Im an American! I support GM! But I think they might be going too far with this claim...

[FelixDeCat]

First it was the "selling cars from California on Ebay" thing yesterday. Today its:

GM claiming new VOLT will get 230 miles per gallon -

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...es&pos=7&asset=&ccode=

WARREN, Michigan (AP) -- General Motors Corp. said Tuesday its Chevrolet Volt rechargeable electric car should get 230 miles per gallon (98 kilometers per liter) of gasoline in city driving, more than four times the current champion, the Toyota Prius.

The Volt is powered by an electric motor and a battery pack with a 40-mile (65-kilometer) range. After that, a small internal combustion engine kicks in to generate electricity for a total range of 300 miles (480 kilometers). The battery pack can be recharged from a standard home outlet.

GM is marketing the 230-mile (370-kilometer) figure following early tests using draft guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for calculating the mileage of extended range electric vehicles.

The EPA guidelines, developed with guidance from automakers, figure that cars like the Volt will travel more on straight electricity in the city than on the highway. If a person drives the Volt less than 40 miles (65 kilometers), in theory they could go without using gasoline.

Highway mileage estimates -- which are generally higher than city ones -- for the Volt have yet to be released using the EPA's methodology.

I mean, come on now GM. Yes, we know you have to be "different" this time...but that doesnt mean you have to be "cuckoo" now with your claims and strategies just to get attention.

Do you think something strange is going on at GM? Or do I need to cut these guys some slack?

Already posted here.
Sr Moderator allisolm

 

[Sqube]

You can twist statistics to say any damn thing; this just seems to be a prime example. Note the use o fearly tests and draft guidelines. This is only two steps away from made up, and I'm all but positive the number will go down as more electric cars see real-world usage. Hell, the numbers will probably come down as the guidelines are refined.

 

[amdhunter]

The thing that kills me about the Volt, is the only people who can afford one, are the same people that can afford gas...

 

[Pheran]

That figure means absolutely nothing, because it depends on how far you drive the car at a stretch. If you only ever drive less than 40 miles before recharging, the car gets infinite mileage because you never use any gas. MPG is a stupid measure for plugin hybrids.

 

[evident]

supporting GM doesn't make you more american

 

[PricklyPete]

These numbers were based off an EPA draft of how electric vehicles will be rated in the future. It is not the final number...but will likely be close to what the EPA finalizes. Sure it is a marketing claim...and you could argue all day about how realistic that number is...but GM is going off of what the EPA is doing...not their own tests. It has been stated that the EPA has been working on these calculations for years...so I would not agree that this is basically made up.

 

[Insomniator]

Originally posted by: evident
supporting GM doesn't make you more american

this x50000

Also, to someone that drives 40 miles a day it gets infinite miles per gallon, to someone who driver 200 it gets slightly better than your average econobox.

There is a topic about this already in the garage btw.