No. Volt's/Ampera's ICE kicks in only if battery is depleted or if Hold Mode/Mountain Mode is selected or if outside temperature is below -4°C/-10°C(MY2013) to warm up the passengers.
Toyota calls the system a PLUG-IN HYBRID. There's no spin. In fact, the "boost" term is used often when describing the system.
Here's another article to read... Akerson: Cadillac will take on Tesla | The Detroit News The notable quote from it confirms that Volt still isn't making a profit yet: " “We’ll sell more (Chevrolet) Volts and lose less money on the Volts than they’ll lose on the (Tesla) Model S,” Akerson said."
Everyone is losing money on EV's and phev's right now, so I see no surprise there. The whole point of the Volt was for GM to have a platform on which they could learn important lessons. Any money they lose now is paying off in other ways now and in the future. It was never intended to be a profit center in and of itself. Heck, they hardly market the thing at all.
That's a sensible outlook, now. But that most definitely wasn't the way Volt was promoted. Much has indeed been learned since rollout. The catch is, some of that was already known years ago. For example, GM's own price goal. Quotes from executives & supporters from back then are well documented. But not much of that matter anymore. Focus should be on what happens between now and when the next generation becomes available. What happens in the meantime? What else still needs to be addressed?
Note, however, that he didn't necessarily say they were losing money on each new Volt sold like some people like to say or imply. He may well have just meant that the overall Volt program R&D has not yet been paid back.
first - this whole thread is way too much like trolling. PriusChat can beat the differences between the 2 cars (as they have been done already) like a dead horse ... again and again and again. And that's what this thread does again . second - no car is a wannabe of another. Third, the Volt never has to be charged if the owner never wants to ... and the Ice can directly drive the car on down the road - and the same thing is true with the PIP. That's the nature of both. Both cars are plug in hybrids. GM said they were innocent back when they were crushing Electric trolleys in the 1930s 1940s and 1950s. GM said that nobody wanted the EV 1 even though every single one of them got snapped up on a lease, and - there was a waiting list of thousands. That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to GM spin history. Now? GM spins the Volt is an EV. Well I like to think most owners are not so stupid as to buy in to most of what GM says. GM ( and many auto manufacturers' ) marketing people aren't paid to sell you the truth. You won't find their commercials bragging that Volts get high 30's MPG in CS mode under EPA testing. You won't find GM bragging that volts' emissions in non Carb States are allowed to be dirtier than in Carb states. But these facts too, are just tips of the iceberg. NONE of this is to say the Volt is a bad car. It is what it is. What becomes troublesome is when prospective customers believe that something is true - simply because GM says it is. L Lest we forget - it was GM exec's who not too long ago said that prius owners were just a bunch of geeks. (IE. 'Cool' people will want the Volt ) .
You have to compare the engine code. It's the same with the Prius in Carb and non-Carb. Toyota certifies their cars to a lower standard in federal states to save a couple of bucks on warranty work. The Volt actually has two engine codes and ratings. Offering federal engine and a Carb one used to be the norm, but with the gap in performance closed and more Carb states, it seems that has mostly stopped. I am surprised that their is two for 2014. There isn't much difference between the 2 ratings. It is mostly in the limits for 120k miles. The initial limits might even be the same for the different ratings. Light-Duty Vehicle, Light-Duty Truck, and Medium-Duty Passenger Vehicle Tier 2 -- Exhaust Emission Standards and Implementation Schedule | Emission Standards Reference Guide | US EPA Emission Standards: USA: Cars and Light-Duty Trucks—California http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/AP_Score_2012.pdf
Interesting read, Government Motors CEO Akerson turned down money from the government for EVs development and production. His reason: "we are done with that" The Caddy was originally was going to cost $33,000 according to Ackerson. Now, the ELR is estimated to go for in the neighborhood of $76,000. Keep in mine that the CEO, to this day is STILL skeptical of EVs. Skeptical does not sell cars, vision, drive, clarity does. DBCassidy
