Chevy Volt
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It just may be the most minimal safety recall in history. General Motors said yesterday it would recall precisely four 2012 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric cars to fix a potential problem with a brake component that could have safety implications. As reported in The Detroit News, the company identified a defective brake-pressure modulator valve after investigating a failed part returned under warranty for a Volt exported to another country. The failure of that modulator could lead the electronic stability control system not to function properly under emergency braking, compromising the...
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Electric-Car Price War Heats Up: Chevy Volt $5,000 Cash Back
Last month, the Nissan Leaf passed the Chevrolet Volt to take this year's top spot among plug-in electric cars for sale. Now Chevy is fighting back. It announced that it will offer $5,000 cash back on remaining 2012 Volt range-extended electric cars, and $4,000 on 2013 models, according to...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Vs Chevy Volt: Owner Compares Electric Cars
I've been leasing a 2011 Chevrolet Volt for almost two years now. And about three months ago, I took delivery of a 2013 Tesla Model S, the 60-kWh version. So I've gotten an extended first-hand look at arguably the two most technically advanced production cars in the U.S.--and the two best-selling...
David Noland -
Buyer's Guide: 2014 Plug-In Hybrids From Toyota, Ford, Honda & More
Not all plug-in electric cars rely on battery power alone; some also have gasoline engines as backups, for longer range or more power. Last year, we identified six plug-in hybrid vehicles on sale during 2013. This year, the list gains three new entries (from BMW, Cadillac, and Mitsubishi) and loses...
John Voelcker -
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...
John Voelcker -
2016 Chevrolet Volt To Get Three-Cylinder Range Extender: Report
Range-extended electric cars are a great idea, mixing clean electric running for the majority of drivers' commutes, with an extra few hundred miles of gasoline running for those longer trips. As we alluded to last week though, the engine isn't always perfectly optimized for its task, often a...
Antony Ingram -
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 havoc and confusion than intended. As quoted in the British magazine AutoExpress, Sedran suggested that 18 to 30 miles was "enough to get you in and out of town," after which the range-extending engine could kick on for any further travel. He was referring to the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera, effectively a...
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Would You Like To Buy A Tank Of Gas For $2.50? (Video)
Suppose you went to the gas station, filled up your car or SUV, and then the pump said you had to go inside to pay. And suppose that even though your total was $40 or $50 (maybe more), the cashier smiled and charged you ... $2.50. What would the expression on your face be? That's the premise of a...
John Voelcker -
2014 Cadillac ELR: Volt-Based Luxury Coupe Winter Testing Video
Winter testing is a vital part of developing a new car. Just as cars are expected to perform in the hottest conditions and face testing in arid places like Death Valley, cold-weather capability means owners in colder climates won't face any shocks either. That's particularly relevant for...
Antony Ingram -
Does $5K Tool Really Cause Chevy Dealers To Drop Volt Electric Car?
If you were a car dealer, would you decide not to sell a plug-in electric car because you had to buy a $5,000 tool to service it? We didn't think so. Late last year, trade journal Automotive News wrote a story saying that a few Chevrolet dealers have stopped selling the Chevy Volt range-extended...
John Voelcker -
Predicting Chevy Volt Sales: Is California Inventory The Key?
Analyzing electric-car sales numbers and prognosticating on them is somewhere between a parlor game and a black art. Now one blogger has applied some Nate Silver-like statistical analysis to try to divine predictive patterns in sales of the Chevrolet Volt, the range-extended electric car that's...
John Voelcker -
Hertz Adds Chevy Volt To Car-Sharing Service, Targets Students
Car rental firm Hertz got in there early with electric cars, saying as far back as 2010 it would put the Nissan Leaf on its fleet. Several plug-in models have followed, and for its newest initiative, Hertz is targeting younger drivers. A Chevrolet Volt has joined the University of Connecticut's...
