Unveiled: 2011 Chevrolet Volt

General Motors centennial celebrations this week have included unveiling the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, as well as more detailed information on this extended-range electric vehicle. As usual, the production model is styled less aggressively than the 2007 Detroit auto show concept vehicle, reflecting a focus on aerodynamics and practicality.

Some show-circuit design cues remain in this more road-ready version, with contrasting black trim and rear hatch with a vertical window. However, the basic shape has changed significantly from a muscular coupe-like appearance with a chopped top to a less extreme sedan. The front fascia looks more akin to a Malibu and the roof is raised, presumably in a concession to interior comfort.

Giving it a high-tech appearance, the dual-cockpit interior features a seven-inch LCD instrument display and a center touch-screen for climate and entertainment controls. A navigation system with a hard drive for multimedia storage will be offered.

Plug-in powertrain
Think of the Volt as an electric vehicle with an onboard generator. The wheels are driven exclusively by electricity, with an E85-compatible engine available to replenish the lithium-ion batteries when needed. GM claims the Volt will travel up to 40 miles on power from its T-shaped  lithium-ion battery pack, which lies under the rear seat and center tunnel. The battery weighs 375 pounds and has a 16 kw/h capacity. The 1.4-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine can extend that range as needed. The electric drive unit produces 150 horsepower and 273 lb.-ft. of torque. Zero to 60 mph is expected to be around nine seconds.

A plug-in vehicle, the Volt can be recharged from both 120- and 240-volt electrical outlets, with an eight- and three-hour charge time, respectively. Based on 10 cents per kWh, GM estimates that the Volt would cost about 80 cents a day to operate fewer than 40 miles. Or put another way, recharging once a day would cost less than operating the average household refrigerator. For contrast, a Toyota Prius Touring earning 42 mpg in our overall fuel economy test would cost almost $4 to go the same distance based on current gasoline prices.

Sizing it up
The four-seat Volt is similar in length and height as the Honda Civic sedan, though it does measure about two inches wider. While it stretches two inches longer than the current Prius, the manufacturer-claimed cargo volume is less at 10.4 cubic feet versus 14.4.

Production is expected to begin late 2010.

See more Volt photos in our New Car Preview.

—Jeff Bartlett

Comments

[John Wasco]

I want one do ya think they will crush this one as well?

[Cale Johnson]

No announcement of prices. Operating costs can not be determined without a sales prices. But suppose the Volt cost $40k, was driven 60k miles, had a residual value of 50%, and included an interest expense of $7.5k. That works out to $.46/mile.

Still to be factored in is sales tax, the cost of gas for the generator, electricity to charge the batteries, maintenance and tires, and the cost to add a 240-volt outlet to your garage if you choose to.

Maybe someone can run the numbers on the Prius but my bet is that the Volt's high upfront costs will scare a lot of potential buyer's away.

Just my $.02.

[Car Blog]

Those are some sweet lookin cars. I can't wait to get behind the wheel of one.

[jason]

Well I must say I am disipointed in the design. when I first seen the pics of the volt concept car I was interested in buying this car even though I am a ford guy. I will have to see it in person to really decide. also I would not pay 40K for this car. probably not even 35K. maybe 30K. unless gas prices go alot higher. I guess I will have to wait to see what they are going for and if I like the design.

[Larry Fisher]

"Based on 10 cents per kWh, GM estimates that the Volt would cost about 80 cents a day to operate fewer than 40 miles. Or put another way, recharging once a day would cost less than operating the average household refrigerator." The average refrigerator does not cost 80 cents a day for electricity or $292/year. It's more like 20 cents a day. Am I missing something here?

[katanafool]

Electric vehicles are nothing new; the technology has been around for over 10 years. The recent hype about "going green" is going to be an excellent medium by which GM may advertise their vehicle: aka- charge unreasonable amounts. It's a no-brainer that new technology is going to cost more, and since these cars will be classified as "new technology," GM will charge a higher amount than they actually should, but they'll still pitch that "you're saving the environment," which apparently constitutes that spending more money is saving the environment.

When companies try to make sales, they give out numbers to persuade you to buy their product; however, they tend to give out the lowest number. Take it from me, I'm salesperson. 80 cents is probably the lower outlier on the statistics that they came up with.

Hybrids are the same idea. The amount that you pay for a hybrid version of the car, opposed to the "normal version," can easily be a $4000 difference. You could spend that $4000 dollars on gasoline for the non-hybrid car. The same concepts will apply to this new "thing" GM is coming out with. The difference that you spend will be an amazing amount that could have invested into the cheaper alternative.

