Chevy Volt Uses No Gas – Unless it’s Cold Out

National Legal & Policy Center ^ | December 9, 2011 | Mark Modica

[jazusamo]

Here's another surprise for Chevy Volt owners. Autoblog reports that General Motors is holding an online chat with Volt owners about winter driving. Part of the chat reveals that, despite the fact that GM claimed the Volt is purely electric for a range of about 35 miles, the vehicle will use gas in cold conditions. GM states, "Please be aware: when starting your Volt in these colder months, in some instances, your gas engine may engage regardless of the state of charge of the battery. This was designed into (the) Volt to generate heat for the battery when temperatures are well below freezing."

I guess those environmentally conscientious Volt owners will have to wait for warmer weather to save the planet by being totally gas-free. They can settle for being "mostly green" in colder weather. That is, if you consider it green to drive a vehicle that runs on coal power and volatile lithium-ion mined elements.

GM has taken heat in the past for claiming the Volt was purely electric until battery was drained. Under certain acceleration conditions the gas engine does engage, even within the initial battery powered stage. Now GM has waited until the cold weather is here to drop the latest surprise on Volt fans. But I'm sure Volt apologists will claim, "It's only a little gas used." Kind of like, "It was only a few fires." Or, "It was only a limited number of GM dealerships gaming tax credits."

It will be interesting to see how the satisfaction of Volt owners holds up when they struggle to keep warm in cold temperatures. One of the early complaints about the Volt was the lack of adequate heating. Engineers had to tone back the heat to help conserve battery charge. The cold weather also greatly reduces the Volt's battery range. Early Consumer Reports' tests showed a reduced range in cold weather closer to 20 miles than the much-hyped 30 to 45 mile claims. That was before CR mysteriously became a fan and recommended the Volt , despite the lack of long-term reliability data and the safety issues that have surfaced.

I guess the warm weather conditions that Jay Leno drives his car in helped contribute to his low gas usage. If you hadn't read one of the thousand or so internet stories on it, Mr. Leno supposedly only drives one of the hundred or so exotic cars that he owns. His car of choice? Of course, the Chevy Volt! Who would want to drive a Ferrari or Lamborghini when you can help promote the favorite car of President Obama? And I'm sure it wouldn't have anything to do with the millions of dollars of GM ad revenue Leno and friends at his network receive.

I'm glad to see that the $7,500 tax credit Mr. Leno is entitled to for buying the Volt is going to good use. Actually, I'll bet the claims that Jay Leno only drives a Volt, drove 11,000 miles in one year and is still on the first tank of gas, is about as true as most of Government Motors' other claims about the vehicle. That includes the one that there is so much demand for the vehicle that supply can't keep up. You can probably add the claim that GM tried but couldn't replicate a crash-test induced fire in the vehicle for five months to the list of GM half-truths.

I look forward to hearing about how happy the Volt owners in cold climates are with their vehicles. Maybe some of the NY city police officers who have been forced to drive the poorly heated vehicles when Mayor Bloomberg (make that taxpayers) purchased a fleet for them earlier in the year can give me some feedback. Mayor Bloomberg may want to consider making space heaters standard issue for the unlucky officers to carry along with their Glocks. I'm a supporter of New York's Finest and wish them the best. Happy Holidays and stay warm, guys.

Mark Modica is an NLPC Associate Fellow.

[jazusamo]

Winter Volt drivers will be wearing fur which will tick off PETA freaks. Oh the humanity. :-)

[jazusamo]

Working link:

http://nlpc.org/stories/2011/12/09/chevy-volt-uses-no-gas-%E2%80%93-unless-it%E2%80%99s-cold-out

[WellyP]

As a man who had delt with big storage batteries and high voltage DC for a long time, this is the most (logical) thing I’ve learned about the Volt, maybe the only ligical thing I’ve learned.

[mylife]

Anyone with a modicum of common sense knew there would be major issues with this already flawed car in cold weather.
Hot weather too, running the heat or AC off the battery is going to seriously impact the already limited battery life.

[chimera]

On the opposite end, how well do EVs do on environmental control during hot weather months? Last I checked, vehicle A/C was a fairly significant energy user.

Its true that in the "good old days" vehicle A/C was pretty much nonexistent (except for high-end models), and everyone did fine just opening the windows. But over the years its come to be almost a given that consumers will want some measure of comfort for driving in hot weather. If the vehicle doesn't deliver on that count, I'd imagine some customers will be less inclined to consider it.

