It was a great GM GT weekend, 29-30 Aug 2009. At the American LeMans, Corvettes came in 1st and 3rd, with a Ferrari 430 2nd and Porsche GT3 RSRs 4th and worse. At the Daytona Grand-Am, it was a Pontiac GXP-R in 1st and a Porsche GT3 in 2nd. How many people realize that Corvettes and Pontiacs from GM are beating Porsche GT3s in complex races? What does this have to do with the Chevy Volt? I love the Chevy Volt. I love the Fisker Karma even more, because I want to see great eco efficiency and great performance. For me, the ideal car from GM would provide Corvette performance, Volt efficiency, and cost less than $55,000 loaded. Hey, Bob, when?

Like other posters, I say Scrap the combined EPA mileage system. It is meaningless. Instead advertise 2 figures, All electric and after all electric range has been exceeded. This is a hybrid that has 2 driving modes, everyone understands that. Don't try to pretend it has only one.

If I drive 40 miles to work and there is no place to plug in to recharge how do I get home without using the gasoline engine?

I think the technology deployed on the Volt can be applied to a whole range of vehicles including a light commuter vehicle that, using the same motor and drive system could travel 60 miles on a single charge due to being lighter. Bringing a car into the mainstream will completely change everyone's thinking and I, for one, can't wait.

Realtom

midcities,

Thank you for this PHEV link. I tried earlier to find the methodology for determining the EPA's MPG for the ER-EV on their website but couldn't.

Did something wrong on the link. Hope this works better.

http://avt.inel.gov/pdf/phev/phevtestplan.pdf

Many are asking/conjecturing as to how GM pulled the 230MPG out of the air. They used the Dept Of Energy's
PHEV Test Plan. Many vehicles have already been tested by the Government on this plan. The GM Volt is a preproduction unit and the government says it has to be a production unit. Next summer the government will be willing to test.

You can go to the following link to see how plugin's are to be tested. You need to pay attention to the chart
showing mileage, cycles, city, hiway, etc. They even provide the charts that have to be used.

http://avt.inel.gov/pdf/phev/phevtestplan.pdf

continued...
Part 2 of 2


Now for the calculations:
8kWh x $0.09882 = $0.79 for every 64 kilometers. But then we add the extra electricity that it took to get past the charger which is either 70% or 80%; thus, the figures are:

70% efficiency:
$0.79 +30% extra electricity = $1.03 per full 8kWh battery charge equaling 10.4kWh needed from the electrical outlet;

80% efficiency:
$0.79 +20% extra electricity = $0.95 per full 8kWh battery charge equaling 9.6kWh needed from the electrical outlet.


Now let’s say it takes 8.8kWh to charge the Chevy Volt’s battery from what the Chevy Volt’s computer program is programmed to perceive as empty and full:

8.8kWh x $0.09882 = $0.87 per perceived charge; then for the extra electricity needed to get past the charger:

70% efficiency:
$0.87 + 30% extra electricity = $1.13 per full 8.8kWh battery charge equaling 11.44kWh needed;

80% efficiency:
$0.87 + 20% extra electricity = $1.04 per full 8.8kWh battery charge equaling 10.56kWh needed.


So, it would cost Torontonians anywhere between $0.95 and $1.13 per charge throughout the year.
That’s $0.86 to $1.03 United States dollars per charging, using today’s exchange rates without fees.

In the winter it might cost less, but then it will cost you more to get the battery to optimum temperature before you can travel with the Chevy Volt on a cold morning using only the battery as the source of electricity, or else the engine will turn on and warm up the battery before using it as an exclusive source of electricity. The winter cost will be significantly less if your summers are brutally hot & humid and want an air-conditioned vehicle before you leave home.

If you like to have a fully defrosted vehicle in the morning without inhaling gasoline exhaust fumes then the Chevy Volt will be a very pleasing and comfortable vehicle for you and anyone else. I personally have problems in the winter when defrosting a vehicle from removing the ice and snow, because my esophagus closes instantly in the presence of exhaust fumes from a cold engine. That is no way for me to start a trip.

I was poisoned continuously from exhaust fumes leaks for a long time as a truck driver. When I drove the Appalachian mountain range lengthwise with an 80,000lbs load, I would burn 200 to 240 gallons of diesel each day. While hauling a load up a mountain I would get a fraction of a mile per gallon yet the air flow is less and the exhaust amount is more, which meant even greater leaked concentrations entering the cab. Even lawn mower fumes will close my esophagus. I want all daily vehicles to eventually have zero emissions. The Chevy Volt is the best start for all climates and distances, no doubt about it.

