With all the news swirling around the hot concepts at the Detroit Auto Show, only one car grabbed my attention.
The Chevy Volt stands to be GM's answer to Japanese electric and hybrid vehicles squarely aiming for a market dominated by Prius' and Hybrid Civics. Throw in some American muscle into the design coupled with new battery tech means the Volt not only meets Japanese hybrids but also, in the words of Steve Jobs, "leap frogs beyond our competition".
Let's see, the Volt is technically a hybrid, but not in the traditional sense. The gas engine never powers the car. The only time it turns on is to recharge the batteries which are the primary source of propulsion. On top of that, GM seems to have solved a problem plaguing current hybrid batteries; power generated vs. consumption. Right now, the Prius can only travel under 10 miles on electric at below average speeds before it's completely discharged. The Volt manages 40 miles per charge at normal driving speeds. That's more than enough for us to go to and from work without the gas engine ever turning on. The Volt can be plugged into an ordinary wall socket for quick recharging and the batteries seem to be next-gen tech since it can be discharged and recharged hundreds of thousands of times without losing hold or charge capacity.
The only downside is it's concept status. Undoubtedly this vehicle is probably very expensive to build but as GM further consolidates it's manufacturing processes, the prospect of future vehicles with this tech can't be very far away.
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