Chevrolet Volt : a different species of hybrid

The Chevrolet Volt was first shown at Detroit this year.

Who knows? Maybe the director of Who killed the electric car? will have to get back to work and make another documentary. It would be called: GM revives the electric car.

GM unveiled at the NAIAS their new Chevrolet Volt. This environmental concept really stole the spotlight, not necessarily because of its Cadillac-inspired design (successfully applied to a sporty "hatchback" coupe) but because of its E-Flex technology. You know, "E" as in "electricity" and "Flex" as in "flexible fuel": gas, diesel, ethanol or, perhaps one day, hydrogen.

E-Flex: so logical
I could dwell on the technical stuff, but let's keep it simple. After all, the E-Flex system of the Chevrolet Volt is so plain logical that we can wonder why no one else had thought about it before.

The engine setup in the Chevrolet Volt.

The Volt is a hybrid car just like the ones we're used to, but in a different sense. Instead of being powered by a gasoline engine first and then by an electric motor, the car is solely motivated by an electric motor (160 hp).

Low power? The small turbocharged, 3-cylinder engine (1.0L) uses the 54L fuel tank not to propel the vehicle but to activate a generator which, in turn, recharges the batteries.

Unlike current hybrid vehicles, those batteries can be recharged from a traditional 110-volt home outlet. The whole process takes six hours and allows a 40-mile range. This means that the Volt can cover 64 kilometres day in and day out without even having to stop at a gas station.

For longer daily commutes, say 100 kilometers, the gasoline engine must come to the rescue. In this case, GM promises a fuel economy rating of 1.5L/100km. "Compared to a car with a rating of 7.8L/100km, the annual fuel savings amount to 2,200 liters," says Tony Posawatz, vehicle line director.

That translates into a $2,200 annual cash saving!

Again, why has no one else thought about that before?

"The Perfect Storm"

The late Saturn EV1.

Actually, someone did: GM, among others, with their 1996 Saturn EV1 -- the same EV1 featured in the documentary Who killed the electric car?.

But it was only after last year's NAIAS that the E-Flex really came to life.

Remember: Bob Lutz, GM's vice-president, then admitted that his company had missed the boat (speaking of hybrid cars) and that the environmental and technological leadership of Toyota was invaluable. GM had no other choice than to grab the bull by the horns.