As I mentioned in a earlier post, this Chevy Volt will evolve. I made a comment in a CTV.ca article about entire homes being powered with water as its energy source. Chevrolet has said this vehicle already has a second and third generation in testing mode and prices will go down. But do understand this, the Chevy Volt is equivalent to a powerful V6, and cannot be compared to a peep-squeak Toyota Prius.

I value my health, it is worth a lot.

Carl,

Good points of concern. I want to let you now there are winter benefits for the Chevy Volt. You may use more electricity running your Chevy Volt in the winter because of lights and heating, but you will use less electricity in the winter to charge your Chevy Volt each and every time!

How is that possible? Well, if you don’t have a heated garage or if you keep your Chevy Volt in the drive way in a Canadian winter then electricity will flow through the plug-in charger with less resistance because if there is any heat buildup during charging, which there always is, it is quickly dissipated because of the cold Canadian winter; thus, electricity flows easier through the plug-in charger and you'll need less electricity from the electrical outlet.

If you use the 110Volt plug-in charger then it will take less electricity to charge the Chevy Volt than the 220Volt, but it takes longer and then the electricity rates might vary from hour to hour; assuming both plug-in chargers are constructed to the same high standard. If you use the 220Volt plug-in charger the utility company will charge you less per kWh because it took less time in a certain time slot; thus, you could financially optimize your electricity bill by charging the Chevy Volt in the 3:00AM-6:00AM low-cost- time-slot, but the 220Volt plug-in charger generates more heat; therefore, there is more resistance, and since there is more resistance for electricity to travel it will take more electricity to get past the plug-in charger in order to charge the battery. You might have to do your own calculations in the winter and summer for optimal choice charging with either 110V and 220V chargers, which will consist of: time slot, length of time (choice of charger) and recording your SMART meter usage if it is available and in use in your area.

Some blogger-loggers have ballpark estimated that the Chevy Volt’s plug-in charger will be about 70%-80% efficient, which means only 70% to 80% of the electricity the plug-in charger is drawing from the electrical outlet will actually make it to the battery for charging. If their estimates are correct then charging a battery that needs 8kWh of electricity will actually draw 9.6kWh to 10.4kWh of electricity from the electrical outlet.

The biggest city in Canada is Toronto. Toronto Hydro charges 6.6 cents per kWh for anyone that uses more than 600kWh per month. Here’s a current sample of the Toronto Hydro price list:

Electricity Charge:
Electricity per kWh: 6.6¢ (for those that use more than 600kWh per month; 5.7¢ per kWh for the first 600kWh).

Delivery Charge:
Transmission Charge:
1.05¢/kWh
(charge for transporting electricity from the electricity generating plant to Toronto)

Distribution Charge:
1.432¢/kWh.
(charge for transporting electricity from Toronto to the individual’s home)

Regulatory Asset Recovery Charge:
- 0.041¢/kWh
(cost for maintenance of their equipment)

Lost Revenue Adjustment Charge:
- 0.018¢/kWh
(cost for advertising on TV to tell you to conserve electricity during high demand and in essence you save money.)

Shared Savings Charge: - 0.021¢/kWh
(yep, you get charged for saving)

That equals: $0.09882 per kWh.


part 1 of 2
continued...

All of the buzz about the Volt is very exciting but the only thing I am waiting for is proof that this vehicle and its electric systems will function well during a Canadian winter when one must run the headlights going to and from work and operate the defrosters front and back and heat the interior of the car. I cannot see how the car will go 40 miles when all the accessories required for winter driving must be used. I regularly drive 20 miles each way and have no place to plug in at my destinations. I would foresee doing a large percentage of my commutes with the engine turning the generator. I will only try one out when I get the chance to test it in the winter, preferably between Christmas and New Years when we usually have the coldest week of the year.
It might be interesting to see if the mileage figures can be stipulated for a cold winter.

WOW, when I heard that 230 miles per gallon. I want one but I'd like the concept model, sporty. This car is much better in styling than what comes from ASIA. :-) Can't stand that bland style and shape.

