Chevrolet News
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In today’s gadget-obsessed world it’s not unusual to see brand new computers, cellphones and gadgets taken apart hours after their release on websites like iFixit.com in the interests of education and curiosity. But earlier this week, engineers at Munro & Associates took apart a 2012 Chevrolet Volt to better understand how the plug-in hybrid was made. In the automotive world, taking a car apart to reverse-engineer it is pretty commonplace. Automakers do it all the time to figure out how to stay ahead of their rivals. But this is the first time we've seen a Chevrolet Volt...
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Chevy Steps Up Volt Sales Efforts With 'Quad $0' Lease In CaliforniaWith last month's sales of the 2012 Chevy Volt less than half what they were in December, Chevrolet has stepped up its efforts to sell its innovative but pricey range-extended electric car. And it's doing it the old-fashioned way, by "putting money on the hood," as salespeople say. According to...
John Voelcker -
2012 Chevy Volt: Deduction Calculator Shows What You’ll SaveIf you’re in the market for a new electric car, the chances are you already know about the $7,500 credit you can claim against your federal taxes -- but what about incentives in the state and county you live in? With every state -- and even some cities -- having their own electric car...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Chevy Sonic Will Debut GM’s EcoLabel, But What Is It?If you’ve purchased a new car in the U.S. over the past few years, the chances are you’ll be familiar with the gas mileage stickers that automakers are required by law to display in the window of each new car. But visit a Chevrolet dealer this year, and you’ll see 2012 Chevrolet...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Can Condos Coexist With Electric Cars? Volt Owner To Be Cut OffAsk any automaker, and they'll tell you they believe most early electric cars will be charged at night, in garages attached to private houses. That would seem to cut out residents of multiple dwellings, from rental apartments to condominium complexes. But electric car owners are resourceful;...
John Voelcker -
New 2012 Chevy Volts Will Qualify For $1500 CA State RebateA few weeks ago, we told you that all new 2012 Chevrolet Volts manufactured after February 8 and destined for Californian dealers will feature a redesigned exhaust system that will enable them to qualify as Enhanced Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emissions Vehicles (e-AT-PZEVs). As a consequence...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
It's all very well selling a car on the back of low emissions or great fuel economy, but how do you know if its been environmentally unfriendly to make? Or whether it'll all go to landfill when it dies? That's what Chevrolet aims to address with its new "Ecologic" sticker system, debuting on the 40 mpg, 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. As well as listing the vehicle's economy and its green credentials related to driving, the sticker will also give information on its manufacture and recycling. Chevrolet is being transparent about its cars' true credentials too - each claim on the Ecologic sticker will be...
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GM Releases New 2012 Chevy Volt Ad, Airs It First On Fox, Its FoeOne day after General Motors CEO Dan Akerson fended off occasionally fact-free Congressional attacks on the Chevrolet Volt and its safety, it has doubled-down on promoting the Volt with a TV ad buy featuring well-known TV and movie star Tim Allen. The ad, which shows the Volt assembly line snaking...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Volt Hearings: Volt Is Safe, NHTSA "Acted Proportionally""Although we loaded the Volt with state-of-the-art safety features, we did not engineer the Volt to be a political punching bag. Sadly, that is what it's become." That's how General Motors CEO Dan Akerson described the furor surrounding the Chevrolet Volt battery fires. A pack demolished in NHTSA...
Antony Ingram -
OnStar To Help 2012 Chevy Volts Charge When It’s GreenestOne of the biggest criticisms of electric cars is that they only move the pollution from the tailpipe of a car to the smoke stack of a power station. But a new application developed by General Motors' OnStar devision aims to help Chevrolet Volt owners charge their plug-in hybrid when it will have...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
House Hearing On NHTSA, Volt Battery Fire Starts WednesdayOften, timing is everything. So Rep. Darryl Issa (R-CA) and his plans for Wednesday likely aren't helped by the NHTSA's decision last Friday to close its Volt battery-safety inquiry after GM developed upgrades for the Volt battery crash structure and coolant filler, and offered them to all existing...
John Voelcker -
NHTSA Closes Chevy Volt Battery-Pack Fire Safety InvestigationWell, it's all over but the shouting now. This afternoon, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a statement saying it had closed its investigation into the causes of a fire in the battery pack of a Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car. The statement said the agency had...
