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Chevy Volt Gets a Jolt with Mixed Review

Car And Driver praises and buries electric car equally

October 21, 2008

Electric Cars • Chevy Volt Gets a Jolt with Mixed Review • Chrysler Begins Production on Electric Car • GM Unveils Chevy Volt • 33,000 Sign Up for Battery-Powered Car • GM, Power Companies Study Plug-In Problems • Utility Preps for Electric Cars • GM Boss Promises Plug-in Hybrid • GM Plans New Plug-In Hybrid • Toyota Looks at Plug-in Hybrid • Ford May Build a Plug-In Hybrid • GM Crushes Electric Car Hopes --- • Gas-Electric Hybrids • More Automotive News...

General Motors, which recently celebrated its 100th birthday, has staked a large part of its future on a little car called the Chevy Volt. The carmaker hopes that consumers will embrace this next-generation hybrid when it goes into production in 2010.

And how has the automotive press received GM's offering? Praise is not universal.

"Proud as we are of GM for getting by for a century, we're not piling on the presents in the form of unqualified praise and optimism about the Volt, which will start rolling down GM's Hamtramck, Michigan, assembly line in November, 2010, Car And Driver said in its October 2008 review. "After all, we remember the 1996 GM EV1, an electric car that proved only that electric propulsion wasn't ready for prime time."

In terms of style and design, the magazine gives the Volt relatively high marks, saying photographs don't really do it justice. Up close and personal, the writers say, the Volt is well proportioned and "convincingly cool."

The "coolness" extends to the vehicle's interior, according to the writers. But they also point out that only two passengers will fit in the back seat.

The Volt will be powered with GM's new E-flex architecture, the T-shaped lithium-ion battery. It should deliver the equivalent of 150 horsepower and 273 pounds per foot of torque to the drive train. At that rate, GM expects the batteries to deliver about 40 miles of city-type driving before the batteries are drained.

Once that happens, a 1.4 liter E85-powered engine kicks on to recharge the batteries, extending the range up to 250 miles or so. After that, the car will need to be plugged into house current to recharge the battery pack.

As any consumer who has a cell phone or other electronic device knows, lithium ion batteries lose their capacity to hold a full charge over time. How much life can motorists expect from the Volt's battery engine?

Car And Driver quotes GM officials as saying the batteries will last 10 years or 150,000 miles, but the battery pack hasn't faced that real world test yet.

Which brings the reviewers to the real question about the Volt – it's price tag. While GM says the car will probably sell for around the mid $30,000 range, the reviewers point out it will probably be closer to $40,000 before a consumer can drive it off the lot.

The bottom line?

"Cost isn't the only thing that will limit the Volt's appeal," the magazine concludes. "It will be compact, and its limited seating capacity and practicality may render it ill-suited as primary transportation for folks with large families. Further, its limited range also eliminates its usefulness to people that live in rural areas."

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