The New Chevy Volt (and Bolt)

[Motown_Johnny]

http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/detroit-auto-show/2015/01/12/chevrolet-volt-leaner-greener/21604913/


^snip^


Volt upgrades

■ Battery: Drivers can cover 50 miles on batteries alone before the 1.5-liter range extender kicks in, up from 38 in the 2015 Volt.

■ Range: 420 miles on a fully charged battery and full tank of regular gas, up from 350 in Generation 1, which requires premium gas.

■ Efficiency: The two-motor electric drive unit is 12% more efficient and 100 pounds lighter than its predecessor. It can accelerate from 0 to 30 m.p.h. in 2.6 seconds compared with 3.2 seconds in the current model.

■ Weight: The battery pack is more than 20 pounds lighter than the one in Gen 1 Volt and there are 96 fewer cells (192 vs. 288).

■ Fuel rating: The new 1.5-liter range extender engine offers a combined highway and city estimated fuel efficiency of 41 m.p.g. (EPA certification pending), up from the EPA-certified 35 m.p.g. in the original.



http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2015/01/10/naias-chevrolet-bolt-electric-vehicle/21551935/

^snip-^

Chevy Bolt EV coming in 2017 with 200-mile range



The Bolt electric vehicle is larger than the Volt and shares its hatchback body style. Batteries from LG Chem would give the car a range of 200 miles on a single charge. The powertrain would be derived from the one in the tiny Spark EV that is sold in California and Oregon.




At $30,000, the Bolt would compete with the Nissan Leaf and the Model 3 that Tesla is working on. The Leaf has a range of 100 miles on a single charge. The new Tesla being developed aims for a 200-mile range.

[n2doc]

1. We shall see what the actual price ends up being

I'm betting it is closer to 40k at dealers. That is one ugly beast, though.

[Omaha Steve]

5. There is still a $7,500 tax incentive on electric vehicles from US Government

State and local incentives can add to that.

[BlueStreak]

52. The Bolt price is net of the incentive

In other words, the base price will be about $37,500.

[Kelvin Mace]

16. What is it with people and how the car looks?

The car looks pretty much like every other car of its size. The question is cost to buy and operating cost. We are trying save the planet not win an auto beauty contest.

[Initech]

26. Yeah you can't really tell from the pictures.

I'm sure it looks way different in person.

[B Calm]

58. Looks 10 times better than a Toyota.

[still_one]

2. I would hope that the 2016 volt would have better rear seating. The current volt is a 4 person car

and two of those folks have to be very small or children

[KeepItReal]

7. The 2016 Volt seats 5 now

Chevy also made an important change to the Volt’s backseat, allowing a third passenger to squeeze back there in a pinch, which is impossible with the current model.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2015/01/12/chevy-and-company-are-coming-for-tesla-but-its-a-two-way-street/

It's actually pretty decent looking, IMHO.

[still_one]

29. That is great. I really like the philosophy of the volt. All electric when local

and gas for longer trips.

[KeepItReal]

32. Me too. I'm glad the styling is improved also.

I was a huge fan of the Chevy Volt concept:



When the production vehicle came out looking like a Chevy Cruze...I was pissed.

The 2016 Volt is OK. With they would put the powertrain in a more sporty body. They tried with the Cadillac ELR, but priced the damned thing the same as a Tesla Model S!!

If I was in the market, I'd consider the Volt until the Tesla Model III is available in 2 or 3 years.

[Motown_Johnny]

44. that is what 3 year leases are for n/t

[KeepItReal]

49. Get out of my head!!

[Motown_Johnny]

54. My friend got his Volt on a 3 year lease

and I think that is up this April (but I am not keeping track and could be wrong).

He was worried about buying into a new technology, and he did have some issue where the battery needed to be replaced. He loves the thing though. So does his wife.

[KeepItReal]

62. I can't wait for the '16 Volt configurator to come online

Will be interesting to see prices and options.

I saw a blacked out volt a couple of times that looked really sweet. Even the Chevy badge was black.

That in the new body would rock...

[IDemo]

3. The Bolt electric vehicle is larger than the Volt?

Did they mean that the battery pack is larger, or perhaps the interior space? I'm not finding specs anywhere, but the appearance is certainly one of a smaller vehicle.

[Kelvin Mace]

17. If it has a 200 mile range

Then it is going to need around a 60kw battery pack (compared to the 18kw for the Volt and the 24kw for the Leaf. Please note that they are still calling the Bolt a " concept " car, and plan for it to ship in 2017, so that is still "iffy" in my book.

