GM Claims Volt Owners Seeing up to 1,000 Miles Range without Filling up

General Motors says owners of the Volt are driving up to 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) before they need to fill up. “A sample of our early Volt customers suggest that they drive 1,000 miles before they fill up the gas tank,” Tony Posawatz, vehicle line director for the Chevrolet Volt, told Bloomberg news.

However, the official driving range of the Volt, measured by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is much smaller than the GM executive's claims. The Volt's electric-only driving range is 35 miles (56.3 km), with another 344 miles (553.6 km) possible as the gasoline generator kicks in. The combined range therefore sits at 379 miles (610 km), way below the claimed 1,000 miles.

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GM Claims Volt Owners Seeing up to 1,000 Miles Range without Filling up

General Motors says owners of the Volt are driving up to 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) before they need to fill up. “A sample of our early Volt customers suggest that they drive 1,000 miles before they fill up the gas tank,” Tony Posawatz, vehicle line director for the Chevrolet Volt, told Bloomberg news.

However, the official driving range of the Volt, measured by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is much smaller than the GM executive's claims. The Volt's electric-only driving range is 35 miles (56.3 km), with another 344 miles (553.6 km) possible as the gasoline generator kicks in. The combined range therefore sits at 379 miles (610 km), way below the claimed 1,000 miles.

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GM Reportedly Readying Buick Version of Opel Ampera

Sure, the Opel Ampera is nothing more than a Chevrolet Volt with some extremely mild cosmetic changes, but doppelgangers have always had a very special place in the wonderful world of General Motors. If Bloomberg’s inside sources are right, GM is currently looking into the development of a Buick-badged version of the plug-in hybrid Opel Ampera. According to people familiar with the project, the Buick model could go on sale in 2013, if the plans goes ahead.

Given that the styling changes over the Chevrolet Volt would be limited to a Buick-specific grille and bumper designs, one of the most significant problems GM faces is how to justify the car and its higher price tag which would be in excess of the Volt’s base MSRP of US$41,000 not including a $7,500 federal tax credit.

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Chevrolet to Sell Volt in Europe, Priced from €41,950 or €1,000 Less than the Opel Ampera

Chevrolet announced at the Geneva Motor Show that it will sell the Volt in Europe, with prices in Germany starting from €41,950 (US$58,560). It will be similarly priced in other European markets, where it will arrive in November 2011.

The Volt's sister car, the Opel Ampera, will also go on sale this year in Europe, at a slightly higher starting price. Unveiled in final production form at the Geneva Show, the Ampera will cost €42,900 ($59,885), but prices can vary in different countries depending on the standard equipment.

Chevrolet said the Volt would be fully equipped with all the usual safety and convenience features, plus leather seats. As in the US, European buyers will have an 8-year/160,000 km warranty (100,000 miles) on the powertrain and the lithium-ion battery.

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Chevrolet to Sell Volt in Europe, Priced from €41,950 or €1,000 Less than the Opel Ampera

Chevrolet announced at the Geneva Motor Show that it will sell the Volt in Europe, with prices in Germany starting from €41,950 (US$58,560). It will be similarly priced in other European markets, where it will arrive in November 2011.

The Volt's sister car, the Opel Ampera, will also go on sale this year in Europe, at a slightly higher starting price. Unveiled in final production form at the Geneva Show, the Ampera will cost €42,900 ($59,885), but prices can vary in different countries depending on the standard equipment.

Chevrolet said the Volt would be fully equipped with all the usual safety and convenience features, plus leather seats. As in the US, European buyers will have an 8-year/160,000 km warranty (100,000 miles) on the powertrain and the lithium-ion battery.

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Chevy Launches MyLink Infotainment System in Response to Ford's SYNC

The 2012 Chevrolet Volt and Equinox models will be the first to offer Chevy MyLink, an in-car infotainment equipment that integrates internet radio, hands-free, voice and touch-screen controls, all of which can be accessed via Bluetooth connectivity.

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The Biggest Threat to the Chevy Volt are...Rats?!

Okay, readers: hands up if you like rats. No, not the cute white ones you see in science labs or can buy at pet shops. I’m talking about the sewer-dwelling, disease-carrying ones that invade your house to eat, poop and scare your misses.

What if I told you those same feral rats are not only a danger to your home but also to your brand-spanking-new plug-in hybrid extended range electric vehicle? How’s that grab you, hmm?

So a month ago , the automotive mavens at Kicking Tires were handed the keys to a new Chevrolet Volt. What’s that got to do with rats, you ask? Well, in a move that some at the office have labeled, “karmic justice” and others have labeled, “bloomin’ rats”, a member of the repressed rodent classes has attacked Kicking Tires’ futuristic loaner and rendered it befuddled. *Gasp!*

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Opel Ampera EV Police Cruiser: Volt's European Cousin Getting Ready for Patrol

If there's one way to kick-start sales of specialty vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt and its European counterpart, the Opel Ampera, that's by enlisting the government as one of your clients. And with a starting price of €42,900 (about US$58,000 at the current exchange rates) in Europe, GM's Opel division will need all the help it can get to sell the Ampera.

Well before the Ampera hits European showrooms at the end of the year, Opel is already exploring the possibility of a police package for its range-extended electric vehicle. According to the company, the Ampera could be the perfect police car for urban use.

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Poll: Should GM give in and call the Volt a hybrid?

Apart from the humorous articles and the plethora of eBay finds we come up with, Ngawoer Blog’s bread and butter is automotive news straight from the manufacturer. And as such, we read a lot of press releases. In all the ones I’ve read, General Motors refuses to call the Chevrolet Volt a hybrid. It’s a range extended electric vehicle.

I speculate that it might have something to do with hybrids being uncool (so sayeth GM CEO Dan Akerson) or to avoid comparisons with that other hybrid. You know, the one made by the world’s other biggest car manufacturer.

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EV Owners in California to Feel the Shock of Higher Electricity Rates

Woe betide the electric car. Outpaced by their petrol-powered cousins in the 1900s, saddled with heavy and potentially dangerous batteries in the 1970s and crushed in the name of the Almighty Dollar in the 1990s, it’s been a rough road from there to here.

And now, on the dawn of a new age where electric cars seem poised to take their rightful place alongside gasoline cars, the electricity companies are about to throw a wrench into the works. If you live in California and intend to buy a plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius or Chevrolet Volt or an all-electric Nissan Leaf, you could be in for a...shock.

If the energy giants have their way, the Chevy Cobalt, which would have to rate on my list as one of the least desirable cars built by GM, is more economical to own or operate than any of the above. The reason?

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Chevrolet Speeds Up Volt Rollout, will be Available Nationwide by the End of 2011

The Chevrolet Volt is currently available for sale only in a few states across the U.S., the reason being that GM was initially cautious and wanted to probe customer interest first. It turns out customers like the plug-in hybrid / extended range model (take your pick) more than anticipated, so Chevrolet today announced that it’s fast-tracking the national roll-out to match customer interest.

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Proposed Bill to Increase Number of Plug-in Hybrid and EVs Eligible for Federal Tax Rebate

Michigan congressmen Sander Levin and Carl Levin proposed a new piece of legislation on Wednesday, which would potentially increase the number of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles eligible for the $7,500 tax credit from 200,000 to 500,000 per manufacturer.

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