Winter - Chevy Volt is Built with Winter in Mind

When most people think Chevy, it's not the company's electric vehicle that immediately comes to mind.  Particularly if you happen to live in an area with heavy winter weather and icy roads, you may have never considered that an electric vehicle such as the Chevy Volt could stand up to wintry conditions.  It's almost ironic, though, that the Volt was released to retail buyers at the end of 2010, just before the dead center of a New Jersey snowstorm in early 2011.

When the Volts hit the roads in Jersey that January, I think customers were more than a little relieved.  Without a standard engine releasing heat to help warm up the inside of the car, most people expected to be huddling up with blankets and gloves while driving along.  The first wave of relief came when they realized that the Volt battery can be started remotely while it's still plugged it, warming up the car without using up all the power.  The remote feature can be utilized either on the Volt website or with an OnStar feature.  After it's heated up initially, all you have to do is maintain the warmth, which is much easier than heating it initially. In addition to the remote feature, the electric engines actually warm interior spaces more efficiently than gasoline powered ones.

Another great winter feature of the Volt is the heated seats.  If you concentrate on heating your immediate space, rather than overheating the entire interior air, your body temperature will be more regulated and you'll be saving power at the same time.

http://www.chevyproductreport.com/

If you ever venture into temperatures that are sub-zero, the Volt's engine has a nice little trick for creating electric warmth as you buzz along.  Once the temps get that low, the engine will cycle itself on and off, heating up the coolant fluids as it does so.  This actually gives the car a reserve of thermal energy that passengers can use to keep them toasty warm inside.

The Volts were purposefully tested and tried in the coldest regions of North America, including parts of Ontario, Canada and Fairbanks, Alaska.  Chevrolet foresaw the reluctance of drivers to tackle extreme winter weather in an electric buggy and they met the challenge head on. 

Chevy Moves: 100 Years and Still Running

Chevrolet celebrates 100 years in the automaking business, with vehicles sold worldwide in more than 120 countries. Chevrolet famously brought us the Chevy Camaro and the Chevrolet Corvette, legends in the auto industry for sportiness, style and speed. The 2012 Camaro Coupe stands out for its safety rating too. It is the first vehicle of any type to achieve the top scores possible (five stars) in every category in the newly revised, tougher testing regiment of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) New Car Assessment Program.  Camaro has always been about performance, and that includes safety performance, states Camaro chief engineer Al Oppenheiser, We always strive for five-star ratings, and the fact that we achieved them under more rigorous requirements is a great accomplishment.

Chevrolet delivers for its loyal fans and maintains a huge presence in the ever-changing world of the auto industry. Chevy Silverado pickups are still a top seller and there are Silverado Hybrids for those who want the power of the pickup with the fuel economy of a hybrid. Chevy knows that innovation is a top priority, and their quest to be the best has never waned.

2012 Chevrolet Volt - Green Car of the Year

Chevrolet is known for fuel efficient cars, and as the focus on new technology trends toward electric, Chevy stepped up to the plate in a big way with the Chevrolet Volt. At the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, the Chevrolet Volt was named Car of the Year. This vehicle also won the Green Car Journal's 2011 Green Car of the Year Award at the LA Auto Show, making it first time that an electric car has taken this prize. The Volt has an EPA estimated driving range of 379 miles, with an ability to go 35 miles electrically, after which the gas engine/generator kick in over to provide an additional 344 miles on a full charge. The 2013 Chevy Malibu is stepping up to the plate in the fuel efficiency market with the Malibu Eco, projected to get approximately 38 miles per gallon in gas.  Now, Chevy is dipping its toes into the city-car market by announcing the Chevy Spark. This car is a small car with a whole lot of features and fun packed into it. With 10 airbags, heated seats and an OnStar safety and security system, this car is sure to demonstrate that big things come in small packages.

Say Hello to the All New Chevrolet

The Chevrolet Volt is a new and revolutionary vehicle. The Volt is a hybrid vehicle, which means the combination of gasoline and a lithium-ion battery serve to power engine. This combination has 150hp and 273ft-lbs of torque. The Volt gasoline engine is a 1.4 Liter 4-cylinder and it requires premium gasoline. The transmission is also new, a 1-speed direct drive, completely different from your typical 4 or 5-speed automatic vehicles.

Along with the new engine technology the Volt is an extremely safe vehicle. The Volt comes equipped with 4-wheel disc brakes, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Regenerative Braking System, as well as Driver and front-passenger airbags, driver and front-passenger side mounted supplemental airbags, and Roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental airbags for a total of 6 standard Airbags. On top of all this the Volt has two separate types of Traction Control. You also receive 3-years or 36,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper warranty from the factory as well as 5-years/100,000 miles of power train warranty. The lithium ion battery comes with its own 8-year/100,000 mile factory warranty.

All these new mechanical options don't even begin to cover the many options available to you on the convenience features of the Chevy Volt. The Volt comes equipped from the factory with standard Air conditioning, Automatic on/off headlights, Auto-dimming rear-view mirror, Power windows, Power locks, HomeLink Universal Transceivers, iPod interface and USB ports, and much more!

With an average of 35 mile per gallon in the city for the gasoline portion of the engine and 40 on the highway you can't lose when you combine that with the 95 miles per gallon in the city and 90 on the highway of the lithium-ion battery portion of the engine. Say good-bye to stopping by the gas station every week or possibly even every month. Say hello to the revolution of the car industry, the Chevy Volt.

The Next Generation in Electric Vehicles: Introducing the Chevrolet Volt

The Chevrolet Volt is a new type of vehicle that is poised to shake up the automobile industry. The Volt is a full-performance and full-speed electric vehicle with extended range. Using a combination of electric battery and gasoline generator, the Volt can be driven up to 375 miles on a single tank of gas. However, the Volt is also capable of driving up to 35 miles without using a single drop of gas, with all of the acceleration and performance one would expect from a gasoline-powered vehicle.

The Volt's battery must be recharged after this 35 mile range has been exceeded. The Volt can be plugged into ordinary household 120-Volt alternating current power sources to charge the battery after short trips. This allows the Volt to be driven short distances without ever using gasoline, which is perfect for environmentally-conscious drivers. Coupled with a solar array at home or at work, a driver could use their Volt with zero carbon emissions. The Volt also recharges the battery through the use of regenerative braking, which uses the motion of the wheels to generate a charging current during deceleration.

Typically, hybrid and electric vehicles have had disappointing performance. Heavy batteries impact the handling, braking and acceleration of these classes of vehicles. The Volt is different in that it is classified as a full-performance and full-speed electric vehicle. Through careful engineering, Chevrolet has produced an electric vehicle that performs like a gasoline-powered vehicle. The mass of the electric battery is distributed throughout the car in a T-shape, providing better weight distribution, balance and handling. Additionally, the Volt is designed to travel up to 100 miles per hour on battery power alone, something most electric and hybrid vehicles are incapable of.  This gives the driver all of the power and handling of a gasoline-powered vehicle, but with zero emissions and zero gas consumption.