The Chevy Volt was on campus this week and we got to check it out up close, and talk to a couple of the engineers that worked on the car.
It seems really cool. Some of it’s features that separate it from other electric/hybrid cars:
- It’s called an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV?) because technically it’s always using batteries.
- It has a charge range of about 40 miles. If you drive more than 40 miles, a gas-powered generator begins to charge the batteries.
- You can plug it in when it’s not being driven to recharge the batteries.
- Most commuters driver 40 miles or less to and from work, so theoretically you could almost always use the batteries, rarely needing to use gas.
- It’s capable of running on electricy, gasoline, ethanol, or biodiesel.
I believe it’s on schedule to hit production in 2010, with a target price of around $30,000. I was really impressed with the appearance of the car, too. And I got a free t-shirt. 