The New Chevy Volt: A Car that Uses No Gas

Wouldn't everything be great if there was a car that used no gasoline? With the ever rising gas prices, more and more people are turning to Hybrids that use less and less fuel. Still there is no car out there that uses zero gasoline, until now. The all new Chevy Volt uses no gas at all for anyone who travels forty miles or less in one trip. That is a great relief to most commuters and makes travel a lot easier.

On September 16, 2008 GM introduced the Volt for everyone to see. This vehicle will be available for purchase in late 2010. The people of GM did non stop studies to ensure that the Volt would be a reality. Almost seven-hundred people alone, including engineers, designers and testers are working on the Volt. They estimated that seventy-five percent of all commuters traveled forty miles or less in one day. They created an engine that utilizes a Lithium Ion Battery. To recharge the battery, all you do is plug it in with a regular electric cord into your household plug. After being plugged in, the battery takes six to seven hours to fully recharge. So the Volt will be ready to roll the next day.

For those who travel more the forty miles a day, or decide to take the Volt on a longer trip, the Volt utilizes gasoline or E85 Ethanol to recharge the battery. The Volt is estimated to use fifty miles per gallon gas while utilizing the fuel cell.

GM is experiencing some competition from other automakers as well. Makers such as Nissan and Toyota are already working on their own version of the battery powered vehicle. With the gas prices rising, more and more automakers are wanting to get their electric car on the market as soon as possible. They are also looking for more economical ways for consumers to purchase a battery powered vehicle. The Federal Government is looking for a way to give incentives to anyone who purchases a Hybrid or battery-powered vehicle.

The Chevy Volt concept was shown at the North American International Auto Show in January of 2007. The Volt will be produced in Detroit, Michigan. There has been talk that only ten-thousand Volts will be released in 2010. Within the second year of production, GM has estimated that nearly sixty-thousand Volts will be produced for purchase. The Volt itself is a four door compact car, with a 1.4 liter engine to power the generator. GM has set a goal to price the vehicle at or under thirty-thousand dollars, even though talk is that the Volt will be as much as forty-thousand dollars. You can check out Chevrolet's website at www.chevrolet.com/electriccar to see the Volt, view videos of it, even read stories about the Volt. This car is definitely something to be excited about. GM is working on making it more of a reality for people everywhere, and also trying to decrease the price to make it more affordable. The Volt is not only a sporty four door compact, but also very economical for commuters.