GM Volt To Get 230 MPG In The City
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GM is making a claim that the Chevy Volt, when it finally is introduced in late 2010, will get 230 MPG in city driving. That’s what GM is saying, but is this really true or just marketing hype? According to a recent article it also states the following:
Henderson said that GM is confident that the combined highway and city mileage for the Chevy Volt, due to go on sale in late 2010, will be in the triple digits. Expressed in electrical terms, the performance will be 25 kilowatt-hours for 100 miles.
“Having a car that gets triple-digit fuel economy, we believe, will be a game changer for us,” Henderson said.
Other plug-in electric sedans are also expected to have triple-digit fuel efficiency once they come to market. The all-electric Tesla Motors’ Roadster, which is available now, advertises triple-digit fuel economy as well.
The EPA model is being developed for cars used in different climates and a mix of electric and gas driving conditions, GM executives said. City mileage will be better for the Volt because the extended-range electric power train runs for 40 miles on battery alone and then uses an internal combustion engine to recharge batteries.
The cost of fueling a Volt will be significantly less than gassing up at the pump, Henderson said. In Detroit, where off-peak electricity rates are 5 cents a kilowatt hours, it will cost about 40 cents to recharge batteries overnight.
On the cost of the car itself, Henderson said that GM has not priced the Volt but that it will be expensive because it is a first-generation product. Unconfirmed estimates are said to be around $40,000.
GM is still not even in the ball park if their car comes with a $40k price tag. Even if gas goes back to $4 a gallon, and taking in consideration that the average car price is about $25k for a fairly nice vehicle, $15k buys a lot of gas. Just my 2 cents.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
4 Comments
gm volt | todaytrend.co.cc
August 12th, 2009
at 1:18am
[...] GM Volt To Get 230 MPG In The City ~ The Blade by Ron Schenone MVPGM is making a claim that the Chevy Volt, when it finally is introduced in late 2010, will get 230 MPG in city driving. That’s what GM is saying, but is this really true or just marketing hype? According to a recent article it also …Read More [...]
Daniel
August 12th, 2009
at 9:23am
I agree with your final point about the price difference being a little too steep at the moment. It could take upwards of 158,000 miles just to break even at the current price.
Perhaps once the technology has been out for a while and we start seeing this technology taking hold we’ll start to see the price dropping to more reasonable levels.
At the moment, though, according to http://www.newsy.com/videos/all_charged_up_over_the_volt, the limited production will probably mean GM will need a few more years before they start making money from the Volt.
mhz
August 12th, 2009
at 2:08pm
What ultimately matters most with alternative fuels/engines is TCO and for some, total “carbon footprint.” Oooooh, buzzword. Sorry.
It won’t matter if gas mileage is great but you have to buy $5000 worth of batteries every 2 years. I’m not saying those are the numbers, just making an example.
Ron Schenone
August 12th, 2009
at 2:26pm
Heh Daniel and mhz,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Carbon footprint? Would that also apply to all of those batteries that will need to be disposed of as well? Oh………we could put the batteries with our nuclear waste!
There has to be a better mouse trap!