Since both cars are fitted as standard with electronic stability control systems, they also qualified as winners of Top Safety Pick, the Institute's award for state-of-the-art crash protection.
Read more »
Weber will be in control of EfficientDynamics (the green stuff), driver safety/assistance tech, and "full vehicle concepts and architecture", as well as bringing a whole bunch of electrical wizardry and know-how to BMW's nascent electric future.
Read more »
However, the official driving range of the Volt, measured by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is much smaller than the GM executive's claims. The Volt's electric-only driving range is 35 miles (56.3 km), with another 344 miles (553.6 km) possible as the gasoline generator kicks in. The combined range therefore sits at 379 miles (610 km), way below the claimed 1,000 miles.
Read more »
Given that the styling changes over the Chevrolet Volt would be limited to a Buick-specific grille and bumper designs, one of the most significant problems GM faces is how to justify the car and its higher price tag which would be in excess of the Volt’s base MSRP of US$41,000 not including a $7,500 federal tax credit.
The Volt's sister car, the Opel Ampera, will also go on sale this year in Europe, at a slightly higher starting price. Unveiled in final production form at the Geneva Show, the Ampera will cost €42,900 ($59,885), but prices can vary in different countries depending on the standard equipment.
Chevrolet said the Volt would be fully equipped with all the usual safety and convenience features, plus leather seats. As in the US, European buyers will have an 8-year/160,000 km warranty (100,000 miles) on the powertrain and the lithium-ion battery.
Read more »
What if I told you those same feral rats are not only a danger to your home but also to your brand-spanking-new plug-in hybrid extended range electric vehicle? How’s that grab you, hmm?
So a month ago , the automotive mavens at Kicking Tires were handed the keys to a new Chevrolet Volt. What’s that got to do with rats, you ask? Well, in a move that some at the office have labeled, “karmic justice” and others have labeled, “bloomin’ rats”, a member of the repressed rodent classes has attacked Kicking Tires’ futuristic loaner and rendered it befuddled. *Gasp!*
Read more »
Well before the Ampera hits European showrooms at the end of the year, Opel is already exploring the possibility of a police package for its range-extended electric vehicle. According to the company, the Ampera could be the perfect police car for urban use.
Read more »
I speculate that it might have something to do with hybrids being uncool (so sayeth GM CEO Dan Akerson) or to avoid comparisons with that other hybrid. You know, the one made by the world’s other biggest car manufacturer.
Read more »
And now, on the dawn of a new age where electric cars seem poised to take their rightful place alongside gasoline cars, the electricity companies are about to throw a wrench into the works. If you live in California and intend to buy a plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius or Chevrolet Volt or an all-electric Nissan Leaf, you could be in for a...shock.
If the energy giants have their way, the Chevy Cobalt, which would have to rate on my list as one of the least desirable cars built by GM, is more economical to own or operate than any of the above. The reason?
Read more »
Nowadays, the appearance of all-electric and extended range hybrid electric cars in showrooms has forced [ahem...] the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to embrace a new method to measure the energy consumption of alternative fuel vehicles called MPGe (Miles Per Gallon Equivalent).
Read more »
The Detroit-based automaker said it has developed a method to convert an estimated 100 miles of the material off the Alabama and Louisiana coasts into more than 100,000 pounds of plastic resin that will be used for parts that deflect air around the vehicle’s radiator.
Read more »
So it’s a little hard to swallow when GM’s current CEO, Dan Akerson, describes the Volt’s major competitor – some may even say raison d’être – as a geek-mobile. Here are his exact words:
“We commonly refer to the geek-mobile as the Prius. And I wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius."
If the Prius is a geek-mobile, what does that make the Volt? Is it a me-too-mobile? And the word “geek” is so muddied in our 21st century world. In the United States, 74% of the population use the internet, 27% own an Apple iPhone and almost half are on Facebook or MySpace. And Avatar, film widely considered to be the most successful film ever made, is a member of that classic geek genre: science fiction.
Read more »
When driven in pure electric mode, the Volt has an MPG equivalent (MPGe) equivalent of 93 miles per gallon [equal to 2.5 lt/100km]. The EPA determined this figure by using a standardized formula that converts kilowatt-hours of electricity to gallons of gas.
According to the EPA, with a fully charged battery, the Volt has a driving range of 35 miles, which is less than the 40 mile range GM had previously announced.
At the current exchange rates, that comes to around US$59,100, which is significantly higher than the base price of the Volt in the USA that sells for US$41,000 (€29,800) not including a $7,500 federal tax credit.
Opel noted that in Germany, with 19 percent VAT, the Ampera net price is €36,050, adding that, because trim levels may be different in each market, prices in each country may also differ.