NHTSA LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO CHEVY VOLT POST-CRASH FIRES

Back in May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) put a Volt through standard side-impact crash testing, and in doing so, "the vehicle's battery was damaged and the coolant line was ruptured." The big issue? The car went up in flames multiple weeks later, seemingly as direct result. That event prompted the NHTSA to further study the safety of the batts in the period after a crash, which culminated in more tests performed just over a week ago to find out if they would prove volatile again -- simply put, they did. The group recently explained that it's "concerned that damage to the Volt's batteries as part of three tests that are explicitly designed to replicate real-world crash scenarios have resulted in fire."

Because of this development, the NHTSA (with assistance from a bunch of other letter named government departments and GM itself) has officially launched a formal investigation into the Volt to ensure that its current battery implementation isn't a safety defect. Despite the announcement, the agency notes that of all the Volts currently zipping along the streets, there has yet to be a to be a similar incident out on the open road. The NHTSA further clarified that there's not yet any reason for current owners to worry, so long as they haven't been in an accident with their vehicle. Overall, GM describes the whole investigation as "procedural" at this point, stating that both GM has been working with the NHTSA for over six months on a "broader program designed to induce battery failure after extreme situations."

ELECTRIC CAR SALES FIZZLE IN FEBRUARY

Autoblog Green has turned up the numbers for the Cheverolet Volt and Nissan Leaf sales for the month of February and it's not good. The Volt's sales declined from January's 321 to just 281. The Leaf didn't fair much better, losing 20 sales from January bringing them down to a paltry 67 for February.

Constrained supplies may have something to do with the anemic sales for both months, it could also be that people don't want to pay the price Chevy and Nissan are asking for a small car, regardless if it is all electric or not.

CHEVY CRUZE TO GET FACEBOOK READ BACK

We have known for awhile now that Chevrolet was testing integrating Facebook into its fleet via OnStar. Now, thanks to a leaked Super Bowl ad, we know that the Chevy Cruze will be the first to have the read-back feature. The ad doesn't go into specifics of how it is done however, or if there will be an associated cost.

CHEVY VOLT GETS MPG STICKER

Just days after the Nissan Leaf got its official MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) sticker (99 MPGe), the much anticipated Chevy Volt has received its very own sticker. According to the EPA, the Volt will achieve 93 MPGe running on just batteries and 37 MPG on the gas engine. According to the EPA, the Volt will only be capable of cruising 35 miles on a full charge, but the overall range of 379 miles ain't too shabby for a car of this size. This was one of the last hurdles GM faced in getting the Volt into showrooms, so be on the lookout for this vehicle cruising down the roads very soon.  [Engadget]

CHEVROLET VOLT GETTING POOR MILEAGE

The much touted saviour of Chevrolet (and GM to an extent), the Volt, has hit the media this week for preview drives.  It looks like the range and mileage Chevy has been throwing around is somewhat exaggerated.  According to Popular Mechanics, who tested the mileage and range, has come up with an average of 33 miles on electric motor only.  This is down from Chevy's initial, and long standing, statement of over 40 miles on electric motor.  Chevy has revised their estimates for range 3 times.  The first statement had the range at 40+ miles, then it was forty-ish miles and most recently a complete revision to 25-50 miles.  In fairness to Chevy, there are a number of factors that can affect the efficiency of batteries including weather.

Also of concern is the mpg of the gasoline powered "assistance" motor.  Popular Mechanics tested this as well and calculated 32mpg city/36mpg highway.   This is a far cry from Chevy's estimate of overall fuel economy of 230mpg.  GM does say the 9.3 gallon tank adds 310 miles of driving range, which is 37-42mpg.

Chevy also recently announced the gas "assist" motor can directly drive the wheels.  This is in contrast to what was widely believed.  The understanding that most people had, and Chevrolet perpetuated, was the gas engine would power a generator which in turn would recharge the batteries which would then power the motors on the wheels.  With this change to the gas motor powering the wheels directly and charging the batteries the Volt becomes a standard hybrid vehicle with a $41,000 price tag. [Gearlog]