If one wants to save the environment, or spend less on gas, there are plenty of alternative options than single vehicular transport: the bus: the bicycle: the carpool: or even just walking. It's healthier, it's cheaper, and it's definitely something that is worth looking into.

[George Mapp]

If we were all driving Chevy Volts, we would not be spending huge sums of money on foreign oil, our air quality would improve, and we would be supporting American industry. True, we would need more electric power, but we could get this from the sun and the wind and nuclear; neither of which pollute the air. This is exactly the vehicle we need, the sooner the better. Hats off to GM!

[Andy]

How much is it going to cost to replace the battery when it dies?

[Bob Kay]

Regarding the fridge note...the typical fridge consumes about $150 per year, and many families now have two fridges, so they are consuming $300 per year...so GM can make the argument that it consumes the same amount of power as people use in home refrigeration. Neat comparison, nice marketing.

This car is all about marketing - it has nice styling...people pay $50,000 for cars every day...so don't criticize the company for putting a mid range priced car out there (will be around $35,000 to $40,000) that performs like this, they will sell this car out, I'll bet you won't be able to get one. I hope you won't be able to get one and they sell out and make lots of profit so they are rewarded for going down this pathway instead of the guzzler pathway.

Battery life is estimated to be 5 to 10 years...and the good news is the battery cost is estimated by Tesla Motors to drop by 75 percent over the next ten years so replacement batteries will be cheap at this power capacity level. I would estimate the current cost of the battery pack will likely be around $4,000 today.

The Volt is the best idea in "hybrids" but I wouldn't even call this a hybrid...the engineering is absolutely ingenious and gives GM not only a production cost advantage over the competition, but an opportunity to produce a more reliable vehicle too because of the simplicity of design. It shows the best thinking still comes out of America (and sometimes Canada too - I'm Canadian, so I had to throw that in)!!! And that makes me proud of America.

[katanafool]

For the comment about a $35,000-$40,000 being "mid-priced," try telling that to people who can't afford a car that costs $25,000. Try telling that to the hard-working men and women who allow the majority of Americans to enjoy the life that they live today. And people don't buy $50,000 dollar cars everyday as much as they did before. Notice the economy lately?

[Jan de Groot]

If this car works properly and is well built it should do fine. However, GM has the bad habit of cheapening out on some details and screwing up their cars. The market for electric cars may be small now but it will only get bigger if this car does a good job of introducing the concept.

Up here in Canada many parking spots already have AC outlets for people to plug in their engine heaters in winter, so plugging in a car to charge it up wouldn't be a big deal.

[Pat C]

I wish that they produced the concept version too. The sleek looks of the concept version was a driving factor in the buzz surrounding the volt so offering something very similar will help solidify it's place in the market. They'd probably sell a ton of them because not everyone wants a four-door sedan.

[shane algarin]

GM was able to put out a car like the Volt 15 years ago. For that, they deserve to fail as a company. Aptera is making a superior plug in that goes 100+ miles on a charge and a hybrid plug in that gets 300+ mpg...for thousands less. I'll give my money to a company with smart leaders over greedy morons any day.

[Terry Traub]

George Mapp made an important point that gets lost in all the bean counting. These hybrids and alternate fuel cars may cost a lot more up front, but they all help us to avoid sending our petrodollars abroad and fighting oil wars. A trillion dollars a year could be saved if we didn't need their bloody oil. Thousands of American soldiers would be alive if we didn't care about Iraq's oil or about Saddam's threat to Saudi Arabia and so forth. Let them take care of themselves over there.

Another important thing about the Volt is that it is E85 compatible. Ethanol is going to be a major alternative fuel, especially as cellulosic ethanol production ramps up and farmers start growing switchgrass for ethanol, or should I say allowing switchgrass to grow since the stuff basically grows itself.

I would venture to guess that 90% of driving is done within 40 miles of home, so a Volt would be a good commuting car if not a good long distance travel car. Let's give GM some credit for hitting the mark, finally. The last good idea they had was the Saturn some fifteen years ago already. I'm glad that they are still a dynamic company that can reinvent itself and, perhaps, thrive well into the future.

[everett whitney]

The VOLT will end up being yet another false business venture ... same as the initial Saturn Division - now Opel outlet - which was originally supposed to really set the entire world on it's automotive ear with tremendously-advanced engineering, unique features.

Only " IF " GM is able to continue to con whomever to advance huge amounts of monies will they even be around in 2011 ... they "tapped yet another $3+ Billion last week !

[Carl N Graves]

This thing only goes 40 miles on a charge? Where does that leave people who live outside of town?

I'm still waiting for the AirCar. It runs on compressed air, and refills the tank by a plug-in electric air compresser (included). It can go 125 miles on a tank. That beats what GM offers anyday.

