VIDEO: Chevrolet Tries to Explain the Volt's MPG Equivalent and MPG Ratings

Once upon a drive, all we had to know about a car's fuel consumption was how many miles the vehicle could travel on a single gallon of gas in the city, on the highway and on a combined route, regardless of whether the engine was fed with petrol or diesel.

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).

The idea is to allow consumers to compare the energy consumption of EVs or Electric-Hybrid models such as the Leaf and the Volt to those of gasoline or diesel powered vehicles in terms of miles per gallon.

Knowing that many consumers are still baffled by the concept, General Motors released a short video where it tries to explain the new EPA ratings on the Chevrolet Volt. Scroll down to watch the clip.

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http://carscoopcar.blogspot.com/2010/12/video-chevrolet-tries-to-explain-volt_22.html

McDonald's Store in West Virginia gets EV Charging Station

Even though we can’t picture your average EV owner as being an avid fan of McDonalds, nevertheless, future Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt owners living in Huntington, West Virginia, will have a very good reason to visit the food chain's new store located near the corner of 1st Street and 5th Avenue, as it’s the first restaurant of its kind in the U.S. to have a Level 2 Electric Car Charging Station.

“I wanted to offer this capability to show our customers that this new technology is here when they are ready to take advantage of it,” said Tom Wolf, local owner/operator.

The EV-friendly drive-in replaces the McDonald’s formerly located at 70 Washington Avenue in Huntington, which was the first one of its kind in West Virginia.

“I think it’s very fitting that the first location in West Virginia is making McDonald’s history again, being the first in the U.S. to offer the Level 2 charging stations,” Mr. Wolf concluded.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: WSAZ

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http://carscoopcar.blogspot.com/2010/12/mcdonald-store-in-west-virginia-gets-ev_20.html

GM Building Parts for Chevrolet Volt from BP Oil Spill Booms

The new Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car is doing its part in improving the environment by making the best use of the oil that was spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from the BP Deepwater Horizon rig. To explain, General Motors has began recycling oil-soaked plastic booms from the notorious spill into components for the Volt.

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.

These parts are comprised of 25 percent boom material and 25 percent recycled tires from GM’s Milford Proving Ground vehicle test facility, with the remaining percentage covered by a mixture of post-consumer recycled plastics and other polymers.

“Creative recycling is one extension of GM’s overall strategy to reduce its environmental impact,” said Mike Robinson, GM vice president of Environment, Energy and Safety policy. “We reuse and recycle material by-products at our 76 landfill-free facilities every day. This is a good example of using this expertise and applying it to a greater magnitude.”

If GM hadn't used the oil-soaked booms for parts, they would have been incinerated or sent to landfills.

“This was purely a matter of helping out,” said John Bradburn, manager of GM’s waste-reduction efforts. “If sent to a landfill, these materials would have taken hundreds of years to begin to break down, and we didn’t want to see the spill further impact the environment. We knew we could identify a beneficial reuse of this material given our experience.”

According to the automaker, the ongoing project is expected to create enough plastic under hood parts to supply the first year production of the new Chevy Volt.

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http://carscoopcar.blogspot.com/2010/12/gm-building-parts-for-chevrolet-volt_20.html

GM CEO Calls the Prius a Geek-Mobile, Wouldn’t be Caught Dead in One

In the grand scheme of things, General Motors is a little late in the purpose-built hybrid range extended electric vehicle game. Toyota has recently launched its third generation Prius and Honda its second generation Insight. At worst, the soon-to-be-released Chevy Volt is a logical move from a marketing perspective; if the consumer wants frumpily styled eco-cars then who are we, the automakers, to say otherwise?

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 21^st 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.

Is it any wonder that more than two million Priora have been sold since the nameplate came into existence? In a way, there’s a little geek in all of us. We buy organic, we tune into Lost and we use our Smartphones to text our friends what we’re eating for lunch.

