But it turns out that the Volt is a real car and a beaut of one at that. What is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this new car that Chevrolet refuses to call a hybrid is its conventionally attractive styling. Sure most people will marvel at the Voltec drive train which differs from the Toyota Prius’ and Honda Insight’s in that the onboard internal combustion engine used has no direct mechanical connection to the drivetrain. The engine on the Volt runs at an economically constant speed so as to keep the 16 lithium ion batteries used at a steady current. That current then drives the Volt’s electric motor, which of course drives the wheels. When running by way of the current generated by the Volt’s gasoline generator into its 140 horsepower electric motor, the car averages a mere 50 miles per gallon fuel consumption but average in the mileage achieved from battery only “silent running” and that figure leaps off the line to a tremendous 150 MPG! On a fun note, if your batteries are fully charged and you run out of gas, you will still have 40 miles of driving in order to reach a station. The exterior of the Chevy Volt is more than attractive enough to lure buyers. This will be necessary with a planned initial sticker price for the car of $40,000. This figure is offset by a hefty tax credit of $7,500.
Perhaps the one feature found in the Volt that anyone over thirty and born in the last fifty years has anticipated is the ability to drive the car for 40 miles before the gasoline engine is required. In fact, if your commute is within the national average of 33 miles daily then you might go weeks without visiting a gas pump. You will have to plug your car into a conventional wall socket every night for a ten hour recharge. The Volt’s platform also allows for a quick 3 hour charge if plugged into a 240 volt socket such as those used by a clothes dryer.
An electric car that can drive around town and go 70 miles per hour on the freeway was not too long ago the stuff of science fiction. We may not yet have the predicted flying cars for the new millennium but come November of 2010 there will be an automobile that we can plug into the socket just above the washing machine, charge overnight and drive to work in the morning.
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