KARL Chevrolet HUMMER

The time is drawing near when we will find out which U.S. markets will be the first to see Chevy VOLT deliveries.  Tomorrow, December 2^nd, at the opening of the LA Auto Show, GM has said they will announce the initial retail markets for the Chevy VOLT in November 2010.

For several years, we have been anticipating the arrival of the Chevy VOLT – the first mass-produced Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV for short).  Unlike a pure Electric Vehicle which is limited by the range of its batteries, the Chevy VOLT is an Electric Vehicle with a small gasoline engine that acts as an onboard generator that can recharge the batteries when they get low.  Thus, you will be able to drive the VOLT for approximately 40 miles on a charge, and if you go further than that, the generator kicks in and begins charging the battery. 

Yesterday, Lyle Dennis, founder and editor of the website GM-VOLT.com, got his first drive in a VOLT while in charge sustaining mode.  It was an exciting day for Lyle and he shares his experience with us at GM-Volt.com - take the time to read his comments!

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GM has announced a fun contest to allow consumers to NAME the official Signature Color for the new Chevy VOLT extended range Electric Vehicle that will debut in November 2010. Since the winter of 2007 when General Motors unveiled the VOLT concept vehicle, the public has been given a unique ‘inside’ look at the development of this ground breaking vehicle. Now, as the actual start-of-production draws near, GM is inviting you to help name the VOLT’s signature color. This color has already been used on auto show and press preview models - but it has never been officially named. Remember, the VOLT will fundamentally change our perceptions of what a vehicle can do - by traveling about 40 miles without a drop of fuel - and achieving an estimated potential 230 mpg!

Check out the color above - think of a silver/green hue. Creativity is good - but not necessary. Who knows, the winning color could be something very simple - or it could be something totally unique. The winner will be get the opportunity to drive the VOLT well before public introduction and speak with members of the VOLT development team. Get thinking . . . the contest ends on November 4, 2009. I’m thinking of a color named …….

Click here to get the details and enter your name suggestion!

One of my favorite Blog sites is www.GM-VOLT.com. Run by an absolutely independant consumer who fell in love with the VOLT concpet at the NY Auto Show in the spring of 2007, this site attracts some of the most lively commentary about the potential future of a petroleum independant transportation system. The site’s founder, and daily blogger, is Dr. Lyle Dennis, a Neurologist by day and a VOLT fan by night. Recently Lyle asked me to comment a few sentences as a dealer on the subject of ‘potential dealer price gouging’ on the VOLT when it arrives in November 2010. Here are my comments to him:

Lyle,

Happy to respond – I have commented on the site on this subject in the past – although I must say many of the site’s readers have apparently not experienced the best dealership practices in the past based on their comments. This is truly one of those subjects where “all dealers are not created equally”. Feel free to take a quote from below… Once I began thinking about it, I was compelled to just write a full story!
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As the following article from Automotive News shows, U.S. sales of Hybrid Vehicles actually fell 9.9% in calendar year 2008 vs. calendar year 2007.  With all the hype about fuel economy, high fuel prices and ‘going green’, how is this possible???

Obviously one factor is the overall economy.  As the financial crisis took its grip on our economy in the second half of 2008, sales of all vehicles fell dramatically.  Another factor was the dramatic fall in gasoline prices at the pump.  The irony of lower fuel prices is that the economics of paying a premium for a hybrid vehicle begin to disappear.  And the final factor simply became affordability.  As consumers in Connecticut and all over Read more »

Believe me, I am the first one to call something bogus if a claim seems too big, preposerous, or someone is trying to sell snake oil.

That said, I had the guys in our shop fill my 2006 Cobalt SS’s tires with Nitrogen to see for myself if the claims of better ride quality, better tire wear, less sensitivity to temperature would live up to the hype.

That was a few days ago, and now I’m here to tell you that I won’t run another vehicle ever again without putting Nitrogen in the tires and here is why. The way my car now rides with the gas is a suble but very detectable difference. The tires seem a lot more “consistant”. The ride has smoothed out a bit and with winter comming up fast it’s nice to know I won’t have to top off air in the cold months. Read more »

Exactly what is ethanol? And what’s the buzz about?It seems there are many ‘rumors’ but few current facts floating around about Ethanol and more specifically about e85 Ethanol. So let’s discuss the basics:

E85 Ethanol is a renewable fuel made up of 85% man-made renewable Ethanol fuel and 15% Petroleum. With only 15% petroleum, you would naturally expect Ethanol to cost less than gasoline.  Eventually, you will be correct.  But first, we need to get e85 Ethanol distribution available to the public.  Ethanol can be produced from many different sources; among which are corn and sugar cane. Here in the U.S. there is a widespread myth that Ethanol is only made from corn - and when folks talk about corn they think of the yellowish corn kernels we eat. FALSE.

