What is this Volt thingy, anyhow?

Apparently lost in all the hype over General Motors Corp.'s reveal of its Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle — a.k.a. the greatest American invention since the automatic bread slicer — is exactly what the darn thing is and how it works.

We at Up to Speed know this because of the huge volume of reader comments we've been getting that confuse the Volt with an all-electric vehicle, a GMC Sierra 2500HD pickup, a soulless marketing ploy, and, most commonly, a Japanese import. Dear readers, as far as we can tell, it's none of the above.

The not-yet-rolling hypemobile isn't due out until late 2010, but GM has essentially bet the farm on its success, putting a lot of cash (around $500 million in R&D alone) and a lot more of its image and public goodwill at risk. If the car succeeds, it could be a quantum leap for the struggling company. If it fails, well, pretty it won't be.

Adding by subtracting, a quick primer on what the Volt ain't:

• It's not the Toyota Prius or the Honda Civic Hybrid. That's because, and GM will back us on this one, it's not really a hybrid. Unlike the Prius and its ilk, the Volt doesn't combine an electric motor and an internal combustion motor to turn the wheels. The Volt uses only an electric motor to drive the wheels. Separately, it has a gasoline generator aboard that turns on when the battery runs low in order to create extra electricity for the drivetrain.

• It's not the EV1. That car, a.k.a. the little two-seater that could (sour the greeneies on GM forever), was a battery electric vehicle. It ran only on electric power and had a range, depending on driving and geography, of up to 160 miles on a charge. Both cars plug in to charge the battery, but in the case of the EV1, there was no generator aboard. The Volt will run on pure battery power for 40 miles and then switch on the gasoline-powered generator to produce extra juice. GM says that the shorter all-electric range is to compensate for the weight of the motor, and allows the vehicle to have room for four passengers and significant cargo space.
• It's not a Tesla Roadster. That's a pure electric car (it plugs in). True, the Tesla uses lithium ion batteries like the Volt rather than nickel metal hydride batteries that were in the EV1. But in order to get its 220+-mile range, the Roadster has only two seats and essentially no trunk space. Then again, the Roadster, once a few transmission problems are worked out, will get to 60 mph in four seconds flat. The Volt? Think again.
• It's not a plug-in hybrid. Toyota Motor Corp., Fisker Automotive and others are working on that technology, which is essentially a hybrid with a bigger battery and a power cord. Those cars would use increased juice to take more of the load off the gas engine and, at low speeds, run on electric power only. But unlike the Volt, the gasoline engine still is part of the drivetrain. The Toyota plug-in Prius is expected to have an all-electric range of up to 10 miles, compared to 40 for the Volt. (The current Prius' all-electric range is only about a mile.)

Calculating the Volt's mileage is tricky. GM has sworn that it will get 40 miles on the battery alone, and another 320 miles once the 1.4-liter gasoline generator kicks in. But it hasn't said how many gallons of gas the Volt's tank will hold, so it's hard to say how many miles per gallon GM expects it will get on generated power.

To get a sense of what it would cost to operate the Volt on battery power, a little math is in order. The Volt battery has a 16 kilowatt/hour capacity, but to preserve battery life (think of a laptop battery), GM has tweaked it so that only half of that is drawn upon, for a total of 8 kilowatt/hours per charge. The average consumer price per kw/h in 2006 (the most recent data available) was 10.4 cents, according to the Energy Information Administration.That works out to 83.2 cents per charge, or 2.08 cents per mile.

By comparison, a Toyota Prius, which has a city/highway average fuel economy of 46 mpg, runs about 8.3 cents per mile (at today's average gas price of $3.83 per gallon). On paper, the Volt costs only a quarter what it costs to operate a Prius.

But there are some big uncertainties in there. First, the average price of electricity has risen since 2006 and is certain to rise a bit more by the time the Volt comes out. And in some parts of the country, people pay as much as 33 cents per kw/h. At that rate, the Volt costs 6.6 cents per mile to operate.

Second, since we know little about the Volt's operation on the gasoline generator, we don't know what its cost per mile will be after 40 miles.

GM officials say the purpose of the gasoline generator is to give drivers the peace of mind that if they need to go far, they can, but that the most efficient use of it will be daily trips under 40 miles or so.

That enough info? Remember, kids, we don't endorse it, we only tell it like it is.

As GM spokesman Rob Peterson says, "We just want people to understand this vehicle. Some of the facts out there overstate its capabilities and some of the facts understate them."

—Ken Bensinger

Photo: GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz sits in a Chevy Volt.

Credit: Jeffrey Sauger / General Motors, via Bloomberg News

Comments

[Robert Hawley]

The real question is, can GM get approval from CARB and the EPA to rate this vehicle as an electric vehicle, or a regular hybrid. That will have a serious impact.

If GM gets its way, the rating could be well over 100 miles per gallon. That's pretty attractive if you're a buyer.

[V]

Great post, but you are missing a few things. GM also has a plug in hybrid coming out - the Vue Plug in.

Toyota originally announced that they were going to bring out an electric car in the Volt timeframe, then quickly backed that off to a plug in Prius.

The biggest benefit of the genset (AKA "generator") vs a battery only electric is not just passenger space or range, but the failure modes. Battery only electrics need to be towed home if they run out of charge on the road. There is no quick charge. Almost depleted battery-only electrics crawl along blocking traffic.