We love our phones so please consider this to be included as standard eqpt in the Volt:

GM has to include an iphone and Palm and Blackberry and Nextel interface to attract sales.
Make a choice of interfaces standard (maybe make it modular so dealers can easily swap in the correct interface) so all "Smart Phone" people will have a place to easily snap their phone in to use speakerphone and music playback features with a simple snap in of the phone (it would be charged also of course). By snapping it in using the phones connector there would be no wires to get in the way.
You can do it GM !!!
thanks

Thanks Bob and Thanks to all the American engineers, programmers, designers, shop guys and gals, interns, apprentices, and all others involved in developing this exciting new thechnology here in the US at both GM and other firms.

I eagerly await a chance to sit in and to drive a Volt as soon as my local Chevy dealers get one and possibly at the 2010 New York Auto show that I attend every year in April.

I always have and always will buy American Big 3 cars and I see no reason to switch at this point. I have owned all three brands and have never had any complaints about any of them. They got me to work every day when I turned the key in rain snow and heat.

Ron_1 and Nate,

Well said, Nate.

I agree, the miles per kWh rating should be the electric vehicle's rating at an agreed upon government formulae, which incorporates a road course; kWh being the yardstick and not '100miles'.


Further note:
The gallons per kWh should be the gasoline ICE and electricity generator rating at an agreed upon government formulae. The electric generator design can change the MPG rating as well as the choice of gasoline ICE.

The vehicle's MPG rating should only apply to vehicles that have a gasoline energy source (not power source), which should strictly be determined by the road course, odometer, gasoline fuel use and the initial full operational battery, because that is reality for majority of people who will be getting into their electric vehicles in the morning. Sure we can have another rating without the initial full battery rating, and should, but the whole point of a MPG rating is to see how many miles they can get from a gallon of gas when you leave home.

Actually we could have about ten different ratings on the window sticker for a Chevy Volt, since it has two sources of electricity for city, highway and combined use;
city with full battery (1);
city without full battery (2);
highway with full battery (3);
highway without full battery (4);
combined with full battery (5);
combined without full battery (6);
miles per kWh city (7);
miles per kWh highway (8);
miles per kWh combined (9);
kW hours per 100 miles (10).

Anyone want to see the Canadian version?

Nissan using their own or someone else's MPG rating for an electric vehicle that uses a battery as its only source of energy is an embarrassment to that automaker, which Nate was hinting at.


Maturing of the Chevy Volt:
The EV-1 did its job. Plenty of research and data material I hear from GM went into the Chevy Volt. I assume the focus will not be on the Chevy Volt's electric motor, but will now be on the electricity generator and the switching between to two energy sources; gas ICE and battery. Once the electricity generator is no longer the main focus than replacing the gasoline ICE with a zero emissions energy source will be the coming of age for the Chevy Volt! It will be a grown healthy man!

The electric Nissan Leaf is on a 100 mile leash. The all electric powered dual-energy-source Chevy Volt, however, well, "You can see the entire U.S.A. in your electric Chevrolet!"

Ten bucks says Nissan won't hire me!

Earl,

Thanks for your info.

To fully charge a Chevy Volt, at the moment, will either be 8kWh or 8.8kWh. We'll pick 8kWh for the sake of the battery's warranty; thus, you would pay: 8kWh x $0.15 = $1.20 your currency dollars. Maybe Fritz's calculation was using the Chevy Volt's "decide when to overnight charge" feature, which economically optimizes charging the battery at preferred low electricity rates. Maybe Fritz's utility company purchases electricity from one of Canada's utility companies and pays less because of the difference in the dollar exchange rate, or his overnight electricity rate is that low. Maybe he has a locked in fixed rate plan with a utility company from a few years ago.

Cmon people get aboard with Going green in any direction is good,think about all the big city commutes where people are sitting in traffic jams and putting millions of gas engine poluting gases into the air we breath.I realize this will not make oil bearing buddies of ours richer than they already are.But think of it this way shouldn't they share the burdens of living as well as everybody else.

I don't see any problem with releasing estimated Volt test results early. If Toyota released similar test estimates early on, you can bet people would have been appluding it as "A gift from God to everyone".

GM has made an unfortunate mistake - discussing test results prematurely - before the tests or even the test guidelins or specifications have been finalized.

Simply retract the claim or add a bold disclaimer - further testing required. End of story!

The mpg critics need to think about the customer usage in the urban areas and not debate the calculated EPA rating. Believing that most customer drive cycles are less than 40 miles and they plug in daily, those customers will rarely burn any gas....It's a good thing!

Without knowing how this is calculated it is irrelevant. How many miles a day does the EPA schedule assume you drive? It must be more than 40 miles or you would have infinite MPG.