My rule of thumb is to discount any claimed ranges by 33% for a real world range.

[IDemo]

23. That's a lot of weight

On the terminology: 'kilowatts', or kW, refers to the instantaneous power output. Kilowatt-hours (kWh) refers to energy, as in the capacity of a battery or the use of power over time by a vehicle (or any electrical load).

[Motown_Johnny]

45. I'm going to the auto show next week

if there is one there (and I assume there will be) I will try to let you know about the size of the vehicle.

[BlueStreak]

53. I think you are right. The Bolt is a subcompact - about like the Honda Fit

The Volt is a mid-sized Sedan. The reason the original VOlt seated only 4 is because they needed the extra space for batteries.

Obviously LG is providing a big improvement in density, and that is a serious problem for Tesla's ambitions.

[Motown_Johnny]

65. I saw one yesterday at the Auto Show...

and it could be that the interior is larger than the Volt, but the vehicle itself is smaller over all.

There isn't anything like a trunk. It kinda looks like a smart car, but bigger. All interior space with nearly no front end or back end. Also lots of glass. t isn't a bad looking little car but I expect some minor changes before it goes into production.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. I Was Hoping For Even Better Mileage

I have a Sebring Convertible that is straight gas engine and i average a pinch under 32mpg. (31.7 the last time i checked it before i garaged it for the winter.)

The extra 10 mpg is great, i just thought it would be even better.

[Motown_Johnny]

15. you need to factor in the electric mileage

that number is just for the gas engine. If you tend to drive less than the range of the battery pack then you will use little to no gas at all.

[ProfessorGAC]

34. Yes, You're Right

I saw Kelvin's reply first, but what i said there applies to your post. You're both correct.

[Kelvin Mace]

18. If your daily commute is 35 miles of so

You will be running on the battery all of the time and recharging in the evening. In that case you are getting about 100+ MPGe.

[ProfessorGAC]

33. A Fair Way To Look At It

That would be me. I live around 12 miles from work.

[Omaha Steve]

6. Video

https://social.newsinc.com/media/json/69017/28342814/singleVideoOG.html?type=VideoPlayer%2FDefault&widgetId=2&trackingGroup=69017&videoId=28342814#.VLP7QpuFz4Q.twitter

[bigdarryl]

9. DAMN!!!! that shit is sweet

[Savannahmann]

10. 41 MPG is not much.

Volkswagen has been getting that from a straight Diesel model for years. The Passat Diesel starts at $27k instead of more than thirty for the Chevy.

I think there is more room inside the Passat. If not to your style, look at the Beetle, or one of the other cars that Volkswagen offers in Diesel and gives you that long range with less money to get it. Granted, Diesel fuel is more expensive than Gasoline. Around me it's about another dollar. But I can buy a lot of Diesel for that ten thousand dollar price difference. I could buy enough Diesel at that one dollar more price to drive. So I could cover nearly 400,000 miles before the Volkswagen became more expensive to fuel than the gasoline powered Volt.

http://www.vw.com/features/clean-diesel/

Almost everything in that list gets at least 41 MPG.

[Motown_Johnny]

12. that is just the gas engine

and does not take into account the ~100 mpge that you get on straight battery power.

The point being that the thechnology is improving quickly. When the next design comes out in a few years it will be better still.

[Savannahmann]

20. My point is that the technology exists today and we ignore it.

In another reply I mentioned an engine that is very popular in europe. The Three Cylinder Diesel engine in the Polo Blumotion series. It's in other cars too, but it gets more than seventy miles to the gallon of fuel. Why don't we have that engine here? Well, the Government won't authorize it.

Then there was the four cylinder diesel engine that Toyota used in Japan and Europe in their small trucks. Do you see any diesel powered small trucks in the US? I'm talking the small pick up trucks. Nope. Because the Diesel engines have to be enormous to meet the requirements of the Government. Bigger engines burn more fuel.

How about the three cylinder engine available in Smart Cars in Europe? Nope.

What we do is smash up cars from Europe as unsafe when they arrive on our shores without the proper US mandated safety stuff.

http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/video-gallery/2014/12/cbprime-video-mini-cooper-inspection-and-destruction

Yes. That Mini Cooper was a big threat to our national security. We can't allow that car to run on our roads.

