GM Gives Close-Up Look at New Chevy Volt Electric Car
September 17, 2008 · Print This Article
GM CEO Rick Wagoner debuted the new Chevrolet Volt electric car to an audience of thousands on Tuesday, giving the world its first look at the vehicle set to go on sale in 2010. The Volt is powered by electricity stored in a large T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack that runs the length of the car. It takes a few hours to charge, costs less than 2 cents per mile to drive on electricity and runs for 40 miles per charge. The price hasn’t been announced yet.
From CNN:
To charge the batteries, drivers will plug a cord into one of the ports just ahead of each of the side mirrors. The cord can then be attached to an ordinary home electrical outlet.
As the battery begins to run down as the car is in use, a small gasoline engine will turn on and generate enough electricity to drive the car about 300 miles.
The Volt’s battery pack goes where the “transmission tunnel” would be in a conventional rear-wheel-drive car. That means the batteries don’t take up cargo space as they do in some hybrid cars. Unlike its smoothly rounded front, the back end of the car has a sharp, angular shape. In the rear, where air flows together as it trails off from the vehicle, sharp angles help smooth air flow.
Some people are disappointed that the production version of the Chevy is far less sporty looking than the original concept vehicle, but the question that most have is, how green is it? The most environmentally friendly aspects of any electric car are lower emissions and the fact that they’re not consuming as much petroleum, but it still has to be charged with electricity, much of which currently comes from coal-fired power plants. And, beyond the 40-mile charge, when the gasoline engine kicks in, the MPG decreases rapidly – from an estimated 100 miles per gallon in all-electric mode to 50 miles per gallon on a 100-mile trip or 35 miles per gallon on a 200-mile trip (stats via CNET).
Of course, once the day arrives that we can charge cars like this on solar or wind power and use non-food-sourced ethanol, the green score will go through the roof!
Link [CNN]
Photo credit: General Motors
- Create a new Electric Vehicle Classification
- BRING BACK THE ELECTRIC CAR!
- Add Government Incentives for Electric Vehicles
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I would agree with your post above. I actually was looking into electric hybrid cars or anything else for that matter that was somewhat stylish yet eco-friendly (which brought me to the Chevy Volt & Tesla–some hope?). Unfortunately, pricing for these cars will remain high for now until it becomes the norm among consumers who demand a change. But I almost want to wait until 2010 to see what other developments occur with cars as I feel Chevy will be behind the curve with their release by then due to some other car company releasing a greater, better car…which makes me think that other consumers are in the same thoughtframe– which means for now…the consumer demand is not yet that high to demand new developments at a faster pace.
*CV, http://www.greenfixes.blogspot.com