NEW VIDEO OF GM DISPLAYING THE 2011 CHEVROLET VOLT

Chevrolet has a history of moving..... the..... Volt..... very..... slooooooowlyyyyy. Just watch this video of the concept for proof.

Nevertheless, it's exciting to see the production Chevrolet Volt in motion on YouTube. Click here for all Volt-related posts from GoodCarBadCar.net and make sure you don't fall asleep in your office chair watching..... the Volt.... drive.... doooownnn..... the.... rooooaad.

THE 2011 CHEVROLET VOLT - OFFICIALLY REVEALED

"The Chevrolet Volt uses electricity to move the wheels at all times and speeds. For trips up to 40 miles, the Chevrolet Volt is powered only by electricity stored in its 16-kWh, lithium-ion battery. When the battery's energy is depleted, a gasoline/E85-powered engine generator seamlessly provides electricity to power the Chevrolet Volt's electric drive unit while simultaneously sustaining the charge of the battery. This mode of operation extends the range of the Chevrolet Volt for several hundred additional miles, until the vehicle's battery can be charged. Unlike a conventional battery-electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt eliminates "range anxiety," giving the confidence and peace of mind that the driver will not be stranded by a depleted battery."

Those are the words of General Motors. With a technological marvel, it only makes sense that the manufacturer let the words flow. So below you can read more of GM's important Volt-related stuff. There's also a full photo gallery of the new Volt. With this link, you can find previous Volt-related posts from GoodCarBadCar.net. To read The Good Car Guy's need-to-know, click here.

"Because aerodynamics plays a key role in maximizing driving range, GM designers created an aerodynamically efficient design for the production vehicle. Many of the design cues from the concept vehicle endure in the production Chevrolet Volt, including the closed front grille, athletic stance, rear design graphics, outside rearview mirrors and more. The Chevrolet Volt's rounded and flush front fascia, tapered corners and grille are functional, enabling air to move easily around the car. In the rear, sharp edges and a carefully designed spoiler allow the air to flow off and away quickly. An aggressive rake on the windshield and back glass help reduce turbulence and drag."

"The Chevrolet Volt can be plugged either into a standard household 120v outlet or use 240v for charging. The vehicle's intelligent charging technology enables the Chevrolet Volt's battery to be charged in less than three hours on a 240v outlet or about eight hours on a 120v outlet. Charge times are reduced if the battery has not been fully depleted. At a cost of about 80 cents per day (10 cents per kWh) for a full charge that will deliver up to 40 miles of electric driving, GM estimates that the Chevrolet Volt will be less expensive to recharge than purchasing a cup of your favorite coffee. Charging the Chevrolet Volt about once daily will consume less electric energy annually than the average home's refrigerator and freezer units."



"The Chevrolet Volt offers spirited driving performance in a remarkably quiet interior. More than 220 lithium-ion cells contained within the Chevrolet Volt's battery pack provide ample power. The Chevrolet Volt's electric drive unit delivers the equivalent of 150 horsepower, 273 lb-ft. (370 Nm) of instant torque, and a top speed of 100 miles per hour. The lack of engine noise, combined with special sound-deadening materials, make the Chevrolet Volt an extremely quiet vehicle to drive."

"GM estimates that the Chevrolet Volt will cost about two cents per mile to drive while under battery power compared to 12 cents per mile using gasoline priced at $3.60 per gallon. For an average driver who drives 40 miles per day (or 15,000 miles per year), this amounts to a cost savings of $1,500 annually. Using peak electric rates, GM estimates that an electrically driven mile in a Chevrolet Volt will be about one-sixth of the cost of a conventional gasoline-powered vehicle. The cost savings are even greater when charging during off-peak hours, when electric rates are cheaper."

THE GOOD CAR GUY'S NEED-TO-KNOW FOR THE CHEVROLET VOLT

First, five points The Good Car Guy believes to be necessary knowledge for all those interested in the Chevrolet Volt. This post will take you to the photo gallery and plenty of General Motors talk.

1- Powered by its electric-drive unit, the Volt makes 150 horsepower. That's half the power of the base 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, a vehicle that should hit dealers before the full-of-enviro-cred Volt.

2- Its an attention grabber, but the production Volt is nowhere near as eye-catching as the original concept, a vehicle that wasn't completely researched and developed before it was fully designed.

3- In a way, the Chevrolet Volt's fuel mileage is still unknown. There will be a fight (even Toyota wants a say) in the way its efficiency is measured. Sometimes the Volt will use plenty of gasoline (plenty being relative) while plenty of drives under 40 miles in length will consume none. How does one measure that? 100mpg, or 46mpg?

4- News that charging the Volt once a day will consume less electricity than the typical fridge and freezer is superb stuff to which GM should be drawing tons of attention. Put it in real life terms.

