Volt Owners exceeding EPA mileage

[Bruce Nunnally]

DETROIT – Chevrolet Volt owners are consistently achieving the published EPA-estimated mileage of 98 MPGe gasoline-free miles, and many are even exceeding it. Their experience contributes to an out worldly total of 150 million electric-powered Volt driving miles – roughly the distance from Earth to Mars.

The typical Volt owner who regularly charges the vehicle is going 900 miles between fill-ups of the gasoline engine that powers the Volt’s on-board generator. That avoids about $1,300 a year at the pump.

MPGe is a measure of the average distance traveled per unit of energy consumed. The EPA uses it to compare the consumption of alternative fuel vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles and other advanced technology vehicles with the fuel economy of conventional internal combustion vehicles expressed as miles per U.S. gallon of gasoline.

Some drivers are all but avoiding gasoline.

“I have driven more than 23,500 miles in my Volt in 21 months, and have been to a gas station twice,” said Brent Waldrep of Auburn Hills, Mich. “The last time, was in August (2012), and I still have about 65 percent of that tank left. I go about 9,000-10,000 miles between fill ups.” Waldrep is atypical, but he is not alone.

“It’s been more than 5,000 miles and I’ve only filled up once not including the dealer fill,” said Larry Read of Canyon Lake, Texas.

Paul Friday of San Jose, Calif., says he gets about 7,000 miles between fill-ups and adds about three gallons of gas to his Volt every three months.

“We’ve seen and heard from our Volt owners that they are achieving fantastic performance numbers with their vehicle as many are beating the EPA label estimates,” said Cristi Landy, Chevrolet Volt marketing director. “Our Volt owners are showing the performance potential of driving electric, and having fun doing it.”

Volt owners remain the most satisfied of any in the entire industry for the past two years with more than nine in 10 telling a major consumer publication they would buy another Volt.

For the first 38 miles, the Volt can drive gas and tailpipe-emissions free using a full charge of electricity stored in its 16.50-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the Volt’s battery runs low, a gas-powered generator seamlessly operates to extend the driving range up to another 344 miles on a full tank.

More results from Volt owners can be found at www.facebook.com/chevroletvolt

[JimD]

....Volt owners remain the most satisfied of any in the entire industry for the past two years with more than nine in 10 telling a major consumer publication they would buy another Volt.

Yeah, but I can tell a major consumer publication whatever pops into my feeble mind.

By my rough calculations, total Volts sales for all of 2011, all of 2012, and YTD 2013 have reached a staggering 40,000 units. Of course a lease is counted as a sale.

Then there have been production stoppages because of slow sales/too much inventory.

More production stoppages because of (mysterious) battery fires. Maybe GM engineers should fly to Seattle and have lunch with Boeing engineers. Those high capacity Lithium-Ion battery packages are not yet ready for prime time despite the tax payer dollars thrown at battery development in the form of federal grants, low or zero interest 'loans' and tax credits.

Not to be negative because I am basically a glass half-full kind of person, but the Volt is a modern Edsel that no one wants to pull the plug on (pun intended).

And Cadillac plans to use the same chassis/battery package to move a heavier vehicle?

[Bruce Nunnally]

I am looking forward to the ELR -- but I hear the siren song of the CTS-V or ATS-V and may not be ready to go electric.

[Cadillac Jim]

A Chevy Volt or Cadillac ELR was on my radar. The thinking was that the plug-in would replace my wife's 1999 Grand Am and I would keep the 1997 ETC.

[cdgrinci]

It is also my understanding that the gasoline engine will fire-up periodically (whether battery drained or not) to keep itself lubricated and ready for when the call for regeneration is required. If I were a Volt owner, and typically didn't require gas-engine regeneration routinely, I would also run a gasoline stabilizer to maintain the fuel system in top-notch condition.

[Cadillac Jim]

I'm not sure that a modern fuel system with fully sealed operation has enough air in it to cause a problem with long-term gasoline storage, unless you begin with a nearly-empty fuel tank. I would hope that if you keep at least a quarter-tank in it, and the engine starts and runs to warm-up about once a week, that should be sufficient indefinitely.

The EVAP system and the sealed gas cap would need special attention in design to make sure that air did not get into the system over long periods when the engine did not run, but temperature and altitude vary a lot.

[JimD]

A few more points on the battery technology issue....

Analysis Rethinking the lithium-ion battery revolution over cost, safety.txt

[Bruce Nunnally]

Interesting. I don't think lithium ion batteries are a dead end just yet.

On the other hand, capacitive discharge arrays still intrigue me. Something with the ability to recharge instantly then slowly discharge would suit cars perfectly.