Volt's intrument display panel

I was thinking back over the years .... GM has really launched some "bombs" in the engine department. Remember the Vega 4 cyl? Or the air-cooled Corvair? or the Pontiac cam in valve cover? All were short lived. True, the chevy small block V-8 has endured for years, as well as others.

But my real point is: Didn't I read that the Volt ICE requires high test fuel? If so .... I wonder why?

 

This is a mystery that GM doesn't appear to want us to solve. They have not made any statements that explains it. The 1.4L is not old and established, and it is set to be in commercial production in turbocharged fashion not normally aspirated in the volt. Gm did state that they didn't use DI to save money as the turbo version in the cruze hit their fe numbers without it. GM had plenty of time to develop an engine and there are numerous good choices for engines that they could buy. The two new designs are a 1.2L 3cylinder DI miller cycle engine from Nissan and a 1.0L ecoboost (DI and turbo) from ford. Both of these are lighter, more fuel efficient, the ford is set to be able to use e85 as gm's original plan, and are set to have low cost in inexpensive cars sold in europe and asia. The engine from the original insight or even gm's metro would have been better choices than they made.

The other complication is the motor choices. They have a clutch to allow the generator to regen brake or add power to the wheels and this was explained as an efficiency step. It seems that a better specked main motor would remove the need of using the generator for these tasks and make the car mechanically simpler.

 

I think you hit upon a fundamental GM problem that they cannot escape. It's that GM cannot engineer a totally new vehicle. They seem stuck on insisting that extensive reuse of other vehicle components MUST be done to be competitive. In this case, they didn't have a good fit, so they made a poor fit. Obviously they did not bother with developing a really good small engine for the Volt. Given how the Volt only needs the engine to make electricity, they really could have made a uniquely good hybrid engine for that.

 

However the price is not competitive. It appears to be a major blunder.

I bet they were going forward with EV certification from EPA. When the reality hit them that both SAE and EPA would classify Volt as a plugin hybrid, they were not prepared to engineer it to meet AT-PZEV. The result is the inability to take advantage of solo driver in the HOV lane.

EPA did the right call. They need to regulate air quality, that's their job. The Volt is equipped with an exhaust pipe, gas engine and a tank full of gas. There is no way EPA can classify it as an EV.

 

Don't you worry ... the government is going to take care of the matter. Today I read in the WSJ the EPA and the Dept of Transportation suggested changing the government mileage estimate to an A-D scale .... considering not only fuel efficiency, but pollution as well. That plan, the Volt would enable the Volt to get the highest rating.

How about earning an "A++" if it is union assembled?

Also, the article stated those nasty ole SUV's will earn the lowest ... rating. No surprises there.

 

The plan is out already. They are asking for suggestions.

Fuel Economy Label | Fuel Economy | US EPA

 

You are confusing CARB with the EPA. The EPA does some strange things but does not judge pollution based on the battery warranty. That is carb, which the epa allows to regulate as a co equal based on the clean air act. EPA does not regulate California HOV lanes, and I think its an oxymoron that one person in a hybrid is high occupancy. I remember thinking how strange it was 2 people are high occupancy. How about letting people on medical marijuana sit in that lane. GM has consistently stated that they expect to be AT-PZEV in 2012 when California and other carb states start giving it more money for qualifying cars. I'm sure plan one is to get the other car companies to work with carb to change their zev mandate again.

How about a percentage of N.A. content, It would be cool to see that on the label. Does the mexican UAW or the Japanese union count for union assembled?

Its good to see some progress in labeling though.

 

I think the other thing that GM is going to have to endure is public perception. I'm not sure if I'm the only one....but the first glimpse I had with the Volt was pretty damaging. It was slightly over a year ago, and on some news program. But GM was really trying to unveil this new EV Volt that was going to be introduced in a year. Right in front of this reporter, they turned the key and couldn't get the car to start!! The engineers on site suggested pushing the car...so there was this seen of 3 people trying to push this car up the road to try to get it to start....maybe that's why it now has an ICU.

We'll see if GM will produce products that are marketable. For right now, the only American car company that I think is competitive is Ford. When I was looking at cars, my main contenders were the Ford Fusion hybrid and the Toyota Prius. Many people will probably favor the Fusion because it's a conventional sedan, with a neat guage, that also gets good performance. I finally decided on the Prius for the added cargo, good mpg, and simple guages.

 

Wrong - Volt gets A, Leaf gets A+ and Prius A-.

 

A few post back I joked that Volt would get an A++ for being union assembled. At the time I did not know there would be "+" and "-" rating modifier.

Do you know for a fact that Leaf will get a A+, Volt an A and Prius an A- rating? Just curious.

It has all, IMO, become a political issue, with little real world consideration. On another thread, I read that the EPA only test between 200-250 vehicles a year, and most often, takes the manufacturers word for the figure.

Then I read that fuel cost on the new rating system are based on $2.80/gal. I wish I could find gas at that price.

Lastly, I have discovered that ethenol blended gas, and winter blended gas delivers poorer mileage.

OTOH, it really does not matter to me. I do not anticipate another new purchase anytime soon. I am completely happy with my G3, and unless something serious occurs, I shall be driving it for a number of years to come.