Chevy Volt: 40 Miles Without A Drop Of… Premium Gasoline?

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

The Chevrolet Volt began life as a marketing concept: “what if,” GM’s finest minds asked themselves, “we could sell a car that could go 40 miles without burning any gasoline?” That goal was achievable (although how easily and regularly remains to be seen), but it came at a cost: if you check out GM’s just-released standard equipment sheet (click on “standard equipment”), you’ll find that the Volt’s gasoline range extender requires premium fuel. What’s strange about this is that the Volt’s 1.4 liter range extender is hardly an overstressed buzz-bomb, making only 80 hp at the crank and 74 hp at the generator. Why then does it need premium? Considering that the Volt would have struggled to pay off its premium over the Toyota Prius anyway, the decision to require premium fuel makes no sense at all.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Damian2050 Damian2050 on Jul 28, 2010

    I cannot understand as to why the Chevy Volt is not supplied with a diesel generator. The only time you use a petrol generator is for low KVA applications. As any one will tell you the torque curve of a diesel motor is more suited to this type of application, you ever been on a train, in a mine etc. The other point is that in the U.K., and perhaps Europe, there are two types of diesel - taxed and untaxed. I wonder if you could get away with untaxed as the engine is not directly connected to the drive train but merely charges the batteries. Believe you me with the cost of fuel and motoring in the U.K. the Volt would make sense. I want the number of the president of G.M. to tell him to bring it to the U.K. with a small 3 cylinder turbocharged diesel engine. One more thing by the way, for all you people saying it is such a waste of time and giving it such a hard time do you not know what is happening in your own country? Have you not heard of Oshkosh? Maybe it is time to check out their website and see where G.M. got it's idea from - as endorsed by your own government and military. I will give the lazy a hint - they have a truck that can run an airfield and itself. The only other thing I can see that is wrong with the Volt they have not followed Oshkosh's principle completely but then it is understandable with the political gerrymandering that G.M. has to do but not Oshkosh - you will understand this if you understand the concept. You can keep your 40 mile E.V.'s I would rather have a Volt. You think what is going to be easier on a Sunday drive, pulling up to a farmer and paying for a gallon of diesel or an hours worth of electric. Rant over.

  • Dolo54 Dolo54 on Jul 28, 2010

    Imagine if they had made it a small turbine that could burn any fuel. Sure it would get an equivalent of 10mpg, but you could just pour filtered used fry oil in it or whatever. Now that would be cool.

  • Stephen Hardman Stephen Hardman on Jul 28, 2010

    The Volt is an impostor. It is not an EV. It is a hybrid that only gets 37 EPA mpg when running on gas. A lot of drivers will take the governments $7,500 and run the car on gasoline most of the time. Arizona wasted $100 million+ on alternative fuel cars and many of them are using gasoline. Check out the following for details: http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2009/11/2011-chevrolet-volt-if-not-230-mpg-then-what.html

  • Mr. Fletcher Mr. Fletcher on Jul 29, 2010

    I know i'm late, but could it be simply be that the engine was made for international markets that use "premium" gas. And due cost and time constrants just plucked the 1.4 from overseas work and didn't bother to change that particular requirement.

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