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Some 2012-13 Chevy Volts may not have enough battery coolant

The 2012 and 2013 model year Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in vehicle may have a battery glitch caused by low coolant levels. No recall has been issued and General Motors is taking care of the issue at no cost to drivers. Some of the affected Volts may have lower-than-advisable coolant levels because of some pesky air pockets in the car's cooling circuit. When the coolant levels get too low, the charging system for the battery powering the car's onboard generator (i.e. the Rechargeable Energy Storage System, or the RESS) may be shut down, turning one's Volt into a run-of-the-mill gas-powered car, and a pricey one at that. The Car Connection says GM is advising owners of the '12 and '13 Volts to contact their local Chevy dealer for a free fix. GM representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from AutoblogGreen for more details. We believe this is a separate issue than the one that brought 8,000 Volts back to the dealers for a battery coolant fix, what GM called a "voluntary customer satisfaction effort," a few years ago. General Motors sold 23,094 Chevy Volts last year after selling 23,461 Volts in 2012, so that fix-it list may get fairly lengthy. Check out a GM-Volt.com user thread related to this issue here. *UPDATE: Chevrolet spokesman Randy Fox confirmed in an e-mail to AutoblogGreen that the company issued a service bulletin to dealers that they may need to top off coolant levels on certain Volts because of the issue, and that the vehicle will "return to normal charging operation" once that's done.

2016 Chevy Colorado Duramax gets 31 mpg highway

The 2016 Chevrolet Colorado Duramax and its similarly diesel-powered GMC Canyon sibling are the most fuel-efficient new trucks on the market in America. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 31 miles per gallon highway, 22 mpg city, and 25 mpg combined for two-wheel-drive Colorado and Canyon diesels. That's just good enough to take the pickup fuel-economy title from the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel HFE, which carries EPA estimates of 29 mpg highway, 21 mpg city, and 24 mpg combined. Four-wheel-drive models offer slightly lower economy figures of 29/20/23, respectively. Drivers can cover quite some distance, too – the GM twins' 21-gallon tanks mean a maximum range of 651 miles. <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> Diesel's reputation may be somewhat tarnished in the US after Volkswagen's emissions scandal, but Chevy wants to assure potential customers that there are no tricks with the Colorado's figures. The pickup's engine features NOx-reducing tech like exhaust gas recirculation, and the EPA and California Air Resources Board recently chose the truck to take the additional step of real-world emissions tests. The 2.8-liter Duramax four-cylinder with 181 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque had no problems with the more stringent evaluation, and "the agency expressed no issues or concerns," according to the company's statement. The diesel Colorado goes on sale this fall, and the Duramax costs $3,730 over a similarly equipped V6 model. We've gone ahead and included dueling press releases from both Chevy and GMC below for your reading pleasure. Related Video: CHEVROLET COLORADO DIESEL: AMERICA'S MOST FUEL EFFICIENT PICKUP 2015-11-09 2016 Colorado two-wheel drive model offers EPA-estimated 31 mpg highway Up to 7,700 pounds of trailering when properly equipped DETROIT – Chevrolet today confirmed that the 2016 Colorado two-wheel drive with the Duramax turbo-diesel will be the most fuel efficient pickup in America, offering an Environmental Protection Agency-estimated 31 mpg highway fuel economy. The EPA-estimated highway fuel economy for 2016 Colorado four-wheel drive diesel is 29 mpg. The EPA has issued a Certificate of Conformity for the Chevrolet Colorado Duramax diesel. The agency expressed no issues or concerns following its recent extensive testing and evaluation of the emission control system on the Colorado Duramax diesel.

GM promises to add 20 EVs and fuel-cell cars to lineup, paid for by SUVs

DETROIT — General Motors outlined plans on Monday to add 20 new battery electric and fuel-cell vehicles to its global product lineup by 2023, financed by robust profits from sales of gasoline-fueled trucks and sport utility vehicles in the United States and China. "General Motors believes in an all-electric future," GM global product development chief Mark Reuss said on Monday during a briefing at the company's suburban Detroit technical center. Future generations of GM electric vehicles "will be profitable," Reuss said, but added it was not clear when GM could make all its new vehicle offerings zero-emission electric cars. Regulators in China and some European countries have floated proposals to ban internal combustion engines by 2030 or 2040. "We will continue to make sure our internal combustion engines will get more and more efficient," Reuss said. GM shares were up more than 4 percent in midday New York trading on positive comments from Rod Lache, auto analyst at Deutsche Bank. Automakers, including electric vehicle market leader Tesla, lose money on electric cars because battery costs are still higher than comparable internal combustion engines. The company offered sneak peeks of three EV prototypes: a Buick SUV, a sporty Cadillac wagon and a futuristic pod car wearing a Bolt badge. GM funds its forays into new technology using a river of cash generated by old-technology vehicles popular with its core customer base in the United States heartland. In comparison, Tesla has burned through an estimated $10 billion in cash and has yet to show a full year profit. GM earned more than 90 percent of its $12.5 billion in pretax profits last year in North America, amid robust demand for its lineup of large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. The company's profitable operations in China rely on consumer demand for an expanding lineup of gasoline powered SUVs. GM has previously announced plans to make some of its future electric vehicles capable of driving themselves in robot taxi fleets. The company offered sneak peeks of three electric vehicle prototypes: a Buick brand sport utility vehicle, a sporty Cadillac wagon and a futuristic pod car wearing a Bolt badge. GM collaborated with Korean battery maker LG Chem to build the Bolt battery system. Company officials did not say what companies would supply batteries for the larger fleet of vehicles promised by 2023. Fuel-cell vehicles will also play a role in GM's future, the company said.