230 MPG Chevy Volt: Changing the game

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Only 2 months after filing for Chapter 11, General Motors has scheduled the release of the new all-electric Chevrolet Volt. The Volt is reported to get an unprecedented 230 miles-per-gallon and is expected to hit showrooms late in 2010. The Volt is part of GM’s new rebranding effort, and despite it’s relatively hefty $40,000 pricetag (although it includes a $7,500 Federal credit), the electric vehicle is expected to give Toyota’s Prius a run for the top spot in the alternative-fuel market.

GM has already achieved a bit of success with the increasingly popular 2009 Camaro, but the company is investing heavily into the success of its new EV. GM has reported that the Volt will be the most produced electric vehicle to-date, and will be included in both its domestic and international marketshares.

One of the major technical features of the vehicle is its lithium ion battery coupled with a standard motor engine that will serve as a recharging generator for longer trips. The battery operates the entire vehicle the first 40 miles (per electric charge) before the combustion engine kicks in to recharge, so if you drive less than 40 miles a day, it’s possible for you not to consume a single drop of gas (although GM recommends recharging the Volt at least once a day, and that the ‘gas-free’ mileage will depend on cargo, traffic time, and air conditioning use).

All-in-all, the Volt sounds like a pretty snazzy vehicle, and hopefully its success will help bring GM out of the gutter (presuming Big Oil doesn’t find a way to rail it off the map like they did its predecessor, the EV-1). It seems fairly priced when you take the Federal credit into account (the average Prius sells for about $38,000), but is understandably costly since the technology is still in its first-generation phase.

udothedishes . . .