Chevrolet Volt named Best Engineered Vehicle of 2011 by AEI

"The selection of the Volt as the 2011 Best Engineered Vehicle by our peers is an honor," said Doug Parks, Vehicle Line Executive for the Chevrolet Volt. "This award validates the hard work and effort of the engineering team to deliver a truly transformational vehicle."

The award acknowledges the engineering innovation that resulted in the world's first electric vehicle with extended range capability. With a full charge, Volt drivers can go up to 40 miles completely emissions free without using gasoline, but then continue for several hundred more miles when needed.

Complementing a groundbreaking propulsion system, the Volt offers an equally revolutionary design based on a wheels-out, body-in stance that makes a dynamic statement. Further, GM's aerodynamicists worked with the design and engineering teams to develop the vehicle with the lowest coefficient of drag in Chevrolet history. By reducing drag, the vehicle's design contributes an extra eight miles of electric range and as much as 40 miles of total range.

SAE International membership chose from candidates selected by AEI's global editorial team. The list included the Nissan Leaf, BMW 5 Series, Kia Optima and Volkswagen Jetta among others.

The SAE membership selected the Best Engineered Vehicle on the same criteria typically used in vehicle development programs: commonality, flexibility, cost, innovation, package efficiency, powertrain performance, chassis systems, interior accommodations, occupant safety and its engineering benchmark.

This is the 11th year of the awards. SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries.

It seems strange this award comes on the heels of the announcement of a recall for improperly attached steering wheels, but assembly and engineering are two different things.

The Chevy Volt has received numerous awards and sales are exceeding expectations in a big way. See TorqueNews' previous coverage to read more about the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze recall.