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Volt's Petrol Engine Will NOT Drive Wheels at Highway Speeds

Earlier this week, a media report coming from British publication The Telegraph had hinted that the upcoming Chevrolet Volt/Vauxhall Ampera might be subject to a last-minute change in terms of drivetrain. Now, Volt vehicle line director Tony Posawatz was quoted as saying by GM-Volt.com that such rumors have nothing to do with reality.

To be more precise, the British newspaper claimed that insider sources from GM suggested the electric motor of the Volt runs out of torque at speeds exceeding 40 mph, affecting the overall performance of the vehicle. In order to solve that problem, it seemed that the GM engineers were considering driving the wheels via the petrol engines only at highway speeds.

We are considering driving the wheels directly from the petrol engine. There are a number of different ways we could do it, but the whole thing is subject to some intellectual property rights negotiations so I can’t say any more. You will see an announcement this autumn,” Andreas Voight, an Opel project engineer was quoted as saying by the Telegraph.

Now, GM-Volt.com made some further research and went directly to the source, asking Posawatz about the prospect issued by Voight.

No. I don’t know how those folks got so confused,” said Posawatz, according to the blog.

Additionally, thecarconnection.com editor Nelson Ireson also contacted GM electric vehicles, batteries, and hybrids communications man Rob Peterson, asking him the same thing. Needless to say, Peterson responded in the same way as Posawatz, adding that nobody had questioned the performance of the Volt until The Telegraph's Andrew English (the author of the initial Volt report).

We're definitely not making any changes,” said Peterson, who added that the petrol engine will in no way be turned on during the 40-mile electric-only range, regardless of the speed with which one is driving in electric mode.
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