Stating that the composite number is expected to be in the triple digits still does not tell me much. The composite number assumes 55% city and 45% highway driving. With 230 MPG city you could get 1 MPG highway and still have a triple digit composite number.

The number that matters most to me is the fuel economy you get after you have driven the 40 miles the battery will take you. How many MPG will I get on my 500 mile trip? I will bet it is not in the triple digits.

I followed the link to Frank Weber’s “answers” to questions on the fuel economy numbers and as far as I am concerned he did not answer any of the questions people are asking. The only thing I got out if it was that the 230 MPG number is based on the car being plugged in every night. I could have guessed that much.

Now I hear that the upcoming Nissan Leaf will get 367 MPG. Since it is electric-only, how insane is that? I wonder how many MPG my cell phone or cordless drill gets! This upcoming standard makes as much sense as sentencing a mass-murder to 300 years behind bars. If this number is going to mean anything at all, I will restate my belief that the new electric vehicle mileage stickers need to show two values: The number of miles you can drive exclusively on battery power, and the MPG of any driving done when a gas-powered generator is running. Anything else will be completely meaningless to consumers!

The 230 MPG figure should be stated as - based on the EPA study of drivers, the typical driver of the Volt, who recharges nightly, should be able to drive 230 miles and only use 1 gallon of gas. Of course if I would drive less then 40 miles a day, recharge nightly, and never use any gas that would yield an infinite MPG (division by zero). So I think the figure should be stated differently. I like - Based on EPA calculations certain drivers will only use 1 gallon of gas every 230 miles, your mileage will vary.

Boy, some people sure have a lot of time on their hands.

Hmmmm.... triple digit miles per "Gallon" from a car that doesn't use gas as its primary source of power. . .

Yep, a car company owned by the Government - a "Recipe for Truthiness" if I ever saw one.

MRW is incorrect when he/she says that "ICE is only for recharging the battery." When the battery charge reaches 30%, the ICE kicks in to directly power the electric motor, not recharge the battery. The Volt does have some battery / circuitry to act as a load buffer, but that is not the same thing. In other words, you will not be able to sit with the ICE idling away while it recharges the battery.

I am also guessing that the Volt's range-extended mode mileage will turn out to be adequate (30ish MPG) rather than Prius-like (40-50 MPG). Why? Two reasons. First, the Volt will have 400 lbs. of depleted batteries to haul around, which is like having two large adults in the back seat at all times. Second, I don't believe that a gas engine powering a generator powering an electric motor turning the drive wheels is more efficient than a gas engine directly turning the drive wheels. An analogy would be a person riding an exercise bike where the belt or chain turned a large room fan. I don't think that having the belt / chain turn a generator which in turn would power an electric fan would be more efficient. If that were the case, why not make all cars that way sans the Volt's expensive battery. That is, put electric motors in all cars and have them 100% powered by a ICE turning a generator, with only a small battery to act as a load buffer. We'll see.

So all this taxpayer money going to better advertising huh? The viral ad 320 was a disaster. Who told you it would be ok to create hype and mislead people. At least you should have laid out all the scenerios for the public to create realistic expectations. I have pieced this together from another site What’s 320:

Drive the car 100 miles ON A FULL CHARGE and you burn 1.2 gallons, so 100/1.2 = 83 mpg
300 miles ON A FULL CHARGE – ~63 mpg
50 miles with NO charge – 50 mpg

This shows that the same long entrenched guys are still in control and just naturally spin the truth without even realizing it – or maybe they do. Time for some outsider to come to GM like Ford did with Mually. I was beginning to trust you guys and now I realize we are playing with snakes. In a way the idea of a Moonshot is appropriate, but you bet the farm on this Volt and did not know whether it would beat the Prius in pure ICE mode. Looks like it might which is a great gamble. I imagine as you can simplify and perhaps put in a smaller lighter engine it will get better.

I still thing the Volt looks too much like a sport small Malibu and very corporate. There is not a lightness and delight in even an odd persona that endears or repulses like the Prius or Leaf. The Volt early adopters will want this kind of uniqueness. I say have the courage to delay the Volt until v2 is ready and a better design. Just before you do that create a mysterious viral ad for a new product that will eventually be revealed as the EV2. The ipod of electric city cars that will endear it with the owners - generating true passion and even candlelight vigils. You really need an EV2.

