EV1 vs. Chevy Volt, a feature mashup
By Matt Jansen
In the 1990s Chevy was working on the EV1, which it hoped would serve a niche of customers looking for zero emissions vehicles. It suffered from a number of problems, the biggest being its inefficient battery. The Chevy Volt has some new technology under its hood, but is it enough to woo consumers skeptical from EV1’s dubious reputation?
| Chevy EV1 | Chevy Volt |
| 90 miles range on the highway, all electric. According to Motor Trend | 40 miles range on the highway, all electric. Gas engine kicks in after that, providing about 50mpg, according to Cars.com |
| 1175 pounds of lead-acid batteries | 400 pounds of lithium ion batteries |
| Lead-acid batteries stored .4% the energy of a kilogram of gas | Lithium ion batteries store about 1.2% the energy of a kilogram of gas |
| All electric | Hybrid |
| Subcompact car | Supposedly larger, final design not yet revealed by Chevy |
| Low gas prices during its introduction | Record gas prices may be present during its 2010 planned release date |
It looks like Chevy has learned from some of its mistakes with the EV1 and acted on them in the Volt, but reliability and battery stamina are still key factors that are relative unknowns.
The reality is the EV1 was hostage to a technology the engineers knew from the get-go just wasn’t able to do the job Roger Smith and the California Air Resources Board believed it could. That’s what killed the electric car.
Sky high gas prices can be a compelling catalyst for new technology though, and Chevy is racing to capitalize on the trend.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Volt concept is a sporty-looking number. The EV-1 was sporty, if odd-looking. With their prodigious power (torque, actually) at low rpm, electric motors put even diesels to shame. The Volt, while not a rocket, is claimed to do zero to 60 mph in 8 to 8.5 seconds, with a top speed of 125 mph.
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May 20th, 2008
The gen-II EV-1 had an EPA certified range of 140 miles using NiMH 1000 lb of batteries with the same energy as the 400 lb Volt pack.
May 20th, 2008
The gen-II EV-1 had an EPA certified range of 140 miles using 1000 lb of NiMH batteries containing the same energy as the 400 lb Volt pack. It also cost 1/4 of the price quoted by A123.
August 18th, 2009
If you really want to know if the EV-1 was a better car than the new Volt – Watch the Documentry “Who Killed the Electric Car”
GM sold out the American Public to the Oil Companies & so did the Government.
The EV1-with the new battery did have a range of 140 miles – and GM who had control of the battery, sold it to the Oil Companies – which killed it.
So there is no reason why we can’t have a VOLT at a cheaper cost since the technology is already there.