GM Releases 2011 Chevy Volt Photos & Specifications! (Tons of Photos)

looks sleek (hopefully low drag).

Looks cool (maybe a few more of those oh I need something cool so I'll get a SUV, will go with this.)

I think it will work out well, a little closer to the full on electric vehicle.

However, doesn't look so good for driving in the snow. No I don't think I need an SUV, however that whole thing seems to hover just a little above the ground. That means the bottom will be dragging snow here in Buffalo, which is going to increase drag. Not something that increases efficiency.

MPG?

Damn, even cooler looking than the "leaked" pics. Should be enough to stuff a sock in the mouths of the losers who said it was too bland in the comments of that post.

Willy Bio tells you now: BUY GM STOCK.

I will be back to lambaste the inevitable losers who balk at that idea. Should be able to turn enough profit to outright purchase one when it is released.

ELECTRIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No MPG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any MPG rating for a serial hybrid needs to be labeled very carefully. Personally, I think the MPG rating should only include driving AFTER the gas kicks in, not time spent driving on battery alone.

And whatever kind of outlet you plug this car into, make sure it has a dedicated circuit. This thing will be drawing a lot of power, and so just like a refrigerator or electric stove or oven, it should have its own circuit breaker, preferably 240V.

That car definitly looks better than the leaked photos. That will be a good selling sedan and a big step towards all electric. I just wish they were bringing it out sooner. There were rumors about Ford/Mazda bringing out a similar product. Anyone know anything about that?

People tend to forget. 2011 = final prototype

2012 = 1,000 cars built, work out the bugs
2013 to 2015 = two years for mass production

2015 = 20,000 - 40,00 units per year if if demand is high -- of course demand will be high -- just the fleets.

2016 = general public waiting list processing

40k for the car, rent the batteries

You have time to buy a new Prius over 5 years, then upgrade to full EV-30, and pay the OEM EV-30, before ever getting your hands on a Volt.

GM claims 50 MPG using the generator built-in. You get about 40 miles on battery alone, then the generator kicks in to generate electricity. The generator gives you about 50 miles per gallon. That's the claim. Oh, and it takes about 3 hours to charge using 220v electricity or 6 hours using 120 volt.

I have to say... That is a gorgeous car.

Well done GM!

Never mind the naysayers. Did they expect you to just roll over and die?? Stick with the program, offer outstanding after-sales support, and you'll be a winner.

This car blows the Prius' god-awful design out of the water.

I hate it when good design, like the Concept Volt is dumbed down for the masses. The original design had an edge that could have pulled GM out of its death spiral. Sure there were things that made the concept car impractical, but they did not have to cut out its soul to fix those issues. This is about as inspirational as a Chevy minivan.

I have been waiting for a greener car that looks better than a Prius and thought the new Volt might be it. Guess I will have to wait a little longer.

Good bye General Motors. We wont miss you or your crappy cars!

Personally, I like the look of the production version. It's been my experience that production cars rarely resemble their prototype forerunners.

I don't care much about the looks as long as I can get a series hybrid that can run on electric-only for the first 40 miles. With our driving habits, our family won't have to stop by a gas station for weeks/months (?) with that kind of range.

My only quibble is that I wish the side mirrors had been replaced with cameras as they have been in the Aptera.

Whoever can come out with a four seater first (Aptera, Volt, I-Miev) is getting my money. I would rather pay TVA for their electricity than see the money go out of the country.

Who thought that white center console was a good idea? Distracting as hell.

I have to admit it looks pretty good and will turn heads but is also practical (it is by no means a Civic 5D, but still a pretty daring design by american standards)
50MPG on a generator is a decent result for a big sedan. I think having all electric drive is an advantage, as you can progressively retrofit your car with better energy storage as they become available (so maybe in the future get rid of that generator and stock up with cheaper batteries or capacitors)

I hate it when good design, like the Concept Volt is dumbed down for the masses.

The original concept may have been compelling design, but "good" design is as much about function as it is about form. The original Volt concept wasn't very aerodynamic, and didn't look like it offered very good visibility or headroom. This design is a lot sleeker, meaning better mpg, and looks like it will be comfortable to get into and out of.

But it still looks impossible to parallel park.

It isn't quite as much of a brick as it's original concept, they sanded off some of the corners.

Still, this is a sad limited design far from what could have been offered, and will be put into production as slow as possible. It's a greenwash, not something we should look for.

original concept car 1969 (or earlier)
production car 2019 (or later)

Fifty years to get a car to market?

Worse, not even a mention of an electric car nor an electric hybrid car recharge infrastructure.

I'm confused about how people who live in apartments are going to be able to charge their vehicles? Are electric cars only for home-owners?

Yes, those of us who live in condos or apartments are out of luck when it comes to electric cars. That's why we will need a variety of options like flex-fuel, hydrogen, and CNG cars. I wish I could get a Volt, it looks awesome.

If charging cars is the biggest problem we have, it's not that bad. They'll just add charging stations in your condo parking, or by the curb. They can make them safe so that a car has to electronically authenticate with encrypted keys before the juice starts flowing.

John Taylor,

The Volt IS an ELECTRIC CAR ! How many times do I have to say it, then scream it, then bang you people over the head with it?

Electrons power electric motors which drive wheels. PERIOD.