Looks like some people think the Volt will be driven by an ICE when the battery charge is low. ICE is only for recharging the battery. Think generator.
Great job GM - the goal is to reduce our reliance on oil. This innovation does that with technological innovation that enhances our lives (some think the solution requires us to go back to horse & buggy days, or to driving golf carts).

5.Fritz Henderson said this morning that it ‘costs 40 cents to recharge’ the Chevy Volt’s battery, which can travel for 40 miles on the battery alone. That is a cost of one penny per mile! You can visit California with your Canadian piggy bank!

I pay about 0.15$kwhr. The battery is recharged to 85% of full capacity. That would be 16kwhr*0.85 or 13.6kwhr. My cost to recharge the battery would be 13.6kwhr*0.15$ or 2.04 dollars. You need to keep Fritz better informed.


You also need to state mile per unit of energy instead of MPG.

Earel

I tend to agree with BryanC above. The 230 mpg claim will be a source of ridicule when the actual gasoline-only mileage figures become available. In fact Conan on the late show made fun of the 230 mpg claim last night, with a quip that the car had to be rolling downhill. Har de har har. However, the question that we should answer is just what is the Volt's fuel consumption rate after the initial charge from the battery is depleted. If that number is 50 mpg or above, then we have a winner. If not, then it will be somewhat of a disappointment.

Oh and please lose the tutone black roof. It does nothing for the car except add to the cooling load.

Numbers to ponder on the subject of MPG. The Saturn 5 rocket which sent the Astronauts to the moon. approx 960000 gallons of fuel. 238,855 miles to the moon. Approx. 4 gallons per mile. Most of that was used up leaving earth orbit. I think 230mpg will be awesome but would like to know how the numbers are calculated.

Hi everyone,

I'm Doug Wernert from the Cheverolet VoltAge team. Frank Weber, the vehicle line executive for the Volt, did a Web chat yesterday where he answered a number of questions about the Volt's mpg. Here's a link: http://www.chevroletvoltage.co...weber.html

I'm a GM employee voicing my own opinion.

I'd like to point out that the MPG numbers being quoted are specified by the government. The numbers being quoted are developed using the government's mandated rules and this includes converting electric driving range to an "equivalent" mpg.

By the way, the same issues affect every hybrid vehicle that can drive in "all electric" mode regardless of manufacturer.

Hope this helps clear things up a little.

d

WOW! the Chevy Volt. Hu, we the people will never be satisfide as long as we live in this capitolist society money rules the oil companys that volt is still ancient technoligy.

Ron_1,


There is NO such thing as all electric MPG. Its a bogus made up term. If you are talking energy per mile then thats one thing but this idea of MPG in an electric vehicle is pointless. If you take the miles / gallons and you use no gallons you have an undefined MPG. My calculator spits out Error as should everyone else's.

People should be talking in miles per kWh since this is how you buy energy from the utility companies. And on that note if you want to compare to MPG you should use equivalent MPG to relate the energy used to the energy in one gallon of gasoline.

I wish people would understand this and at very least express MPG as equivalent MPG when talking mileage.

How about a new Unit? eMPG?

If the battery is not fully charged then I will not be getting the 230, correct? I keep forgetting to charge my cellphone until the "battery low" icon shows up. Will the VOLT also send a message to my cell phone whenever its battery is low.

Hi Bob,
Today I heard that the Nissan Leaf fully electric vehicle will get 367mpg for a price tag in the "low 30000s" with a range (all electric) of 100 miles. Based on my understanding, I'm attributing this to the lighter weight of the car and probably slightly larger batter. Do you forsee GM making an all electric car to fit into this part of the market? Perhaps a Chevy Spark all electric version that is lightweight, small, aerodynamic and gets almost 400mpg. This would be great for GM's image and seems pretty straightforward considering that you guys have already designed an electric platform.
Ron

I would say this Viral campaign failed since it created more confusion and hype about the Volt. So much for GM
openness. They could come out with a statement. If they did their own test in city ratings surely they did pure
highway ratings. Why not state that figure GM?

First off the mileage rating is useless because you (GM) are effectively misleading (and potentially lying) to consumers. If the volt was purely electric it would get an undefined fuel mileage (as per the rules of math Miles/0 = undefined or Error as my calculator shows). This is basically telling consumers the car costs nothing to operate (at least from a marketing perspective).

