GM's Volt Could Earn a 230 MPG Rating

By Matt Burns

You know that strange viral marketing campaign popping up around the Interwebs as of late? Well, we know what it means now thanks to GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson and it’s somewhat impressive - and a tad dubious. GM is claiming that under the new EPA guidelines, the Chevy Volt will earn 230 MPG. The Volt would be the first car to ever earn a triple digit number.

Take a look at the current high-mileage kings and that 230 MPG rating really sinks in. The EPA handed the Prius a 51 MPG city ranking and the Insight a 41 mpg. The EPA says that the Ford Fusion hybrid can get 41 in the city and the Camry Hybrid 40 MPG in the city. With hyper-mileage tactics like killing the engine while to coast down hills and fancy pedal work, a few obsessed drivers have pushed a few of these cars into triple digit territory.

None of these cars of course benefit from a battery pack that can power the car exclusively for 40 miles, though. The only real competitor to the Chevy Volt is the Fisker Karma as it’s fundamentally the same powertrain design but the EPA hasn’t had a go with that EV yet. There is the Telsa Model S too, but that vehicle is limited by the range of a battery pack and doesn’t have an on-board gasoline generator like the Volt and the Karma and therefore will not be ranked under the same guidelines.

The methodology behind the 230 MPG rating haven’t been released. There is no telling how the Volt’s 40 mile electric-only mode factored into this ranking. The EPA revised its formulas in order to generate a more accurate real-world representation of what EVs can achieve and the Volt’s the first car to benefit from this revision.

Frank Weber, the Volt’s chef engineer and the tour guide during my Volt test drive, indicated that the 230 MPG rating is based on combined electric-only mode and charge sustaining mode with the 1.4 L electric generator running. We’re still curious about the actual mileage to be driven during the EPA’s testing and how the car will rank in highway mileage ratings.

But despite my bit of skepticism, you can’t deny that GM has something special in the Volt. However it’s measured, 230 MPG is a gigantic improvement for a lot of people that can take advantage of the Volt’s 40 mile electric-only range. Now here’s hoping that the Volt makes its way into showrooms sometime in 2010 despite issues with GM securing government loans.

[image via Autoblog]

Original post

Comments

[Stockpikr:]

Actually the mileage per gallon in the first 40 miles is infinite, since it's running on zero gas. It is instead running on about 25 pounds of coal!

Aug 11 11:11 AM

[Doomsdave:]

Should be 'Volt' in the headline, not 'Vold'...

Aug 11 11:23 AM

[fireball:]

what is going on with the reverse split? i have traded gm twice for some nice quick gains but am leary of holding any as an investment because of the predicted reverse split.

Aug 11 11:27 AM

[Jeff B.:]

Okay, so for about $40,000 I can buy an electric vehicle that will take me 40 miles before it needs a re-charge? Wow, I would say that combination of limited range, cost, and dubious GM new-model reliability will satisfy approximately three people in LA. I am all about green solutions, but this sounds like a highly impractical one to me.

Aug 11 11:32 AM

[lloydt:]

Um, did you read the article? It is not an ALL electric vehicle. It can go 40 miles BEFORE burning a drop of gas. If you go beyond 40 miles then an engine kicks in to take you further. And although GM has had some quality issues with it's cars, the Chevy's have done well especially in the small to medium cars and trucks.


On Aug 11 11:32 AM Jeff B. wrote:

> Okay, so for about $40,000 I can buy an electric vehicle that will
> take me 40 miles before it needs a re-charge? Wow, I would say that
> combination of limited range, cost, and dubious GM new-model reliability
> will satisfy approximately three people in LA. I am all about green
> solutions, but this sounds like a highly impractical one to me.

Aug 11 11:58 AM

[Tdot:]

It all comes down to the fantastic things that happen when dividing numbers by zero, or nearly zero.

The Volt is claimed to have a fully-charged 40-mile range in Electric mode. No gasoline would be consumed for 40 miles, and the miles per gallon for a 40-mile commute then is (40 / 0) = infinite. You can claim a fantastic 1,000,000 miles per gallon if you wish.

But let's say you have a 48 mile commute. The first 40 miles are gas-free, only the last 8 use gasoline. A decent guess might be that the car "cruises" at 40 mpg with the gas engine running and burning up fuel after the battery is depleted. The gallons consumed in 8 miles then is (8 / 40) = 0.2 gallons. The trip mpg is then (48 / 0.2) = 240 mpg. Bingo, QED.

