Chevrolet was planing on releasing its newest model, The volt, in 2011. It will be their first car that is mostly electric, not to be confused with a hybrid. A hybrid uses both electric power and gasoline at the same time, but the Volt is different. It uses them at separate times.
Chevy owners claim that it can run up to 40 miles on battery power alone, then it will begin to use the reserve gas tank. In theory, this sounds like a great idea. But those who have every owned a lawnmower, or a motorcycle for example, know that there are flaws in this strategy. Anyone who has owned any sort of seasonal gas-powered equipment knows that after a certain amount of time, the gasoline (if unused) will no longer work.
This initially presented a huge problem for Chevrolet. But after time they figured out a way to fix it; they wired the car in such a way that once it starts to sense that the gas is getting old, it will begin to use it instead of the electricity in order to rid the tank of the unusable gas. Then it will force the driver to fill up their tank again with newer gas. Initially you can override the car's attempt to use the old gas, but by the third try the Volt will take over and eliminate the "bad" gasoline out of the tank whether you allow it to or not.
This brand new car for Chevy seems like a great idea, and that it should sell great amounts upon release, but there is a huge problem; Nissan is also releasing a brand new fully electrical model into the market, but it can run up to 90 miles solely on electricity instead of just 40 like the Volt. it will be difficult to see which car will sell better because some may want the back up tank of gasoline since it is what they are used to, while others may feel that the fully electric 90 mile range of the Leaf will be more beneficial. Time can only tell what the consumers will want.
Source: http://wsj.com/drivers-seat/2010/09/15/chevy-volt-electric-car-what-if-the-gas-gets-stale/?mod=rss_WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_Autos_Driversseat
I'm glad that the Volt and the Leaf are entering the market. Personally, I would much rather drive the Leaf because it can run on electric power for 90 miles instead of 40 miles. The Nissan product probably has better reliability and I feel more comfortable buying this new technology from a Japanese brand. Chevy was late coming into the hybrid game and has not made its vehicles extremely fuel efficient. The only incentive to buying a Chevy would be supporting an American auto manufacturer. However, I'm glad that GM is making a big move to improve itself.
ReplyDeleteVanessa, this is a good summary but please include your own opinions as well!
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