What Makes the 2011 Chevy Volt a Better Electric Vehicle?

[SirTragain]

2:08 Attractive Price?

[heartlessvietboy]

The Volt is running off a 60 KW 1.4 Liter 4 Cylinder Gas engine generator.

[getpagesize]

30 GB?!!!! You mean the same amount of storage space you get in a $45 USB stick?! Holy cow! That's too generous!

[mavennes]

i dont like how the back of that car looks front is fine but the back is pure ugly

[130starfish]

THIS IS YESTERDAYS TECHNOLOGY , gasoline "generator?" Audi and Volkswagon are going turbo diesel generator. Leave it to the Americans to come with HYPE for yesterdays technology. I see GM filing for bankruptcy ( again) in about five years. C'mon people, why would you buy a 1st gen American car when you can buy a third gen Prius for about 12k less ? does anyone remember the OMNI, SPRINT, PINTO bs they peddled on us with no shame ?

[dogs1734]

@130starfish like you could come up with this idea I bet you cant even make a paper plane than come up with this technology .Also the toyota prius sucks I would reather choose the ford fusion hybrid or the chevy malibu hybrid insted of the prius (KILLER CAR)

[130starfish]

@dogs1734 what are you babbling about child ? you dont know your ass from a hole in the ground.. Im an engineer and this is OLD technology you fucking troll. go home and suck your mommas duick.. what do you think a gasoline generater is its a fuckingengine. this is not new tech its 80'sx tech, and its going to take a government "gas Crisis" to sell it to the american public.. the ford fusion and the chevy malibu .. those arnt cars they're rolling pieces of junk.

[dogs1734]

@130starfish like your a walking pice of junk alsoIf you think of gettinh a LEAF bad idea because once you out of energy u are stuck out there until somebody gets there. Also I bet u are not just by making something new does not make u a engineer (stupid). And you say toyota is better than y dont u go marry it insted of your wife . Oh wait you dont have one :}

[joltster109]

I love Jolt.

[davepamn]

Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity suggest that PHEV will work reliably. Volt falls within the class of PHEV and should performed without serious flaw.

[davepamn]

@davepamn Idaho National Library to test Plug-in Hybrids

The PHEV are driven in real world conditions through out the city of Seattle: Cities, counties, ports, utilities, and colleges, 14 out 30 demo cars were tested.

[hopeurfree]

@davepamn not much of a test. i hope you buy one. Have you figured out the shelf life for these vehicles yet? When the battery is over, so is it's life. No one will spend 10k for a new battery on an 8 year old car.

[hopeurfree]

@davepamn then why are they only making 10,000 vehicles, you claim they had 150,000 orders. Doesn't make one bit of sense. As far as testing, look at the long line of recalls on vehicles with new technology and the Volt is loaded with new technology. There is a reason only 10,000 will be made, they aren't sure of their own technology.

[hopeurfree]

They found a way to make the Edsel electronic, amazing.

[JeffInDFW]

Teslas CEO said the LEAF battery pack uses a “much more primitive level of technology” . This comes down mainly to the thermal management system, or the technology used to keep the battery within a healthy temperature range. Tesla and GM use active liquid thermal control, while the LEAF pack uses an air cooling system. As a result, the LEAF pack will have temperatures “all over the place,” causing it to suffer “huge degradation” in cold environments and basically “shut off” in hot environments.

[rock3tcat]

@JeffInDFW

Yep who doesn't love negative corporate propaganda? :D

[VidBloggerMI]

Love the Volt!

[hopeurfree]

@VidBloggerMI What do you love about it?

[davepamn]

150,000 people have placed reserved orders for the Volt. Volt will be popular.

Suppose BYD sold the F6DM, today. Would you buy it? The F6DM EV hybrid could sale for less than 30k and it has a 250 mile battery range.

[hopeurfree]

@davepamn they are only making 10,000 the first year because they are expecting problems with the car. They want to fix these problems before ramping up production. In other words, they are expecting repairs. By the way, these cars are not simple, you have an electric motor, a generator and a gasoline engine, all new technology. I can promise you, your car has a good chance of ending up being recalled or repaired often. I hope you have other transportation.

