Chevrolet Volt News
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Ed Kjaer is usually the most profane executive at any electric-car event. Blunt, direct, often outspoken, he's known as a go-to guy for real-world perspective on how plug-in cars will start to enter the U.S. auto fleet. Since 1999, he's been the Director of Electric Transportation for Southern California Edison, the 123-year-old electric utility that serves 5 million customers in and around Los Angeles. He's now put 74,000 miles on his daily driver, an all-electric Toyota RAV4e. Kjaer previously worked in marketing for Mazda and for the agency Honda hired to launch Acura. GreenCarReports.com...
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GM's Second Electric Car After Chevy Volt To Be Cadillac ConverjGeneral Motors will follow its 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car with a production version of the Cadillac Converj concept car revealed at this year's Detroit Auto Show. It's been an open question for a while now: What will be the next vehicle to use GM's Voltec series hybrid...
John Voelcker -
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How To Improve Fuel Economy? Raise Gasoline Taxes, Say ExecutivesAuto executives know how to get U.S. drivers to save a whole lot more gasoline: Raise the price of gas, to at least $4 a gallon. That was the message at the recent Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit this week. The simplest way to get U.S. drivers into cars with higher gas mileage is economic: Make it...
John Voelcker -
Biden Blurts Out Fisker Nina Plug-In Hybrid Line: Sedan, Coupe, CrossoverThere's nothing like a little old-fashioned reporter shoe leather, especially when few other automotive media outlets bother to make the trip. Our colleague Gary Gastelu of Fox News traveled down to Delaware yesterday, to cover the official announcement of Fisker Automotive's $18 million purchase...
John Voelcker -
What Color is the Volt?I've often wondered who names the colors of things like the sweaters, paint, and cars. Who gets to decide which shade of red is spicy enough to be "Caliente" or cute enough to be "Valentine" or hot enough to be "Red Hot?" Are there specialists who deal only in beiges and grays, others who are...
Jennifer Knightstep -
Back in April, startup company Bright Automotive unveiled its design for a plug-in hybrid light delivery truck. Now, we've had a chance to drive the prototype, briefly, just as Bright raised its electric range to 40 miles. Our test vehicle was the only Bright IDEA van prototype built thus far by the Anderson, Indiana, firm. We were able to do precisely one low-speed loop on the roof of a Detroit parking structure. Drives...like a hybrid Due to an overnight charging problem, the vehicle's battery was largely depleted and it was running in range-extending mode with the engine on. Remembering...
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Inhabitat Lists Top 5 Modified GreenmobilesDo you ever wish your car came in an electric version? Do you find yourself daydreaming about bio-diesel conversions? If so, the bloggers at Inhabitat have assembled a list of vehicles to inspire you. The so-called "Top 5 Pimped-Out Eco Rides" range from a Hummer H1 stretch-limo to a 1985 Chevy S10...
Robert Scardino -
Electric Cars Are Real Cars: 2011 Chevy Volt Climbs Pike's PeakWe've written before about some of the misconceptions around high-mileage and electric cars, among them that they're essentially glorified golf carts. Now the test engineers for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt have taken their extended-range electric vehicle up the twisty 19-mile road to the top of...
John Voelcker -
MPG Follies, Or, Why Electric Cars Can't Get 367 MPG. Sheesh.One of our most popular posts in August was a piece that broke down how General Motors projected a fuel efficiency of 230 miles per gallon in the city for its 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car. Soon after GM's elaborate press event, Nissan announced with a straight face that their...
John Voelcker -
GM's Electric Car Guru ResignsBob Kruse, who formulated General Motors' long-term electric vehicle plans and whose team helped develop the Chevy Volt, has resigned, ending his 31-year career with the company. The 50-year-old Rochester Hills, Michigan, resident has served as GM's executive director of global vehicle engineering...
Robert Scardino -
Final Aptera 2e Styling Leaked, We Drive the Electric 3-WheelerTo green-car fans, the idea of an ultra-aerodynamic electric two-seater sounds pretty familiar, right? Think the late, lamented EV1 from General Motors, subject of the controversial documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car? But for more than 4,000 people who've put down deposits on the 2011 Aptera...