5- This is new tech. Don't expect the Chevrolet Volt to play in the price bracket belonging to the newly introduced Honda Insight, although you can expect huge government incentives after registering your new Volt.

GM DEALERSHIP MERGER ANECDOTE

What will become a more common story across the United States - in both rural and urban areas - can be seen at this link.  General Motors really, really wants its dealerships to have a broader brand base for buyers to choose from as GM attempts to individualize each of their subsidiaries.  GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, Saab all compete in one way or another.  Bringing brands under one roof with cars that are distinct would dispose of the competition and breed a strong team approach.  

In other words, "Oh, need more truck than the Enclave? We have a Yukon Denali right over here."  In addition to that theory comes clear cost savings and greater long-term viability. 

Thus, in Albertville, a place I've never heard of in Alabama, Howard Bentley Pontiac-GMC is now Howard Bentley Buick-Pontiac-GMC.  No; that's Bentley as in the owner's last name, not the British hyper-luxury brand.  

Wayne Bentley's dealership will typically have an extra 40 cars on the lot.  Having started out with Oldsmobile and Pontiac in 1988, GMC came online and the Oldsmobile sign disappeared with... well, Oldsmobile.  

US CAR SALES RESULTS TO BE BAD FOR 02/08

Analysts believe the auto sales in America were likely 8% lower last month than in February of 2007.  It's worse for General Motors where the expected drop is 12%.  It's worse than that for Ford and Chrysler, with predictions for the two smaller American manufacturers to be -16%.

Last year, February sales topped an annual selling rate 16.5million automobiles and trucks.  The best hypothesis for the same period of this year pegs the annual selling rate at 15.3million.  

Meanwhile, gasoline prices averaged $3.16 in the States in February, the highest average cost per gallon since June.  Median home sale prices dropped 4.6% from a year earlier in January.  Mate this with Chrysler's truck-heavy sales structure (75% of their total) to Honda's 44% reliance on vans, SUVs and the Ridgeline.  

This means that even with the overall decline, Honda; Toyota; and Nissan will all - likely - make small gains.  

MORE LAPTIMES FROM evo

Superb British performance car mag, evo, has some interesting new laptimes published in issue 114.  The Bedford Autodrome's West Circuit is always the sight of evo's lap testing, a 1.8 mile circuit that the magazine testers call 'fast and technical'.  

Although the track was damp in places when the new BMW M3 took to the Autodrome, it's time of 1:26.60 is just two tenths behind its big brother, the heavier but much more powerful BMW M6.  That time is also slightly quicker than that put up by the Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

An obvious M3 competitor, the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, was just under three seconds slower than the M3. At 1:29.50 in conditions similar to that of the M3's drive, the Benz was three-tenths faster than the previous-generation BMW M3 CS and over a half-second faster than the old C55 AMG. 

If you were to give the Pontiac G8 GT a slightly different front end, a thicker bodykit, and a supercharged V8, you'd have the Vauxhall VXR8 Supercharged.  Its 'track damp in places' time of 1:30.00 gets close to that of the C63 AMG.  Even with an insane amount of power, the VXR8 can't generate enough get-up-and-go to overcome the slower corner exit speeds which are a result of the Vauxhall's size, more than anything else.  

For context, the fastest car evo has taken around Bedford's West Circuit is a Radical SR3 1300.  The Radical's radical time? 1:17.10, although that's just 2.5 seconds faster than the Ariel Atom 300 Supercharged.  Porsche's Carrera GT has an evo laptime of 1:19.70; that's 2.5 seconds faster than the Audi R8.  The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano is a second slower than the R8 but posts a laptime 1-and-1 tenth faster than the Ferrari F430.  

Bentley's Continental GT is listed at 1:32.25, the Hemi-powered Chrysler 300C is 1:34.60.  Volkswagen's Gabbit GTI splits that gap. 

Check out another evo laptime post here.

LAND ROVER LRX IN MOTION

Is the Land Rover LRX (previously seen here) the future of sport-utility vehicles?  If emission restrictions and fuel economy standards continue to grow tougher and tougher; if the societal conscience continues to garner more members of society against the sport-ute; and if - at some point - sales begin to trend more strongly away from SUVs and crossovers, will all former SUV buyers flock to station wagons and small MPVs?

I believe not.  Sport-utility vehicles are perfect candidates for a weight loss competition.  There's no use betting against the use of engine technology in sport-utes.  So, why can't the future of SUVs be seen in the same fashion as the future of cars?  

Smaller.  Lighter.  More efficient.  

Land Rover, an SUV-only brand, builds highly desirable vehicles.  It appears as though luxury SUV buyers care not one whit about fuel prices or lowering emissions, at least judging by Land Rover's sales. Nevertheless, forethought never hurts.  And with forethought, Land Rover came up with the LRX.  Read about it here. Watch it below.