Ethanol is made from the stalks and husks of corn - not the food stock that we would eat. Thus, ethanol is NOT responsible for the rise in food prices. If you stop and think for a moment, it is pretty easy to understand why our food prices continue to rise. How much has it been costing you to fill up your car’s tank these days? More each week, right? Well consider the truckers who must deliver food, particularly perishable food items, from farm to super market. The cost of diesel fuel that truckers use has risen faster than even the unleaded gasoline your car uses. That increased cost has to be recouped someplace, and that is in higher food prices. Read more »

Chevrolet Announces Pricing For 2009 Aveo And Aveo5

Chevrolet today announced pricing for the 2009 Aveo lineup – including the redesigned Aveo5 five-door hatchback – begins at $12,120 (including a $660 destination charge) for Aveo LS and Aveo5 LS, making it one of the most affordable cars on the market. It costs hundreds less than many competitors and comes standard with features such as side-impact air bags and OnStar.

Aveo is also one of the most efficient cars on the road, with estimated fuel economy ratings of 27 in the city and 34 on the highway (with the standard manual transmission). Aveo sedan and Aveo5 LT models start at $14,255 for 1LT trim and $15,520 for 2LT trim (including destination charges). Air conditioning is standard on LT models and an automatic transmission is available. Read more »

Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell at KARL Chevrolet HUMMER 5/8-5/9
Hydrogen-Fueled Concept Vehicle will be at New Canaan Fair on Saturday 5/10

What:  Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Vehicle Concept Vehicle in New Canaan
Public Viewing: KARL Chevrolet HUMMER, 261 Elm St., New Canaan May 8 (9 am - 8 pm), May 9 (9 am - 4 pm) and, St. Mark’s May Fair, New Canaan, Saturday May 10 (9 a.m. – 5 p.m)

NEW CANAAN,  CT,   (May 8, 2007)  –   KARL Chevrolet HUMMER in New Canaan has received a Chevrolet® Equinox® Concept Vehicle, an electric vehicle powered by GM®’s fourth-generation fuel cell system, GM’s most advanced fuel cell propulsion system to date.  The vehicle will be on display at the dealership on Thursday and Friday May 8-9 and at the St. Mark’s May Fair in New Canaan from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 10.

Chevrolet is committed to introducing advanced technology solutions in drivable and practical vehicles that decrease our dependence on petroleum and reduce our emissions. No petroleum is used to power Equinox Fuel Cell. With hydrogen as the fuel, Equinox Fuel Cell will emit zero greenhouse gases, only water vapor. Read more »

The Chevy Volt has been called many things by many people. Some say it is the first great American hope for breaking foreign oil dependency and possibly the first really viable, mass-produced, all-electric car. Others say that it is vaporware, a car that will never be produced, and even if it is, it will be late to market and overpriced. Whatever your stance on the vehicle, the good folks at www.gm-volt.com are putting together the scraps of info that escape GM into a relevant and interesting website. Take a look at the info the have collected and make up your own mind. Do you think the Volt will be here at KARL Chevrolet HUMMER by 2010? Would you buy a car that can go 40 miles without burning any gas? How much would you be willing to pay if they bring to market the Volt with all the capabilities they are shooting for? Drop us a comment…

Excerpt from www.gm-volt.com:

WHAT IS THE VOLT?:

The Volt is radically different than any on the road today. Although agreement about definitions vary, GM doesn’t not consider it a hybrid. Current hybrids cars, such as the Prius, are defined as parallel hybrids, meaning they have a small electric motor that moves the car when it is going slowly, but when speed or acceleration increases, a gasoline motor kicks in. The Volt, however, is considered an extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV). It has a very powerful all-electric 161-horsepower 45KW (53 KW peak) motor that is the only engine to power the car at all times. This engine should be capable of moving the car from 0 to 60 in 8.5 seconds, and have a top speed of at least 100 mph. Read more »

GM may yet beat Toyota in plug-in cars, but its breakneck development pace is fraught with risk.

At a General Motors research laboratory in Warren, Mich. engineers are simulating real-life wear and tear on a pair of prototype batteries that lie at the heart of GM’s riskiest technological gamble ever. By repeatedly drawing energy out and pouring it back in every ten minutes, they want to know how much stress the batteries can handle. Dialing up the torture, they’ll soon move those tests to a “shaker table,” where they will subject the batteries to jarring vibrations, extreme temperatures and corrosive road salt, to name just a few hazards.

GM is working feverishly to prove that one or both of these lithium-ion batteries will be capable of powering a hybrid car for up to 40 miles without burning any gasoline, that they’re safe and that they can last ten years and 150,000 miles. Today’s hybrids use a wimpy battery by comparison, and they can’t be plugged in for recharging. By spring GM aims to road test the batteries in prototype versions of its forthcoming plug-in, the Chevrolet Volt. Read more »