ICE does not send mechanical power to wheels. PERIOD.

As for infrastructure... you don't yet have one of those fancy little things on your wall where you actually plug things into yet? :-/

Andrew- Why would you assume it will be bad in the snow? I've lived in Northern vermont for 24 years and I have never needed an SUV (in fact I get a kick out of passing the SUVs stuck in the snow bank). I've never needed anything more than a small front wheel drive car.

Looks good, let's see if they do another EV1 with it...

But wouldn't it be great if someone was planning to release an EV that didn't have the mountains of gedgets and crap that no-one actually needs, gadgets that cause more accidents than they prevent because drivers are too busy messing with them instead of watching the road? A simple car is needed for those who just want a car to take them where they're going, who don't want to spend an extra 10 grand on all the wanky gadget crap...

Willy Bio ... please re look at what nonsense GM has sold you.
An electric car has enough batteries for a decent range, and no ICE guzzling fossil fuel.

The Volt is only an excuse to avoid setting up an infrastructure for recharging electric cars.

As an apartment dweller pointed out, he had no power source to plug into. What is needed is to make those power sources available everywhere, especially at normal destinations.

"An electric car has enough batteries for a decent range..."

John, your opinion does not consitute a definition any more than Willy's or anyone else's.

Besides, whether or not a Volt is an electric car, it is far more viable than a BEV. BEV's are just not as useful or adaptable as ICE or ER-EV's.

A few years ago I was interested in BEV's because my daily commute was only about 13 miles (no public transportation and few roads suitable for safe cycling). Then my job changed, forcing me to commute a much longer distance and sometimes drive to other facilities hundreds of miles away.

My ICE car has continued to served me in both situations, and an extended range EV like the Volt could serve me adequately as well, but had I traded my ICE for a BEV back then I might be unemployed now, so I have no interest in a BEV, but I'd consider a Volt.

Wonderful.
How much further beyond this would GM be had they continued refining the EV-1 and had a true electric with Tesla range?

Wonderful.
How much further beyond this would GM be had they continued refining the EV-1 and had a true electric with Tesla range?

I've been following the Volt for quite a while, and I have to admit at first glimpse I was disappointed by the production skins. However, I never got to see the concept up close, and after taking a few minutes comparing the concept to the production side-by-side, I have to admit that already the design has grown on me. It's essentially a prius / civic style sedan, but with some subtle tuning to the surface that really speaks nicely to the proportions of the car. I'll be excited to see one of these at the next major auto show.

To those folks that are giving GM a hard time for bringing this car to market, just remember that GM doesn't make any money when you go to the gas station. It's not like you have to take your GM car to a GM fueling station. The mass market just wasn't ready for a car like this. Now that it is, I suspect GM will receive a lot of new attention from a marketplace that is hungry for this type of product.

Also, I'm surprised anyone is upset about the inclusion of the engine. Frankly, that's the buying point for probably 90%+ of potential owners. The fact that, yes, on an average 'commute day' I can go completely on grid-power is great, but I'd also like the flexibility to travel outside of my normal route if need be. Bravo GM, I'm looking forward to buying a Volt.

I simply love this awesssssome design.....it a wow design.

The car looks ok. Like the concept of running purely on electric with the engine there just to re-charge on the hoof.

Interesting comments re those living in flats (appartments) etc...

Has anyone got info on oil derived fuels vs electricity power generation en masse, to allow comparrison. Sure, we could all say that once we buy an electric car we'll go to a renewables tarrif for our electricity. Trouble is, there doen't seem to be that much renewable electricity about! So, how does generation of electricity reqd to re-charge [per process] compare with petrol/diesel when thinking about least worse environmental harm.

Until we 'get with the programme' for renewables and also reduce generation/transportation losses, in terms of present major sources of power, are we not just 'rearranging the [Titanic's] deck chairs' here!

$35K+!! for a first generation electric from a near bankrupt GM with it's history of spotty workmanship and reliability ? Who's going to take a chance on this vehicle, especially in these difficult economic times? It may be pretty. It may be great. But are YOU willing to plop down you hard earned cash and take your chances on this Hail Marry last ditch effort to save GM ?

Toyota's Prius has been in production since 1997 (initially available only in Japan) so it has a long history of fine tuning from a company with a reputation for producing very reliable automobiles. Toyota can't keep up with demand!

Volt or no Volt, GM is in big trouble and consumer confidence in it's survival will hinder sales of the Volt... or any other GM vehicle for that matter. Too little too late? Only time will tell but it's not looking good.

I mmight aggree on price with SamColorado
35K is a bit over the top for me and many others
BUT....
I don't know about "spotty workmanship and reliability "
untill recently all my cars have been iether oldsmobile or GM and they were great.
infact my 1995 Chevy Montecarlo which I bought used with 85K on speedometer run nicely for 6 years with out a hitch
and I only give it up in 2005 when it needed an engine seal replaced and it was not cost effective for me to do so (it would cost around $2000) and for a 10 yo car with 230K on speedometer...
but it was still running great thus I donated it for a good couse and I am sure the next person who got it for free would be able to get anouther 4-5 years out of it. not bad for 2K car.

what happenes if the battery goes bad like what happens normally to my laptop battery after a while.
their CEO said that the chevy batteries is equivilant to about 600 laptop batteries. this means that it will cost a lot to replace it