Tag Archives: 2016 volt

Five Cars + One Truck = Six Million Dollars (part 3)

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By: Alan Gamblin

It’s not every day you get to drive a million dollar car; let alone six of them. That was my experience yesterday in the desert of Nevada. Chevrolet invited their dealers to a race track in Spring Mountain, Nevada to drive prototypes of the redesigned 2016 Camaro, Malibu, Spark and Colorado Duramax Diesel. Earlier I had the opportunity to drive the new 2016 Volt at a facility in Las Vegas. As these vehicles are pre-production cars, each car cost one million dollars or more to build. I can only say it was six million dollars of awesome. Let me share some thoughts on each vehicle.

2016 Chevrolet Volt

The all-new 2016 Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended range, showcasing a sleeker, sportier design that offers 50 miles of EV range, greater efficiency and stronger acceleration.

The all-new 2016 Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended range, showcasing a sleeker, sportier design that offers 50 miles of EV range, greater efficiency and stronger acceleration.

The all-new 2016 Volt has been refined and reengineered, based on customer input. Volt owners are the most satisfied in the industry and are very loyal, 90% say they would own another one. Current Volt owner feedback drove the changes in the new Volt. Many of you know that I love the Volt. Not only have I owned one, but I have leased Volt to family members as well. Driving the new Volt confirmed that Chevy listened to us.

Let me start out by highlighting the nuts and bolts changes before I talk about styling. The new Volt has more electric range. Now 50 EV miles, up from 38 miles with an estimated 102 MPGe (Combined). MPGe is the energy equivalent to a gallon of gas. While in gas mode the car will deliver more than 41 MPG’s. Chevy achieved this with a two-motor drive which increases acceleration and increased efficiency. Something else that is new is the ability to set your charging preferences for home and the car’s GPS will adjust to home settings automatically. You will save at the pump as Volt now runs on regular unleaded when your charge runs out. All new is Regen on Demand, which enables the driver to initiate regenerative braking using a steering wheel button. The vehicle’s kinetic energy is captured and sent back to the battery, while the vehicle is slowing down.

The 2016 Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended range is unveiled Monday, January 12, 2015 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The next-generation Volt has a sleeker, sportier design that offers 50 miles of EV range, greater efficiency and stronger acceleration. (Photo by John F. Martin for Chevrolet)

The 2016 Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended range is unveiled Monday, January 12, 2015 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The next-generation Volt has a sleeker, sportier design that offers 50 miles of EV range, greater efficiency and stronger acceleration. (Photo by John F. Martin for Chevrolet)

Inside are where some fantastic improvements have been made. Volt has greater rear leg room and is now capable of carrying five people. I need to qualify that as the Volt propulsion system still limits the size of the new fifth seat. My favorite change is the better intuitive instrument panel controls. I drive a lot of different vehicles and remembering how to turn on my heater in a Volt was aggravating.   Now the controls are easy to see and operate. New Smartphone technology connects to MyLink and displays on Volt’s color screen through the Apple CarPlay feature.

Outside the new 2016 Volt offers a muscular and sleeker design. If I could use only one word to describe the new outside appearance it would be ‘athletic’.

Chevy asked Volt owners for opinions, we responded and Chevy listened. The new Volt certainly exceeded my expectations. I shouldn’t be surprised because we Volt owners redesigned this new generation.

All-New 2016 Volt

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The 2016 Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended range is unveiled Monday, January 12, 2015 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The next-generation Volt has a sleeker, sportier design that offers 50 miles of EV range, greater efficiency and stronger acceleration. (Photo by John F. Martin for Chevrolet)

The 2016 Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended range is unveiled Monday, January 12, 2015 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The next-generation Volt has a sleeker, sportier design that offers 50 miles of EV range, greater efficiency and stronger acceleration. (Photo by John F. Martin for Chevrolet)

Chevrolet unveiled the all-new 2016 Volt electric car with extended range at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, showcasing a sleeker, sportier design that offers 50 miles of EV range, greater efficiency and stronger acceleration for drivers.

The Volt’s new, efficient propulsion system will offer a General Motors’-estimated total driving range of more than 400 miles and with regular charging, owners are expected to travel more than 1,000 miles on average between gas fill-ups.

The 2016 Chevrolet Volt’s technology and range advancements are complemented by a design that blends sculpted, muscular proportions with aerodynamic efficiency, and an all-new interior with seating for five and improved functionality.

“Since its release, the Volt has symbolized Chevrolet’s environmental and technological capabilities, and the next-generation Volt raises the bar even higher,” said Alan Gamblin.

The 2016 Volt has an all-new, muscular design that incorporates Chevrolet performance vehicle DNA inspired cues refined in the wind tunnel. Volt’s flowing, dynamic shape is inspired by the toned physiques of athletes and even the natural shapes of wind-swept sands, with carved body sides and fenders that blend into the hood. The front-end appearance retains the iconic Volt identity, with bright upper and lower grille pads.

Greater attention to detail in the design cues, materials and colors also lends a more premium, contemporary aura to its appearance. It also retains the distinctive Volt signature on the upper front doors, carrying over one of the first-generation model’s identifiers.

Inside, the new Volt includes seating for five. Fresh colors exude an inviting upscale aura – complemented by blue ambient lighting – while the controls are more intuitively placed and simpler to operate.

The Volt retains its signature dual digital color displays with an eight-inch-diagonal reconfigurable screen in the instrument cluster to relay driver information. An additional eight-inch-diagonal touch screen in the center of the instrument panel controls the Chevrolet MyLink system.

The all-new 2016 Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended range, showcasing a sleeker, sportier design that offers 50 miles of EV range, greater efficiency and stronger acceleration.

The all-new 2016 Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended range, showcasing a sleeker, sportier design that offers 50 miles of EV range, greater efficiency and stronger acceleration.

New Voltec propulsion system

An all-new, second-generation Voltec extended range electric vehicle (EREV) propulsion system is the power behind the 2016 Volt’s increased all-electric driving range, greater efficiency and stronger acceleration. It was engineered based on the driving behaviors of first-gen Volt owners.

The Voltec system includes the battery, drive unit, range-extending engine and power electronics. GM’s industry-leading battery technology has been reengineered for the next-generation Volt.

The 2016 Volt will use an 18.4 kWh battery system featuring revised cell chemistry developed in conjunction with LG Chem. While overall system storage capacity has increased, the number of cells have decreased from 288 to 192 as the result of a revised chemistry. The cells are positioned lower in the pack for an improved (lower) center of gravity and the overall mass of the pack is 21 pounds (9.8 kg) lighter.

Like the battery system, the next-generation Volt’s two-motor drive unit delivers increased efficiency and performance along with reduced noise and vibration. The drive unit operates up to 12 percent more efficiently and weighs 100 pounds (45 kg) less than the current system.

Both motors operate together in more driving scenarios, in both EV and extended-range operation. The ability to use both motors helps deliver a 19 percent  improvement in electric acceleration from zero to 30 mph (2.6 seconds) and a 7 percent improvement from zero to 60 mph (8.4 seconds). GM engineers designed the Voltec electric motors to use significantly less rare earth materials. One motor uses no rare earth-type magnets.

The 2016 Volt goes on sale in the second half of 2015.