150 M.P.G. Chevy Volt in Chicago

[heartlessvietboy]

The Chevrolet Volt is not 230 miles per gallon. It is 75 miles per gallon. 40miles on electricity and 35miles on the gas engine generator. 75 miles per gallon is a whole lot better than 25 miles per gallon in any other regular car we drive. You can drive 0 miles per gallon on electric mode alone if you want.

[TranCendenZ]

Nissan already built a superior "eco" car that gets an "equivalent" of 367 mpg. It's called the Nissan Leaf, and it will be priced competitively with the Toyota Prius.

Nobody who is interested in "eco" cars is willing to pay $40,000 to $48,000 for a Chevy Volt. The Volt will have high maintenance costs if it is consistently unreliable as past GM cars.

[SERIIOUS24]

is it a 4 door?  icant tell

[emforty2]

1.5 million ugly prius on the roads

volt=0 an unproven technology that does NOT EXIST

prove it !

[Ryantravisaol]

lol so true. at least the volt is attractive. The Prius looks like it was designed to be an incubator.

[liveoilfree]

The VOLT ... is a HOAX. If GM were serious, it would at least admit that past EVs were successful, and that a 40-mile-range EV is nothing new.

The Toyota RAV4-EV, last sold in Nov., 2002, still has over 100 miles range on NiMH batteries.

[2video]

Gas prices (October 2008) are again cycling down which may lower public interest in EVs. It looks like the EV wheel's being reinvented again. Only time will tell.

[ibpointless2]

Its funny how the volt can only go 40 miles sometime in 2010 but the first EV1 with heavy old lead acid batteries Got 60 miles in 1996

[Chrono348]

It goes 45 miles before the Gas Generator kicks on. and has a range of over 640 ish miles. Also I love the idea that is has the gas engine, this alone gives it the advantage over most or all other EV's because you have that increased range making it a viable choice to buy and use not only as a short distance / town car, but also as a long distance commuter car. Very Smart Idea by GM. Also that EV1 was outrageously over priced for what it did.

[emforty2]

OVER 1 MILLION Prius sold worldwide since 1997 when gas was 98 cents a gallon

ok Volt which doesnt exist is coming in 2 years or so if it even ever comes out !

don't get your hopes too high

[bhatiainc]

I came to know that Chicago used to have a very good transit system that made it nonsense to drive cars in that area. The transit system was then bought out by oil companies and demolished to make roads.

Same thing happened with EV1, what are oil companies going to do now???

[EnigmaNZ1]

remember the real power lies in the oil companies who will be fighting this behine the scenes. No doubt the limited battery range is to placate them. Look what happened to A-95 battery, advance automotive battery for elecric cars, brought up by chevron and the battery plant scraped to stop further production, putting back electric cars for years. When these companies do that, we motorist should stop buying their product.

[diggingforgold]

At 40-miles range, the pack already costs $10k. If you want long range, buy a Tesla Roadster.

GM uses Cobasys NiMH batteries in their hybrids. The conspiracy theory that there is patent suppression on large-format NiMH is nonsense. Nilar still makes large-format NiMH and so does Cobasys.

Toyota tried to steal and alter EV-95 for use in the Prius. They were discovered, and got sued, and eventually settled. They (Toyota-Panasonic) were the only ones denied access to those specific batteries.

[Edscork]

How do you change technology?

You begin with an EV1 and you build on it. You don't trash it. GM would have been miles ahead of the competition, had GM continued with the program. IF falling sales continue, people will be out of work. GM seems to be going backwards in technology rather than ahead and they seem not to care. Shame on GM. With Stupid Greed and an uncaring attitude for the future and our kids, they tell us 40 miles to a charge and a fill up with fuel. Funny Joke...

Go Electric!!!

[timbosforporn]

To little to late in my opinion. Chevy should fold and so should every other car company that doesn't sell a car that gets below 50mpg.

[proverb311031]

why won't you listen to use we want full eletric cars or we will go elsewhere for want we want, so you will lose market share!

[2video]

They are losing market share so the Volt may be too little too late. At least several other car makers have announced their own EVs or hybrids.

[taj7575]

yeah, there is a prius electric toyota is making.

[proverb311031]

GM says that it listens to the people that want to buy thier cars, the people are saying that we want full eletric cars, so get it done! Or you will lose market share, to up starts, becasue some of use are knowledgeable and we know what we want, not what you want to sell to us, we can always go elsewhere to get it, in two to three years Tesla will be bring out thier family cars and your market share will fall, because of lack of action in listening to us, if you want our loyalty listen to us!

