Opel Ampera Wins the 2012 Monte Carlo Rally for Electric and Alternative Propulsion Vehicles

In its debut appearance at the Monte Carlo Rally, the Chevrolet Volt's European twin, the Opel Ampera, picked up its first win in the electric and alternative propulsion category. From the seven Ampera models that competed in the rally, four finished in the top 10. The French duo Bernard Darniche and Joseph Lambert finished first, while the Ampera teams with Charlotte Berton and Olivier Sussot ranked third, Jean-Claude Andruet and Patrick Lienne came in 7th and Hanns Werner Wirth and Daniel Riesen finished 8th.
"The Ampera’s success in this versatility contest under very challenging conditions proves its impressive balance between durability and fuel efficiency," commented Opel’s Director E-mobility, Enno Fuchs. "This underscores our leadership role in the field of alternative propulsion."
Some 130 competitors from about 30 manufacturers took part in the Monte Carlo Rally for electric and alternative propulsion vehicles including the Renault Fluence Z.E., a Tesla Roadster sports car, a Mitsubishi I-MiEV and a Peugeot Ion.
The rally started in the three towns of Annecy-le-Vieux, Clermont Ferrand and Lugano, with the teams driving 550 kilometers (342 miles) to Monaco. The second day, they had to complete a distance of 272 kilometers (169 miles) from Monaco and the original route of the Monte Carlo Rally through the French Maritime Alps.

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Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera win 2012 European Car Award

The Chevrolet Volt and its sister model, the Ampera, which is sold as under both the Opel and Vauxhall nameplates, have won the 2012 European Car of the Year (COTY) Award with 330 points. Coming into second place was the Volkswagen Up! city car with 281 points while the new generation of the Ford Focus finished third with 256 points.
The other cars that made it to the final round of the competition were the Range Rover Evoque (186 points), Fiat Panda (156 points), Citroen DS5 (144 points) and the Toyota Yaris (122 points).
The competition brought together votes from 59 automotive journalists in 23 European countries.
Last year's winner was the new, all-electric Nissan Leaf that beat the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and the Opel Meriva.

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GM May Redesign Volt's Battery

Providing a free loaner to Volt owners concerned about their car’s safety is all good and well – even better for some if the loaner is a Camaro or a Corvette.

However, General Motors, which is currently cooperating with the NHTSA to address the fire issues that ensued after the agency’s crash tests, may even go as far as redesigning its extended-range hybrid’s battery which is manufactured by South Korea's LG Chem.
“We want to assure the safety of our customers, and so we’re just going to take a time out, if you will, in terms of redesigning the battery possibly”, GM CEO Dan Akerson told Reuters.
 
GM has reacted quickly after the NHTSA initiated an official probe on not just the Volt, but the lithium-ion batteries in general as well, even though no such incidents have been reported so far by the almost 5,500 Volt owners.
Sales of the Opel Ampera, the European version of the Volt, are also put on hold until GM’s engineers and federal regulators reach a conclusion over the battery fire risk investigation.
Akerson is confident that the whole issue will be resolved: "It is a safe car. We just want make sure that there are protocols post-crash. We want to make sure all the Ts are crossed, the Is are dotted, and no one has any question about the car long term."