Opel Ampera
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European buyers may soon have one fewer plug-in vehicle to choose from, with news that the Opel Ampera--European cousin to the Chevrolet Volt--could be dropped due to slow sales. The Ampera arrived to much critical acclaim, just as the Volt did in the U.S. While expensive--it hit the market at just shy of $60,000 back in 2012--critics praised the relaxed drive and its elimination of some of the electric car's traditional drawbacks, such as range anxiety. It even took Europe's Car of the Year title back in 2012, along with its Chevy Volt cousin--the second plug-in vehicle to do so, after the...
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Opel Monza Concept: Is Range-Extended Coupe Clue To Next Volt?
Opel, European arm of General Motors, has revealed the first official images of its Monza concept, set to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September. The Monza name has plenty of history with the Opel brand, having first appeared on a sleek six-cylinder coupe back in 1977--but the concept looks...
Antony Ingram -
2016 Chevrolet Volt To Have Lower Electric Range, 30 Miles Or Less?
News Flash: The next Chevy Volt will have less electric range than the current one, perhaps no more than 18 to 30 miles. Or perhaps not. We suspect that a comment by Thomas Sedran, GM's vice president of strategy and operations, is going to be one of those off-hand remarks that creates far more...
John Voelcker -
Don't Like Your Vauxhall Ampera (Chevy Volt)? Simply Give It Back!
With the holiday season in full swing, many will no doubt experience the small disappointment of receiving a gift they neither like, need, or want. It's a mere inconvenience and probably won't distract from the season's high points, but it's a different story if you've gone out to buy something...
Antony Ingram -
UK Teen Takes Driving Test--And Passes--In Electric Car
Navdeep Singh Pandher's driving test was a little different from that of most teens. He had to drive to the same standards and still needed to check his mirrors before making a turn. Instead, the difference was with the car itself--Navdeep has become the first driver in the UK to pass his test in...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Cadillac ELR Electric Car Will Be Built Next To Volt, GM Confirms
Color us, oh, not very surprised at all. General Motors confirmed yesterday that it would build the 2014 Cadillac ELR range-extended electric luxury coupe at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, on the same line that builds the ELR's Chevrolet Volt sibling. While this had long been discussed in the...
John Voelcker -
Since the Chevrolet Volt first launched in the U.S., we’ve seen a variety of quirky, funny, and downright weird ads designed to get people driving General Motors’ first plug-in hybrid. But over in Europe, where the Chevrolet Volt and the Opel Ampera -- its European sibling -- are relatively new to market, GM is already getting into trouble over its ad campaign. The claim? That it mislead viewers about how the extended range electric car works. According to the Daily Mail, Vauxhall, the U.K. branch of GM, had its Ampera TV ad banned by the British Advertising Standards Authority...
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Will Chevy Volt Sales Hit 40,000 This Year (Ampera Included)?
After being flayed for not achieving its 2011 sales goal for the Chevy Volt, you might think General Motors would shy away from further volume predictions for its innovative range-extended electric car. Not so. CEO Dan Akerson said in late June that the company thought it would sell 35,000 to...
John Voelcker -
Your Chevrolet Volt Needs A Charge Sustaining Mode: Here’s Why
In a few weeks’ time, Vauxhall/Opel, a European arm of General Motors, will officially start sales of the 2012 Vauxhall/Opel Ampera. Essentially a Chevrolet Volt in disguise, the Ampera shares most of Volt’s features and, thanks to a lack of On-Star in Europe, loses some of the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Opel Ampera (Chevy Volt) Wins Monte Carlo Alt-Fuel Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally is one of the most famous events on the motorsport calendar. While the World Rally Championship visited the event back in January and the Monte Carlo Historic rally ended in February, an equivalent, the Rallye Monte-Carlo Des Énergies Nouvelles is also held for electric...
Antony Ingram -
Could Opel Ampera Outsell Its Sibling The 2012 Chevrolet Volt?
Orders have been coming in ahead of projections for the European Opel Ampera, but sales prospects may be looking up in the U.S. too for GM's range-extended electric car.