[davepamn]

What makes Chevy Volt battery better? V6 torque equivalent output, 10hr recharge times at 120 Volts and 4h recharge time for 220 Volts, tested in hot and cold climates, and the battery is liquid cooled like a super computer cpu. 8 year/100k miles, 161 component warranty.

[hopeurfree]

@davepamn the car is a piece of crap. 41k for a 15k car? It may be tested in hot climates, but i promise you, the results were pathetic.

[davepamn]

Are you suggesting that Volt was a 20k vehicle that performs poorly? What areas did Volt perform poorly?

[hopeurfree]

@davepamn It looks to me like the price of crap has gone from 15k to 41k. I hope you buy one, so you will remember these words I posted when you sell it.

[MrCker]

other OEM's are working on this type of tech. I hope they expand it to go beyond the initial 40 miles so we can go to a vehicle with a much farther range.

[JeffInDFW]

Nissan Leaf vs Chevy Volt. Read the article at wired.com titled "

In Race to Market, Nissan’s Electric Car Takes Shortcuts" Then, google what the article claims to see if it is being truthful or not. I did, and it is dead on correct. I own a Nissan now, but will buy the Volt. The reason I like the Volt is, My daily commute won't use a drop of gas. BUT, if something unexpected comes up I can keep driving because the Volt has an onboard generator. The Leaf will just strand you.

[djlasell]

i know a car 10x better.... its called the tesla model s.... 300 miles in 1 charge!

[lexoni1]

i dont get why electric cars are so good. you still get the power from burning fossil fuels

[lerch25]

@lexoni1 yes, but you are getting much higher efficiency therefore burning much less fossil fuels, and avoiding petroleum altogether.

[JELH]

41K... Forty One Thousand... No thanks.

[Fr33lix]

Does anyone know what band/track name this is?

[GreenDudeOne]

JeffinDFW is correct. I've never owned anything but a Subaru and the Volt will be my first American car. The Leaf is nice but it's almost like a crash tested golf cart. I'd always have to keep a second vehicle in my garage paying twice the insurance etc.. The Volt I can actually take out of town and on trips if needed and won't leave me stranded in rush hour traffic if the battery dies. For my daily use I'd never even need a backup generator like the Volt has. However, I'm Glad it's there !

[JeffInDFW]

I own a 07 Nissan, but the Chevrolet Volt is a MUCH better vehicle than the Nissan Leaf. Google it, and you will learn that the Leaf does not have a system to keep its battery from getting too hot or cold like the Volt does. Also, the Leaf depletes its battery to a VERY low level which is bad on the battery. Volt turns on its on board generator (the engine) earlier to protect the battery. When Leaf battery is drained, its owner is STRANDED. Don't listen to "hype", learn the facts yourself.

[LLORT3]

I just put my downpayment for one last night.

I am ready to be the first on my street to own one!

[ortzinator]

and it pays for itself in only 20 years!

[MooseOfReason]

If you're spending $40,000 on a car, you may want to get your money's worth.

[juxtapos99]

nice but they need gas-free option for the 2012 model. the time has come... i'll never buy another car with a gas tank.

[Zamboro]

@juxtapos99

Me either. Done with it for good.

[carbpumper]

i like the ford touras better twin turbos are faster than this stuff and it gets like 30mpg

[freedml]

I'll stand by "not an electric vehicle" and the one staffer I've asked at CARB agrees with me. The chances of someone buying a Volt and never using the 'range extender' (read: gasoline engine) is about 0. If someone is going to do that, he should buy a Nissan Leaf or a Mini e-Cooper which has twice the electric range as the Volt. The only reason to buy the Volt over a Leaf or Mini would be to USE the gasoline engine.

[darandeyoe]

Will your Honda Accord get you $7,500 tax credit, ahhhhh no.

