Voltec

  • 2016 Cadillac CT6

    The 2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid borrows some components from the Chevrolet Volt.

  • 2016 Chevrolet Volt, Catskill Mountains, NY, Dec 2015
    GM Willing To Sell Chevy Volt's Plug-In Hybrid Powertrain To Other Makers

    The biggest challenge in introducing new technologies is getting to the volume production that permits economies of scale for expensive components. Toyota is now nearing 9 million hybrids produced, over almost 20 years--but it builds 10 million cars a year. General Motors, on the other hand, has...

  • 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, Dec 2015
    2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid: First Drive Of Sedan Using Volt Hybrid System

    The second generation of GM’s Voltec plug-in hybrid system is now powering a car that doesn’t actually have a plug at all. The new 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid uses essentially the same powertrain as the 2016 Chevy Volt, but with a far smaller battery pack. That makes it a new entrant...

  • 2016 Cadillac ELR
    Cadillac ELR A 'Disappointment,' Plug-In Hybrids For Most Models: Marketing Chief

    When it was unveiled at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, the Cadillac Converj concept was widely lauded for its looks. That was likely the last time the car that became the Cadillac ELR range-extended electric luxury coupe won any praise. After an on-again, off-again, on-again history and a launch at...

  • 2016 Chevrolet Volt
    2016 Chevrolet Volt Ads: Attacking Prius, Leaf...And Bolt EV?

    The 2016 Chevrolet Volt, for which deliveries began just this week, is going into attack mode against the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius in a set of new ads. But in one of those ads, it almost feels as if GM is attacking its own (upcoming) product. They build on focus-group-themed ads that Chevy has...

  • 2016 Chevrolet Cruze unveiling, Detroit, June 2015
    Chevy Cruze Hybrid Coming Soon To Join Diesel, Gasoline Models?

    Sometimes a few words can make all the difference. In last week's seminars and presentations on the new 2016 Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan, GM discussed its 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine and gave a few scant details on a future 1.6-liter diesel model as well. But the company also suggested...

  • 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid

    In less than six months, General Motors has unveiled three separate 2016 vehicles that use its hybrid and plug-in hybrid Voltec powertrain. The Chevrolet Volt and Malibu Hybrid, and the Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid, span three different vehicle segments. One's a compact hatchback, one's a mid-size volume sedan, and the third is a full-size luxury sedan. DON'T MISS: Cadillac CT6 Plug-In Hybrid: Big Battery, More Electric Range But the powertrains for all three vehicles have been designed to use very similar hardware, with their different four-cylinder engines spanning displacements of only 1.5...

  • 2016 Cadillac ELR
    2016 Cadillac ELR: More Performance, More Range, Lower Price

    The specifications of the updated 2016 Cadillac ELR range-extended electric car were released this morning, and one big question has been answered. The luxury coupe will not use the revised Voltec powertrain that propels the new second-generation 2016 Chevrolet Volt on sale later this year. But it...

  • 2016 Chevrolet Malibu
    47-MPG Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid: Volt's Sibling Without A Plug May Be First Of Several: MORE UPDATES

    It's rare that a carmaker entirely replaces a car after just three model years, but the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Malibu is remarkable in more ways than that. Chevy will offer a full-hybrid model of the new 2016 Malibu that goes head to head with hybrid mid-size sedans from Toyota, Ford, Honda...

  • 2016 Chevrolet Volt
    Why Can't Other Plug-In Hybrids Copy Chevy Volt's All-Electric Running?

    The distinguishing feature of the Chevrolet Volt has always been that as long as it has charge left in its battery, it runs solely on electricity. The gasoline engine doesn't switch on even under maximum acceleration (except in certain cold-weather situations, to provide heat for the cabin and...

  • 2016 Chevrolet Volt
    Is The 2016 Chevy Volt GM's Future Hybrid System In Disguise?

    At 50 miles, the 2016 Chevrolet Volt offers the longest range of any plug-in hybrid (though the range-extended BMW i3 electric car is rated at 72 miles). Announced this week at the Detroit Auto Show, following an October technical briefing, the technology in the new Volt may turn out to hold some...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Volt  -  Driven, December 2012
    Chevrolet CrossVolt Trademark Renewed: AWD Electric Car In Chevy's Future?

    All-wheel drive is an increasingly popular option among buyers in virtually all segments of the automotive market, partly driven by surging sales of small crossover utility vehicles. But is Chevrolet developing an all-wheel-drive version of the new 2016 Chevy Volt range-extended electric car it'll...

