The rebirth of GM's electric-powered vehicle
By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Mon, 2007-02-12 06:30The Chevrolet Volt announced at the North American Auto Show
General Motors (GM) has faced severe criticism for shutting down its production of the EV-1 electric vehicle in the nineties (see blog post 'Who killed the electric car?'). At the Detroit North American Auto Show in January, GM announced that it is currently developing the EV-1’s successor, called the Chevrolet Volt.
GM shares this newfound interest in electric hybrid vehicles with Toyota, Ford and Daimler Chrysler. This interest is fuelled in part by promising technology breakthroughs in lithium-ion batteries. The technology is currently tested and approved at the battery cell level. What remains to be done is the packaging of cells into large units and testing them in the vehicles.
The Chevrolet Volt will be a 'series hybrid vehicle'. In a conventional hybrid vehicle like the Toyota Prius, the car can run on a gasoline engine, a battery–powered motor or both. In a series hybrid, the gasoline engine serves only to recharge the batteries and has no direct contact with the wheels. As a result, it can run at a constant speed, making it much more efficient. Another advantage is that the batteries can be charged from any source, including a wall outlet.
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I hope so!
By Jim (I Love Hybrid Cars!) Stockton / Published on Mon, 2007-12-24 22:23I hope this one not only makes it to the market....but stays there! We REALLY need for a lot of these to be one the streets, and making a statement! That's the only way to prove to the mainstream that they work, they're cheap to operate and maintain, and they're best for everyone!
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the Volt
By Anonymous / Published on Tue, 2009-01-20 6:50As an electric vehicle, the Volt has an operating range of 40 miles (65 km). Plug it into a standard 110-volt outlet and the lithium ion battery is fully charged in about six hours.
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