Miles/Gallon is a useless comparison for an electric car and such a high composite mileage rating a flat out marketing slight of hand. The new rating for composite fuel economy is completely useless in the real world where people have to pay for electricity. I'm wondering what idiot came up with the composite rating. People care about MPG for carbon emissions and for cost prediction of their purchase. For this reason composite ratings are useless. What is my NET carbon footprint including the carbon generated from the generation process of the power I buy? What is my net cost per mile driven in this wonderful composite rating. I think if people look at this the REAL picture will be shown. Not the marketing hyperganda that people are reading now.

GM want to get smart and actually market the VOLT right?

How about a web page where you enter your zip code and it calculates the best range, and cost per mile of the new Volt. Then people wouldn't even have to think about their power rate and do any of the tough math.


If you think these triple digit numbers are amazing please get an education... this is marketing propaganda. GM won't show the real numbers.

If nothing else, this abstract mileage number -- and really, when haven't the EPA mileage estimates been real-world accurate -- has exercised the algebra circuits of every shade-tree mechanic across the fruited plain.

If I were the judge, GM wins the automotive X prize !!!

Maybe that's not fair. Maybe GM did not enter the contest.
But a triple digit combined mileage makes the contest a moot point.

Congratulations to the Volt Team! You are all Great Americans!

Well, I'd say that this will bring new meaning to the phrase "your mileage may differ" !

PLEASE tell me this car isn't going to cost $40,000 like most sites are advertising. In most cases the cost to go green never equals the cost to keep a standard gas car unless you plan on keeping the green vehicle for up to 7+ years.

The first hybrid car that is SLIGHTLY higher than the same gas vehicle will be the best seller in the US. Think about it, the Chevy Volt is about the same size as a Chevy Malibu. Who would pay $20,000 more for this vehicle other than the greenest of greenest people?

Mr Lutz, I hope you won't let the discussion about VOLT get bogged down in the methods of calculating some mpg figures. This car is just an awesome leap forward. As one who has recently read your book "Guts" I am hoping you can recreate the wave of feelings that were cooked up by the Viper. Perhaps of a different temperature, though.

Don't you let the pocket protector possies go on about the obvious, which is that it's hard to say how fuel efficient a new type of car like VOLT really is. It's not a BMW 507, but I am astonished.

And I hope I didn't make any lexical errors, Sir.

Good news, But it looks to me like a useless number, It will be great if you put like

EV range : 40 miles and and 4 miles/kwh ( city)
Extented range mode mpg : x mpg ( once battery is at SOC the miles it can travel with one gallon of gas )
May be it will be good to put Extented range mode mpg after battery is completely depleted also.

Same for high way also.

The reason is for who commutes less than or equal to 40 miles a day no gas is needed.
Now the question is for a 200 mile commuting person what is the mpg ? ( ex: a sales guy or a long trip )

The News Is Out: Chevy is first again with the Volt’s 230MPG government rating!

http://chevroletvoltage.com/index.php/Blog/the-news-is-out.html

This is the piece of information I wanted to know but thought it should be left until the launch of the Chevy Volt because of competition reasons, but since the U.S. Treasury has another automotive company to worry about then providing this amazing news will be a relief to those who made decisions at the treasury department to print extra money for good reasons; nevertheless or more, the EPA gave us their standards and the mileage figure is 230MPG! Congratulations, Mr. Bob Lutz! It looks good on you, and all your co-workers! We are in first place with a vehicle that can travel from coast to coast! “Drive across the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet!”


To the fellow posters:
This is the information I understand to be correct and the computer number crunching confirms it (I do understand some of the GM employees have been quoted in media with answers that are slightly different numerically, but were all the questions asked of them the same way to each employee, and where the quotes correct?);

1.The Chevy Volt’s battery is 16kWh of energy at full capacity.

2.The Chevy Volt’s battery will recharge to 85% capacity, so as to pamper the battery for the 5year/150,000mile warranty.

3.The Chevy Volt’s battery will stop as the primary source of energy for the electric motor once it depletes to 40% charge; thus the gasoline ICE (internal combustion engine) turns on and starts spinning an electricity generator to provide energy for the electric motor.

4.The Chevy Volt will take 8.8kWh to recharge; hence, the rounded 25kWh per 100 miles of battery travel figure that Bob Lutz quoted. There was a joke during this morning’s press conference with Fritz from one of Canada’s future television motor vehicle magazine show journalists that will be named “Motoring 2010” regarding the “point eight (.8)” factor. Go ahead, Google it, you’ll see the show doesn’t exist yet. These journalists know more than what they print and say. It’s there guaranteed way of making themselves look good when the big news day arrives, proving they did their homework.