  • 2016 Chevrolet Volt - first teaser image, Aug 2014

    General Motors took the wraps off its second-generation Voltec electric-drive system this morning that will power its 2016 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car. Company executives declined to give specifications for power of the two electric motors, the range-extending engine, or range of the final vehicle. DON'T MISS: 2016 Chevrolet Volt To Use New 1.5-Liter Four As Range Extender Engine But they did give some percentage improvements and weight reductions for the new powertrain over that used in the current first-generation Volt. [EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been expanded from the...

  • 2016 Chevrolet Volt - first teaser image, Aug 2014
    2016 Chevrolet Volt To Use New 1.5-Liter Four As Range Extender Engine

    Later today, details about the powertrain of the new 2016 Chevrolet Volt will be released when GM CEO Mary Barra speaks to the Detroit Economic Club. But a GM press release this morning announcing further investments in Michigan manufacturing by the company included one nugget: The 2016 Volt will...

  • 2014 Cadillac  ELR
    Cadillac ELR Not A Tesla Competitor, GM Exec Acknowledges

    Mark Reuss, the head of global product development for General Motors, has acknowledged that GM may not have a vehicle that competes directly with the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan. Speaking yesterday at a business breakfast associated with the weekend's Dream Cruise event in Detroit, Reuss...

  • Chevrolet Volt drivetrain teardown
    What's Inside Chevrolet Volt Battery Pack And Drivetrain? Video Teardown Shows All

    There's a childish pleasure in seeing something disassembled to its component parts, whether it's a jigsaw puzzle, Lego set or an entire car. The Chevrolet Volt is new enough that you're unlikely to see too many broken up at scrapyards right now, but crash-damaged ones still give some individuals...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Volt  -  Driven, December 2012
    Next Chevy Volt $10,000 Cheaper To Build, Profitable For GM?

    Here and there, a few little tidbits about the next-generation Chevrolet Volt electric car are starting to leak out. The latest comes from GM CEO Dan Akerson, who told the audience at Fortune's Brainstorm Green conference Tuesday that the next Volt would cost "$7,000 to $10,000" less than today's...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Volt  -  Driven, December 2012
    2014 Chevrolet Volt Orders Start In May, Two New Colors Offered

    Seems like just yesterday that we wrote about the very first Chevrolet Volt delivery--in December 2010, actually. Now the range-extended electric car is about to enter its fourth model year. So far, we don't know a lot about changes to the 2014 Volt beyond the addition of two new colors: Brownstone...

  • General Motors' plan for powertrain expansion and work consolidation (February 2013)

    General Motors has announced more shuffling of its future-tech facilities. Back in October, the automaker shut down a fuel cell center in Honeoye Falls, New York and shifted operations (along with 220 jobs) to Pontiac, Michigan. Outposts in Torrance, California, Castleton, Indiana, and Warren, Michigan are also being relocated to Pontiac, as is GM's Systems Research Lab in Wixom, Michigan. GM's other major project in Wixom, the Performance Build Center (which crafts engines for the Chevrolet Corvette), is migrating to the automaker's Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. To...

  • 2014 Cadillac ELR revealed at 2013 Detroit Auto Show
    GM States The Obvious: 'The Electric Car Is Not Dead'

    Well, duh. The day after it unveiled the 2014 Cadillac ELR range-extended electric luxury coupe, GM's North America chief Mark Reuss told attendees at a trade event that "the electric car is not dead." “That’s despite what you might hear, and despite what you might read about Americans...

  • Teaser for 2014 Cadillac ELR
    2014 Cadillac ELR Electric Car: Teaser Image Of Voltec Coupe Released

    We know the official release of the 2014 Cadillac ELR electric car will be on Monday, January 15, at the Detroit Auto Show. Now Cadillac has released a teaser image of the range-extended electric coupe, which is based on a modified version of the Voltec powertrain used in the Chevrolet Volt...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt
    GM To Concentrate On Plug-In Electric Cars, Downplay Hybrids

    General Motors has narrowed its portfolio of future technologies, and will focus on plug-in and electric vehicles over the coming years. The company will build on the success of its Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car, an area where it leads its competitors, while downplaying more...

  • Cadillac ELR
    2014 Cadillac ELR: Volt-Based Coupe To Get New Engine?

    Over the past decade, Cadillac has been trying to build--or rebuild--its reputation as a world-class luxury brand. Style, luxury, and performance all play into the mix of its new products, but it may take another decade for the world to think of Cadillac in the same category as German luxury...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Volt
    Will Buick Launch A Volt Version Called Electra?

    Sometimes online news sites can build complete stories--almost entirely hypothetical--around a single factoid. This is one of those stories. The factoid is that General Motors registered its intent to use the name Electra on a product in the category of "Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles...

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