But wait. Now you want to go cross-country on a highway trip. You fill the tank with fuel, and charge up the battery overnight, and set out on your journey. The first 40 miles are "free". Then you get, say, 40 mpg while cruising on the highway, with the gas-burner recharging and sustaining the battery charge. A 15-gallon gas tank will get you 600 miles of gas range, plus the initial 40 miles of electric range, for 640 miles total - and (640 / 15) yields 42.67 mpg. No where near the presumed "label" claim of 230 mpg, and not nearly the "gigantic leap" that it sounds like.

Sure the Volt woul be a terrific commuter car, for daily commutes of under 40 miles total. It would only cost a few (TBD) kW-hrs of electrical bills from overnight and/or daytime recharging. One wonders if it will become commonplace (or legislated) for Employers and Supermarkets to provide free or fee-based plug-in outlets for electric cars on a nationwide basis...

Aug 11 12:00 PM

[Tdot:]

On Aug 11 11:27 AM fireball wrote:
> what is going on with the reverse split? i have traded gm twice for
> some nice quick gains but am leary of holding any as an investment
> because of the predicted reverse split.

GM (General Motors Company) doesn't have any outstanding shares of stock for public trading. An IPO for "GeMoCo" or something might be issued later next year.

If you are trading something - it is probably MTLQQ.PK - Motors Liquidation Corporation, which is the (still) bankrupt "old GM" which has a mountain of liabilities, and precious little real assets. It is being liquidated, and any proceeds will be going to various and innumerable creditors, in a sort of feeding frenzy. Nothing but nothing will go to stock shareholders; probably not even the "nominal" penny-a-share for the cost of the printed certificates. GM and independant investment firms and advisors have repeatedly warned against the bizarre trading of these worthless stocks. Of course you are free to do so anyway - you are essentially trading Antebellum Confederate Dollars, which have no actual value beyond that established by fools, collectors, and speculators who simply try to make a few cents off other fools, collectors, and speculators, as the artificially floated price swings up and down a few cents. Good luck with that though!

Aug 11 12:31 PM

[fireball:]

thanks. i thought it was pretty much worthless. still glad to take money on the trades. i just don't want to be holding when the music stops.


On Aug 11 12:31 PM Tdot wrote:

> On Aug 11 11:27 AM fireball wrote:

Aug 11 12:58 PM

[roaddog861:]

Does it really matter what the MPG is when the price tag is $40,000? Sure there will be tax breaks and incentives but who wants to drop $40,000 on a vehicle that is very small and has no room at the time of purchase. That's going to be the problem with these so called "green cars". The price tag will be too high for anyone to afford. And if the cars don't sell, we'll be right back where we started. (non green cars). Until they can make a "green" car that is very affordable (I would say around $15k - $20k) they will not sell and will eventually be not worth producing.

Aug 11 04:45 PM

[Consider_this:]

This is the (first step) to the future of energy independence.

1. Pure EV.
2. Electricity from non-petroleum sources, preferably solar/wind/ocean.
=
3. Drastically reduced oil demand. No more shipping billions of USD per day to oil producing countries.

If this really becomes mainstream (It's hard at 40K). USD/USA may become the strongest yet.

This car won't be for everyone, but look at the big picture:

1. 80% of commuters drive 40miles or less to work
2. Anyone of these 80% commuters drive a Volt, their *OIL* consumption drops to near zero.

This is enough to cause a staggering change in oil market's demand; dropping to zero for majority of commuting, and only use oil for occasional vacation/long distance is a huge deal. If anything, it'll cause over-supply of oil.

And people who scream about power sources, know your facts:

www.eia.doe.gov/cnea
f/electricity/epm/tabl...

1.
Liquid Petroleum as a source of electricity is barely 1.1% in the USA, partly due to the high prices now.

2. coal/coke/natural gas accounts for about 50% of electricity. In the USA, we're like the Saudi Arabia for Coal/NG. Recall I argued for energy independence, so keep that in mind.

3. Electricity plants are way more efficient at energy extraction than internal combustion engine. Electric motors are also more efficient, with a very smooth torque curve possible. Simply shifting to electric use gains efficiency and reduction in pollution if everything else is static.

4. Due to difference in net energy efficiency, economies of scale in a powerplant, each unit of kinetic energy (the only energy that matters) from an EV source is up to 10 times cheaper than ICE petroleum based kinetic energy, if you use today's electric prices. Even if you assume electricity will QUADRUPLE (you must be really mad to assume that), it will still be 2.5 times cheaper than petroleum standards today, this is assuming GAS prices don't go up!

5.About 25% and increasing (due to cap and trade) of the electricity sources will come from clean sources (incl Nuclear), and cap and trade have no/positive effect on energy costs from these sources.

