2011 Chevrolet Volt limited markets in the United States

Apart from the humorous articles and the plethora of eBay finds we come up with, Carscoop’s bread and butter is automotive news straight from the manufacturer. And as such, we read a lot of press releases. In all the ones I’ve read, General Motors refuses to call the Chevrolet Volt a hybrid. It’s a range extended electric vehicle.

The Volt shares the same platform underpinning its Chevrolet Cruze compact, but these two models are starkly different from each other. The Chevy Volt has a unique body, aerodynamically designed to enhance fuel economy at all times. As designed, the Volt will run on battery only power for the first 40 miles of drive before the supplemental gas engine kicks in. This extended range electric vehicle should be able to travel more than 340 miles on a full tank of gas and much further with additional fill ups. A nightly recharge will replenish the battery allowing the car to operate in electric-only mode once again.

So why buy a Volt and not a conventional hybrid vehicle such as the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight? Well, the Chevy Volt will offer far superior fuel economy, consuming less than half of the amount of gasoline the typical hybrid uses. In addition, when operating in electric-only mode, the Volt will emit zero emissions, something no hybrid can claim.