5.Fritz Henderson said this morning that it ‘costs 40 cents to recharge’ the Chevy Volt’s battery, which can travel for 40 miles on the battery alone. That is a cost of one penny per mile! You can visit California with your Canadian piggy bank!

6.The figure that was never officially confirmed from GM was the Miles Per Gallon (MPG) rating for the gasoline ICE when spinning the electricity generator after switching over from the depleted [40% charge] battery. They couldn’t have given people an official MPG figure until the government decided what formulae would be used. The limited discussion in the media and automotive community was about how to go about choosing a standard to determine what the means or formulae to use in determining the mile per gallon calculations. Thanks to the EPA we now know that the Chevy Volt will get 230MPG! When I was thinking about what formulae should be used I always had the ‘stop light factor’ in mind and the ‘set ICE revs’ in the over-production-of-electricity factor when spinning the electricity generator when not fully needed; therefore, the extra electricity created when not needed would go to the battery and then used when needed for acceleration (don’t forget these are all my thoughts), and the third factor was the electricity generated from the electric motor slowing downing the Chevy Volt with its degenerative acceleration (electric-motor-braking-electricity-generation are better words to use). Engineers have said the 53kW electricity generator is ample amount of electricity, but the motor is rated at 111kW. I would think if I were to stomp on the pedal during ICE operation that some of the amps of electricity needed will come from the battery that was earlier stored from the extra electricity created; therefore, when calculating the possible MPG formulae I was thinking about all the electricity generation factors that is truly derived from the use of the gasoline ICE. So, when calculating the CITY rating for the Chevy Volt it will be a huge difference than the HIGHWAY rating because of the fact there will be stop and go electricity generation created in city driving, as opposed to the straight highway driving and its near full energy reliance of the electricity generator. But, it could be possible that GM tweaks the revs of the gasoline ICE to produce a little bit more electricity to charge the battery; if GM doesn’t then Tim Allen’s character buddies with a computer will! You know why his character buddies will tweak the computer program? To reduce smog in the destination city! :)

Yahoo, GM! I’m sending my resume!

Slavko Miladinovic
http://www.facebook.com/SlavkoMiladinovic

Way to go GM! The Volt appears to be an awesome vehicle, and I can not wait to drive one. You have made the new EPA test cycle for fuel economy inadequate in just 1 year after its release. But please allow me to sound critical (and hopefully slightly amusing to the technically inclined too) for a few lines about your claim of breaking the triple digit MPG EPA rating.

Based on the simple "230 MPG city EPA rating" for the Volt, the EPA is having a difficult time with the test criteria for PHEV/EREV vehicles. Of course, the EPA may have made a scientific breakthrough to measure electrical energy in gallons...but somehow I doubt. If they did make this breakthrough...how many ounces of the gallon is electrical energy? And if I were not informed, I also would guess that the Volt will not be designed for highway use since a "MPG highway rating" was not announced at the same time.

Please explain to the marketing team that the “230 MPG city EPA rating” is to get the car buyer's attention ONLY...and EVERY GM Volt team member work overtime to explain the details of EREV to the every single journalist and car buyer. First though...GM Volt techincal guys...please explain the details to your team mates.

Congratulations on the 230 number. It's super, and as someone who played a key role in getting the Volt to production you should be gratified. Take a bow.

However, while we love you, part of what we love is the plain talk. Are you serious with 25 kWh being "half what a typical household uses daily"? I can see that type of usage in Phoenix in the middle of summer but I don't think too many houses use 19,000 kWh of electricity a year. Per capita use is something like 12,000 kWh but that's for all uses (business, etc.). Yearly household use is (at most) something around 8000 kWh per year or about 22 kWh per day.

This figure (230 mpg) is misleading if not outright false. It requires external energy from the power net. There can be no direct comparison with the usual mpg figures as listed on the sticker mandated by the EPA. An new and better method needs to be developed to account for the energy used, from whatever source, to reflect the actual efficiency including components such as transmission losses. The 230 mpg does not reflect reality and cannot be used for useful comparisons.

TWO-THREE-ZERO (230) WOW, AWESOME, OUTSTANDING!!! As a consumer, I'm so proud of General Motors, and ALL who are making this automobile of the future a reality in 2010. Finally, we can really begin the long journey that will bring independence from foreign oil. IF. I said "if" the Chevrolet Volt is priced for the masses instead of the upper-upper middle class, and above.
I'm very optimistic with the Federal Government being a partner of General Motors this will happen. Together, consumers, the government, and General Motors reaching unselfishly for the same star we will be a shining example for the world to see. WE CAN DO IT!!!

