Chevy Volt Options

[T1no]

http://www.insideline.com/nissan/leaf/2011...ral-public.html

[Jedi2155]

It takes about 10 hours to charge a fully depleted Chevy Volt battery with a standard electrical outlet, though less than half that with a 240 volt outlet. While the car goes zero to 60 in an unremarkable 8 seconds or so, it still feels zippy when accelerating (full disclosure, the Chevy driving partner said I was being "wussy" with my accelerating).

[Jedi2155]

Basic breakdown and test drive of the Volt from Scobles.

[Jedi2155]

I'm #25 or so on the list for a dealer getting 23 vehicles. He mentioned he will be selling it AT MSRP so thats a good place to get it...official pricing is rumored to be released tomorrow.

Dealer Order form is here already:

http://gm-volt.com/2010/07/26/chevrolet-vo...dard-equipment/

Electric drive unit, Voltec (estimated: 150 hp [111 kW] motoring power, 273 lb-ft of torque [368 N-m] motoring torque, 74 hp [55 kW] generating power Engine , Range Extender, 1.4L Internal Combustion Engine (estimated: 80 hp [60 kW]), requires premium fuel

Premium Fuel WTF?

Color Options:

Silver Ice Metallic, Black, Crystal Red Metallic Tint,
White Diamond Tricoat, Cyber Gray Metallic, and Viridian Joule Tricoat.

Available options include a premium trim package with leather-wrapped steering wheel, leather trim seats, and graphic door inserts. There is a rear view camera/sensor option, and a polished 17 inch wheels option.

Yeaaaaaaaaahh!

[MrBlah]

Richard most "luxury" cars require premium fuel. Almost all bmw's, mercedez and high end audi. So that doesn't surprise me. However that is kind of funny how a car that's all about mpg uses premium...

[kuhla]

Premium fuel is usually cleaner burning.... yes? no?

[Jedi2155]

Not sure, but I was talking about it today with our mechanic and he explained knocking as a second combustion at the opposite end of the piston usually causing the two forces to counteract each other and also probably causing an incomplete combustion cycle. So yeah I would probably lean towards cleaner burning as well if not at the vest least more efficient.

[Jedi2155]

They're going to have green accents Andrew....

[kuhla]

They're going to have green accents Andrew....

Which would be cool if it wasn't an overpriced, underpowered, american prius wannabe.

[Jedi2155]

Overpriced yes...underpowered not so much... Prius wannabe yes/no (mostly no.)

[Jedi2155]

It seems as if demand for the Volt is sufficient enough for GM to increase production from 30,000 vehicles to 45,000 vehicles for the model year 2012....

http://gm-volt.com/2010/08/03/how-gm-decid...duction-volume/

“On the first day of the pricing announcement over 70,000 people visited GetMyVolt.com,” he said. ”Over 25,000 people added their names to the Volt enthusiast list,” he added.

Though there was some negative press and opinion about the $41,000 ($33,500 net) MSRP, the strikingly affordable $350 lease payement and the ability to for dealers to order the car induced a surge of interest and action. On GM-Volt.com over 30,000 people visited the site that day, and regular traffic volume has remained elevated since then.

*edit added Volt fuel efficiency numbers*

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/me...olt1_qd_047.jpg

184.3 - 40 mile All Electric Range (AER)
144.3 miles Gas
144.3/4.3 gallons gas
33.56 MPG
300 mile extended range / 33.56 MPG
8.94 gallon fuel tank as rumored by many to be the final gas tank size of the vehicle.

Based on these numbers I think they're going to get anywhere between 32-35 MPG on the EPA test cycle during Charge Sustain mode. Despite everything else I love about the vehicle....those numbers are abysmal and reinforces the idea that I think GM's engineers on their gas engines are vastly inferior to the competition.

In terms of best overall power train efficiencies, I think Ford followed by Toyota has some of the best gas engine designs for efficiency while German automakers for diesels of course.