Media Headlines Reduce Demand for Volt, Coolant May be the Cause of Battery Fires

Despite handling the Chevrolet Volt fire-risk issue brightly going to great lengths to dispel current owners’ fears and satisfy them, media headlines seem to have taken their toll on the extended range EV's sales after all.

According to CNW Marketing president Art Spinella, a new survey conducted by his research company reveals “a decline in the consideration of the GM vehicle”.

The study shows that the number of early adopters “Likely” or “Very Likely” to buy a Volt between July and December decreased by 20.5% after the fire reports, a percentage that was double among the general public. Electric vehicle enthusiasts are the only ones not affected by the reports, yet analysts expect the Volt to will miss its 2011 sales target by around 20%.

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Chevrolet Volt Deemed as 2011's Top Collectible Car of the Future by NAHC

For a second year in a row, the Friends of the National Automotive History Collection (NAHC), which is billed as the world's largest public archive of automotive literature, have selected a Chevrolet model as the most collectible car of the future among 23 all-new cars and trucks launched in the States in 2011.

Last year, the winner was the Camaro sports coupe while for 2011, the award goes to the Volt extended range electric vehicle. NAHC did not name the other competitors for this year's award.

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GM May Redesign Volt's Battery, Puts Opel Ampera Sales on Hold

Providing a free loaner to Volt owners concerned about their car’s safety is all good and well – even better for some if the loaner is a Camaro or a Corvette.

However, General Motors, which is currently cooperating with the NHTSA to address the fire issues that ensued after the agency’s crash tests, may even go as far as redesigning its extended-range hybrid’s battery which is manufactured by South Korea's LG Chem.

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GM Says Anxious Volt Owners May get Any Loaner they Wish - Even a Corvette!

You’ve got to hand it to General Motors: even though the Chevrolet Volt is currently in the middle of a formal fire investigation by the NHTSA, it looks like it can still generate good publicity out of it.

Cooperating with the safety agency to look into the lithium-ion battery issue was to be expected, but providing free loaners to Volt owners who have “fire anxiety” (even though all incidents involved crashed test cars), isn't something you take for granted.

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GM to Provide Concerned Volt Owners with a Free Loaner after Fire Probe

General Motors is reaching out to Volt customers concerned that their vehicle's batteries might catch fire under certain circumstances after a crash, by offering them a free loaner car until the company resolves the issue.

The problem first arose in May when a Chevy Volt's lithium-ion batteries caught fire while the car was parked at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's [NHTSA] Winsconsin facilities, three weeks after it had been subjected to a side-impact crash test.

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NHTSA Opens Formal Investigation on Chevy Volt and Li-ion Batteries after New Crash Tests Result in Fire

Earlier this year, a Chevrolet Volt caught fire while stationary at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Winsconsin facility car park, three weeks after it had been subjected to a side-impact crash test on May 12.

Alerted by the incident, General Motors and NHTSA repeated the test in June, but failed to replicate the fire. GM spokesman Greg Martin had said at the time that the fire was most likely caused because the agency staff had not followed the proper safety procedures mandated by the company for handling the Volt and its battery after an accident

Nevertheless, NHTSA joined forces with the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense, as well as General Motors, to determine the safety levels of the Volt’s lithium-ion batteries.

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Chevy Volt to go on Sale in China for the Low, Low Price of…$75,533!

General Motors has lead the sales front in China, which is the world’s single biggest car market, for the past six years, with the automaker expecting to break the 2 million sales mark for the second year in a row in 2011.

Therefore, it makes perfect sense for China to be one of the first overseas markets to receive the Chevrolet Volt. GM’s extended-range hybrid will be available in eight cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan, through 13 Shanghai GM Chevrolet dealerships.

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Chevy’s Low Emissions Package Gives 2012 Volt Access to California’s HOV Lanes

The state of California has more than 1,400 miles of High Occupancy Vehicle, or HOV, lanes. Initially, only vehicles with two or more occupants could use them, in order to minimize congestion. However, as low-emission vehicles became more common, the Golden State recently changed the regulations, allowing them to use the HOV lanes in order to widen their appeal to buyers.

"HOV lane access is a coveted perk in California,” said Chris Perry, vice president of Global Chevrolet Marketing. Despite being an extended-range hybrid, the Volt didn’t qualify for one of the 40,000 HOV stickers that are only available California Enhanced, Advanced Technology – Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles."