Large numbers of battery-only electric vehicles would be a nightmare on the roads.

How come nobody noticed or is writing about the solar cell on the roof of the Volt? It gives you over 3 miles a day of free "fuel" for every day it is parked in the sun.

[Frank]

After what GM did to the leaseholders of the EV1, I wouldn't touch a Volt. Sending a car to the crusher and then charging for body damage is adding insult to injury, and GM deserves to lose all goodwill in the alternative vehicle arena.

I hope the Volt becomes GM's Electric Edsel. They deserve it.

[Nietzsche]

Well, I will say that I think FAKE GRILLS as this car has are completely rediculous.

Chevy states that they want the faux-grill to keep the Volt looking like other Chevy cars. I guess that they're scared that more conservative folks will be scared of something that doesn't have a radiator!

Have some testes Chevy and design something UNIQUE, like the internals of this car promise to be.

I've seen other GM car with fake, plastic grills and they are the same cars with the worst resale value around. Fake grills are a gimmick stemming from overall design laziness and the public knows this!

[Xander Bekkett]

You Said: Toyota Motor Corp., Fisker Automotive and others are working on that technology, which is essentially a hybrid with a bigger battery and a power cord. Those cars would use increased juice to take more of the load off the gas engine and, at low speeds, run on electric power only. But unlike the Volt, the gasoline engine still is part of the drive train

Recheck your facts. GOOGLE "Fisker KARMA"

The Fisker Automotive car called the KARMA has in fact the same power train as the VOLT with only one difference - the KARMA uses 1 electric motor located in each wheel for a total of 4 motors driving 4 wheels - no axels or drive shaft

The VOLT uses 1 electric motor, not located in any wheel, to drive 2 wheels through axels.

Karma system - more expensive - more economical to run
Volt system - less expensive to build -less economic to run

[Xander Bekkett]

You Said: Toyota Motor Corp., Fisker Automotive and others are working on that technology, which is essentially a hybrid with a bigger battery and a power cord. Those cars would use increased juice to take more of the load off the gas engine and, at low speeds, run on electric power only. But unlike the Volt, the gasoline engine still is part of the drive train

Recheck your facts. GOOGLE "Fisker KARMA"

The Fisker Automotive car called the KARMA has in fact the same power train as the VOLT with only one difference - the KARMA uses 1 electric motor located in each wheel for a total of 4 motors driving 4 wheels - no axels or drive shaft

The VOLT uses 1 electric motor, not located in any wheel, to drive 2 wheels through axels.

Karma system - more expensive - more economical to run
Volt system - less expensive to build -less economic to run

[Jakob Trøjmer]

The Chevy volt tank will hold 7 gallons.

http://www.gm-volt.com/index.php?s=volatile

[Mohsen]

It all depends on how many miles you drive per day.

If you drive less than 40 miles per day (80% of people do), or you charge at the office, then your MPG is infinite!

If you drive 100 miles per day, then your MPG is probably 40.

This is simple math. Maybe you should not have dropped that math/science class?

[Kevin]

The Volt is most certainly a "plug-in hybrid". Since it contains two sets of energy storage and conversion mechanisms it is, by definition, a hybrid. Since it uses energy from the electric grid, it's a plug-in. Just because the Volt uses a different (and superior IMHO) approach compared to the Prius doesn't mean it's not a hybrid.

[Justin Weber]

Great article. I think many more "informational articles" will be needed as this vehicle gets closer to launch, especially because this technology is new, and there are other automakers preparing new vehicles and it's easy for the casual auto-buyer to mix-up facts. Keep up the work.

Can't wait to drive a Volt!

[Hugh E Webber]

Tesla's S-model pure electric vehicle (EV) will be selling at $50,000 by the time the Volt hits showrooms. EVs by Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru and probably half-a-dozen new makers will also be offered by 2011. None will use any petro-fuels; most will range over 150 miles (the Tesla Roadster now goes over 200.)

I'll probably buy a pure EV before General Motors get its extended-range (hybrid) EV on sale. I tried to buy an EV1 eight years ago (GM never sold them;) I won't wait for its fish-nor-fowl Volt.

[usbseawolf2000]

Volt has two electric motors. One to drive the wheels and another to generate electricity. Most of the time, the generator and the gas engine will be a "sitting ducks". Therefore, the electric motor that drives the wheel has to be bigger, heavier and cost more. Not to mention the conversion loss from gas to electric.

When Volt runs out of 40 mile range juice, it will operate like a hybrid. This means the power from gas engine and the battery pack will blend together to drive the wheels. The second condition is when the outside temp is cold, Volt will initially start the car with gas power until the battery pack is warmed up.

[Smilin' Dave]

I drove a rental Prius for a weekend. The best thing about it was not being afraid to brake, because I knew that braking generates electricity for the batteries in that car. So I didn't mind full stops at stop signs, yielding to pedestrians, getting a red light, or even a bit of stop-and-go traffic. That feeling could make for a safety improvement for society. (I've been doing some coasting these days in my regular car, and slower acceleration, to save gas. That's also safer, I suppose.) What I haven't heard about the Volt is whether it generates any power from braking. Does it have regenerative braking?

[Oh, I got 203 miles out of just under 3 gal. of gas in the Prius.]