New Chevy Car 230 mpg EREV

Yesterday GM shocked the automotive world by announcing that their upcoming electric-drive new Chevy car named Chevrolet Volt will gain an EPA city mileage rating of 230 mpg. It's an astounding claim - one that would make the new Chevy car more than four times as efficient as Toyota Prius. And yet, even the federal government says it can't back up GM's math.




The new Chevy car is one of several so-called Extended-Range Electric Vehicles, or EREVs, in development. An EREV functions as an electric car until its batteries are depleted to a certain level; then it starts a small gasoline engine. That engine, however, doesn't drive the wheels - it merely acts as a generator to recharge the batteries. Chevrolet Volt, GM says, can travel about 40 miles at any speed before its onboard generator kicks in.

That number is significant, because Department of Transportation figures show that most Americans drive less than 40 miles per day. For most of us, owning the new Chevy car could mean rarely ever using gasoline.

Chevrolet Volt Plug-In Hybrid Transformers Car

A hybrid car is a car that uses two or more distinct power sources to move the car. A plug-in hybrid car (the term used is PHEV) is a hybrid car with batteries that can be recharged by connecting a plug to an electric power source. Chevrolet Volt is one of the plug-in hybrid cars.




Chevrolet Volt Plug-In Hybrid car appears on the upcoming robots movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. One of the robots in this Transformers sequel named Jolt can transform itself into a Chevrolet Volt car.

GM: Volt to hit the Market as Scheduled in November 2010, One More Brand to get Plug-in Hybrid

GM: Volt to hit the Market as Scheduled in November 2010, One More Brand to get Plug-in Hybrid

Despite the looming bankruptcy and the other serious issues facing the company, General Motors' global product development chief, Tom Stephens told journalists on the sidelines of an event at the University of Michigan that the American automaker is on plan with the development of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. "At this point in time, I know of no reason why we can't be in production by November of 2010," Stephens said.

Stephens, who replaced Bob Lutz as GM's vice chairman of global product development on April 1st, 2009, also told reporters that the automaker has not made a decision yet on which of the remaining three brands (Cadillac, Buick and GMC) after the axing of Pontiac and the sale of Saturn and Saab would get a vehicle based on the Volt's plug-in hybrid drivetrain.

"It's best utilized in urban vehicles," said Stephens. "We have to consider what is the usage of the person buying the vehicle. For a commuter who drives 40 miles a day and takes it shopping on weekend, it's the perfect application.".

That said, we reckon that that one of the most obvious and less inexpensive options in terms of development costs would be a Buick model based on the small sedan that the company is currently working on as it uses the same Delta platform as the Volt (as well as the new Astra and Chevy Cruze).

Carscoop's spy photographers recently captured a camouflaged prototype of the Astra/Cruze/Volt-based small sedan during testing in Germany, however it's not clear if the sedan is designed only for the Chinese market or if it will also head to the States.

Via: Autonews (Sub. Req.)