I think Coffeetime said it best. Like the progress bar on a computer. It isnt really GM who generated this number, it is the EPA. GM, I'm sure will exploit this number, though who could blame them. What needs to happen is to have two separate numbers on the window sticker, one for electric and one for range extending. This way it would be much more clear. But ultimately it's the EPA's call not GM's.

Completely disagree with BryanC (except about kWh quibble.) The 230 number if explained as mileage you can get IF you drive beyond the 40m EV range. I would use the EPA methodology: 40m EV + 11m (EPA comb. cycle)total 51 miles traveled consuming approx. .22 gallons gasoline. Or 80% EV (charge depleting) and 20% charge sustaining mode. This can be illustrated in video scenarios where a guy has a 25 mile commute each way. The last 10 miles (assuming full charge at outset) going home will kick on the extender/charge sustain mode. He burns .22 gallons gas (about 50 cents) yielding an average 230 MPG. This explanation addresses people who may worry about using the range extended mode (for whatever reason) though numbers will change for long trips.

I think Bob, Rick, GM have done a damned good job pulling this project together. The enthusiasm at GM and around the dealers is palpable. Never easy to teach the old dog new tricks and the vision shown by this team has been laudable. Keep up the great work guys - you've got an army of friends behind you.

I like to look at it this way. At 30 mpg and $3.00 a gallon for gas, this equals 10 cents a mile. In the Volt if it costs me 18 cents a kilowatt (that should be my cost in southern California) that comes to $1.44 to go about 40 miles. This equals 3.6 cents a mile.

The important part is if the electricity comes from non-polluting sources then I generate zero pollutants. I believe that will be more important to many people then the dollars and cents.

I don't blame GM for these MPG numbers, as I'm sure that they are dictated by the government. However, to me personally, they are about as helpful - and accurate - as the little progress bar (telling you how many minutes or seconds are left) on you computer whenever you install or upgrade software because MPG will be based entirely upon each person's driving habits. If I own a Volt and use it all the time to commute back and forth to work that is 15 miles each way, heck, the only gas I'm likely to burn is when the engine starts up just to keep things lubricated. If I'm on the road all day, then the gas engine will be running each and every day and my MPG figure will plummet. I think the EPA needs to calculate MPG solely upon when the vehicle is using gas, since that will be a constant. They need a new window sticker designed for electric-only and range-extended electric vehicles such as the Volt, with the approximate number of miles on electric-only power on the top, and the range-extended number on the bottom. Consumers will figure it out much easier.

What is the estimated mpg in "charge-sustaining mode" once the 9.6 kwh in the battery is expended? Are you releasing this number independently of the "230 mpg" figure?

"written by BryanC, August 11, 2009
Volt is not going to get 40 mile range on the 8 kwh useable battery capacity"
Volt has 16 kWh of capacity. Subtracting the 30% minimum charge and the 10% left over at the 90% max charge you get 40% non-usable charge. This leaves a 60% usable charge. 60% of 16 kWh is 9.6 kWh, not 8 kWh.

Firstly, 25 kw/100 miles doesn't make any sense. Kilowatts measures power, not energy. They are very different things, just as different as speed and distance. I'm going to assume you meant 25 kwh/100 miles. In that case, Volt is not going to get 40 mile range on the 8 kwh useable battery capacity we've been told the Volt will have (that would have been 20 kwh/100 miles), which may have negative implications for battery longevity.

Secondly, the 230 mpg number is not particularly helpful. The 25 kwh/100 mi (4 miles/kwh) figure tells me something useful about charge-depleting mode, but I can't understand the whole picture without knowing what mileage the Volt gets in charge-sustaining mode. The assumptions used to generate the 230 mpg number are not particularly relevant for the majority of drivers, so unfortunately it's mostly a PR stunt. When a car has 2 completely distinct modes of operation, a composite mpg number can be constructed arbitrarily.

Thirdly, you're going to get a lot of backlash from consumers over this one: it will damage your credibility to tout 230 mpg so highly when many consumers won't see 230 mpg in real life. I want the Volt to be more than a PR stunt, but moves like this don't help your case.

This is incredible and exciting news. The Volt will change things. Great job GM!