Chevrolet Volt News

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt

    Phew. Yesterday was quite a day indeed in Chevy Volt land. A bevy of news items hit the wires, following Monday's offer of loaner cars to Volt owners who weren't comfortable with their cars' safety until the NHTSA finishes its investigation into battery-pack fires in cars that had been wrecked in crash tests: CEO Dan Akerson said (maybe) that the company might redesign the Volt's battery pack The company offered to buy back any Volt from owners with safety concerns who no longer wanted their cars (Esquire editor David Granger wants one, please) GM's sales chief officially admitted Chevy won't...

  • Ryan Reynolds Nissan Leaf Spokesperson
    November Plug-In Car Sales: Volt Sparks, Leafs Fall

    It's the first of the month again, and that means: It's sales report time! Last month, Chevrolet sold 1,139 Volts and Nissan sold 672 Leafs. The November numbers bring totals for 2011, with only December left, to 8,720 Leafs delivered (plus 18 last December) and 6,142 Volts (plus 326 last...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt on test in Little Rock, Arkansas, July 2011
    Chevy Volt Electric Car Owners Most Satisfied, Consumer Reports Says

    Despite the NHTSA inquiry into battery-pack fires following severe crash tests of the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car, the car's 5,000 or so owners to date seem to be unworried. Comments on Volt owner forums largely dismiss worries about any risk of fire during accidents, and many owners...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe
    Would A 'Vette Tempt You Away From Your Electric Volt?

    With GM's generous offer of a free loaner vehicle should you be concerned about the safety of your Chevy Volt, we're sure many will take the opportunity to pick a car with similar utility. A Cruze or Malibu, perhaps. Maybe even a Sonic if economy and around-town trips are a priority. Some people...

  • Cadillac ELR
    No, The Electric Cadillac ELR Will NOT Have Rear-Wheel Drive

    We follow plug-in cars pretty closely here, and occasionally we manage to break stories. One was the production green light for the Cadillac Converj electric car concept, confirmed by GM as the Cadillac ELR coupe just six days later. So when we see an article that's ... let's say implausible ...

  • Chevrolet Votls for sale on eBay
    Buying An Electric Car: Pay More Now, Or Wait A Bit?

    As demand for electric and plug-in cars continues to remain high, many dealers and some private individuals are offering cars like the 2012 Chevrolet Volt on auction sites like eBay. With “Buy-It-Now” prices well above the starting sticker price of $39,995, these Volts pose an...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt during IIHS crash testing

    A few weeks ago we told you about a 2011 Chevrolet Volt which had caught fire in a storage yard three weeks after it was subjected to an official National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash test. But after a second Chevrolet Volt caught fire at the NHTSA test labs last week following a test designed to recreate the circumstances of the first, General Motors has announced it will be writing to every Volt owner in the next few days to offer them the chance to swap their Volt for another GM vehicle until formal investigations have been concluded. Loan cars offered The announcement came...

  • 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, production model
    Where Do Hybrid, Electric Cars Sell Best? We Find Out

    While hybrid and electric cars are becoming more popular throughout the U.S., it isn’t a secret that buyers in some areas are more keen to buy a hybrid or electric car than others. Now NPR has published an interactive map detailing just where electric and hybrid cars have proved popular this...

  • Chevrolet Volt arrives in China for use at World Expo 2010 Shanghai
    Chevrolet Volt Ready To Go On Sale In China, Priced At $75K

    General Motors has revealed the eight Chinese cities in which the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car will be sold. The Volt will go on sale in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan towards the end of this year. However, with GM not keen to hand over some...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt
    Chevy Volt Electric Car Buyers Unfazed By Fire Reports

    While a handful of Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric cars have been destroyed in fires, potential Volt buyers are not deterred by sensationalist media reports around the blazes, says trade journal Automotive News.

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt
    Chevy Volt To Qualify For California HOV-Lane Access In 2012

    Chevrolet announced today at the Los Angeles Auto Show that its Volt extended-range electric car will qualify for solo access to California's HOV lanes, a feature deeply desired by many of the state's car buyers. A 'Low Emissions Package' will be fitted as standard equipment to all Volts sold in...

  • Jay Leno Celebrates 11000 MIles In His Chevrolet Volt
    One Year, One Talk-Show Host, 11,000 Miles, And No Gasoline

    Talk-show host Jay Leno might own everything from vintage Model T Fords through to large-engined, gas-guzzling supercars, but it turns out his daily driver is the 2011 Chevrolet Volt he purchased last year. And in that time, Leno says, he hasn’t visited a gas-station once. Since collecting...

