Get charged up with the Chevy Volt

The cars of the future are a reality today. Thanks to the innovative battery technology created by Chevrolet, their new Volt electric car is ready to change the engineering and design of cars forever. Now drivers can plug in their cars before they go to bed at night and find it ready to drive in the morning.

Why would I want a Chevy Volt?
You can drive 40 miles on a single charge without using a drop of gas. After 40 miles, the gas powered engine generator takes over, allowing the driver to journey for another 300 miles on a tank of gas, but still using electricity to power the car.
If you average under 40 miles per ay, your cost for fueling your car could be as low as $1.50 a day, about the same annual cost as a common household appliance.
You charge down the battery as you drive the car, and charge it again when you need to, just like you do with your phone. After a while, plugging in your car could become as automatic as plugging in any other battery-operated item that requires a charge.

What about emissions?
Driving a Volt for 40 miles a day (or about 15,000 miles annually) you can save about 455 gallons of gas compared to a standard, gas-powered sedan. This saves our environment from the by-product of the burning of this fuel: the emissions. There are no tail-pipe emissions when the Volt is being driven purely from its electrical charge.

What if I don’t charge the battery?
Just as a gas powered car can run out of fuel, the Volt can run out of power. However, the car is able to run even if it does not get charged every day, it just needs gas. You will not get the same fuel-efficiency as if you charged the battery, but otherwise, the car will function the same.
Plugging the car in for a charge is easy and convenient. It plugs into a standard 120v outlet and takes about 10 hours for a complete charge. A 240v outlet can be installed in your garage to cut down the charging time to about four hours. This is the same type of outlet one uses for clothing dryer, but a separate, dedicated electrical circuit is required to keep your circuit breaker from tripping.

What tests have been made to the battery?

Recently, I met and drove with Adrienne Billiau, the battery test engineer for the Volt, and discussed the extensive testing the innovative Volt battery endured before making it available for consumers. The battery had to be driven in extreme weather conditions to ensure its reliability as well as performance. The battery life tests had to simulate years of use.

The warranty for the lithium battery that powers the Volt is extensive relieving the consumer of any worry of paying to replace a broken or malfunctioning part.

What else is special about the Chevy Volt?

The Volt is the only car on the market that has a mobile app for your smartphone to help you manage your car from a remote location. The app allows you to control the interior temperature, determine the most economically efficient time to charge your car, check the status of the car functions, be alerted of maintenance needs and numerous other functions. Communicating with your Volt via your smartphone makes the Volt user friendly and innovative.

Did you get to drive the Volt?

Due to the unavailability of a closed course, I was not able to drive the Volt myself. I rode as a passenger to experience this revolutionary car. It drove like a regular four-door sedan, but was silent, as with other hybrids on the road today. But, or course, the Volt is not a hybrid. It is an electric car.

When asked what her favorite features of the car were, our driver told us she loved the seamless transition from battery operation to gas operation. Other hybrid vehicles lose power as they transition from one power source to another, but not the Volt. These transitions are indiscernible and don’t use extra energy.

If you are in the market for a revolutionary, fuel-efficient car the Chevy Volt may be what you are looking for. This car has the ability to change how we interact with our automobiles forever.

Eileen met the Chevy Volt team when she attended their blogger press event.

Eileen is the Chief Mom Connector of Mom Central and dreams of trading in her beloved minivan for a new set of wheels. You can follow her adventures on her own blog at calandroclan.com and connect with her on twitter at @MomCentralChat.

Eileen Calandro