The website is at www.theaircar.com

[Andrew Dixon]

GM was NOT able to produce this car 15 years ago. The big advance is in the lithium ion battery technology. 15 years ago we were all enjoying NI-Cad in our portable phones and drills. Lithium Ion is lighter and more energy dense, which enables the 40 mile range.

GM must engineer production processes to crank out hundreds of thousands of these vehicles. GM must ensure the vehicle and these new batteries are reliable in Minnesota at -40F or it will be (rightfully) damned by this very publication.

All of that is expensive. The price of gas 15 years ago could not justify such expense. So GM had no business case to construct such a vehicle (technology aside). Sure, 10,000 greens might have bought one, but that was NOT enough to make a profit (see EV1). Heck, people in this forum are even questioning the Volt with the price of gas at $4.

As for those who live out of town, after you go 40 miles the onboard gasoline motor starts up to run a generator. The Volt then functions similarly to the Prius hybrid, but not quite the same. Elecric motors drive the Volt, whereas a Prius hybrid uses both its gasoline engine and electric motors to drive the wheels.

I think a KEY point: If we can re-charge overnight with domestic electricity (ideally renewable) that doesn't send our money overseas, that is a HUGE step forward for US economic strength.

[RobS]

GM does deserve some credit for heading down this path. They also deserve a swift kick in the rear for not doing it in 1969, when they came out with their first serial hybrid prototype, the stirlec1. Or in the 90s when they came out with the Impact, or in the late 90s when they rolled out the production EV1s. Or in 2000 when they unveiled the 80mpg hybrid Precept, funded in large part by the $1.25B in tax dollars the government gave to the Big3 to develop hybrids.

The truth is that there is nothing new or revolutionary about the Volt. Its the same tantalizing prospect they have been dangling in front of people for years. The design is straight out of industrial/marine diesel-electric drive systems which date back to at least 1903. GM is banking that it can whip out an old idea, throw some good buzz words into it, and be hailed as the saviors of the environment and American economy. Its not a plugin serial hybrid, its a range extended electric vehicle. It uses cutting edge Li-ion batteries that are light years ahead of anything else out there, even though they are only 30% lighter for the same capacity as the NimH they put in the EV1 10 years ago and about twice the cost. They have also committed to a 40 mile range that sounds great, but is impractical at the current time. Even though GM has pretty much given up on a domestic source and is shopping in China, its estimated that the Volt's battery is going to run ~$20k. That number will not come down until someone pushes production into true high volume. The number of units being discussed by GM in the first few years won't make much of a dent in that. There are also a lot of valid concerns about how reliable that battery will be, not helped by GMs less than stellar record in the department having already had major recalls on the EV1 batteries, and on the batteries in the few hybrids they have sold.

In contrast, Toyota and to a lesser degree Honda have been continually investing in this technology for a very long time, since well before it became clear that it was a financially beneficial path. In 2005, when GM's Lutz was still bashing hybrids, Toyota was already selling their third version of the Prius, which now has well over 10 years of learnings under its belt. The technology in the Prius is revolutionary. The unique power split device at the heart of Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive combines all the advantages of a serial hybrid, plus all the advantages of a parallel hybrid. And it accomplishes that feat with a whopping 6 moving parts. The Volt folks are very fond of pointing out that their design always uses the electric motor to drive the wheels. Unfortunately this includes a fair number of circumstances under which using the ICE to make electricity and then using electricity to drive the motor to turn the wheels is less efficient than just using the ICE to turn the wheels. Unlike the Volt the Prius can do either. It can run on electric only when its most efficient, or ICE only when its most efficient, or both. While it is currently capable of pure electric operation only up to 34mph, that is an arbitrary design trade of cost vs. performance in a 10 year old design. With a slightly larger inverter and motor, plus larger battery the Prius will be able to do everything the Volt can, only more efficiently and cheaper by the looks of it.

The current Prius cuts the average drivers fuel bill in half, from ~$2400 to ~$1100, and with a base price under $22k, costs well below the average new car sales price of $28k. The new Prius due out next year, should improve fuel economy an additional 10-15%, despite being larger and faster than the current model, and is expected to have a 10 mile electric range plug option and still be in the $25-28k range. That should cut the average drivers fuel cost in half again, to about $500/yr for gas and electricity combined. The Volt is now being projected at over $40k (even with Chinese batteries), and will cut your fuel bill roughly by half one more time. I think many will find it hard to justify the extra $12-15k the Chevy will cost, based on a projected saving of $250 per year over the PHEV Prius. On top of that the Prius will be larger, approaching the size of a Camry while the Volt is almost Civic sized. I can see why GM is pushing so hard for a big tax credit, and trying to work it so that Toyota can't get it.

