The first mainstream electric vehicle to hit American roads is almost here. After years of incubation, GM will begin selling the long-awaited Chevy Volt in November of this year. The company has been hyping the concept since all the way back in 2007, when its raked-back stature and muscular body lines suggested “green” cars didn’t have to look like wedges with wheels – and they could come from America, too. Time and concessions to safety, space and practicality have morphed the once-edgy Volt into a blocky sedan not unlike the Prius in its production form, but the post-pregnancy car retains its central promise: alleviating the need for gas entirely, as long as you don’t need to go far. Will the Volt serve as the first stepping stone to independence from oil, or is it destined to become yet another EV-1?
Decide for yourself with our quick guide to all the essential facts on Chevy’s upcoming Volt.
How is the Volt different from a Prius, or any other hybrid on the road today?
Two major design features set the Volt apart from anything else in mainstream dealerships today: It’s a plug-in hybrid, and it uses electric drive exclusively.
Unlike the Toyota Prius or any of the other cars we typically think of as hybrids, you can plug the Volt in at home to top off the batteries, then drive short distances without ever having to fire up the engine. For folks with short commutes, that means complete autonomy from gas, rather than just improved gas mileage.
More significantly, from an engineering standpoint at least, there is no mechanical connection between the engine and wheels: Even when the batteries run low and the engine kicks in, it only acts as a generator, supplying electricity to the motors that physically drive the car. It’s an electric car with an engine to extend range, not a gasoline car with electric motors to improve efficiency.
Where do I plug it in to charge it?
You can plug the Volt into the standard 120-volt outlet you probably already have in your garage – the same one you would use for a radio, a shop vac or a toaster, for that matter. Or, for a faster charge, you can hook the Volt up to 240 volts, like you would with a washer and drier. Not just any 240-volt outlet will do, though: You’ll need to purchase a special charging station that will need to be hard-wired into your house’s circuit breaker, rather than just plugged into an available outlet. Chevy hasn’t yet announced pricing or availability for this type of charger, but it’s likely more than one company will make them.
The plug for the Volt won’t look like one for any other appliance: It looks more like a gas pump handle than a plug. The standard is called SAE J1772, and it’s the same type of plug every new electric car will use.
How long will it take to charge?
Chevy claims you can fully charge the Volt in 10 hours from a 120-volt outlet, or as little as four hours using the aforementioned 240-volt charger.
How far can it go without using gas?
Forty miles. Obviously, factors like weight in the car, driving habits, whether or not you run the air conditioning and even extreme temperatures will whittle that down.
So how many miles per gallon does it get?
There’s a short answer, and a smart answer.
Short answer: 48 miles per gallon.
Smart answer: It doesn’t make sense to measure the Volt in miles per gallon. Measuring in miles per gallon made sense when all cars – including other hybrids – used gasoline as their sole source of energy, but it’s not a meaningful metric to apply to a car that can be plugged in and driven for up to 40 miles without any gas at all. Hypothetically, you could plug in the Volt every night, drive short distances every day, and put on 100,000 miles without burning a drop of gasoline. On the other end of the spectrum, you could also be too lazy to ever charge it, drive it like any other hybrid, and get 48 miles per gallon. Real-life fuel economy, measured over a tank of gas or even the life of the car, will vary completely based on how often you’re able to charge it and how far you drive.
How much will it cost?
The Volt will cost $41,000 off the showroom floor, but a $7,500 federal tax rebate will bring that price down to $33,500. You’ll also have the option of leasing it for $350 a month for 36 months. Some reports indicate that dealerships could significantly mark up the Volt due to low numbers at launch. Edmunds.com contacted one dealer in California in hopes of preordering, only to find that it would mark up the Volt by $20,000.
When will it be available?
The Volt will begin showing up November 2010, but only in California, the Washington D.C. metro area, Michigan, Texas, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. GM only plans to produce 10,000 the first production year, and nationwide availability won’t happen until late 2011. The 2012 model year should be much easier to get your hands on: GM has already announced it will ramp up production to 45,000 for that year.
