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Green: Detroit’s least favourite colour?
Jonathan Schultz
Chevy Bolt Concept led a small class of fuel-efficient cars in Detroit. (General Motors)
Not two hours removed from their respective debuts, the redesigned Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and its cheeky sibling, the electric Chevrolet Bolt Concept, were orphans.
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Luring journalists away at the 2015 Detroit auto show was the nearby Corvette sports car, the undisputed star of the Chevy stand. That is, if the year were 2013.
During these media-preview days, alternative-powertrain vehicles face an uphill battle for attention. At filling stations around Detroit, 87-octane gasoline sells for less than $1.90 per gallon. And in the US, large trucks and SUVs have reasserted their dominion after consumers’ torrid – but ultimately brief –dalliance with cars, an affair precipitated by national average gasoline prices that in 2008 topped $4 per gallon.
The presence of lurid high-horsepower machinery such as the Ford GT and Acura NSX has not made these products’ jobs any easier. It is a pity, because the product is better than ever.
General Motors has put its kitchen-appliance-like Volt through an extruder, resulting in a silhouette as lithe and inoffensive as that of a Honda Civic. Indeed, if the overtly quirky shape of the first-generation Volt – sold in Europe primarily as the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera – kept buyers away, the 2016 model could yet woo them. Improvements like extended electric range (50 miles, up from roughly 35) more insistent acceleration and a more ergonomically sound cabin suggest that General Motors wants the Volt treated not as an exceptional outlier, but as a passenger car that simply travels 1,000 miles on average between fill-ups.
2016 Chevrolet Volt. (General Motors)
The 2016 Volt arrives in North American showrooms mid-year, with pricing closely aligned to that of the current car – which after US government incentives can be purchased for roughly $30,000. (The survival of those incentives is another matter.)
The Bolt EV, meanwhile, is more styling exercise than engineering powerhouse. Chevrolet did not disclose battery capacities, but said the concept hinted at what might become a punchy runabout with 200-mile range – more than double the figures achieved by the Nissan Leaf, Volkswagen e-Golf and BMW i3.
Other carmakers are taking shorter – but more immediately impactful – approaches to improving fleet fuel efficiency. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced on 11 January the introduction of turbodiesel models to its North American product offering. JLR global sales director Andy Goss noted that diesel models accounted for 57% of the company’s global sales in 2014, and that such models delivered between 20% and 30% better fuel economy than their gasoline four-cylinder and V6-powered counterparts. The all-new XE compact sedan will be the first Jaguar to receive a 2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, while both Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models will offer a turbodiesel V6 option.
Hyundai joined in with a PHEV version of its Sonata mid-size sedan, said to be good for 22 miles of gasoline-free driving. And Mercedes-Benz, which has long prioritised its turbodiesel programme over pure EVs or plug-ins, showed its first hybrid C-Class sedan, the C350 Plug-in Hybrid, which pairs a 2-litre 208 horsepower four-cylinder engine with an 80hp electric motor.
The horsepower buffet may brim over for the next few years in North America, with every price drop at the pump making portents of peak oil seem less and less daunting. But if fortunes shift – and in the oil business, they do – consumers will find an uncommonly fresh spread of greens, ripe for the grazing.
If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Autos, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.
Start your day with our morning email
Jonathan Schultz
Chevy Bolt Concept led a small class of fuel-efficient cars in Detroit. (General Motors)Not two hours removed from their respective debuts, the redesigned Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and its cheeky sibling, the electric Chevrolet Bolt Concept, were orphans.
Related
Locavore? Meet your car
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A pedal for plutocrats
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Luring journalists away at the 2015 Detroit auto show was the nearby Corvette sports car, the undisputed star of the Chevy stand. That is, if the year were 2013.
During these media-preview days, alternative-powertrain vehicles face an uphill battle for attention. At filling stations around Detroit, 87-octane gasoline sells for less than $1.90 per gallon. And in the US, large trucks and SUVs have reasserted their dominion after consumers’ torrid – but ultimately brief –dalliance with cars, an affair precipitated by national average gasoline prices that in 2008 topped $4 per gallon.
The presence of lurid high-horsepower machinery such as the Ford GT and Acura NSX has not made these products’ jobs any easier. It is a pity, because the product is better than ever.
General Motors has put its kitchen-appliance-like Volt through an extruder, resulting in a silhouette as lithe and inoffensive as that of a Honda Civic. Indeed, if the overtly quirky shape of the first-generation Volt – sold in Europe primarily as the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera – kept buyers away, the 2016 model could yet woo them. Improvements like extended electric range (50 miles, up from roughly 35) more insistent acceleration and a more ergonomically sound cabin suggest that General Motors wants the Volt treated not as an exceptional outlier, but as a passenger car that simply travels 1,000 miles on average between fill-ups.
2016 Chevrolet Volt. (General Motors)
The 2016 Volt arrives in North American showrooms mid-year, with pricing closely aligned to that of the current car – which after US government incentives can be purchased for roughly $30,000. (The survival of those incentives is another matter.)
The Bolt EV, meanwhile, is more styling exercise than engineering powerhouse. Chevrolet did not disclose battery capacities, but said the concept hinted at what might become a punchy runabout with 200-mile range – more than double the figures achieved by the Nissan Leaf, Volkswagen e-Golf and BMW i3.
Other carmakers are taking shorter – but more immediately impactful – approaches to improving fleet fuel efficiency. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced on 11 January the introduction of turbodiesel models to its North American product offering. JLR global sales director Andy Goss noted that diesel models accounted for 57% of the company’s global sales in 2014, and that such models delivered between 20% and 30% better fuel economy than their gasoline four-cylinder and V6-powered counterparts. The all-new XE compact sedan will be the first Jaguar to receive a 2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, while both Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models will offer a turbodiesel V6 option.
Hyundai joined in with a PHEV version of its Sonata mid-size sedan, said to be good for 22 miles of gasoline-free driving. And Mercedes-Benz, which has long prioritised its turbodiesel programme over pure EVs or plug-ins, showed its first hybrid C-Class sedan, the C350 Plug-in Hybrid, which pairs a 2-litre 208 horsepower four-cylinder engine with an 80hp electric motor.
The horsepower buffet may brim over for the next few years in North America, with every price drop at the pump making portents of peak oil seem less and less daunting. But if fortunes shift – and in the oil business, they do – consumers will find an uncommonly fresh spread of greens, ripe for the grazing.
If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Autos, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.
Start your day with our morning email