Introducing the 2016 Chevy Volt (2.0)

It's not that hard to manufacture 'profit'. All you do is redefine the meaning. Consider some of the Escalade fuel numbers - like 16mpg (combined) or Camaros' 14mpg (combined) and the huge C.A.F.E. penalties each of the gas hogs (& others) would be hit with, but for the setoff's GM (and other manufactures) gets for plugin's. BAM - instant profit.
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That's why the Bolt is coming to 50 states.
In the Volt's case, the second generation should reach the point of being able to support itself. That is what happened with the Prius. How quickly depends on how much of the Voltec R&D is amortised to the Volt model.

 

is that what it is?

 

Daewoo is now GM Korea. I know they are responsible for the Spark and Sonic. Don't know about any other models, but there has always been a lot of overlap in basic car designs in the 30 years. The Volt may look like a Forte, but it also looks like a Civic and Dart according to others in this thread. The Prius shares styling cues with the Aztek. Like appliances, phones, and clothes, deviate too much from the norm and you won't sell many. Always you get lucky, and have the must have thing, but it is safer the other way.

 

I'm no plugin driver but it seems GM is on a good track with this upcoming Volt. Why? My guess is plugin drivers want an EV driving experience, which Volt gives. Plus up to 50 EV per charge. That covers a lot of commutes.
I wonder how far Volt can EV at 65 MPH

 

In a 2016 Volt, 50+ miles.

Drive 55 MPH and it will probably go 65+ miles.

 

and 30 mph, over a hundred.

 

Chevy admits there's confusion over Bolt and Volt names - really?

 

EV-2?

Bob Wilson

 

not for me. volt sounds great, bolt sound dumb. ampera is not bad.

 

Sounds "nuts" to me - LOL!

DBCassidy

 

Now, that was rebolting.

 

*revolting

 

Based on what supporting evidence? You may not remember the conjecture we had to deal with prior to the first Volt rollout, but some of us do.

Unsupported claims would be posted. They'd end up becoming self-validating after being reposted enough. When those of us who did our homework questioned for detail, the response was anything but constructive.

It was really sad watching false expectations rise. The inevitable disenchantment which followed could have been avoided... simply by providing the requested detail. Not having any doesn't mean comments cannot be posted; it only means they need to be identified as speculative and educated guesses rather than fact.

 

Chevrolet Folt?

 

That seems right. We have lots of on-star data on the first gen volt. So lets look at the question.

The current volt seems to be able to exceed EPA in moderate temperatures on cruise control. If the new epa is 50 mile range then if you set cruise at 65 mph you should exceed that number as well. The epa range includes a big fudge factor for plug-ins. They will do worse in cold or very hot weather, or at high speeds. The volt is quite aerodynamic (cdA = 6.7 sqare feet and its weight doesn't hurt it at constant highway speeds).

Sure but question was asked and answared in a moderate way. I don't see much hype here.

I thought you were cautions in the beginning. DIdn't the volt exceed your original expectations? Didn't you think the prius phv would kill it, and there would be no greatly improved gen II with more range. I believe your expectations were the next one would have less range not more.

+1

Absolutely and it takes hindsight in the future, but toyota said they were profitable in the second generation, and probably were on variable cost in 2004, and finally recovered R&D in 2006 or 2007. I'd say Generally Accepted Accounting principals (GAAP) profit in 2008, but for shareholder value 2004. The prius though pulled other toyota cars so if we included the goodwill (marketing benefit) it probably cleared R&D in 2005 to be profitable in non-gaap terms.

The Escalade's in dallas are selling right when they hit the lot. That is my definition of a guzzler. I bet there is a shortage in LA too. The volt not only increases goodwill for gm, but also gives them a big cafe bonus. We have not seen the reviews or real numbers on the gen II volt, but if I were a betting man I would say it will be profitable in variable terms in 2016, and already has boosted shareholder value (stock would be lower without the volt). In GAAP terms gm wrote off most R&D costs in the bankrupcy, so it may show a GAAP profit in 2018.

 

Giggle. How could I forget? I'm not senile yet.

The 50 mile range is a written but unofficial estimate of combined city/highway EPA EV range. They also estimated 41 mpg in hybrid mode which doesn't seem like a particularly outlandish projection. Car makers make unofficial EPA projections on new models all the time. Toyota certainly does.

Here are the details. See the "Performance" subheading:

Chevrolet News - United States - Volt

By the way, GM's estimated EV range on the original Volt back on 2007 was not exaggerated. They said the EV range would be about 40 miles based on the EPA city test cycle in effect at that time. In 2008 the EPA estimate formulas were changed to be more pessimistic.

If you drive a 2011 Volt on cruise control at 65 mph you should have no trouble getting the 35 miles of official EPA combined city/highway range under average climate conditions and I would expect a 2016 Volt to get 50 miles.

 

I have some questions about public charging, not at work, but places like MacDonalds or at stores:
Do Leaf, PiP, Volt drivers tend to take advantage of public charging or do they use it when 'really' needed?
How many miles of range per hour would you get off, say, a Blink L2?
How much does it typically cost per session or how many cents per mile cost for these public sessions, roughly?
I asked a manager lady at a MacDs if she sees chargers used much. She said oh yes.

 

I can't really speak to the overall usage pattern of "opportunity charging" at stores and restaurants etc. I personally plug in when I need the energy to avoid gasoline use as long as the price is not too much more than gasoline. If I can get back home without running out of battery charge then I park in a regular space and leave the station available for someone else.

Stations are sometimes free for awhile after being installed to attract usage. You can search for free stations using various websites and smartphone apps from Plugshare and ChargePoint or at least see the pricing policies before driving to them.

Many stations price things by the hour which is great for Tesla drivers and others with cars that can pull at or near the maximum supported power. Many PHEVs like the Volt and Ford Energi's can only pull at half (3.3 kW) of the typically supported 32A rate (6.6 kW).

This is especially bad for PiP owners since they can only pull about 2.3 kW. This makes a $1 per hour price policy turn into $.15 per kWh for a Tesla, $.30 per kWh for a Volt, and $.43 per kWh for a Prius Plugin. At $.43 per kWh and about 3 kWhs for a full charge you can drive maybe 12-13 miles at $.10 per mile. Driving on $3 gas at 50 mpg is $.06 per mile.

A few states now allow station owners to price things at the kWh level which is fairer since all cars pay the same price. Also, some stores like Target make the first hour or two free to encourage people to plugin and shop.

An hour of charging adds about 7-9 miles of typical range for a PiP (I'm guessing), 9-13 miles of range for a Volt, and maybe 18-21 miles for a Tesla Model S.

 

JeffN. I thought the Ford Energi maxes at 6.6kW charging,not 3.3kW.