The Biggest Threat to the Chevy Volt are...Rats?!

Okay, readers: hands up if you like rats. No, not the cute white ones you see in science labs or can buy at pet shops. I’m talking about the sewer-dwelling, disease-carrying ones that invade your house to eat, poop and scare your misses.

What if I told you those same feral rats are not only a danger to your home but also to your brand-spanking-new plug-in hybrid extended range electric vehicle? How’s that grab you, hmm?

So a month ago , the automotive mavens at Kicking Tires were handed the keys to a new Chevrolet Volt. What’s that got to do with rats, you ask? Well, in a move that some at the office have labeled, “karmic justice” and others have labeled, “bloomin’ rats”, a member of the repressed rodent classes has attacked Kicking Tires’ futuristic loaner and rendered it befuddled. *Gasp!*

So here’s the skinny: with a blizzard blowing in Chicago, Kicking Tires’ Senior Editor David Thomas dropped the blog’s Volt off at a multistorey garage and plugged it in at a public charging station. Last week, site blogger Joe Wiesenfelder received a text message alert from ChargePoint reporting a, “ground fault” and that the, “session [was] terminated”.

On Thursday night, Wiesenfelder received an email from Todd Dore, the treasurer for the Fox Valley Electric Auto Association. Mr. Dore parks his converted VW Beetle next to the blog’s Volt, and reported that a rat had scurried underneath, probably looking to escape the subzero temperatures of the Chicago winter.

On Friday morning, Mr. Wiesenfelder unplugged the Volt and plugged it back in without any troubles. Sensing nothing unusual, he left the garage. He picked up the car Friday evening and drove it home. On the way, the Volt produced several strange warnings including, “ABS”, “Service Brake Assist” and “Service Stabilitrak”.

The next day, Wiesenfelder noted that the secondary rear window (the smaller, vertical pane that’s not at all like the one on the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight) wasn’t demisting though the primary one was.

Concerned, he took the troublesome Volt into Grossinger City Chevy of Chicago the following Tuesday. The dealer confirmed that the rat had gnawed through a wiring harness in the engine compartment causing, at very least, those troubles.

It won’t be covered under warranty, of course – acts of rats are classed the same as acts of God – though the Volt has been trouble free for over a month and 3,000 miles. In colder countries, apparently, rats are known to climb into the engine compartments of recently parked cars to warm up. The Volt’s battery is known to stay warm when charging and even when fully charged, making the perfect overnight home for a frostbitten rodent.

Wiesenfelder doesn’t think that this is the last time this will happen, or that it’ll be limited solely just the Volt. He’s asking for input from readers and Chevrolet on how to address the problem, and Carscoop would like to do the same. How do you keep a rat from crawling into your parked car at night?

Opel Ampera EV Police Cruiser: Volt's European Cousin Getting Ready for Patrol

If there's one way to kick-start sales of specialty vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt and its European counterpart, the Opel Ampera, that's by enlisting the government as one of your clients. And with a starting price of €42,900 (about US$58,000 at the current exchange rates) in Europe, GM's Opel division will need all the help it can get to sell the Ampera.

Well before the Ampera hits European showrooms at the end of the year, Opel is already exploring the possibility of a police package for its range-extended electric vehicle. According to the company, the Ampera could be the perfect police car for urban use.

Like the Volt, Opel's version of the car can be driven in pure electric mode for 40-80 km before the petrol engine kicks in to produce electricity and / or motivate the front driving wheels pushing the total driving range to over 500 km [311 miles]. The Ampera completes the standard sprint in 9 seconds while reaching a top speed of 160 km/h [100 mph].

The final production version of the Ampera will receive its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

GM’s financial troubles won’t impede Chevrolet Volt development

The much anticipated Chevrolet Volt, the car pegged with rescuing GM from impending financial doom, is about to start the next phase of testing despite threats of bankruptcy looming on the horizon. Development work on the Volt is continuing uninterrupted and the first fleet of prototypes with actual Volt bodies and interiors will begin testing by the middle of the year. Until now GM had been using Chevrolet Cruze bodies to test the upcoming Volt powertrain.

At the moment, the car is slated to hit dealerships in late 2010 and this goal appears to be on track. "At this point in time, I know of no reason why we can't be in production by November of 2010," GM product development chief Tom Stephens told Automotive News.

Something that has been delayed, however, is which of the three other surviving GM brands - Cadillac, Buick or GMC - would get a vehicle with the Volt's hybrid powertrain. The most likely option will be Cadillac, which reportedly is planning to produce a version of its Converj plug-in hybrid concept.

GM is also working on the second-generation Volt already, displaying the high hopes that upper management is pinning on the car.

Meanwhile, making the Volt as efficient as possible is of key concern to GM - this means examining every aspect of the car for any points where energy consumption can be reduced. Following this tack, GM is even putting a more frugal stereo in the car to make the Volt's electric-only range as high as possible, among other things.

Along with its current financial troubles, another thorn in the side of GM lies in the expected take-up rate on the Volt, and whether consumers will embrace it as much as upper management is hoping. One of the key concerns in this area is the infrastructure needed for the Volt, such as charging points. Incentives such as free parking in certain places may be put in place to entice customers more readily to the Volt.

Conversely, concerns about infrastructure far outweigh any concerns about the effect on the electrical grid - in fact, the largest problem for the Volt lies in the lack of charging facilities in urban areas where the Volt is most likely to be used. Whatever solution GM comes up for this, it'll have to come quick if the Volt is to be as big a success as they are hoping.