[gunnlover]

oh by the way the new in-car mobile wi-fi system offered by GM on most other less advanced tech chevys wont be even an option on the volt.....not available

[FoxInSoxx28]

$41000... lets do the math, say gas stays about the same price, it costs my $50 a week to fill my 1/2 to pickup truck, that could be purchased new for around $20,000. so it would take 8 years to match that cost in gas. If you don't need towing or max storage, It would take 14 years of gas to make it worth buying over my honda accord purchased new. whats the point? Hooray for the green initiative, but wasn't this thing supposed to be $25,000 when it was first announced?

[freedml]

Too bad it's not an 'electric vehicle.' Just a different type of hybrid...

[seawareable]

@freedml No... it's a real 'electric vehicle' which has been "range extended" with a gas powered generator. In other words, if you keep your travel under 40 miles, you can plug it in and never use gas at all. No hybrid can do that today.

[aigolofni]

Congratulations, GM. Small steps for a better planet. It's also great to see the US car technology leading the way !

[BigHawk96]

There not leading the way there just barely getting to where other manufactures are

[simplemind111]

Looks Great! I hope the rich people & celebrities that can afford them like them very much!

$41,000 for the base model? FAIL GM! Nissan must be throwing a huge party right about now.

[Starkermann53]

@simplemind111 , yes you are indeed a simple mind... and another idiot.

[Zinizzle]

@Starkermann53 actually he is true, environmentalists yell about us with internal combustion engines, and then an electric car comes out that has the capability of using ''only electric'' not a hybrid, and it's way over priced the working man cant afford it, only the rich and celebrities, sorry GM if the 40k price is true they must be crazy

[pelorecruiter]

@Zinizzle just for clarification, you get a tax rebate with purchase, which puts the vehicle's net price at 33.5K. It is also fully loaded with nav, leather seats, and a bunch of other bells and whistles. I'd put it up against a fully loaded Camry, which would go for about $29-30K. Depending on how you drive it, you may never need to do an oil change or pay for gas again.

[FoxInSoxx28]

@pelorecruiter If you qualify for the max rebate... but if you're in the tax bracket to afford payments on this thing, you probably won't. I'm all for electric, but i want to know how much the one with a battery gauge, analog speedometer, 4 speaker delco stereo, and economy cloth interior would cost. i'm also a little irked that in 10 years, the electric vehicle has NOT evolved. Didn't toyota make an electric rav4 in the late 90s that got 80 miles per charge? shouldn't those numbers go up?

[pelorecruiter]

@FoxInSoxx28 Doesn't matter what you make, the rebate is done right at the purchase of the vehicle. You could be making zero p/year and get the rebate. GM is losing money on each vehicle by adding all the bells and whistles. They know the first buyers to market for this thing will want the extras and since they have limited production, they will include it on all 10,000 vehicles. The Rav4 was a dog that only made it about 60 miles p/charge and took 24 hours to charge.

[pelorecruiter]

For buyers like you, it doesn't make sense to buy one right out of the gate. Give GM a couple of years to bring the price down and offer stripped down models. They'll be at the $25K mark sooner than you think.

[FoxInSoxx28]

@pelorecruiter Well hopefully that is the case. Since the first EV craze I've been anxiously awaiting an electric full size truck, something that meets my needs and can go a long haul that's off the gas grid. I'm just a little irritated that the technology has always been there (they were making electric VWs in the 70s) , and it still feels like they are convincing the world this is just the beginning. I'll buy one when they make a real "base" model.

[pelorecruiter]

@FoxInSoxx28 Stay patient buddy...It's right around the corner....I CAN FEEL IT! LOL. I think a truck is the most practical application for EV, in that you can get lots of torque and weight distribution (with the battery layout).

[AndresRoddick1]

$41,000 i think is a bit overpriced but then again its fuken awesome

[2222554]

@AndresRoddick1

Or buy for as low as $33,500 net

Price based on 41,000 MSRP (Suggested Retail Price) less $7,500 tax credit, depending on each customers eligibility for the 'maximum credit.'