[proverb311031]

The Volt and the fuel cell are the same they both don't work, this is a total scam from GM, are trying to hold on to the internal combustion engine so that they can keep selling part to cars, instead of sell all electric cars. I hope GM fold for being stupid, and for putting this country in danger by trying to keep us on oil!

[2video]

Lab reports suggest the Volt's technology works very well and in June 2008 GM's Board of Directors authorized production of the Volt. We can only wait to see if it happens.

[proverb311031]

regardless the Volt is just a way to keep producing the internal cubustion engine so that GM can sell more auto parts! Why not sell cars that are full electric, whnen you had the technology over 12 yeasr ago! You would have change the world in way that can not be fully measured. The company dropped the ball, and still does not see that internal combustion engines are dirt no matter how much you try to clean them up, they waste oil, and we use oil for more then just for automobile, like plastic!

[2video]

Henry Ford worked with Thomas Edison nearly 100 years ago to introduce an electric car, Ford's wife had an early all-electric car with a 40 mile range, but for better or maybe for worse we've all been using gasoline instead. With breakthroughs in battery technology, ultra-capacitors, flat film solar panels, wind turbines, cars that run on compressed air (oil-free) and so on the new generation of EVs has great promise.

[terriblyill]

they arent selling a full electric car because if you actually need to go long distances how are you gonna do it? This is a full electric car with a gasoline backup sounds good as long as they dont scrap it like the ev 1

[taj7575]

They should atleast put a 100+ mile battery ATLEAST.

40 miles is pretty much unexcusable. They had a car 10 years ago with a 100+ miles per charge battery. The EV1.

[diggingforgold]

Well then I'm sure you wouldn't mind paying about $20,000 for a 100 mile pack. Batteries are not expensive. The EV1 cost GM over $80,000 each to make.

No long range electric car has ever been cheap because electrical energy storage has always been expensive.

That is why GM chose 40-miles for the Volt. Most Americans drive 40-miles to and from work each day, and can easily plug in at night to recharge for the next day. A 16kWh Li-ion pack (providing 40-miles AER) costs about $10,000.

[scotters201]

The technology was just not matured or ready/come of age with the EV1,but battery technology now has evolved so very much in the past 5 years alone,that it is ready.I had worked on some aspects of the EVI(battery aspects) in the past and I said at the time,we are not ready yet.

This is any extremely well thought out,very fuel efficent car,and battery technology I believe now as of 2008-has crossed the line.This car is gonna work very very well and extremely successful-mark my words.

[zythman]

With this kind of news, I'm ready to invest heavily in GM again.

[zieg11119]

one thing I, m pretty sure the government will

make there money having us pay a tool every time you drive your car in the road or they have a electric meter to get there taxes paid for using the car, you can't win for losing every time.But still we us consumer

are winners, for the technology and also save the earth, and this human kind.

[striker3]

Definately a sharp looking machine, as far as the toyotas and hondas go, the Volt is an Ace.

[camarosam]

with gas going up, this is for sure my new car by 2011, sadly the caddys got to go.

[2video]

You could be right but nonetheless GM's Board approved production funding for the Volt. Only time will tell if this becomes the 21st century version of the EV-1 disaster for GM. At least Toyota gave RAV-4 drivers the option of buying, but then joined GM and Honda by stopping manufacture. It seems the wheel is being reinvented again and this time other companies, Nissan, Tesla, Mitsubishi (Imiev) Aptera, AFS Trinity are offering alternatives by 2010. We can only wait and see what happens.

[liveoilfree]

The GM Board is full of dummies and sycophants.  The first step would be to FIRE Wagoner, who destroyed the EV1 and delayed hybrids.

Wagoner got lots of money for goofing up GM. Why??

[liveoilfree]

NO, the current Board is full of dummies and sycophants. They are too timid to FIRE WAGONER, which is the first step to recovery.

[2video]

Today, June 3, 2008, at General Motors annual shareholders meeting, GM's CEO announced the Board of Directors has authorized funding for production of the Chevy Volt. Unlike the 1990s the new members of the Board and in upper management appreciate "green" technologies. Market realities drive the changes so we will now see what happens with the Volt (EV-2?) project.

[FreeGlobalEnergy]

I have always loved my Chevys but don't trust those GM bastards, they work hand in hand with big oil, they tore up the street cars in the past, They bought 60% shares in a better battery & just as the inventor of those batteries created batteries for the Ev-1 that cost less than an engine & lasted the life of the car they pulled the EV-1 for scrap then sold the 60% shares to the oil company. GM is dirty don't trust them

[2video]

The 400 lb. Volt battery is reportedly rated at 16 kWh and apparently being tested using less than or possibly half of its capacity. By 2010 there will undoubtedly be changes and maybe improvements? Or, then again maybe not?

