Chevy Volt’s 230 MPG too good to be true

Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Design, Transportation

Maybe I’m just getting sick of seeing those ads with the smiley-faced electrical outlet, but I figured that the 230 MPG touted for the Volt seemed a little too good to be true. 

As it turns out, someone at Chevrolet is playing with numbers.  According to DVICE:

Essentially, the Volt can drive 40 miles on battery power before kicking in the gas engine. So if you drive 10 miles, you’ll get infinite miles per gallon. If you drive 50 miles, you’ll get 250 miles per gallon. But if you drive 300 miles, you’ll be down to 62.5 miles per gallon.

This is hardly 230 MPG.  Would the electrical outlet be frowning if it knew the real truth? 

Read More | CNN

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GM To Build Lithium-ion Plant

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Science, Storage, Transportation

It seems that at least one of the “Big Three” of Detroit finally has caught on. Yesterday at the NAIAS, GM’s CEO G. Richard Wagoner Jr. announced that it is opening the first U.S. lithium-ion battery plant. They will be making them to go into their Chevy Volt, due out in 2012. GM has already invested over a billion dollars in the eco-friendly vehicle. They will also be erecting a research facility. This is good news for those who live in the beleaguered state in terms of jobs and better news for those who want to go green and do it American.

Read More | Washington Post

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GM Finally Unveils Chevy Volt

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Design, GPS, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi

If you live in Michigan, you couldn’t help but be inundated with news about the official unveiling of the Chevy Volt. Run on electricity from its 16-kWh, lithium-ion battery, it has a gas/E85-powered engine to sustain the battery and keep the car moving. GM estimates that a driver who drives about 40 miles per day should save about $1,500 a year. Other features include a 7-inch touchscreen display, climate and infotainment controls, GPS, and Bluetooth capability. Unfortunately, GM won’t even begin production until 2010 on the $40,000 car.

Read More | Autoblog Green

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