Outstanding mileage stories involving the Chevy Volt are not hard to come by, and therefore it takes something truly extraordinary for one to stand out. So it’s only fitting that a person like Jay Leno (who else?) has gone nearly 11,000 miles in his Volt without using a drop of fuel. Or so he says. The Late Night talk show host took delivery of his model back in December of 2010. And no, it hasn’t caught fire.
Source: The New York Times
Comments
I seem to remember that gas gets stale after awhile. How long will the gas stay in the Volt before it’s causes problems.
The Volt monitors how long gasoline has been in the tank and will prompt the user to cycle the engine if it has not been used for several months. It has a maintenance mode that was designed specifically to address this issue. This fuel system is also pressurized to help minimize oxygen and water coming in contact with the fuel.
Great info. The engine will also cycle itself to re lubricate when needed.
Thanks, I didn’t think about this until I saw the article then I started wondering
According to my math, Leno would have had to drive 32.854 miles every day of those 11 months.
365.25 / 12 = 30.4375 days a month
30.4375 x 11 = 334.8125 day in 11 months
11000 / 334.8125 = 32.854209445585215605749486652977
Chevy.com says the Volt has an EPA estimated 35 mile range.
Now, unless Leno’s commute is in very light traffic, with no big hills, and he travels the most direct route to and from places, and doesn’t use the AC, there may be some fudging in his claims.
Perhpas Leno is actually getting those numbers, in which case my math supports him.
I think he charges at work as well…and the Volt can go well over 35 miles in light stop/go city traffic. The article don’t say that he hasn’t used ANY gas. It just says that he has not filled up yet, so he’s got over 300 miles of additional gasoline range he can tap into whenever he needs to drive more than 35-50 miles in a day. He’s one of several drivers who have put over 10,000 miles on the car using the original tank of gas.