The 2012 Chevrolet Volt and Equinox models will be the first to offer Chevy MyLink, an in-car infotainment equipment that integrates internet radio, hands-free, voice and touch-screen controls, all of which can be accessed via Bluetooth connectivity. Three years ago, Ford introduced a similar system, called SYNC, whose aim was to reunite in a friendly and efficient way the various in-car
READ MORE - Chevy Launches MyLink Infotainment System in Response to Ford's SYNC
Showing posts with label Chevrolet Volt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chevrolet Volt. Show all posts
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
New Auto 2011 Chevrolet Volt
2011 Chevrolet Volt Car Picture
2011 Chevrolet Volt Car Picture
2011 Chevrolet Volt Car Picture
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
VIDEO: Chevrolet Tries to Explain the Volt's MPG Equivalent and MPG Ratings
Once upon a drive, all we had to know about a car's fuel consumption was how many miles the vehicle could travel on a single gallon of gas in the city, on the highway and on a combined route, regardless of whether the engine was fed with petrol or diesel.
Nowadays, the appearance of all-electric and extended range hybrid electric cars in showrooms has forced [ahem...] the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to embrace a new method to measure the energy consumption of alternative fuel vehicles called MPGe (Miles Per Gallon Equivalent).
The idea is to allow consumers to compare the energy consumption of EVs or Electric-Hybrid models such as the Leaf and the Volt to those of gasoline or diesel powered vehicles in terms of miles per gallon.
Knowing that many consumers are still baffled by the concept, General Motors released a short video where it tries to explain the new EPA ratings on the Chevrolet Volt. Scroll down to watch the clip.
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Monday, December 20, 2010
McDonald's Store in West Virginia gets EV Charging Station
Even though we can’t picture your average EV owner as being an avid fan of McDonalds, nevertheless, future Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt owners living in Huntington, West Virginia, will have a very good reason to visit the food chain's new store located near the corner of 1st Street and 5th Avenue, as it’s the first restaurant of its kind in the U.S. to have a Level 2 Electric Car Charging Station.
“I wanted to offer this capability to show our customers that this new technology is here when they are ready to take advantage of it,” said Tom Wolf, local owner/operator.
The EV-friendly drive-in replaces the McDonald’s formerly located at 70 Washington Avenue in Huntington, which was the first one of its kind in West Virginia.
“I think it’s very fitting that the first location in West Virginia is making McDonald’s history again, being the first in the U.S. to offer the Level 2 charging stations,” Mr. Wolf concluded.
By Csaba Daradics
Source: WSAZ
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GM Building Parts for Chevrolet Volt from BP Oil Spill Booms
The new Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car is doing its part in improving the environment by making the best use of the oil that was spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from the BP Deepwater Horizon rig. To explain, General Motors has began recycling oil-soaked plastic booms from the notorious spill into components for the Volt.
The Detroit-based automaker said it has developed a method to convert an estimated 100 miles of the material off the Alabama and Louisiana coasts into more than 100,000 pounds of plastic resin that will be used for parts that deflect air around the vehicle’s radiator.
These parts are comprised of 25 percent boom material and 25 percent recycled tires from GM’s Milford Proving Ground vehicle test facility, with the remaining percentage covered by a mixture of post-consumer recycled plastics and other polymers.
“Creative recycling is one extension of GM’s overall strategy to reduce its environmental impact,” said Mike Robinson, GM vice president of Environment, Energy and Safety policy. “We reuse and recycle material by-products at our 76 landfill-free facilities every day. This is a good example of using this expertise and applying it to a greater magnitude.”
If GM hadn't used the oil-soaked booms for parts, they would have been incinerated or sent to landfills.
“This was purely a matter of helping out,” said John Bradburn, manager of GM’s waste-reduction efforts. “If sent to a landfill, these materials would have taken hundreds of years to begin to break down, and we didn’t want to see the spill further impact the environment. We knew we could identify a beneficial reuse of this material given our experience.”
According to the automaker, the ongoing project is expected to create enough plastic under hood parts to supply the first year production of the new Chevy Volt.
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Friday, December 17, 2010
GM CEO Calls the Prius a Geek-Mobile, Wouldn’t be Caught Dead in One
In the grand scheme of things, General Motors is a little late in the
So it’s a little hard to swallow when GM’s current CEO, Dan Akerson, describes the Volt’s major competitor – some may even say raison d’être – as a geek-mobile. Here are his exact words:
“We commonly refer to the geek-mobile as the Prius. And I wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius."