How about an Audi that gets 83 MPG on Diesel? No, you can't have it in the United States, but it does exist.

http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/aud-a1-facelift-news-and-pictures-2014-11-14

So when we get the next technological development, that cost twice as much as what is available now, and still delivers less than the technology we aren't allowed to have, what will you say then?

[Motown_Johnny]

41. I say that fossil fuels are going the way of whale oil.

It is an outdated way to produce energy which will eventually come to an end.

I'll agree that we are behind on diesel powered vehicles but safety and emission standards are both good things. Honestly, I would love to see a diesel power plant as the generator on the Volt. They are so much more efficient when producing electricity than gasoline that not having that option is beyond me. There is a reason why train engines are diesel-electric.

I am just very pro new technology and especially when it comes to vehicles. I love seeing this big a leap forward in the Volt. If you looked back 5 years the only EV you could find was the Leaf. Now there are so many I can't even remember them all.

For me this is a glass half full.



P.S. I had a friend with a 3 cyl. rotary engine in his little car. I don't remember what it was, a Mazda maybe, but there are/were 3 cyl. engines here in the U.S..

[BlueStreak]

56. Europe is moving away from Diesel

Diesel engines have better mileage mainly because there is more energy content per gallon. And in the US, there is a huge price premium for the Diesel fuel (not so much in Europe).

But there are continuing concerns about the air quality and I believe some cities are banning Diesel cars from the central city.

GM's gas engines are a little bit behind Ford and Toyota, both of which have moved aggressively into Atkinson Cycle engines. But the effective mileage with the Volt will be around 100 MPG for most people, so really it isn't a problem.

[KeepItReal]

13. The 50 miles range in all-electric mode is key for the Volt.

That should suffice for most folks' daily commutes.

The full range of the new Volt can get me from SF to Los Angeles without having to stop for gas at all. That's pretty cool.

[Savannahmann]

19. LA to San Francisco is about 400 miles right?

The Passat Diesel has a range of over 700 miles on a tank of gas. So you could go there, and nearly all the way back, without tanking up. Way cool right?

Oh, and I saw a show where they drove three cars from Switzerland to England on one tank of fuel. Two of them were Diesels, including the Polo blu motion car. That got more than seventy miles to the gallon on a three cylinder diesel engine that is banned in the US.

Yes, three cylinder Diesel engine. More than seventy miles per gallon. And we'll never see it here in the US because the Government thinks that a 1.2 liter three cylinder engine is not powerful enough.

[KeepItReal]

28. However, the Passat is burning oil 100% of the time.

I like the option of going fully electric for the majority of my driving. The new Volt is trying to make that happen.

Ideally, I'd go for the Tesla Model S 85... 200+ mile range on its battery and then free rapid charging via Supercharger network for longer road trips. Never have to spend a dime on petrol...

[rgbecker]

30. Is it the Government or the Auto Media?

Have you link to this story? Would like to read more.

[Savannahmann]

38. You think it's the media keeping 83 MPG engines out of the US?

Audi is owned by Volkswagen. Volkswagen has a plant in the United States. Why would Volkswagen not give us the engine other than Government standards?

The Blue Motion series of cars has been available in Europe for more than ten years. We import cars from Europe, but none of them make the boat. Toyota and Nissan provides diesel engines in Europe, Asia, and South America as well as Africa. Yet, here, they are going with Cummins to power their larger Pick Up trucks.

http://cumminsengines.com/cummins-5l-v8-turbo-diesel

So why would they have to buy a 5.0 Liter engine here, when they produce several different Diesel engines already?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota#Japan

Is it cheaper to buy an engine here? Perhaps. But why don't they offer the same 2.0 and 2.2 Liter diesel engines they provide to Europe? Are our environmental regulations concerning emissions more stringent than Europe? No, they have CO2 taxing based upon the amount produced. Yet even Ford produces Diesel versions of their cars in Europe that are not available here.

Is Ford in on the Conspiracy driven by the Media to keep Diesel engines out of our hands?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_EcoBoost_engine#EcoBoost_I-3

Available in Europe, a three cylinder engine that is not available at your local Ford dealer.

Well Perhaps GM doesn't have any small Diesel engines that they produce.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Medium_Diesel_engine

Damn. a 2.0 liter diesel engine produced by GM for Opal in europe. Well, perhaps we're too stupid to realize that that the future version of the engine will be a 110 horsepower 1.2 liter four cylinder diesel engine.

