Oh Look! It's A New Electric Car From GM!

[hatrack]

Oh, sorry, it's just the Volt one more time, and just for an auto show in China.

Never mind.

SHANGHAI, China (AP) - General Motors Corp. will unveil a version of its Chevrolet Volt electric car this week at the Shanghai Auto Show that uses a hydrogen fuel cell to extend its range with zero emissions, a GM executive said Thursday.

The experimental Volt is GM's leading entry in the auto industry's race to create a commercially viable electric car that can compete with the range and performance of gasoline-powered models.

EDIT

The new Volt uses lithium-ion batteries that can be plugged in to charge and a fuel cell to recharge them on the road, extending its range to 300 miles (480 kilometers), said Lawrence D. Burns, GM's vice president for research. "We're increasingly confident that these fuel cell vehicles can compete with gasoline vehicles," Burns told reporters.

Fuel cell vehicles run on the power produced when oxygen in the air combines with hydrogen that's stored in the fuel tank -- producing only harmless water vapor. GM has not set a date to start selling such cars but has begun production engineering, a process that can lead to sales within three to four years, he said. (emphases added).

EDIT

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&Date=20070419&ID=6768871

[hunter]

1. So they can say "See, we tried! But it didn't work."

And then they'll try to sell us their usual new and improved crap.

[KeepItReal]

2. If it ever becomes more than vaporware, the Volt would be the 1st GM I'd ever consider

"The Chevy Volt concept announcement, like GM's recent announcement about producing a plug-in hybrid version of the Saturn Vue Green Line, is earning praise from environmentalists and advocates of electric cars and plug-in hybrids. Not everybody is convinced.

In a presentation to foreign journalists at the Detroit Auto Show this morning, Dr. Walter McManus, an auto industry economist with the University of Michigan, quoted articles dating from 30 years ago and as recent as last week, in which General Motors excuses their fuel efficiency performance by saying that they have no "magic carburetor," or other conventional technology that will produce significant fuel efficiency improvements. "They don't have a magic carburetor, but now they have a magic eflex," said McManus. "Apparently GM's magic hydrogen fuel cell isn't working either, so now they have come up with another future magical technology that isn't quite ready yet. They will tell you they are doing everything they can to improve the internal combustion engine. I don't buy it." "


http://www.hybridcars.com/concept-hybrids/chevy-volt-concept.html

[Javaman]

3. So lets all hold our breath, shall we?

:puke:

[wtmusic]

4. It was getting a little too close to being possible

Now that hydrogen is in the picture, it will be perpetually 15-20 years away. :eyes: