Yesterday, GM made another anxious grab for the spotlight with the announcement that the 2011 Chevy Volt will achieve an estimated 230 MPG. Mere hours after the news hit the web, Nissan released a conveniently timed Tweet saying, “Nissan Leaf = 367 mpg, no tailpipe, and no gas required. Oh yeah, and it’ll be affordable too!”

Expected to be priced somewhere in the $30k range, the Leaf EV does undercut the Volt’s tentative $40k markup by a considerable margin, but neither company has announced official pricing and the numbers are still very much subject to change. What’s more, although both Nissan and Chevy claim they’ve evaluated their vehicles using the most accurate Department of Energy formulas, neither the Leaf nor the Volt have undergone official evaluation by the EPA, which means any projected MPG ratings carry the significance of Monopoly money.

Our verdict: $10 says the final EPA ratings on both vehicles exceed their individual engine output by at least 100hp. Any takers?

Source: Twitter, AutoNews