How about an article on the line up of Vauxhall cars that all have exciting new engines in Europe, GM is Vauxhall. The Astra Diesel is the standard police car for police in the UK.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/vauxhall/63557/vauxhall-reveals-radical-new-engine-strategy

A brand-new 1.6 CDTI engine will be introduced first on the seven-seat Zafira Tourer in early summer, before being rolled out across the entire range with power outputs ranging from 94bhp to 158bhp. With its all-aluminium block, stop-start and clever tech such as a two-stage oil-pump and high-pressure fuel injectors, it returns fuel economy of 68.9mpg and emissions of 109g/km, while covering 0-62mph in 11.2 seconds.

Read more: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/vauxhall/63557/vauxhall-reveals-radical-new-engine-strategy#ixzz3OdUAetNM

So why do you think we don't have the technology I'm talking about? Why are we even ignorant of it as a nation? Why don't we have an engine that provides decent performance, excellent economy, and proven reliability? Go to your GM dealer, ask them for the engine. I'm sorry, it's not offered in the US. How about the eight cylinder massive hunk of metal that cranks out enough horsepower to pull start the planet instead?

[Kelvin Mace]

21. To compare apple to apples

An ICE car that gets 41 mpg is getting 1.2 miles per kilowatt of power (a gallon of gas contains 33.7kw of energy). An electric motor running off its batteries gets 3+ miles per kilowatt depending on how you drive it. I am averaging 3.5 right now with my Leaf, so I am averaging 3 times the mileage of most hybrids.

If you stay running on the Volt's batteries, you will do fines. The gasoline engines just gives you peace of mind and range when you need it. I will believe the Bolt when I see a it on the lot.

[dumbcat]

37. "...a gallon of gas contains 33.7kw of energy..."

It's 33.7 kW-Hr. Energy is measured in kilowatt-hours. Kilowatts is power.

Apples to apples, please.

[Kelvin Mace]

61. Excuse me, my imprecision

you are correct.

[Fumesucker]

57. That would be like saying a gallon of gas contains 42 horsepower worth of energy

When obviously a gallon of gas could easily power a 500 hp engine.

You are using the wrong units to talk about electricity.

A gallon of gas will produce 42 horsepower for one hour, 42 horsepower hours, or one horsepower for 42 hours, 42 horsepower hours.

Likewise a 33.7 kilowatt hour battery pack will produce either 33.7 kilowatts for one hour or one kilowatt for 33.7 hours.

[Kelvin Mace]

60. Huh?

Based on actual driving I have determined that a kilowatt kilowatt hour of electricity in my car is going to get me 3.5 miles. By converting a gallon of gasoline potential energy to kilowatt kilowatt hours (33.7) I can make a comparable comparison to my ICE car. If it gets 40 MPG, that works out to about 1.2 miles per kilowatt hour of energy. So, an electric motor is almost 3 times more efficient using the same amount of energy.

A gallon of gasoline may power a 500 HP engine, but it won't do it for long compared to a 140 HP engine. Electric motors are far more efficient at converting energy into motive force than an ICE, which loses a LOT of energy to heat.

Now, we could get into a discussion about the inefficiencies of the power grid, but that is a different argument.

Update: I see my error, I meant kwH. My apologies.

[roody]

59. I want the VW diesel hybrid.

[KeepItReal]

11. Here are actual images of the Volt and Bolt

The 2016 Chevy Volt:




The Chevy Bolt concept car:

[dilby]

14. 20 years ago there was this car.

1994 Geo Metro XFI

Combined MPG: 47

City MPG: 43

Highway MPG: 52

MSRP New under $7,000

[Kelvin Mace]

22. True

But no air bags or anti-lock brakes. I drove one on the highway and it could be a very white knuckle experience. And the road noise was awful. If the highway had a high percentage of such cars, i would have been cool with that.

$7500 adjusted for inflation is $12000 today. I have seen 2 year old Leaf's going for $16K with less than 25,000 miles and they have double the MPG equivalent mileage.

That said, it was an excellent city car.

[dilby]

24. Look at todays bare bones Smart car

It only get's 34 city / 38 hwy and it's actually smaller than the Metro with an MSRP of $13,270. You would think 20 years later we would be getting more fuel efficient not less.

[Kelvin Mace]

25. You would

But we have seen some tightening of crash test rules which have added weight, and weight is the enemy of fuel economy. Also, the SmartCar aerodynamics suck. I test drove one and it is a tin can with wheels. I seriously would not want to be in a crash with one of those, even with airbags.

That said, overall things ARE improving. There are now 25% more vehicles getting 30+ MPG on the road than there were in 2007' so that is reason for hope.

