Report: EPA kills Chevy Volt's 230 mpg rating

Remember how big a deal General Motors made about the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt's supposed 230 mile per gallon EPA fuel mileage rating? Well, you can now forget about it. According to USA Today, the Feds have decided not to use the preliminary testing procedure that produced that mythical 230 mpg figure, and a new methodology for rating electric vehicles has yet to be finalized.

Don't expect a revised mileage figure any time soon. In fact, an actual mpg-equivalent rating may not come until the Volt is just about ready to hit the market at the end of the year. In any case, you can color us unsurprised by this little bit of news. Ever since the nebulous 230 mpg rating was first announced, there have been questions as to how it was calculated and whether or not the figure would be accurate for the majority of consumers – be it too lenient or too conservative.

Considering that nothing quite like the Chevy Volt has ever been levied upon an unsuspecting American population, we may not truly have any idea what kind of mileage the average person will be able to achieve with the extended-range electric vehicle anyway. And so we continue to wait for the car's official debut...

[Source: USA Today]