Antony Ingram -
How much electric range is the "right" amount in a plug-in hybrid or range-extended electric car? If you're a fan of battery electric vehicles, the answer is "all of it." But if you want to drive most of your miles on electricity, and still have the security of a combustion engine as a backup for long-distance travel, the answer may vary. Our reader Jim Bradbury explained last year why he chose a Prius Plug-In over a Chevy Volt--because of the length of his commute and the car's larger interior space. Other buyers will rank their priorities differently, but this year, they can choose among...
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Chevy Volt And Opel Ampera: Europe And China Sales Too
The Chevrolet Volt is by far the best-selling plug-in car in the United States. Last year, it represented almost 45 percent of all plug-in electric cars sold during 2012. But how's it doing outside the U.S., compared to the Nissan Leaf--which is sold globally in North America, Asia, and Europe?...
John Voelcker -
Short On Chevy Volt Knowledge? QR Code Sticker Can Help
New technology is brilliant. Just look at smartphones, for example--the world's information in the palm of your hands, with the ability to talk, text and take photos when the mood takes you. Or the Chevrolet Volt--38 miles of electric range, with the peace of mind of a gasoline engine backing you...
Antony Ingram -
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...
John Voelcker -
Boeing 787 Batteries Same As Those In Electric Cars? Umm, NO
Gird yourself: It's possible we're about to see a new wave of attacks on electric cars that ignore battery science. This time the culprit is the troubled Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The FAA has grounded all 787s after a string of fires in their lithium-ion battery packs; other countries have...
John Voelcker -
How Bad Were The Nissan And GM Electric-Car Sales Shortfalls?
If 2011 was the year of overoptimism for electric-car sales, and 2012 was Sophomore Slump after the inevitable shortfall, will 2013 be the year of realism? That really depends on what the world's leading electric-car maker, Nissan, sells this year. Let's recap. Several years ago, Nissan said that...
John Voelcker -
Sometimes the glass is half empty, sometimes it's half full. For the future of electric cars, count Bob Lutz on the half-full side--most likely containing a very nice Scotch. Lutz is not only the former GM product development czar, but the man who pushed through the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car that launched two years ago this month Yesterday, Lutz weighed in on nay-saying about electric cars in a Forbes opinion piece titled, What's Gone Wrong With the Electric Vehicle Market? Nothing. His third paragraph unloads both barrels: Fond near-term visions of millions of EVs plying the...
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Two Years In A Chevy Volt: 12,000 Miles, 26 Gallons Of Gas
Two years ago tomorrow, Jeff Kaffee took possession of his keys and became the very first person in the U.S. to buy a Chevrolet Volt. Since then, the retired pilot from Parsippany, New Jersey, has put almost 12,000 miles on his range-extended electric car--using just 26.1 gallons of gasoline while...
John Voelcker -
100 Million Electric Miles Driven By Chevy Volt Owners
Friday evening, when perhaps not a lot of people were watching, a virtual odometer ticked over on the Chevy Volt website. At that hour--about 7 pm Eastern--it showed that Volt drivers had covered 100,000,000 miles on electricity in their range-extended electric cars. (The actual total is about 25...
John Voelcker -
Electric Cars Represent U.S. Jobs, Says Michigan Governor Granholm
Want to support American jobs? Then support electric cars. That's the message from former Michigan governor, Jennifer M. Granholm. Granholm was governor of the state when $1.35 billion in grants were offered, in order to develop and build electric vehicles and their batteries. Writing in the...
Antony Ingram -
GE To Add Ford Plug-In Hybrids To Fleet Of Volts, Other Electric Cars
General Electric is adding a large fleet of 2013 Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrids to its growing fleet of plug-in and electric vehicles. The 2,000 Energi models will join GE's existing fleet of Chevrolet Volts and other plug-ins. The deal is Ford's largest delivery of plug-in vehicles so far. For...
Antony Ingram -
New Onstar App Lets Chevy Volt Drivers Compete On Electric Miles
It happens already: Chevy Volt owners compare their lifetime electric miles, how long they've driven without using gasoline, and their lifetime gas mileage. Now Chevrolet is formalizing the competition, with plans to release a mobile phone app that lets owners register and compete with each other...
John Voelcker