Bring on the Volt

I never thought I would hear myself say this, but I'm actually looking forward to a new car by Chevrolet. Of course, I'm speaking of the Chevy Volt. This car is pegged as the contender to dramatically overhaul the image and practicality of electric cars. Now this car isn't purely electric - it does still have a gasoline engine, but it's pure electricity driving the wheels and the gas engine is simply being used as a generator, topping up the battery as needed.

I think this is a great way to advance the concept of electric cars until we have an electric infrastructure in place to support recharging cars in every city and town. What remains to be seen is how well Chevrolet implements this new paradigm. The Volt can travel up to 40 miles (64 km) on a single battery charge, at which point the little gas engine kicks in and starts to recharge the battery. The battery can also be charged in 8 hours using a regular AC outlet. That means most commuters won't need any gas to get to work and back. GM said the typical Volt driver would pay $2.75 (if plugging in at home) for the electricity needed to drive 100 miles (160km).

Chevrolet isn't the only car maker to capitalize on the sudden interest in electric cars. Nissan plans to introduce the Leaf in 2010 for less money than the Volt. This is a 5 seater, fully electric car with a range of 100 miles (160km) that can recharge in 7 hours or 30 minutes on fast charge to get 80% capacity.

I would expect that since most recharging will be done at night when the electrical grid has lots of spare power, this shouldn't put much of a strain on it.