it is faster with more power.

but it's not best for everybody. There is no best for everybody car.

[w7mag]

Video does not do it justice.

[MikaOwns]

anyone living in san francisco can forget this car lol. ironic since that's where most of the green hippies live :p

[KhalsaFouj]

You Should Put That Car Though Hell On Video For People To Believe That It Well Actually Work On Real Roads

[allst0n]

i didnt really like the guy sitting on the right.

[bjhorton2005]

Cannot wait. I am just scared that they are going to restrict access to them at first, as I live midland.

[howdesign]

Gotta love those bumpy Michigan roads...

[DanFrederiksen]

and how is this test drive different from when the press got to drive it 4 months ago..

[DanFrederiksen]

what you should have asked is why they didn't just make a cruze version with Volt drive when they can complete that faster..

[wolfiesden]

Awesome! I want one

[kilimats02]

It felt very slow/sluggish on that hill with the speed pedal floored, what was your though on performance there?

[DanFrederiksen]

ride that on a bicycle and you wont think it's sluggish anymore

[kilimats02]

it doesn't matter what an ebike can do, we are talking about a production car that claims to be a normal car

awaiting GMvolt official thoughts

[DanFrederiksen]

I'm not talking about an ebike. I'm talking about a bicycle where the pain in your feet would educate your skeptic ass on just how tough that hill is and how the car actually performs just fine on that very steep hill

[kilimats02]

were you in the car? only the person who was can answer.

Thank you for the feedback anyway

[DanFrederiksen]

the GM guy says it's as steep as you would find in most public roads. I take that to mean about the worst you can find but just short of the worst san francisco roads. I expect a normal car couldn't do better and might even sound very strained just to match it.

this isn't an official GM video either so it's unlikely any GM folks would comment here. even if it was official they wouldn't comment. they haven't done that much evil in the past to suddenly be accountable to the public now

[asdfgoogle]

gm-volt . com

Lyle (the driver) said he was going about 50mph.

There are many hills in Seattle that are as steep or steeper than the one he drove up. Most areas are dense urban, so there are traffic lights everywhere. 50mph is a very fair speed, although a modern gasoline-powered vehicle will likely be able to hit and exceed that by quite a bit.

[igeekone]

That's more to do with the top speed of the electrical engine. Notice that they turned off the gas engine during this test. Realistically you'll have the gas engine kick in for boost.

[kilimats02]

False, engine only regenerate the battery, not like the prius

This performance hit is VERY VERY disapointing, I was expecting a small green rocket, now its more like a sluggish one

I might let the Volt pass this time, will keep my efficient TDI diesel engine for a few more years or get a different brand

[jmotuck]

Good for you, when diesel goes to $6.00 a galon, see how that 1 second 0-60 time really matters.

[bjhorton2005]

That worried me a bit too. I don't tend to go on hills like that, but I have been on hills larger than that in a prius, and it didn't slow down like this one did... My only guess is with no transmission the motors had to slow down, because of the direct torque might cause wheelspin? I don't really know.. I hope it's not just underpowered... I know a Tesla would fly up it, lol.

[odatyler]

hmm..

[GuiltySpark347]

This car will be great.