If the Prius is a geek-mobile, what does that make the Volt? Is it a me-too-mobile? And the word “geek” is so muddied in our 21st century world. In the United States, 74% of the population use the internet, 27% own an Apple iPhone and almost half are on Facebook or MySpace. And Avatar, film widely considered to be the most successful film ever made, is a member of that classic geek genre: science fiction.
Is it any wonder that more than two million Priora have been sold since the nameplate came into existence? In a way, there’s a little geek in all of us. We buy organic, we tune into Lost and we use our Smartphones to text our friends what we’re eating for lunch.
It seems to me that GM wants to distance the Volt as much as possible from its Japanese stablemate. Have you noticed how no one at GM, Chevrolet or in the press calls it a hybrid? It’s a range extended electric vehicle. If that isn’t a geeky euphemism I don’t know what is.
The Volt, which according to Akerson "actually looks good,” compared to the Prius, goes on sale before the end of this year. With a starting price of US$41,000 (€31,016), the Volt will be more expensive than its main rival, though some buyers will be entitled to a US$7,500 (€5,674) federal tax credit.
By Tristan Hankins
Via: USAToday , Sources: Internetworldstats , Computerworld, Blogherald
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
General Motors Begins Shipping 2011 Chevrolet Volt to Dealers
On Monday, the first shipments of the highly anticipated 2011 Chevrolet Volt left GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant and are on their way to select dealerships. According to the company, customers in California, Texas, Washington D.C. and New York could receive their vehicles in the next few days.
“Today is a historic milestone for Chevrolet”, said Tony DiSalle, Volt marketing director. “We have redefined automotive transportation with the Volt, and soon the first customers will be able to experience gas-free commuting with the freedom to take an extended trip whenever or wherever they want”.
According to the automaker, the first batch of vehicles should be delivered in the next few days, with a planned total of 350 units this week. Earlier this year, 15 pre-production EVs were handed over to a select few, during a special 90-day vehicle and charging evaluation program.
Priced from $33,500, after tax credits, the Volt never came close to the initially claimed 230 mpg in city driving. Eventually, EPA released three mileage ratings, the best being 93 mpg in full electric mode and the worst 37 mpg when the 1.4-liter engine kicks in. Now that cars are actually reaching customers, we’re more than curious to hear their feedback on the matter.
By Csaba Daradics
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Saturday, October 31, 2009
2010 Chevrolet Volt Price Depend on Gas Price
Volt price will depend on gas price, GM says.
Although the conference call was supposed to be all about the progress on designing batteries for the Chevrolet Volt, the issue of the car's price loomed large in observer's minds.
With a potential asking price that's risen from an estimated $30,000 (U.S.) to a loftier $40,000 for the compact four-seater, Bob Kruse, executive director of the program, gave no specifics on its estimated MSRP, but said the price will depend in part on the cost of gas.
"We're not wishing for higher petroleum costs, but the economic viability of what we're doing only gets greater with higher fuel prices," he said. The plan to launch the car in November, 2010, is on schedule. "$1.50 gallon gas is not helping our business case."
The average price of regular gas in the United States was actually $1.96 a gallon earlier this week, according to American government figures.
GM is not sure what the price of the Volt will be, Kruse said, nor has the company established whether it will lease the battery separately from the vehicle itself, as Nissan plans to do with its all-electric vehicle, which is to go on limited sale next year.
"Part of the price will be dependent on fuel costs at the time, which will impact the value equation the Volt provides."
The focus of the update was on the progress of the lithium-ion battery design — as GM has said, once the battery is ready, the Volt will be ready.
It is the advanced battery technology that allows the Volt to promise up to 64 km (40 miles) of electric-only driving; the small internal combustion engine works only to recharge the batteries, instead of stranding the driver, as would have occurred with GM's ill-fated EV1 all-electric vehicle at the end of its range.
"As we've seen with computers, the technology has progressed to the point where they have morphed from large desktop models, down to the size of your Blackberry," said Denise Gray, director of battery systems engineering, while confirming that design work on generations two and three of the Voltec system is happening alongside the production Volt.
"We're looking for the same types of advancements (and cost reductions) in our electronics."
In a Q&A session afterwards with various media, one astute questioner asked at what temperature those promised 64 kilometres of electric-only driving were verified. Turns out, it was the figure achieved in the normal city cycle testing, said Kruse, which is done at 20 degrees Celsius.
So if your winter commute involves regular sub-zero starts and highway driving, the question isn't whether its electric range will decrease, but by how much?
GM was obviously very sensitive about the fact that the battery cells for the first-generation Volt will come from South Korea, courtesy of LG Chem, especially when it is receiving extra money from both state and federal U.S. governments to produce environmentally advanced vehicles in and around Detroit, on top of the federal bailout money it has and will receive to keep it afloat.
