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Autoblog fan favorite car ads from Super Bowl XLIX

Super Bowl XLIX is in the books, and the New England Patriots emerged victorious. Of course, if you're like us, the big game wasn't so much about the battle between the east coast and west, so much as a fight between the world's automotive advertisers. We collected and collated all of last night's new ads and put them together for you to vote on. And yes, we're limiting this year's contest to last night's new features. That's why you aren't seeing Dodge's epic Wisdom among our collection of commercials, and it's a similar story with Chevrolet's Truck Guy Focus Group series, which highlights the new Colorado. You can still vote for your favorites. We won't be closing the voting on our Super Bowl page, so while the winners and losers are correct as of this writing, it's entirely possible that there could be some changes in the rankings as time goes on. So, without any further ado, here are the winning ads based on your voting. Nissan: With Dad Fiat: Ready For Action Jeep: Beautiful Lands BMW: Newfangled Idea Mercedes-Benz: Fable NASCAR: America Start Your Engines As for those ads that failed to impact you, loyal readers, Toyota was the absolute, undisputed loser. The Japanese brand ran four ads in total – two for Toyota and two for Lexus – and all of them have negative tallies as of this writing. Lexus' Make Some Noise and Lets Play and Toyota's One Bold Choice and My Bold Dad both had very weak showings among the commercials that aired, although they weren't alone. Neither Mazda nor Kia scored particularly well, despite featuring celebrity magic act Penn and Teller and former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, respectively. Chevrolet was the winner of the losers, as of our writing, recording the fewest downvotes for its audience-punking The Big Game ad. If you want to take a second look at the losing ads, you can head back to our Super Bowl page for the complete collection. But for now, head into Comments and let us know what you think of the results.

2016 Chevy Volt powertrain technical details

The last time General Motors launched a Chevy Volt, it was operating without really knowing how people would use the plug-in hybrid. Sure, it had experience with the EV1, but the Volt was a new kind of car, and you can see in the archives just how much time GM spent explaining this fresh, new powertrain to potential customers. Then, once the vehicle was released, the company collected voluntary data from a large number of owners to learn about their driving and charging habits. The company also asked them what they wanted most in the new version. There's got to be an algorithm buried somewhere in GM headquarters that was used to take all of the numbers GM collected and spat out the headline figures for the 2016 Volt: 50 miles of EV range and 41 miles per gallon. Another important number – price – is something GM isn't talking about yet (expect it in April or May), but the company is sharing some powertrain details about the upcoming car. At a preview lunch in Detroit last week for the SAE 2015 Hybrid & Electric Vehicles Technologies Symposium that's happening now in California, GM engineers Peter Savagian (who is presenting a paper on the new inverter used in the updated Volt) and Tim Grewe (talking about the entire second-generation powertrain) sat down with AutoblogGreen to tell us about the Volt's all-new propulsion system: The overall gist is that the new Voltec 5ET50 drive unit is lighter, smaller and more powerful thanks to a redesigned two-motor traction drive. As previously reported, the new engine is a 1.5-liter DOHC four-cylinder that offers 101-horsepower (at 5,600 RPM). Grewe said it's "great for range extension." The electric motor side of the powertrain offers 149 motoring horsepower from a two-motor, continuously variable transaxle. Initially, the new engine will be made in Mexico. GM will move production to Flint, MI during the first year it makes the 2016 Volt. The battery is slightly bigger in the new Volt – 18.4 kWh compared to 16.5 in the current-gen – and will have less range variation in the cold. GM is also using more of the overall capacity in the pack in the 2016 Volt than in previous versions, but is not saying how much more. GM is not ready to publish acceleration times just yet, but the 2016 Volt has improved numbers, especially when going from 30-60 miles per hour. Most everything on the new powertrain has become more efficient compared to the first-gen Volt.

2016 Chevy Volt rated at 106 MPGe, 53 miles of pure EV range

Following a string of rumors, Chevrolet and the Environmental Protection Agency have released official fuel economy numbers for the second-generation Volt. As was reported earlier today, the new and improved hybrid will cover 53 miles on pure electric power. As Chevy tells it, first-gen Volt owners cover about 80 percent of their mileage on EV power alone, so the 40-percent increase from the second-gen should lead to an even bigger reduction in gas-powered Volt mileage. Chevy expects some 90 percent of mileage to come from a plug with its new 2016 model. This newfound EV range comes thanks to the 2016 Volt's 18.4-kilowatt hour lithium-ion battery. Rated at 106 MPGe by the feds – exactly what was promised by a June leak – the 2016 Volt improves nicely on the current model's 17.1-kWh, 98-MPGe battery back. There's also a marked improvement when relying on the gas-powered on-board generator. The 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine will happily run on regular fuel and return a still-impressive 42 miles per gallon combined rating once the battery's state of charge is depleted. Expect the freeway to cruise to be even better, although Chevy isn't ready to say by how much. Fully charged and with a full tank, drivers should expect to cover 420 miles, a 40-mile improvement over the current model. Scroll down for the official press release from Chevrolet Related Video: The Results Are In: More Range for the 2016 Volt EPA-estimated pure electric range is 53 miles DETROIT – The 2016 Volt is engineered to offer customers more of what they want: range, range and more range. The Volt's all-new second-generation Voltec extended range electric propulsion system delivers 53 miles of pure EV range, based on EPA testing. That is nearly a 40-percent improvement over the first generation Volt. Chevrolet expects many next-generation Volt owners will use power solely from their battery for more than 90 percent of trips. Today, Volt owners use battery power on 80 percent of their trips. This means that the average Volt owner may expect to travel well over 1,000 miles between gas fill ups, if they charge regularly. For the first 53 miles, the Volt can drive gas and tailpipe-emissions free using a full charge of electricity stored in its new 18.4-kWh lithium-ion battery, which is rated at a combined 106 MPGe, or gasoline equivalent. When the Volt's battery runs low, a gas-powered generator seamlessly operates to extend the driving range for a total of 420 miles on a full tank.