I am all for the extra environmental and energy independence potential of a longer EV range, but recognize that so few will be sold at that price point that the shorter range Toyota will have a much larger over all impact.

[John Murff]

Every analysis of the electro-mobiles manages to overlook the power consumed by heating and cooling the passenger compartment. Cooling requires a compressor and heating wants a resistance system although running the cooling system "backward" might do in some climates.

Then there are the headlights/taillights along with the rest of the electricity loving gimcrackery.

[Glenn]

There are a number of misconceptions on this blog with respect to the Volt concept, and the history of electric cars in general.

The first misconception is the "non-uniqueness" of the Volt concept. Please understand people, that the Volt concept is built around what GM calls its "E-Flex" platform, which is a platform that shares frame rails with GM's Delta platform, but is powered by a large electric motor. While that in itself is nothing new, the fact that the versatile on-board generator will be either gasoline, ethanol fuel or bio-diesel-powered, is. This is why GM calls the platform, "E-Flex": because of the 'flexibility' of the array on-board generation that will be available. As it currently stands, hybrids from the various auto manufacturers use only one type of engine to share with the electric motor: the gasoline engine.

There is also the misconception that the Volt concept will be just another electric car, no different than the EV1 vehicle GM made over a decade ago. The fact litium-ion batteries weren't even used back then--but will be used extensively in the Volt--shows that the contrast and comparison between the EV-1 and Volt concept is a mischaracterization from a technical standpoint.

The third misconception is that Honda and Toyota is investing in the future of electric-only propultion. With exception to hybrid powertrains, Toyota has only made lethargic efforts in this area, and Honda isn't even lifting a finger. In fact, as I type this, Honda is gearing up to introduce a very gas-guzzling V-10 engine for use in some of their higher-end cars (Acura NSX concept; Honda Ridgeline concept), and a V8 gas engine to be used in certain of Acura models (Acura TL; Acura RL), both of which will consume frightening amounts of gasoline. Honda has no interest and no committment to develop the next-generation of automobile powertrains, and this is reflected in the fact that they are investing zero dollars in electric-car research and development and zero dollars in electric-car factories.
Toyota has been selling the Prius and some other hybrids for a few years, true, but so has everyone else, and Toyota hardly has the upper-hand where hybrid powertrain sophistication is concerned. The comparison between Toyota Prius's Synergy Drve powertrain and GM's 3.6L V6 DI Two-Mode hybrid powertrain proves that the mechnical savvy of hybrid powertrains is now shifting in General Motor's favor.
Toyota is building a Prius factory, true, but Prius technology is how many years old now?
I'm really not seeing much of a committment from Toyota in next-generation electric motoring, either. Sure, there was a weak, lethargic promise made by Toyota CEO Watanabe that he will bring a Volt-like electric car sometime around the timeframe of Volt's introduction, but we know it won't be nearly as versatile; and, unlike the Volt concept, will only be equipped with a gasoline generator--not a gasoline/ethanol/biodiesel option(s).

The Volt concept's case is different. In the Volt concept, the internal combustion engine is seen as nothing more than a vestigial appendage; an organ in the body of the automobile that is soon to be phased out ompletely by the evolutionary forces of global petroleum depletion. And unless Toyota and especially Honda wake up and smell the electrically-charged coffee, they too will face certain extinction if they fail to act in an environmentally-concious fashion.

[Bobwilliams]

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in series-hybrid electric vehicle by General Motors, which will be released in 2010. The car is designed to run purely on electricity from on-board batteries. For your info, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt concept car was officially introduced at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) on January 7, 2007 in Detroit, Michigan. An updated version was revealed at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2007 in Shanghai, China, and the final version was unofficially unveiled on the internet on September 8, 2008.

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Bobwilliams
http://www.drivenwide.com

[Bob Edwards]

There are three types of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)/ electric hybrid vehicles. The first type is Power Assist where an electric motor is used to boost the power of an ICE. Honda and the GM Hybrids are expamples.

A second type is known as a Serial Hybrid where an ICE drives a generator that provides current to power electric motors that drive the vehicle. The most prevalent of this type are railroad locomotives. A Serial Hybrid may also include batteries so that the vehicle may be driven sometimes without the aid of the ICE. The Volt is an example of this type of hybrid.

A third type of hybrid is known as a Parallel Hybrid where both the ICE and electric motors can power the vehicle in any combination; ICE alone, electric motors alone, or both. The ICE also runs generators that charge the battery. The Toyota, Ford, Mercury, and Nissan hybrids are examples of this type.