[liveoilfree]

GM is lying about the need for Lithium on the VOLT.

Of 400 lbs., it only yields 8 kWh, enough to go 32 miles; the Toyota RAV4-EV, and the GM EV1, go over 100 miles on 1000 lbs. of NiMH batteries.

The Toyota RAV4-EV is still in daily use, even though Toyota is no longer supporting it.

[2video]

GM is making incredible progress with the Volt. In April 2008 the engineering teams are in overdrive. The revolutionary battery packs are in test vehicles and the Volt body design is nearly finalized. The four passenger Volt may look a little different from the concept vehicle, but will have many incredible new design features. 2010 arrival appears to be on track and possible.

[unknownpersonofearth]

40 miles infinite mpg after 40 miles 50+/- mpg

[2video]

At the 2008 Detroit Auto Show the AFS Trinity Power group showed a modified 2007 Saturn Vue that can get 150 MPG. The AFS Saturn uses an ultra capacitor with a small lithium ion battery, along with the Vue's original gasoline engine. For more information see the AFS Trinity web site.

[mianersiyok]

BEHOLD!! THE FRANKENVOLT!

[drabshadspads]

effective 50 mile per gallon range, drive to wheels is completely electrict at all times. does anyone know how many cylinders the engine is on board? I think theres two

[capnthepeafarmer]

its a 3 cylinder 1.0 L turbocharged.

[2video]

GM's moving forward with Chevy Volt production. Detroit newspapers recently reported one of GM's assembly plants in southeast Michigan has been awarded production of the Volt. New partnerships with battery manufacturers are reported and the new battery packs are already on the way for installation in test vehicles. A highly focused team of veteran engineers are working with the Volt project and so far it looks like they're on track for availability in 2010.

[tribluered]

What happened to all the EV-1 engineers? Where did they get those veteran engineers? Were those engineers people that got fired from some other company? Do you remember the Cobasys NiMH batteries? GM bought out the rights for Cobasys and then sold it to Texaco/Cheveron. Now no one can use the Cobasys EV95 Large Format NiMH batteries. GM is goimg to do it again, they will take down lithium now.

[mykallb]

You sound like your brother Douggie-boy. Nimh is out and no one is going to use it for EVs for good reason. The past is the past, stop living in it.

[tribluered]

Until GM fixes the problem they caused with Cobasys, I don't think anyone believes that GM will make this car or sell it. Also, if they do make this car, I wonder how many people will buy it from GM.

[tribluered]

You know how GM keeps saying that the battery is the problem. And all those vids that show the Volt driving around. And it makes the weirdest loudest noise. I think they can't even find good engineers to make the electric motor or put all the electric compoents together properly. Since so many people heard about the EV-1 and Cobasys NiMH battery. I bet all the good engineers wouldn't work for GM. So they ended up hiring retards to put the Volt together. Thats why it is taking so long.

[xignite1980x]

Just another comment from someone who just reads the headlines and not the story. Hope your not comparing the hybrids out now to the volt, totally different technology. Would love to see you volenteer your family to see how reliable lithium batteries were with a family of 4 riding on top of them. If you don't understand the danger than don't even comment. It's nice to see a car company that is actually trying to further tech.

[googlepeakoil]

40mile all electric range (upto 100mph+) once the battery is nearly drained the 1.0 litre engine is then used to charge the battery (the car then works as a hybrid getting >50mpg) = 600miles+ range from a smallish fuel tank of <12gallons.

[thesurfer60]

They don't have one YET with the entire LithIon batteries---the technology is a little behind for that to happen. Bob Lutz of GM says they hope to have the battery tech nailed down by 2010...yeah, I'll guess it will be 2012 at the soonest.

[bjhorton2005]

640mile range.. because instead of putting mainly batteries, they are loading it down with fuel for the onboard "gasoline" generator. lol

[bjhorton2005]

600+ miles range?!?!?! this is news to me, last I heard GM claims.. closer to 50 miles range.

[hairhorn]

a great. a big, heavy inefficient electric car.

hello more coal and nukes.

[tribluered]

I wonder if this is just a way for them to get main stream attention, without actually selling an electric car.

[h2fcell]

If GM's only source of income were from electric hybrids like the Chevy Volt, they'd be making millions of them. "Stop buying or leasing NEW gasoline powered cars". See my vids.