LOOKS GOOD AND SOUNDS OK ,THE PRICE I MEAN, WHEN DO YOU THINK IT WILL COME TO SOUTH AFRICA?
WILL IT BE BEFORE THE NEXT WORLD CUP OT THE NEXT ICE AGE?
I also hear some states will also provide incentives on top of the federal tax rebate, dropping the price even more.
There is on competitor though: the Nissan Leaf http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/index#…
It will cost less then the Volt, 100% electric (zero emissions), and gets 100 miles per charge.
yes the car cost less, but what would happen if you forget to charge it or if you have an emergency? there's no back up on that car. its straight electrical. so think about it this way.. lets say you have an emergency and you need to go to San diego from Los angeles what do you do? after the 100 miles (if you can get that) you have to wait 20 hours to charge the car >_< sounds more like a car that you can only travel an estimated 42 miles (round trip 84 miles)
the car has a gas powered genarator if for get to charge it
Just read your article and it was real good. The deal where it’s run only on electric motors and the gas engine is more of a “don’t worry you aren’t going to get stuck in the middle of nowhere” is going to sell this like crazy. They need to add in solar panels so it’s always getting charged.
This is it. It’ll take until the first round of off-leases hit the used market for $20-24K that we’ll see the sales start happening with late adapters.
It must have a electric heater for the around town trips, how does that effect speed and power? How good is the defrost
system? We in Michigan have to know.
Everyone is missing the big picture. How fast can you drive it before the engine turns on. There must be a threshold. Yes ok 40 miles but for once it was finally stated that driving patterns will whiddle this down. Well just how much. Nowhere does it state that you can drive 55, 65, 75 mph and expect the battery to last 40 miles. So what is it…I bet it is less than 55mph. Otherwise it would be blabbed all over the place. Could you imagine if Chevy stated that you can drive 30mph for 40 mph with the Volt. I bet the efficiency at 55mph is much less. Who drives 55? Sometimes you have to accelerate to 75. Anyone want to guess how long the battery power will last at 75pmh? Then you are on straight gas and can drive faster and get supposedly get 48mpg. Which I would love to see. How big is the gas tank in this thing with this huge battery. Anyway C'mon people start thinking out there. Due your own due diligence. This is a pretty girl with nothing under the hood. Just like 0bama.
Interesting… but will they need to produce more than 45 000 per year?
GM really needs a product that highlights themselves… like what the Civic is to Honda.
They should be doing this with the Chevrolet Cruze… I think they are putting way to much effort into a product which is going to be for a very niche market IMO.
-Rob
The Volt did not qualify for the CA $5000 rebate.
@ Look for the Truth, as an alternate viewpoint::: wow, that Coda website was cool… I googled it and I'm assuming you meant http://www.codaautomotive.com/
So yeah, with accurate numbers for my current car, I calculate that with the Chevy Volt, I would save over $1500 simply on the cost of fuel each year (allowing for my local cost of electricity), plus an additional savings of an average of $2080 on maintenance each year. That means in just 5 years I will have saved $17,900 simply on gas and maintenance. This fact, along with the Volt's effective initial cost of (MRSP less the tax credit) being $33500, after five years the price you paid is really $15,600. And, you get something vastly more high-tech than the Ford Focus.
Yes, California offers a 5000.00 cash rebate on top of the fed 7500.00. On a practical level, even with rebates, the price is prohibitive when you factor in financing, Cal registration, insurance, maintanince(replacing batteries every 4 yrs @ 2000.00). Compared to a 15,000.00 ford focus@35mpg, I would be paying an extra 541.00 per month to save 50.00 in gas per month.(Calculations from Coda web site) Is that what I want to pay to run short errands ?
Chevy is going to recycle the batteries from the vehicles, and they are good for 8 years. They will not charge you a penny for them. Like toyota does..
Pretty interesting I must say.