The first batch of pre-production prototypes will be produced later this summer, about 80 of them, soon after the world's largest auto battery facility will open near Detroit, said GM.
Overhyped Nano on sale in India
In yet another media-frenzy-generating launch event, Tata Motor officials confirmed that orders will begin being taken in April in India for the Nano, whose super-low starting price of around $2,900 has media outlets around the world breathlessly reporting on the debut of the "world's cheapest car."
Except it's not the world's cheapest car, it's the world's cheapest new car.
Option it up with various luxuries like a right-side rear view mirror, heating and air conditioning, and a cup holder, and that price moves to 172,360 Indian rupees, according to figures available at tatanano.com, or the equivalent of $4,152.
Still, offering any new vehicle at such a low price is a remarkable achievement, even if the lack of airbags and emissions controls would not allow the Nano as is to be sold in most developed markets, and certainly not in regulation-heavy North America.
"The Nano represents the spirit of breaking conventional barriers," said Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata. "It will provide safe, affordable, four-wheel transportation to families who till now have not been able to own a car." Or at least a new car.
The Nano offers a 35-hp. two-cylinder engine, coupled to a four-speed manual transmission, with a top speed of 105 km/h, for a published estimate of 33 seconds for the small four-seat hatchback to reach 100 km/h.
Plans are in the works to sell an upgraded version of this car to parts of Europe by 2011, the company said; it would a larger 90-hp, three-cylinder engine, available five-speed automatic, dual airbags, ABS and stability control, with a target starting price still under $5,000 (U.S.).
"Driven mainly by the change in demand that we see elsewhere in the world, we suddenly felt we had a product that could be of considerable interest as a low-cost product in western Europe, eastern Europe, the U.K. and even the U.S.," Tata told Reuters at this week's event.
Women's Car of the Year award launched
Female automotive journalists are a relative rarity in this business, but a group of 10 women auto writers from around the world will launch the first Women's Car of the Year award.
The initial group includes two journalists from Canada, as well as India, South Africa, the U.K., Australia and Europe.
"Most awards are chosen by a huge majority of men who tend to view cars differently to women," said Sandy Myhre, the New Zealand-based journalist who initiated the award.
"This award reflects changing times when you consider that today women make the final decision in as much as 85 per cent of all cars sold," according to Myhre.
After noticing that the 2007 World Car of the Year award's 43-member jury of international auto journalists did not contain one woman, Myhre helped organize a Women's COTY program in New Zealand last year, an award which went to the Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion (diesel) wagon.
"Newton-metres [or lb-ft] of torque weren't even considered, but we did look at drivability and sexiness," for those awards, as well as its carbon footprint, family friendliness, value, and, "of course," the range of colours, said Myhre.
Infiniti M to become brand's first hybrid
Playing some serious catch-up to arch-rival Lexus, Infiniti plans to start selling its own hybrid designs in North America next year, starting with its mid-size M sedans, Japan's Nikkei business daily reports.
While the Altima now offers a hybrid option, the hybrid uses leased Toyota hybrid technology, while Nissan, Japan's third-largest auto maker, struggles to come out with its own hybrid designs to rival those of Toyota and Honda.
Other luxury players are starting to jump into the hybrid market as well, with BMW and Mercedes-Benz both planning hybrid SUVs for North America and Europe this year, as well as the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid that will compete with Lexus' top-line LS600hl.
Although the conference call was supposed to be all about the progress on designing batteries for the Chevrolet Volt, the issue of the car's price loomed large in observer's minds.
With a potential asking price that's risen from an estimated $30,000 (U.S.) to a loftier $40,000 for the compact four-seater, Bob Kruse, executive director of the program, gave no specifics on its estimated MSRP, but said the price will depend in part on the cost of gas.
"We're not wishing for higher petroleum costs, but the economic viability of what we're doing only gets greater with higher fuel prices," he said. The plan to launch the car in November, 2010, is on schedule. "$1.50 gallon gas is not helping our business case."
The average price of regular gas in the United States was actually $1.96 a gallon earlier this week, according to American government figures.
GM is not sure what the price of the Volt will be, Kruse said, nor has the company established whether it will lease the battery separately from the vehicle itself, as Nissan plans to do with its all-electric vehicle, which is to go on limited sale next year.
"Part of the price will be dependent on fuel costs at the time, which will impact the value equation the Volt provides."
The focus of the update was on the progress of the lithium-ion battery design — as GM has said, once the battery is ready, the Volt will be ready.
