Now this is a GM product I might actually buy. And I ain’t talkin Genetically Modified.
At the Detroit Auto Show, GM has unvailed the ‘Chevy Volt’. It’s somewhere between a concept car and production, in that they’ve hired a line manager for the vehicle, but they’re having problems finding a supplier for the 100,000 mile Lithium Ion battery.
GM is calling it a ‘Plugin Hybrid’, but to me that’s a terrible misnomer. It’s an EV car with an onboard generator. It’ll run about 40 miles on full battery power, at which time the engine kicks on and starts recharging the batteries. It can plug into wall outlets and recharge in about 6 hours. The onboard gasoline / ethanol engine isn’t even mechanically connected to the wheels, it simply runs a generator.
And, it doesn’t look so bad either!
what’s pathetic about this is the timeframe. By the time this is available, Toyota plans to be 100% hybrid.