John Voelcker -
2012 Chevrolet Volt Enters 2012 Monte Carlo Alternative Energy Rally
Over the past five years, the Monte Carlo Alternative Energy Rally -- now called the Rallye Monte-Carlo Des Énergies Nouvelles -- has enjoyed increasing popularity as more automakers and private entrants tackle the eco-minded version of the world-famous Rally Monte Carlo. For the past two...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
The 2012 Chevrolet Volt -- along with its European twin -- have just been chosen as 2012 European Car Of The Year. Beating the Volkswagen Up, Toyota Yaris, Fiat Panda, Range Rover Evoque, Ford Focus and Citroën DS5, the plug-in range extended electric vehicle becomes the second plug-in car to win the prestigious award. It follows last year’s winner, the all-electric 2011 Nissan Leaf. The judging panel, consisting of automotive journalists from 23 european countries, cast a total of 330 votes for the Ampera and the Volt. Why both cars? While it has different body panels, the 2012...
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British Police Love The Chevy Volt, Name It Top Crime Fighter
It’s no secret that the NYPD has a fleet of twenty 2011 Chevrolet Volts which help civilian traffic enforcement agents carry out duties throughout the city of New York, but now the Chevrolet Volt’s European sibling is proving popular with law enforcement agencies in the U.K. In a recent...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Should Range-Extended Cars Have a "Battery Saver" Mode?
At the 2011 Geneva Motor Show back in March we learned an interesting bit of information about the 2011 Chevrolet Volt's European cousin, the Opel Ampera. Unlike the Volt, the Ampera is to be equipped with a "battery saving" mode, whereby the driver can hold back the electric mode for when they...
Antony Ingram -
Europe Gets Chevy Volts In 2012, Most In Drag As Opel Amperas
So far, the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car has been sold only in North America. That's about to change, as the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant restarts after a month of retooling that raised Volt production capacity to 5,000 cars per month. While the Volt will go to China (despite...
John Voelcker -
Report Threatens Badge-Engineered Buick Model Of Chevy Volt
General Motors and its brand strategies have been through a lot of turmoil in recent years. Now, GM is down to just four brands in North America--Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac--and is rapidly taking Chevrolet global, including its Malibu midsize model. Buick survived only because of its...
John Voelcker -
Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera: What Are The Differences?
Chevrolet's Volt has only been on sale for a short while but sales are respectable and Chevrolet have pulled out all the stops to build a quality product and bridge the technology gap between the vehicles that everyone is used to and the new generation of electric cars. In Europe, General Motors'...
Antony Ingram -
Whilst the U.S. and Europe get the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and 2012 Opel and Vauxhall Ampera, it seems all the full battery-electric vehicles are going to the Far East, and they're keeping fairly quiet about it. A few months back we revealed GM's plans to test an electric version of the Chevrolet Cruze sedan in South Korea. The prototype uses a 31-kilowatt-hour battery pack and offers a range of up to 100 miles, competitive with the 2011 Nissan LEAF. Performance is competitive too, with an 8.2 second 0-60mph time, and a top speed of around 100mph. Now, Shanghai GM has revealed the Sail electric...
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Volt-Based 'Amp' Due In Detroit: Wise Move By Chevrolet?
The Voltec powetrain used in the 2011 Chevrolet Volt has never been meant for just the one vehicle. Restricting a new technology developed at great expense to a single niche vehicle makes poor economic sense. The prediction by Car and Driver of a Volt-based Chevrolet Amp, thought to be close in...
Antony Ingram -
Naming Electric Cars And Companies: Is Anything Good Left?
Naming new car models is always tough. The latest head-scratcher is GM's decision to rebrand the replacement for its Aveo subcompact as the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, a name better associated in the U.S. with hedgehogs or hamburgers. But that's nothing compared to the challenge of naming electric-car...
John Voelcker -
Do GM's Ampera Plans Forecast the Next Generation of Volts?
We don't hear much about the 2011 Chevrolet Volt's half-brother, the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera, here in the States. But in the U.K., the president of GM Europe laid out that group's plans for future generations of Ampera--and they're significant for what they say about upcoming models in an expanding...
John Voelcker -
Opel Ampera News - Euro Volt Price Revealed, 42,900 Euros
If you're familiar with the 2011 Chevrolet Volt range-extended EV, then you're already familar with the Opel Ampera, since it's essentially the same car. The Ampera will be sold under General Motors' other brands, the Germany-based Opel and in the U.K. as the Vauxhall Ampera. It's not uncommon for...
Antony Ingram -
2011 Chevrolet Volt To Be Sold In China, But As A Buick
General Motors may be trying to spread Chevrolet through Europe and Asia, but it won't put the Chevy bowtie on its Volt extended-range electric vehicle when that car goes on sale in China next year. Instead, the car that hits U.S. dealerships this November as the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will be sold in...
John Voelcker