230 = Chevy Volt Miles Per Gallon!

Just one month after GM emerged from bankruptcy, the automaker has made some big news. We speculated about what the company will announce during today’s presentation by CEO Fritz Henderson as well as what’s behind the 230 marketing campaign. Turns out we were half right – here’s the scoop!

• The biggest news to emerge from the announcement is that the catchy “230″ marketing campaign that has been in play for the past week is related to the Volt: the EPA has released a new set of practices for determining a fuel economy standard for cars like the Volt (extended-range EV). Under the new methodology, the Volt will achieve a combined fuel economy rating of 230 mpg! That makes the Volt the first vehicle ever to pull of a triple digit fuel economy rating. Electrically-speaking, the Volt will consumer 25 kW/hour per 100 miles.
• Henderson also announced the new GM FastLane blog, which the automaker will use to collect customer feedback on new designs. During the course of the next two years, GM will be launching 25 new models between its four remaining brands (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac).

As soon as the webcast is finished, the media will be shown previews of the rumored new Cadillac XTS and small ATS sedans. The ATS will slot under the current CTS and will be aimed squarely at the BMW 3-series, with rear-and all-wheel drive. The XTS is the replacement for the outgoing large Caddy DTS and will be built atop the same platform (Epsilon II) that underpins the awesome new Buick LaCrosse.

These are very exciting announcements in the automotive world! As such, they should at least tickle the fancy of some non-gear heads. Stay tuned for pictures of the new models!