It seems to me that GM wants to distance the Volt as much as possible from its Japanese stablemate. Have you noticed how no one at GM, Chevrolet or in the press calls it a hybrid? It’s a range extended electric vehicle. If that isn’t a geeky euphemism I don’t know what is.

The Volt, which according to Akerson "actually looks good,” compared to the Prius, goes on sale before the end of this year. With a starting price of US$41,000 (€31,016), the Volt will be more expensive than its main rival, though some buyers will be entitled to a US$7,500 (€5,674) federal tax credit.

By Tristan Hankins

Via: USAToday , Sources: Internetworldstats , Computerworld, Blogherald

http://carscoopcar.blogspot.com/2010/12/gm-ceo-calls-prius-geek-mobile-wouldnt_17.html

General Motors Begins Shipping 2011 Chevrolet Volt to Dealers

On Monday, the first shipments of the highly anticipated 2011 Chevrolet Volt left GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant and are on their way to select dealerships. According to the company, customers in California, Texas, Washington D.C. and New York could receive their vehicles in the next few days.

“Today is a historic milestone for Chevrolet”, said Tony DiSalle, Volt marketing director. “We have redefined automotive transportation with the Volt, and soon the first customers will be able to experience gas-free commuting with the freedom to take an extended trip whenever or wherever they want”.

According to the automaker, the first batch of vehicles should be delivered in the next few days, with a planned total of 350 units this week. Earlier this year, 15 pre-production EVs were handed over to a select few, during a special 90-day vehicle and charging evaluation program.

Priced from $33,500, after tax credits, the Volt never came close to the initially claimed 230 mpg in city driving. Eventually, EPA released three mileage ratings, the best being 93 mpg in full electric mode and the worst 37 mpg when the 1.4-liter engine kicks in. Now that cars are actually reaching customers, we’re more than curious to hear their feedback on the matter.

By Csaba Daradics

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http://carscoopcar.blogspot.com/2010/12/general-motors-begins-shipping-2011_14.html

Chevy Volt Rated at 93mpg on Electric, 60mpg in Hybrid Mode and 37mpg on Gasoline

The official fuel economy numbers for GM's long-awaited Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid are in. Given that the Volt uses two energy sources, electricity from the grid, and gasoline from the pump, with the mix depending on how far you drive and how often you charge the battery, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) released three mileage ratings.

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.

Once the battery is drained and the 1.4-liter gasoline fueled engine / generator kicks in to motivate the Volt, the car is rated at 37 miles per gallon [6.4 lt/100km]. Finally, the government agency determined that when using both its batteries and gasoline engine, the Volt will get 60 miles per gallon [3.92 lt/100km].

http://carscoopcar.blogspot.com/2010/11/chevy-volt-rated-at-93mpg-on-electric_25.html

New Opel Ampera to Sell for €42,900 or US$59,100 in Europe

General Motors announced today that the European version of its extended-range Chevrolet Volt electric car, the Ampera, will go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2011 as an Opel in mainland Europe and as a Vauxhall in the UK, with prices -including tax- starting from €42,900.

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.

"The Ampera defines a new class of e-mobility. No other electric vehicle provides the freedom of individual transportation as the Opel Ampera," said Alain Visser, Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales at Opel. "We have compromised on nothing. The Ampera is a beautiful car that is as fun to drive as it is packed with premium content."

Even though the exterior and interior design have been slightly modified over the Volt, everything else remains the same with the North American model, meaning that the Ampera can be driven in pure electric mode for 40-80km before the petrol engine kicks in to produce electricity and / or motivate (we still haven't figured that out...) the front driving wheels.

When the 16-kWh, lithium-ion battery runs low, it can be recharged in about three hours at 230v by plugging the vehicle's on-board charge system into a standard outlet. Together, the battery and gasoline-fueled engine/generator can extend the total driving range to over 500 kilometers on a full tank.

Those interested to reserve the Ampera can head over to General Motors' dedicated site at "opel-ampera.com".

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http://carscoopcar.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-opel-ampera-to-sell-for-42900-or.html