Chevy Volt ULEV Not SULEV: Prius and Insight Greener

29 October, 2010 Autos 12:28 pm

Things do not seem to be going General Motors way with their Chevy Volt, which all started when it looked as though the vehicle was a hybrid after all. We now have news that the new Chevrolet is not as green as GM had first hoped, with the likes of the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight having much lower emissions.

The new vehicle was graded a ULEV (Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle) and not a SULEV. Even more surprisingly, the California Air Resources Board also considers the Golf GTI 2.0T and Jetta TDI cleaner cars. This is certain to be a huge blow for GM, one that could put off potential buyers.

However, it is not all bad, we just have to understand how CARB do their testing. They do not have any such test for electric vehicles, so requires the engine to be running. The results of the Volt were 1.3 g/km, just missing an SULEV classification by 0.3 grams.

According to Inside Line, the Volt does not qualify for carpool lane stickers; this could be a huge problem, as this is something that most drivers want a green car for. Do you think that the Chevy Volt is now starting to lose its appeal?

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Greg Smith

No because the volt can run on pure electricity so who cares.

The prius cannot .

The volt is pure electric up to 45 miles so it would never produce any emissions at all. Who writes these crack pot articles. Its like Toyota is paying people to badmouth the volt when the volt in reality is much greener.

When the engine runs maybe 5% of the time it will produce maybe 5% more emissions but that's if it runs.

In the other cars it has to run. Volt can go 45 miles on pure electricity no matter what.
techwiz

I think GM wanted Volt out the door ASAP, to be first in the car industry once and for all. There is no other car you can take to 100 mph and gun it like crazy for at least 25 miles without sipping a drop of gas.

If they spent more time, they could have been SULEV, but I think they just chose to learn from thousands that will drive it this year and make it into an even better car end of next year.