The EPA finally got around to rating the fuel economy of the Chevy Volt late last month, which means that Volts are now inbound to dealers in launch states (California, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Connecticut, Michigan and Washington D.C.). There’s been quite a bit of confusion surrounding what the Volt is (an extended range electric vehicle, a serial hybrid) and what it isn’t (“just another hybrid”, a parallel hybrid), so Chevy produced this video to help consumers understand the Volt’s fuel economy rating. The fuel efficiency while running the gasoline generator (officially 37 MPG, although I saw better economy driving from NYC to Detroit in the Volt) is calculated the same way as with a conventional automobile: divide miles driven by gallons of gas consumed to get MPG.

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A Chevy Volt on the run in Pennsylvania.

I’m an internal combustion engine guy, and have been since I tuned my first minibike as an eight year old kid. In fact, I’ll take gas over electric in just about anything, from garden tools through kitchen appliances. If they made a commercially available, two-stroke food processor, I’d own it. I’ve even resisted the blending of gasoline with electric power, since it tends to bring out the worst of both worlds. I’ve yet to drive a hybrid automobile that was even remotely as good as its gasoline powered equivalent. Hybrids are like Swiss Army knives: in a pinch, they’re better than nothing, but I’d never buy one as my only resource.

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2011 Chevy Volt. Photo: Autoblog Green

There’s good new and bad news for prospective Chevy Volt buyers. First the bad news: the EPA won’t let Chevy claim an “equivalent mileage” figure of 230 MPG, as the car was originally rated by the EPA. What will it get? The EPA isn’t saying, since it will need to completely revise standards for testing electric vehicles. The Volt probably won’t get an EPA equivalent mileage rating until shortly before it hits dealer showrooms late this year.

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