John Voelcker -
Since it was launched in 1997 in Japan, and 2000 in the US, the Toyota Prius has only been sold as a single body style. From 1997 to 2003, it was a subcompact four-door sedan. Since then, it has been a midsize five-door hatchback, thoroughly redesigned for 2010. Now, Toyota executives told its dealers, the company plans to use the Prius name on two or three hybrid models in the U.S. market. The meeting, held last week in Las Vegas, was open to all Toyota and Lexus dealers and attended by Akio Toyoda, the company's new CEO. New cars, or new body styles? Two possibilities exist. The company...
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August's Most Popular Green Car Posts: What About That 230 MPG?We usually recap our five most popular posts on GreenCarReports.com at the end of every month. We're a bit late for August but, hey, we had a long Labor Day too ... now we're back in business. We replaced most of July's most popular posts, with three new winners in our Top Five. Here goes: # 1: How...
John Voelcker -
2010 Fisker Karma: 67 MPG AND 0-to-62-mph In Under 6 SecondsThe 2010 Fisker Karma will be the world's first production series hybrid, or extended-range electric vehicle, when it comes off the line late this year. Customer deliveries will start next May. Just prior to the Karma's German debut at next week's Frankfurt Auto Show, the company released emissions...
John Voelcker -
Let the Range Extender Wars Begin: Lotus Unveils Tiny EngineWe've written before about upcoming tiny, powerful engines that perform like much bigger versions but get far better gas mileage. Now, British sports-car maker Lotus has used those lessons in an engine designed just for the extended-range electric vehicles of the future. At next week's Frankfurt...
John Voelcker -
Final Version of Production Prius Plug-In For Frankfurt Auto ShowWhile literally hundreds of Toyota Prius owners have laid down thousands of dollars (in some cases, tens of thousands) by now for plug-in conversions, Toyota has proceeded slowly. Now it is showing what it says is the final version of its prototype Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid at the Frankfurt Motor...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Volt Beats Nissan LEAF and Tesla Roadster Using MPGeThere has been a lot of press lately stemming from GM's announcement that the Chevy Volt would get 230 mpg on city driving and Nissan's follow-up announcement that its LEAF EV would get 367 mpg. These calculations were made though using very different measurements and technically aren't...
Lyle Dennis -
Just two weeks ago, we reported that GM's first plug-in hybrid vehicle--originally meant to be a Saturn Vue before GM decided to sell Saturn to Pennske--would become a Buick crossover. My, how quickly things change in the new Internet world. As GM said Wednesday on its Fastlane blog, "not all the feedback was positive." Twitter: #Vuick #Fail! In fact, the idea of quickly renaming the former Saturn Vue as a Buick--by changing the grille and some trim--"received consistent feedback from large parts of all the audiences that it didn’t fit the premium characteristics that customers have come...
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Why is the 2011 Chevrolet Volt NOT a Hybrid?Even after 10 years, hybrid-electric vehicles are still foreign to large parts of the car-buying public. People aren't sure if they're worth the money, they worry that the battery may need replacing, and some still don't understand that you don't need to plug in a hybrid. Well, brace yourselves...
John Voelcker -
Pre-production Chevy Volt Test Ride VideoGeneral Motors has reached the pre-production phase of the Chevy Volt development program. At this point they have built 30 vehicles out of a total of 88 that will completed over the next several weeks. Although not entirely ready for production, these cars are for all intents and purposes about...
Lyle Dennis -
2011 Chevrolet Volt: Talk About Limited Production ...If you're one of the tens of thousands of green car fans excited about the launch of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt electric car, start making nice to your local Chevy dealer. Because the number of Volts built is going to be very, very low for at least its first year of production. Despite excitement over...
John Voelcker -
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How Does The 2011 Chevy Volt Get 230 MPG? By Making AssumptionsUPDATE: GM confirms that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will get 230 mpg city, and a composite fuel economy (city and highway) of more than 100 mpg according to draft regulations being developed at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If the rumors are correct, this morning General Motors CEO Fritz...
John Voelcker