6. This technology is also future proof. Anything can be converted into Electricity. If a cheap source of hydrogen can be found, it can be made into a fuel cell and directly power electricity to the EV.

7. Electricity is the most efficient way to transport energy, better than even transporting Oil.

8. If majority of the Volt owners recharge at night, then we're not really straining the electric grid, because it's using idle capacity that's going to waste anyway. This actually smooths out electric demand and makes it easier to plan and maintain.

9. Price is a big problem now, but remember, once you go into ELECTRIC world, Moore's law does play an effect, because its a lot easier to innovate electrically than mechanically. So I would expect prices to drop every 18 months like laptops / PCs.

10. People don't get the doomsday scenario I mentioned. If this is wildly successful, it truly can topple the middle eastern ruling parties and cause social programs to collapse. If Middle East descends into chaos and even more extremist than now, that would be a very bad thing for everyone. Many prophecies stated that the end of the world would originate from middle east. I hope Volt isn't the trigger for it. This is a REAL CON that I see from this product, if it takes off.

11. Inventing Volt is *NOT* taking away any gas engines! In fact, gas owners should rejoice as less people will now compete for limited supply of gas.

Aug 11 06:51 PM

[Tdot:]

On Aug 11 04:45 PM roaddog861 wrote:
> Does it really matter what the MPG is when the price tag is $40,000?
> Sure there will be tax breaks and incentives but who wants to drop
> $40,000 on a vehicle that is very small and has no room at the time
> of purchase. That's going to be the problem with these so called
> "green cars". The price tag will be too high for anyone to afford.
> And if the cars don't sell, we'll be right back where we started.
> (non green cars). Until they can make a "green" car that is very
> affordable (I would say around $15k - $20k) they will not sell and
> will eventually be not worth producing.

Fair points, but consider: If the daily usage comes close to the 40-mile electric-only range, then the monthly gasoline bill drops dramatically, to nearly nothing - as long as you can keep plugging in. A decent 25-mpg car with a 40-mile daily commute goes through about (40 / 25) = 1.6 gallons a day, nearly $5 worth per day, or about $100 a month. The electrical consumption works out to something like tens of cents per day, a savings of around 90%.

Anyway that roughly $100 a month savings could be sort of "subtracted" from the monthly car payment (considering "total cost of ownership"), making that $40,000 car with essentially no gasoline bill roughly equivalent to a $35,000 car with a gasoline bill. This is of course before any "government" paid purchase incentives and rebates.

Of course, some 30 years ago, $40,000 could get you a brand spankin' new Ferrari, but that's the way it goes.

Aug 11 06:55 PM

[quick:]

Unless of course the owner of the Volt also has solar panels or small wind turbine on his roof. Which in the first few years, those are the kind of people that are going to buy the Volt.

And although coal is dirtier than oil, at least it's produced here in the US instead of Saudi Arabia!


On Aug 11 11:11 AM Stockpikr wrote:

> Actually the mileage per gallon in the first 40 miles is infinite,
> since it's running on zero gas. It is instead running on about 25
> pounds of coal!

Aug 12 02:17 PM

[Zak J:]

It is so often the case that you have to have money to save money, otherwise the discipline to finance responsibly while not competing with the Jones’s luxury vehicle.

Here is an example of my cost/ benefit (which is probably not too uncommon). I have Jeep that gets roughly 20mpg with a 40 mile round trip commute. I also keep this average on the weekend for errands and recreation. When paying, say an average of $3/gallon, this gives me the potential of saving 365 x $6 a day = $2190. Now looking at the long run ( figuring in time, say rebates and cost of electricity wash each other out or at least are relatively insignificant to the big picture/ potential saving) this car can make back over $20K in fuel savings during the course of 10 years.

Though in the meantime, I’ll push the 97 Jeep a few more years, it is running great and I have yet to maximize the cost/bene of keeping vs. replacement. I imagine in 3 years with technology advances in batteries, alternative energy, and grid transmission/distribution – coupled with a more competitive electric auto maker market – one will probably be able to get a no brain deal on a hybrid car.

I cannot wait until the Jones’s get a solar roof and an electric car!


On Aug 11 11:32 AM Jeff B. wrote:

> Okay, so for about $40,000 I can buy an electric vehicle that will
> take me 40 miles before it needs a re-charge? Wow, I would say that
> combination of limited range, cost, and dubious GM new-model reliability
> will satisfy approximately three people in LA. I am all about green
> solutions, but this sounds like a highly impractical one to me.

Sep 02 01:29 AM