Ad This Up: '230' Refers to Estimated EPA City Mileage Rating GM Expects For Volt
By Scott Doggett August 11, 2009
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
An advertisement blanketing billboards across the U.S. that features "230," today's date and a smiling electrical outlet, we can now report, is an attention-rousing teaser referring to GM's announcement this morning of the miles per gallon its engineers expect the Chevrolet Volt extended-range hybrid to achieve in city driving using tentative EPA test methodology.
A General Motors spokesman attending the Plug-In 2009 convention in Long Beach, California, told Green Car Advisor early today that the gasoline- and electric-powered Volt four-door sedan will attain a city fuel economy of "at least 230 mpg," based on development testing using a draft EPA federal fuel economy methodology for plug-in electric vehicles.
GM representatives have repeatedly said that the Volt, which is scheduled to start production in late 2010 as a 2011 model, will be able to travel up to 40 miles on electricity from a single battery charge and extend its overall range to more than 300 miles with its on-board, flex- fuel internal combustion engine-generator.
"From the data we've seen, many Chevy Volt drivers may be able to be in pure electric mode on a daily basis without having to use any gas," GM Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson said in a statement that repeats clams GM executives have been making since the Volt was introduced as a concept car at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation data, nearly eight of 10 Americans commute fewer than 40 miles a day.
However, it's unlikely many of those attending the plug-in convention - ourselves included - place much credence in the 230-mpg figure.
Several engineers and battery specialists asked about the claim Monday - while it was still a rumor - said that the EPA test figures for EVs are unrealistically optimistic.
GM itself dampened the news with a press release that said "Volt drivers' actual gas-free mileage will vary depending on how far they travel and other factors, such as how much cargo or how many passengers they carry and how much the air conditioner or other accessories are used."
On the other hand, Volt drivers who driver sensibly on unremarkable roads without hauling a carload of people or cargo - and who don't exceed 20 or 30 miles between charges - could avoid having to buy any gasoline for the on-board generator. The generator, a four-cylinder gasoline engine, feeds juice to the Volt's electric powertrain after the battery is discharged..
But How did GM come up with 230?, you ask.
Good question.
GM says that based on the results of unofficial development testing of pre-production prototypes, the Volt got 40 miles of electric-only, petroleum-free driving in both EPA city and highway test cycles.
----------
Left, Volt cutaway draws a crowd at Plug-In 2009.
----------
Under new methodology being developed, the EPA weights plug-in electric vehicles as traveling more "electric" city miles than highway miles. The EPA methodology uses kilowatt hours per 100 miles traveled to define the electrical efficiency of plug-ins.
Applying EPA's methodology, GM expects the Volt to consume as little as 25 kilowatt hours per 100 miles in city driving. At the U.S. average cost of electricity (about 11 cents per kwh), a typical Volt driver would pay about $2.75 for electricity to travel 100 miles, or less than 3 cents per mile.
How It Works
The Volt uses grid electricity as its primary source of energy to propel the car on short trips. There are two modes of operation: electric and extended-range.
In electric mode, the Volt will not use gasoline or produce tailpipe emissions when driving. During this initial - GM says "primary" - mode of operation, the Volt is powered by electrical energy stored in its 16 kwh lithium-ion battery pack.
When the battery reaches a minimum state of charge, the Volt automatically switches to extended-range. In this mode, a gasoline- or flex fuel engine-generator kicks on to produce electricity to power the vehicle.
Energy stored in the battery in the extended-range mode supplements the engine-generator when additional power is needed during heavy accelerations or on steep inclines.
LEAVE A COMMENT
Click here to comment on this entry.No wonder the outlet is smiling. The EPA gave a bogus MPG rating to a (partial) electric vehicle.
Come on EPA, stop this nonsense!
I don't get it? If the above information is correct I don't see how the 230 MPG is calculated. If the vehicle can travel 100 miles for $2.75 then the cost to go 230 miles would be $6.33.
I don't know where the EPA buys their gas but I don't pay $6.33 per gallon (at least not yet). Cost shouldn't be the determining factor anyway since what we are really talking about is the amount of potential energy versus the distance traveled.
I know everybody likes to call these things zero emission when in fact the emissions happen just at the power plant. So my question is, how much potential energy is in a unit of coal, or natural gas, or whatever is being used to generate the electricity versus the distance traveled. Now compare that with the potential energy of gasoline and the distance traveled in the same vehicle. That would give an idea of efficiency of a particular methodology.
The next thing to look at is emissions between the two methods. To be thorough one should actually track all required emissions (equipment to extract the oil, gas, coal or whatever). Any emissions required to convert extracted natural resource into a usable fuel. In the case of battery electrics you would also require an amortized cost of the battery since its manufacture requires emissions and cost as well.
I really would like to know these things but have never seen anything like this being talked about much less someone put numbers to it.
BS.
There was already a discussion on how charging an electric car won't leave you falling into the 11 cents per kwh tier of electricity usage.
If you're plugging a car to your house, your electric bill will be in tier 4 or tier 5 and you pay 25 or 30 cents per kwh since you suck so much from the power grid.
On the MINI-E we calcuguessed that the energy cost is about equal in cost to a 40 mpg car.
Don't fuel efficiency ratings on CNG and LPG vehicles use "gasoline equivalents"? Why not do the same with electric and gas/electric vehicles? What will the MPG be for the Nissan LEAF - infinity?
petecele, maybe if they were realistic. I'll have to check my electric bill the next time it comes, but after extra charges (ex. the additional per kwh charge to deliver the electricity) and taxes, it would cost me a multiple of what they suggest it would cost. I could sign up for a lower night rate, but that would drive my daytime rate up even higher.
They need to top manipulating the numbers to make it look better than it really is.
Btw: I seem to recall the CNG and LPG gasoline equivalents were on untaxed fuel. They're unrealistic too.
"What will the MPG be for the Nissan LEAF - infinity?"
Yes it is, but they shouldn't advertise it that way. If they do, I'll advertise my ICE car as getting infinity miles per kwh.
top -> stop
They should just drive the car through both City & Hwy cycles til empty then divide miles/gallons. Easy, right?
And since when did GM switch the technology to have the engine/gen provide juice directly to the drivetrain and not through the battery first?
ADD A COMMENT