It is the advanced battery technology that allows the Volt to promise up to 64 km (40 miles) of electric-only driving; the small internal combustion engine works only to recharge the batteries, instead of stranding the driver, as would have occurred with GM's ill-fated EV1 all-electric vehicle at the end of its range.
"As we've seen with computers, the technology has progressed to the point where they have morphed from large desktop models, down to the size of your Blackberry," said Denise Gray, director of battery systems engineering, while confirming that design work on generations two and three of the Voltec system is happening alongside the production Volt.
"We're looking for the same types of advancements (and cost reductions) in our electronics."
In a Q&A session afterwards with various media, one astute questioner asked at what temperature those promised 64 kilometres of electric-only driving were verified. Turns out, it was the figure achieved in the normal city cycle testing, said Kruse, which is done at 20 degrees Celsius.
So if your winter commute involves regular sub-zero starts and highway driving, the question isn't whether its electric range will decrease, but by how much?
GM was obviously very sensitive about the fact that the battery cells for the first-generation Volt will come from South Korea, courtesy of LG Chem, especially when it is receiving extra money from both state and federal U.S. governments to produce environmentally advanced vehicles in and around Detroit, on top of the federal bailout money it has and will receive to keep it afloat.
The first batch of pre-production prototypes will be produced later this summer, about 80 of them, soon after the world's largest auto battery facility will open near Detroit, said GM.
Overhyped Nano on sale in India
In yet another media-frenzy-generating launch event, Tata Motor officials confirmed that orders will begin being taken in April in India for the Nano, whose super-low starting price of around $2,900 has media outlets around the world breathlessly reporting on the debut of the "world's cheapest car."
Except it's not the world's cheapest car, it's the world's cheapest new car.
Option it up with various luxuries like a right-side rear view mirror, heating and air conditioning, and a cup holder, and that price moves to 172,360 Indian rupees, according to figures available at tatanano.com, or the equivalent of $4,152.
Still, offering any new vehicle at such a low price is a remarkable achievement, even if the lack of airbags and emissions controls would not allow the Nano as is to be sold in most developed markets, and certainly not in regulation-heavy North America.
"The Nano represents the spirit of breaking conventional barriers," said Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata. "It will provide safe, affordable, four-wheel transportation to families who till now have not been able to own a car." Or at least a new car.
The Nano offers a 35-hp. two-cylinder engine, coupled to a four-speed manual transmission, with a top speed of 105 km/h, for a published estimate of 33 seconds for the small four-seat hatchback to reach 100 km/h.
Plans are in the works to sell an upgraded version of this car to parts of Europe by 2011, the company said; it would a larger 90-hp, three-cylinder engine, available five-speed automatic, dual airbags, ABS and stability control, with a target starting price still under $5,000 (U.S.).
"Driven mainly by the change in demand that we see elsewhere in the world, we suddenly felt we had a product that could be of considerable interest as a low-cost product in western Europe, eastern Europe, the U.K. and even the U.S.," Tata told Reuters at this week's event.
Women's Car of the Year award launched
Female automotive journalists are a relative rarity in this business, but a group of 10 women auto writers from around the world will launch the first Women's Car of the Year award.
The initial group includes two journalists from Canada, as well as India, South Africa, the U.K., Australia and Europe.
"Most awards are chosen by a huge majority of men who tend to view cars differently to women," said Sandy Myhre, the New Zealand-based journalist who initiated the award.
"This award reflects changing times when you consider that today women make the final decision in as much as 85 per cent of all cars sold," according to Myhre.
After noticing that the 2007 World Car of the Year award's 43-member jury of international auto journalists did not contain one woman, Myhre helped organize a Women's COTY program in New Zealand last year, an award which went to the Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion (diesel) wagon.
"Newton-metres [or lb-ft] of torque weren't even considered, but we did look at drivability and sexiness," for those awards, as well as its carbon footprint, family friendliness, value, and, "of course," the range of colours, said Myhre.
Infiniti M to become brand's first hybrid
Playing some serious catch-up to arch-rival Lexus, Infiniti plans to start selling its own hybrid designs in North America next year, starting with its mid-size M sedans, Japan's Nikkei business daily reports.
While the Altima now offers a hybrid option, the hybrid uses leased Toyota hybrid technology, while Nissan, Japan's third-largest auto maker, struggles to come out with its own hybrid designs to rival those of Toyota and Honda.
Other luxury players are starting to jump into the hybrid market as well, with BMW and Mercedes-Benz both planning hybrid SUVs for North America and Europe this year, as well as the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid that will compete with Lexus' top-line LS600hl.
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