Quote from GM website as of 09-24-2008 provided by member GMUSA. Thank you for the update.
"Unlike traditional electric cars, Chevy Volt has a revolutionary propulsion system that takes you beyond the power of the battery.
It will use a lithium-ion battery with a variety of range-extending onboard power sources, including gas and, in some vehicles, E85 ethanol to recharge the battery while you drive beyond the 40-mile battery range."
Link:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=132112
DETROIT — Remember when we wrote that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt would be able to run 40 miles on pure electric power and then fire up an onboard four-cylinder engine to recharge the batteries?
Turns out, that's not at all true.
In contrast to popular (and our) impression, once a driver uses up his 40 or so miles of electric power, the 1.4-liter gas engine generates electricity to power the electric drive motor, but does not recharge the batteries. After the 40 or so miles, the battery becomes 400 pounds of uselessness, at least until the owner can plug the car into the electrical grid for a recharge. This means that regardless of how far one drives the Volt, the driver will only ever get up to 40 miles of electric-only range.
Our confusion and that of much of the media corps might have to do with the fact that the company once wrote this: "When the battery is depleted, a 1-liter, three-cylinder turbocharged engine spins at a constant speed, or revolutions per minute (rpm), to create electricity and replenish the battery."
That was from a press release written for the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, where the Volt concept was unveiled. A release from the day of the production prototype's reveal reads, "a gasoline/E85-powered engine generator seamlessly provides electricity to power the Volt's electric drive unit while simultaneously sustaining the charge of the battery." And by "sustaining" GM says that it means only that no additional power is drained from the batteries. Get it?
What this means to you: It's not a deal-breaker and if you travel less than 40 miles per day, it won't make any difference. But for the record: The Volt's gas engine will not recharge its batteries. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
MORE VOLT NEWS:
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...809239978/1128
Senate OKs Volt-friendly plug-in tax credit
Harry Stoffer
Automotive News
September 23, 2008 - 6:35 pm ET
WASHINGTON -- General Motors' hopes for a $7,500 federal tax credit to help it sell plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volts may soon be realized.
The Senate this evening passed a complex and wide-ranging tax bill, covering everything from extension of credits for wind energy producers to expanded exemptions from the alternative minimum tax.
Riding along is a small provision creating a new tax credit for buyers of plug-in electric vehicles – none of which is on the market yet. The credit would start at $2,500 and rise to as much as $7,500 for a light-duty vehicle, depending on battery capacity.
A buyer of the Volt would appear eligible for the maximum.