Chevrolet Volt blows in
The Chevrolet Volt concept took a major step towards becoming a production reality when Chevy's engineers recently managed to reduce the car's aerodynamic drag by more than 30%. This means the electrically-powered Volt will be able to travel further and faster on a single charge.
The Volt is set to be the first in a range of plug-in and charge cars from Chevy, with production planned for as early as 2010. Chevrolet says that the 40-mile range of the Volt on a single charge is more than enough to cope with 65% of daily commuter journeys in the USA.
The Volt is powered by on-board batteries that can be charged by plugging the car into mains electricity at home or work. It also has a small internal combustion engine to charge the batteries if power drops while away from a charging point, and the batteries also recoup energy when the car is cruising or braking.
The four-door Volt saloon is the first car to use Chevrolet's E-Flex electric vehicle power system, but the company has plans to add a whole range running on battery power. The Volt is set to make an appearance at the Detroit Show in January in its more developed state.
Alisdair Suttie
-
Top questions from Yahoo! Answers
Got a question? Get the answer at Yahoo! Answers
-
Top photos from Flickr
From across the Pond
Detroit 2008 USA
See what our Yahoo! friends over in the US are doing for Detroit 2008