[Motown_Johnny]

42. Smart Cars are made by Mercedes Benz.

The Geo Metro didn't last long because is was a toy of a car. Comparing the two isn't like apples and oranges, unless the apples are made of silver and the oranges are made of tin.


Plus, 7000 in 1994 dollars is ~11,188.90 in today's dollars so that toy car wasn't quite as inexpensive as it might seem.

http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=100&year=1994


Also, the safety requirements and emission standards are higher then they were 20 years ago. The increased safety may lead to lower insurance premiums, that should be considered along with the base price of the vehicle.

13k isn't a bad price for that car. It has limited uses but is affordable for single young adults who are buying their first new car.

[Kelvin Mace]

46. I will say that the SmartCar (IMHO)

is not Mercedes best work. Loud, uncomfortable to drive, and just too small to feel safe in except for urban driving below 40 mph.

I would drive a Yaris or a Fit before an SC.

YMMV.

[peabody]

35. I got a Geo Metro once as

a rental car when I visited Ann Arbor; and you're right. That was a white-knuckle ride. That puppy was so light that I couldn't really drive it safely around turns at a decent speed. Plus, I was just praying that I wasn't going to get hit by another car because it felt like that car would buckle like a soda can.

[JCMach1]

39. Geo was like driving a go-kart

scary on the interstates...

[progressoid]

27. My daughter drives a 90 something GEO Prism.

Bigger than the Metro but still gets about 35 mpg.

[Mister Ed]

50. The Prism was a re-badged Toyota Corolla.

And so, a very durable and reliable car, as your daughter's experience attests.

I think the Geo Metro was a re-badged Suzuki. I'd have to check.

[tblue]

31. We have a Volt and LOVE IT!!!

Uses hardly any gas. It's a beautiful thing and u highly recommend it!

[JaneyVee]

36. I love the Volt. Don't have one but it's very eye catching.

[Kelvin Mace]

48. I am looking at it to replace

our next car in a few years, though I will by used rather than new.

[Mister Ed]

51. Used Volts can be had at bargain prices, I think.

The auto dealer near my house has had one on the lot for the past few weeks, priced at $17k. Fully loaded, with 37k miles on it.

[hunter]

40. Is it possible these new electrics are related to the oil price collapse?

It's something to think about.

Of course if oil is inexpensive, people will tend to buy more gasoline powered cars, especially in places where electric power grids are unreliable.

We shall see.

Mostly I think the shale oil boom was a bubble. A lot of the money invested in it won't return as profit to anyone but the lawful swindlers of Wall Street who took a cut of every transaction without accepting any of the risk.

[Motown_Johnny]

43. it takes years to develop a vehicle

the drop in oil prices can't last long enough to change the long term trend.

[Kelvin Mace]

47. Nope

The EVs have been in development for about a decade (two decades if you count the GM EV-1). They relied on oil being high and electricity cheap, though cheap is relative. The national average for electricity is $0.12 a kwH, but some places are as high as $0.20. Once gasoline goes below $2.28 a gallon, it starts to become cheaper than electricity in some ICE cars.

I do think that we are on the cusp of a shift to EVs in the auto industry over the next decade. 2017 is a key year. Nissan plans to ship a Leaf with a 150 mile range, GM claims it will have the Bolt with 200 miles at $30K, and Telsa will have its battery factory in operation with a planned 500,000 battery packs per year production capacity.

Batteries are still looking at incremental improvements, despite all he we hear every month about a "breakthrough" technology.

[Motown_Johnny]

55. Don't forget the Ford Focus EV, the Kia Soul EV, The Chevy Spark EV,

and the other ones I am forgetting.. I know there are more.


Chrysler seems to be the only major auto maker without an EV. I wonder just WTF they are waiting for.

[KeepItReal]

63. Fiat owns Chrysler...their only electric is the Fiat 500e

And they don't even want to you to buy that:

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief executive Sergio Marchionne has an unusual request: Don’t buy the Fiat 500e electric car.

During an appearance in Washington, D.C., Marchionne said electrifying vehicles comes with a high price tag, and the automaker sells the 500e at a loss.

“I hope you don’t buy it because every time I sell one it costs me $14,000,” Marchionne told a crowd gathered at the Brookings Institution. “I’m honest enough to tell you that.”

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2014/05/23/fiat-chrysler-ceo-dont-buy-fiat-electric-car/

[PasadenaTrudy]

64. Smart EV...n/t