The Volt: An Electric Car That Could Change Everything

This electric car could cause a significant shift in the paradigm of green transportation. If it moves from concept to reality.

June/July 2007
By Bill Moore 
GM Volt
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150 miles per gallon, what a concept! General Motors hopes to produce the Chevrolet Volt as soon as advanced battery technology is available.
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General Motors unveiled the Chevrolet Volt concept car in early 2007, electrifying the automotive world and exciting those clamoring for revolutionary progress in sustainable transportation. A stylish and sleek coupe with room for four, the Volt also happens to be a plug-in electric vehicle with fuel economy up to 150 miles per gallon. If GM builds it — and that’s still a big if — the Volt could usher in a new era of practical electric cars for the masses and go a long way toward helping America end its much-lamented but ever-growing addiction to oil.

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What makes the Volt tick is General Motor’s new E-Flex system, which uses an electric generator, an electric motor, an advanced lithium-ion battery pack and a three-cylinder internal combustion engine. The keystone of the E-Flex system is the battery pack, which consists of hundreds of individual lithium-ion cells and the software that manages them. The batteries can be fully recharged by plugging the car into a standard electrical outlet for about six hours. The small gas engine powers the electric generator, which has two functions: recharge the battery pack when needed and provide extra juice to propel the car at freeway speeds.

The "flex" in E-Flex is twofold: the gas engine is flex-fuel, meaning it can burn gasoline or E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline); and the E-Flex drive is flexible such that it can use a diesel engine or a hydrogen-powered fuel cell instead of a gas engine.

But regardless of whether it’s a conventional gas engine or a futuristic fuel cell, that component of the E-Flex system does not directly power the car. Its role is to power the generator, which provides electricity to propel the car and/or recharge the batteries when needed. That’s how the Volt would differ from current gasoline-electric hybrids such as the Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius, which are much more dependent on gas. Their electric motors supplement their gas engines; either the motor or the engine can directly power the vehicles.

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