Scoping out the New Chevy Volt
Am I geeking out over an electric car? I do believe I am.
While I’d gladly run on dino juice until the Triceratops come home, times are a-changing. Straight out of Motor City, General Motors is rolling out the highly-anticipated Chevy Volt. Having already been named 2011 North American Car of the Year, it’s finally here: the industry’s first E-REV (extended-range electric vehicle).
What does that mean exactly? Well, it runs on pure electric power and its small 1.4-liter gasoline engine can generate real-time energy to keep it going when the charge in the car’s primary battery is depleted.
This difference separates it from conventional hybrids, as running on electric power is its primary purpose. According to GM, the Volt has a range of about 25-50mi on electric power alone. Using the battery power first, and then electricity generated by the on-board gasoline-power generator nets in a very respectable range of about 340mi. In more common terms, this boils down to 93mpg equivalent in all-electric mode, 37mpg in gasoline-only mode with an overall fuel economy rating of 60mpg combined.
Fun fact: the car’s primary power source weighs over 400lbs and comes in the form of a T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack that sits low in the rear of the car. The low center of gravity this creates reportedly gives the Volt some impressive handling for what one would normally expect from an economy car. Good handling would be great to pair with its 149-horsepower engine with a comparatively-whopping 273 lb-ft of torque.
While I could rant on and on about the engineering, I can’t ignore the interior technological gadgetry. The Volt has not just one, but two 7.0 LCD screens taking the role of traditional gauges. The center-mounted one is a touchscreen (because real buttons are passé) that’s used to access the (Bose) sound system, navigation, climate control and a range of geeky stat-oriented powertrain status and efficiency information.
To guide all these awesome computerized feats is the latest version of OnStar and the Volt’s very own dedicated iOS/Android OnStar mobile app. The app does a slew of things from scheduling or checking the status of remote-activated charging (the Volt can be plugged into any residential electrical out to recharge its lithium-ion battery), or view various stats on miles driven using gas and/or straight electrical power and of course calculated, average mpg.
To top things off, GM and Powermat, a pioneer in wireless charging technology, announced a commercial agreement that will eliminate the need for charging cords for personal electronic devices in many future products, starting with the Volt.
Excited yet? The car will be in all major markets within the next 18 months. However, you can check it out the Volt and sneak peaks at other exciting GM vehicles such as the Sonic or Cruze starting this Saturday at the Philadelphia International Auto Show. Can’t make it to the auto show but interested in some serious coverage on the Volt? Check out ChevroletVoltage.com
PS. General Motors declined to make comments on Transformers 3. They are however, involved.
