Thanks to its onboard generator fueled by a few gallons of gasoline, the Volt doesn't have the bugaboo that plagues every other electric car (including the Tesla Roadster): what GM aptly calls "range anxiety." Instead of praying you make it home before the last state-of-charge bar winks off, you drive placidly on for a couple hundred more miles with the gasoline-powered generator supplying the electricity. The generator doesn't fully recharge the battery pack, because you can do that by plugging in at home for one-sixth the cost.
The Volt already has legions of both advocates and detractors. Tree huggers can't wait to get their arms around them. Hollywood writer and director Chris Paine is filming a sequel to Who Killed the Electric Car? called Revenge of the Electric Car. The government sees the Volt as the near-term payback for taxpayer money previously invested in advanced propulsion research. The electric utilities are giddy over kilowatt cars, because recharging them in the evening will make better use of their existing generating capacity (read: increased revenue).
On the negative side, Dr. Menahem Anderman, president of Advanced Automotive Batteries, is doubtful that Li-ion batteries are ready for prime time. And while no one we queried felt the Volt will generate a profit for years, John Casesa, a leading auto-industry analyst, believes that Wall Street appreciates GM's leap forward with new technology and investors will therefore be more willing to own its stock.
Car enthusiasts will surely regard the Volt as the perfect car for their parents. With a curb weight of about 3700 pounds, a 9.0-second 0-to-60-mph acceleration rate, and a top speed limited to 100 mph, the Volt's driving thrills will be modest. Since all 273 lb-ft of its torque is available at 0 rpm, the surge from a stoplight will feel like the initial rush of a skyscraper's elevator. But Volt owners are more likely to take pride in the three-digit gas-mileage rating expected from the EPA.
Economics will strongly influence the Volt's prospects for success. Lutz hopes that the government will offer early Volt adopters a $7500 reason to join the plug-in movement. A second incentive will be the $1700 or so annual savings available to those who drive a Volt in pure-electric mode 15,000 miles per year in place of a gasoline-powered car. But the grandest What's Next is the Volt's price. We're guessing it will cost $34,995 after the government's rebate, but no one can accurately predict what life will be like in 2010. ...next page >>