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Jay Leno and Other Volt Owners Drive 10,000 Miles without Using a Drop of Gas

Sales of the Volt have been picking up lately with GM’s extended-range EV outselling one of its main rivals, the Nissan Leaf, for the very first time in October. Famous car nut Jay Leno, though, is an early adopter and he got his own Volt in December of 2010.

The host of “The Tonight Show” says he has covered more than 10,000 miles without ever visiting a gas station. Yes, you read that correctly: Leno is still driving on the same tank of fuel his Volt had 11 months ago.

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GM Rumored to Debut New Plug-in Hybrid Crossover at 2012 Detroit Motor Show

At a recent event called “Charged 2011 – EV Symposium Silicon Valley”, General Motors’ western region group manager for environment and energy communications, Dave Barthmuss, told Brad Berman from Plugincars that the company may surprise us at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show with a new model, hinting at a plug-in hybrid crossover. Read more »

Ghosn Says Nissan will Sell Record Number of Leaf EVs in the US this June

The battle for sales supremacy in the eco-friendly segment between Nissan’s pure electric Leaf and GM’s extended range Chevrolet Volt is really heating up lately, with the two models separated by only 17 cars in U.S. sales figures so far this year.

And while GM is betting on the introduction of a slightly lower priced base model as well as the extended availability of the Volt in all 50 states to win this battle, Nissan is counting on increasing output to ease customer delays after production was disrupted by the Japan’s earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

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Nissan Leaf vs Chevrolet Volt: Who will Win the Sales Battle?

Even though the new Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt are two very different cars when it comes to details, they do have a common denominator: they are the most technologically advanced eco-friendly vehicles that are mass-produced and readily available in the U.S. market. That said, it’s interesting to see how they’re doing in sales this year.

Believe it or not, it’s a fierce neck-to-neck sales battle so far in 2011 with only 17 cars separating the Leaf from the Volt. Nissan has delivered 2,184 examples of the pure-electric Leaf from January to the end of May, while GM has sold 2,167 units of Chevrolet’s extended range electric vehicle in the same period.

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2012 Chevy Volt Launched in all 50 States, Base Price Drops More than $1,000

This morning, General Motors announced pricing information for the 2012 model year Chevrolet Volt, which is now available for order in all 50 states. The 2011 Volt was offered in just seven states and the District of Columbia. The good news for buyers is that GM has dropped the base price for its extended range electric vehicle by a little over $1,000 to $39,995, which includes an $850 destination freight charge but excludes tax, title and license fees. Those that qualify for a full federal tax credit of $7,500 will see the price dropping to $32,496. Read more »

Obama Speaks at New Battery Plant, Tries Out Chevy Volt Driver's Seat

U.S. President Barack Obama had the chance to get behind the wheel -but not on the road- of the new Chevy Volt during a visit today at the Compact Power battery plant in Holland, Michigan. The new plant, which is being built by a U.S. unit of South Korea's LG Chem with help from a $151.4-million federal grant, will manufacture batteries for the Volt, which goes on sale late this year, as well as for the new electric Ford Focus. The company estimates that it will hire more than 300 full-time Michigan workers when at scale.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Obama said he expects that manufacturing advances will drive down costs of fully-eclectic and hybrid vehicles over the next few years.

"Because of advances in the manufacture of these batteries, their costs are expected to come down by nearly 70 percent in the next few years," the President said. "That's going to make electric and hybrid cars and trucks more affordable for more Americans. And that not only means more jobs but it also means we're going to be less dependent on foreign oil." Follow the jump for the full transcript of Obama's speech at the battery plant.

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Chevy Volt's Batteries Protected by 8-Year / 100,000 Mile Warranty

General Motors is trying to ease buyers concerns about battery life by announcing it will guarantee the upcoming Chevrolet Volt's lithium-ion battery pack for 100,000 miles or a period of eight-years, whichever comes first.

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Is this the Start of Google Motors? Google Tech to Connect Chevy Volt Customers

General Motors has announced that OnStar will be working with Google in order to help connect the Chevrolet Volt even more.

Google has some add-ons in development for version 2.0 of the upcoming Volt app. There will be a navigation tab that uses Google Maps with a lojack-type setup, showing owners' proximity to the car (and possibly solving the Seinfeldian parking problem for good).

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