Ten years ago the electric car seemed to be the wave of the future. But in those days of peace and cheap gas, consumers weren’t really demanding the technology. Today that problem has been turned on its ear, as clean energy vehicles are popping up on the factory floor of most major car companies, each vying to tap into an emerging wave of demand for clean, green automobiles.
With the resurgence of the electric car, many are wondering, could it save our floundering American car companies? The industry has gone through a wrenching transformation in this economic downturn, seeing a free fall in demand from the traditional U.S. consumer. Automakers sold about 17 million cars a year in the U.S. during the peak years of 1999 to 2007, but now demand for new cars shrank to just 10 million in 2009.
Many people consider the 2011 Chevy Volt, an electric vehicle, to be the next great hope for the future of Detroit-based General Motors. On Saturday, I was one of the lucky few to get a chance to actually drive one, I hopped behind the wheel at Griot’s Garage in Tacoma. Griot’s was the first stop on the Volt’s “Volt Unplugged” tour, a 3,400-mile, 12-city cross-country caravan orchestrated by GM to showcase the electric car’s extended range capabilities.
When I got to the auto shop’s garage, there were two Volts—one painted in steel grey, the other in black—waiting to be driven out on the road. Four others were already out, being taken for a spin by other members of the local media.
What makes the Volt unique, is that at first glance—with both an electric engine and gas-powered generator—it sounds like a hybrid. But it’s not. The Volt is in fact equipped with both electric and gas power sources, but does not run the same way that a hybrid might. The car’s 16kWh battery powers the vehicle for 25 to 50 miles, after which the “extended range” capabilities take over, and the gas-powered generator is used to recharge the electric battery. The more efficiently you drive, the more energy is recycled back into powering the car.
“It’s more like an electric locomotive,” says General Motors communications representative Alan Alder. “Even the brake harnesses the kinetic energy of braking to regenerate the battery.”
The first 25 to 50 miles (a variable that depends on terrain, temperature, battery age, and driving technique) are powered without using any gas, and has no emissions. Consumers who use the Volt to drive 50 miles a day or less, according to Chevy, would save approximately 500 gallons of gas a year.
“For the average commuter that drives 40 miles a day,” says Alder. “They will never use a drop of gas.”
It takes between eight and 10 hours to fully charge a depleted battery using a basic 120-volt outlet, and around between three and five hours on a 240-volt charger. (If you live in Washington state and your electricity is run by hydropower, even charging up the car is emission-free). With a full charge and a full tank of gas the Volt can run for approximately 350 miles straight, and has a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour.
When I got behind the wheel of the black Volt with Alder and my “photographer” for the day, Sam Speer, my boyfriend (credit Sam for the pictures) to take it for a spin, the first thing I noticed was the noise—or lack of it. The silence was so unnerving, I checked to make sure the Volt was in fact turned on several times before easing out of the garage (there were cameras filming after all, and I’d vowed to myself when I agreed to the test-drive that I would not make the blooper roll). I immediately pressed