[bossmechanic]

What a complete piece of crap!
As an engineer, I feel sorry for the GM engineers that were stuck compromising their integrity having to work on this project. Probably won’t be on any of their resumes.

[stuartcr]

I don’t think most people really did fine w/o AC, they just did.

[jazusamo]

Yep, AC will be a drain on the battery which will mean the gas engine runs more.

[OB1kNOb]

Ah, well. There goes my North Dakota Volt dealership hopes............../s

[Obadiah]

Another crackpot idea. The Volt, the Leaf, and to some extent the Pruis are nothing more than an appeal to the emotions of the weak.

The Volt and the Leaf simply cost-shift energy input from the gas pump to the local utility plant. It make no sense, but it makes the weak feel better, and really THAT’s what they're buying.

The Pruis gets what? 43 miles to the gallon? How many other vehicles built years (decades) ago got at least that kind of mileage? I know in 1988 I bought a Ford Festiva. That vehicle got 44 mpgs, equal or better than today's Pruis at 1/3 of the investment.

Even Toyota admitted that the Pruis made no real sense from an economic or cost standpoint, but because the Pruis had such an appeal to the weak emotional types that it was worth producing for them.

Except in very limited applications, battery operated vehicles make almost no sense. But we are a society that is now driven by emotions and not by rational thought. It's all about facilitating and keeping up the illusions of the left.

[commish]

Interestingly, I have yet to actually see a Chevy Volt on the road here in Montgomery, AL or during my frequent travels. I hear about all these great sales numbers, and that Chevy can't keep them in stock, but I have yet to actually see one in use anywhere. I see SMART Cars now and then but have yet to see this amazing piece of automotive machinery.

[UCANSEE2]

Why not just run the gas engine all the time, and store the extra energy in the batteries?

[UCANSEE2]

Why not just run the gas engine all the time, and store the extra energy in the batteries?

That would also save on 'recharging' time (and cost).

[jazusamo]

I totally agree, they are not practical from a cost standpoint, they’re a feel good thing for enviros.

[verity]

...Interestingly, I have yet to actually see a Chevy Volt on the road here...

I accidentally stepped on one the other day ;-0

[gunnyg]

Skrew the electric vehicles—PERIOD!!!!!

‘Twere BigBromoFo not involved at all, I might very well be of a somewhat different opinion, and American ingenuity would triumph on this too!

Way back around ‘62 or so, they began sticking their noses in our business by requiring a little PCV device in the line to carburetors. I didn’t like that, but everybody said it was no problem, only cost about 50 cents, and you could easily stick it in the line yourself, w/o assistance of a technician. Before this, they had started requiring seatbelts, padded dashes, etc.

Now I deeply resent all the pollution/electronic/environmental bs required, and the engine, etc. itself is designed around the requirements themselves and not for the best results and performance of the vehicle itself.
How nutso is that!

In addition, there is all the bs additional bells, buzzers, and whistles warning of this or that, the doors locking you in as you leave your driveway, etc.

Imagine, if you can, what great vehicles, the great gas mileage, we could have if we were free from bigbro’s requirements—but we are not, and I don’t even feel better bidging bout it anymore.

Mosta ya are too young to remember when we even thought we were free!

Semper Watching!
*****

[kevkrom]

The Volt and the Leaf simply cost-shift energy input from the gas pump to the local utility plant.

Oh, its worse than that. The extra energy cost to make the "green" power systems in the first place is more than a typical gasoline engine will use in its lifetime.

[NVDave]

I’ve been thinking the same thing. After enough of these silly alternative energy and EV projects fail and fail big, how many engineers will start to consider such projects to be career suicide missions?

The net:net I could see coming out of this is that the competent engineers give the entire market/field a wide berth and we end up with no forward progress in areas where we should be making gains.

[N. Theknow]

But I'm sure Volt apologists will claim, "It's only a little gas used." Kind of like, "It was only a few fires." Or, "It was only a limited number of GM dealerships gaming tax credits."

To be filed in the same filing cabinet as:

"She is only a little pregnant."

"It was a minor amputation."

"Hope and Change."

[lacrew]

“Hot weather too...”

The owner manual actually states that you should not park it in direct sunlight during the summer, unless it is plugged in.

This means that the batteries need air conditioning (which last tme I checked takes energy), even when the car is parked.