A recent article from GM-Volt.com showed the new Integration Vehicle Assembly plant for the Chevy Volt. I think this is very exciting news! In spite of the problems that GM is going through, they have made a commitment to get this car on the road. If you are not familiar with the Chevy Volt, it is an electric car with a built in gas generator. The battery is designed to go 40 miles on a usable charge (the average American drives 30 miles a day.) After 40 miles when the battery has used approximately 70% of it's capacity, the generator will kick in and start recharging the battery. At no time does the car rely on the generator to power it. All of the power to the wheels comes from the electric motor so there is no switching back and forth like in a conventional hybrid. The car is designed to have a 300 mile range on a tank of gas and of course, you can keep filling it up for in indefinite range. This gives the Chevy Volt the same kind of convenience as a regular gas powered car or hybrid.

This simple but revolutionary idea has several advantages.

First most drivers will be able to do their normal driving on the battery without having to use the generator.

Recharging the battery on a 110 outlet will take about 8 hours. Recharging it on a 210 outlet will take about 3 hours. The cost, roughly 80-98 cents.

Unlike conventional driving, the generator motor can be programmed to run at specific RPMs for maximum efficiency.

The generator can run on E85 which will help to further reduce the consumption of foreign oil.

In electric motor will offer better performance than a conventional or hybrid vehicle in the same class.

If you were to drive across the country using the generator 100% of the time, you will still get between 40 and 50 miles per gallon.

Under normal driving conditions of commuting to work each day and driving on the weekend, you should average between 100 and 150 miles to the gallon.

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