THE CAR’S FUTURE IS NEARLY HERE

Volt electric car nearly ready, GM says
June 16, 2010 (AP via Toronto Star)

"Engineers at General Motors Co. are planning a big event at the end of June to announce the completion of the Chevrolet Volt rechargeable electric car, the automaker’s electric vehicle chief said…

"When it reaches showrooms in November, the Volt will be able to travel 40 miles on pure-electric power. After that, the small gasoline engine will kick in to generate power for the electric motor. GM says the two engines eliminate the fear that batteries will run down before the car arrives at its destination."

click thru for Plug-In Partners

"…GM is still fixing software that monitors more than 1,000 functions in the Volt’s powertrain. In some cases, the software would detect a problem and activate a dashboard light to warn the driver, while in others it would merely record the problem so it is available for dealer service technicians to check…

"Issues that lingered as recently as April with heating and cooling the passenger cabin have been worked out…Engineers are now testing the vehicle on steep grades in the Arizona heat, and they plan to put thousands more miles on test cars in July, August and September…After that, the decision will be made on when to start production at a Detroit-area plant, which is likely in early fall…"

click thru to track the coming choices in plug-in vehicles

"…[The Volt] will meet expectations for [the 40-mile] range of travel solely on electric power…Shortly after the Volt goes on sale, Nissan Motor Co. will roll out its Leaf all-electric car, which the company says will get up to 100 miles on a single charge. The Leaf has no backup engine on board and must be recharged after its batteries are depleted before it can travel again. But it also uses no gasoline.

"The four-door hatchback Leaf will have a base price of $32,780, but it’s eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, making it closer to $25,000. The Volt is expected to cost around $35,000, or $27,500 with the tax credit, although pricing has not been announced."