  • car on fire

    The fire marshal investigating a Mooresville, NC, fire that engulfed a 2011 Chevrolet Volt electric car has concluded preliminarily that the car was not the source of the fire.

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt destroyed in Barkhamsted, CT, garage fire; image from WTNH News 8 report
    Third Fire Consumes A Chevy Volt Electric Car: Perspective

    Neither GM nor the NHTSA has been able to replicate a fire that occurred in a wrecked Chevrolet Volt three weeks after it was demolished in an NHTSA crash test.

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt
    GM Relents, Lets Dealers Sell Their Volt Demonstrators, Today

    Year-end sales figures are looming ever closer, and the critics of the GM bailout and all thing electric-drive are already drafting wrapup stories about how the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car has been a sales disaster. So Chevy has taken off the gloves. The company said it would allow...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt charging port
    Should Chevy Volt Owners Worry About Charging Fires? Utility Says Yes, Common Sense Says No 

    A fire in Mooresille, North Carolina last week involving a 2011 Chevrolet Volt has led Duke Energy to advise its customers against charging the plug-in hybrid at home in case it starts a fire. But is the advice justified, or just another example of what happens when irrational fear of a new...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt on test in Little Rock, Arkansas, July 2011
    2012 Chevy Volt Owner Goes Head-To-Head With Fox News, Survives

    If we could name one person who epitomized those who hate electric cars it would be Fox News’ Senior Vice President of Business News and presenter Neil Cavuto -- but in a recent segment on his show Cavuto met his match in the form of 2012 Chevrolet Volt Owner Eric Rotbard. Playing off the...

  • 2012 Ford Focus Electric launch, New York City, January 2011 - Nancy Gioia
    Ford Focus Electric Vs Chevy Volt: Which Would You Buy, And Why?

    Well, now the news is out: The 2012 Ford Focus Electric, the company's first-ever mass-market battery electric vehicle, will be priced at $39,995. Perhaps not coincidentally, that's exactly the price of the 2012 Chevrolet Volt, crosstown rival GM's extended-range electric vehicle (achieved by some...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt on test in Little Rock, Arkansas, July 2011

    New-car sales figures are out for October, and in the plug-in electric car arena, Volt supporters can let out a muffled cheer. Finally. The hometown favorite outsold the imported Nissan Leaf by almost 260 units, the first time in many months it's been able to best the battery electric hatchback from Japan. During the month, Nissan sold 849 Leafs, bringing in the 2011 total to 8,048 (plus an additional 18 during December 2010, when Nissan sold its first 2011 Leaf). The company continues to be on target for meeting its goal of 10,000 or more Leaf sales during calendar 2011. Nissan spokeswoman...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    Electric Cars A Failure? Ha! They've Driven 35 Million Miles

    If you read only certain subsections of the "news," you might be forgiven for thinking that plug-in electric cars have been a sales disaster. They haven't. The Tesla Roadster, Nissan Leaf, and Chevrolet Volt are all built in quite small numbers, and their sales have been commensurately low...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt
    Which Cars Are Getting Traded In For Electric Cars? We Find Out

    In the last nine months, we’ve seen over 10,000 plug-in cars sold in the U.S. alone, with Nissan taking the lion’s share of new plug-in car sales with its 2011/12 Nissan Leaf. Mass-produced electric cars still very much a niche market, so anyone buying one can be legitimately thought of...

  • 2012 Chevrolt Volt Gas Station Advert
    2012 Chevrolet Volt V 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid: Which Is Cheaper To Drive?

    If you need a plug-in car that is capable of traveling long distances between charges but can’t afford the 300-miles per charge option offered by the 2012 Tesla Model S, the chances are you’re looking at buying a plug-in hybrid. But which of the two main plug-in hybrids on offer today...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt drive test, March 2011
    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...

  • Hertz electric-car rental press event, New York City, September 2010
    Hertz Says 'We Need More Electric Cars' After Year Of Rentals

    Hertz has now been renting electric and plug-in cars for almost a year, and the company has learned some lessons along the way. Among them: "We need more electric cars!" Specifically, "We've got about 50 electric cars in our fleets now, and we could use another 2,000 to 3,000 if we could just get...

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