Chevy Volt's gas tank gets downsized, range drops 300 miles

At the big unveiling of the Chevy Volt, GM said the vehicle would be able to hold 12 gallons of liquid fuel and be able to go 640 miles on that energy and what was stored in the batteries. Well, that announcement was 18 months ago and things have changed since then. The latest that we've heard about is that the liquid fuel tank will be something smaller than the original estimate.
Kicking Tires quotes "a source" that says that the exact size of the smaller tank is not yet set but that, "We're working on that." The new goal is to give the Volt a range of 360 miles without any help from the initial charge, so that would imply a tank of maybe eight or so gallons - still plenty for most drivers most days in a PHEV like this. While the aerodynamics of the Volt have proven to be much more important than weight when it comes to increasing the miles per gallon number, every bit counts. We're waiting on a reply from GM to see if the smaller fuel tank move is official.

UPDATE: GM's response was that they will share "the detailed technical information on the production vehicle at the appropriate time."

[Source: Kicking Tires]

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