GREENER FUEL EFFICIENCY

For trips less than about 40 miles (64 km) per charging cycle, the Volt will not use any onboard gasoline engine or possibly a fuel cell system powered by hydrogen. Either way, either plug-in auxiliary electricity source will be a lot greener than standard petroleum.

What's really cool about the GM Chevy Volt is that a gasoline engine can be optimized to run at its most efficient level to maximize the production of generating electricity and significantly reducing emissions at the tail pipe. Cars get their worst gas mileage in slow speeds, and are optimimum at 55 m.p.h. Now an engine can run at its most efficient output and that means less bad carbon dumped into the environment.

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Once the Volt's battery has discharged to its lower limit set-point, the Volt's range-extending gasoline engine is expected to get from approximately 50 mpg (4.7 L/100 km; 60 mpg) to as much as 150 mpg (1.6 L/100 km; 180 mpg) depending on its run-time duty cycles. This is because once the battery has been recharged to an upper limit set-point (by the engine driven 53 kW onboard generator), the internal combustion engine will again shut off. Therefore the variables that contribute to the specific duty cycle periods of the internal combustion engine run-times, will need to be factored in to the Volt's final fuel economy rating as determined by the EPA.

The 2007 Chevrolet Volt concept vehicle derived from the GM AUTOnomy appeared in the North American International Auto Show as an E-Flex drive system, further demonstrating multiple interchangeable electricity-generating systems. The initial design as envisioned in the Volt combines an electric motor and 16 kW·h (58 MJ) lithium-ion battery plug-in system with a small engine (1.4 liter) powered by gasoline linked to a 53 kW (71 hp) generator. The vehicle is propelled by an electric motor with a peak output of 120 kW (160 hp). Ordinarily, the vehicle would be charged while at home overnight. According to General Motors a full charge will take approximately eight hours from a standard North American 120 V, 15 A household outlet and less than three hours if using a standard 240 VAC outlet. Charge times will be less if the battery is not fully depleted when charging commences.