John Voelcker -
When General Motors launched the Chevrolet Volt in 2010, the state of California decided that it didn’t meet the required emissions standards needed to classify it as an Electric Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emissions Vehicle (e-AT-PZEV). At Launch, No HOV Lane Access As a consequence, the state of California told GM that owners of its 2011 Volt would not be eligible to apply for one of the State’s prized High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane access stickers. Currently colored white, these allow owners of low and zero tailpipe emissions cars to drive in the HOV lane, even if they...
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Chevrolet Tru 140S Concept, Detroit Show Walkaround: VideoAway from some of the bigger green reveals at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, Chevrolet launched two sporty concept cars aimed at younger buyers. The rear-drive Code 130R and Tru 140S concepts caught our attention not just because of their striking looks, but also their fuel-efficient drivetrains. Both...
Antony Ingram -
GM: We’ll Wait Until July To Know If Chevy Volt Is A HitLast year wasn’t a great one for General Motors’ first production plug-in range-extended electric car. Continued negative press -- not to mention post-crash-test fires and production-line upgrades -- conspired to produce first-year sales figures a little lower than GM had hoped. Does...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Chevrolet Code 130R & Tru 140S Concept Small Cars: Detroit Auto ShowChevrolet has continued its trend towards fuel-efficient small cars today with the unveiling of two new concept cars at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. The two cars -- a four-seat, rear-wheel drive coupe called the Code 130R, and a four-seat, three-door, four-seat coupe hatchback called the Tru 140S --...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
NHTSA: Chevy Volt Battery Pack Fix OK, Ends InvestigationOfficials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have said they are happy with the proposed safety enhancements for the 2011 and 2012 Chevrolet Volt designed to minimize the risk of battery pack fire following a major impact. In an interview yesterday at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Animation Shows Chevy Volt Crash Safety Updates: VideoAn animation released by General Motors depicts the modifications to Chevy Volt that will be performed by dealers to strengthen the battery compartment.
Kurt Ernst -
What comes first, the electric car or the solar panels to charge it from? And can you use the money you save from one to pay for the other? We’ve already told you about the benefits you can get from owning both an electric car and installing a photovoltaic solar array on the roof of your house, but for one Florida resident, having a solar array on the roof of his home has helped him to buy a 2012 Chevrolet Volt. Or rather, the excess energy generated by his solar array has helped him buy a 2012 Chevrolet Volt. A few years ago, retired nephrologist Bob Stonerock invested $170,000 in a...
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Chevrolet To Offer Volt Modifications Against Battery Fire RiskGM announced today that it would offer a "customer satisfaction" initiative that provides modifications to roughly 12,400 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric cars to reduce the chance that the battery pack could catch fire days or weeks after a severe accident. The safety "enhancement" is meant...
John Voelcker -
IIHS Sticks By Volt Safety Rating: No Pack Issues After Crash TestsEarlier this year, the public reputation of the 2012 Chevrolet Volt was changed forever after a crash-tested Volt caught fire in wrecking yard belonging to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It didn’t matter either that the battery fire started two weeks after the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
If You Want To Attack The Volt, Try To Get Your Math RightFew things seem to set off a certain part of the political spectrum like the Chevrolet Volt, the extended-range electric car from General Motors. It's been on sale exactly one year, so we think it's rather too early to deem the Volt a success or a failure, though that hasn't stopped its critics...
John Voelcker -
Matt Drudge's Idiotic, Uninformed War Against The Chevy VoltRecently named by Gizmodo as the second most viral person on the Internet (ahead of Ashton Kutcher!), Matt Drudge is the go-to guy for headlines guaranteed to feed red meat to the right-hand side of the U.S. political spectrum. And he hates electric cars. Boy, does that man hate anything with a...
John Voelcker -
2013 Chevy Sonic RS: Detroit Auto Show Debut For Sporty Trim PackageThe 2012 Chevy Sonic subcompact launched this year to largely favorable reviews, including our own (here and here). For next year, Chevy is upping the ante, with a turbocharged 2013 Sonic RS model that's meant to take the littlest U.S.-built Chevrolet into hot-hatch territory. The Sonic RS will be...
John Voelcker