“Range anxiety” is an emotion that’s common to people who own electric cars. It’s a term that describes the fear that EVs won’t have a strong enough charge to get you to your destination or back home before the battery runs out. But if running out of juice on the road freaks you out, try getting in the cockpit of an electric airplane! Range anxiety has been a major hangup for electric airplane makers, but Volta Volaré, a Portland, Oregon-based company, has overcome those fears by producing a hybrid electric airplane that, similar to the Chevy Volt, runs on a hybrid powertrain with batteries and a backup gasoline engine.

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Post tags: aviation, chevy volt, electric airplane, electric plane, green transportation, GT4, hybrid electric airplane, hybrid plane, Paul Peterson, range anxiety, Volta Volare

Chevrolet Volt. Electric when you want it, gas when you need it.

Note: The 2012 Chevy Volt offers an EPA-estimated 35 miles on a full charge based on 94 MPGe [electric] and an additional 340 miles with a full tank based on 35 city, 40 MPG highway [gas]. Actual range varies with conditions.

The Chevy Volt is unique among electric cars because it runs on two sources of energy. You have an electric source – a battery – that allows you to drive gas-free for an EPA-estimated 35 miles. And there’s also an onboard gas generator that produces electricity so you can go farther. So if you want to drive using only electricity, you can. If you want to drive using electricity and gas, you can do that, too. Feeling all charged up? Check out what this current Chevy Volt driver has to say about his unique driving lifestyle…

Read the rest of Driven To Make the World a Bit Greener

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Post tags: a Chevy Volt owner shares his story, Adam Meltzer, battery electric car, chevrolet, chevy, chevy volt, chevy volt owner, eco-friendly car, electric car, extended range electric vehicle, hybrid car, hybrid electric car, hybrid electric vehicle, sustainable car, sustainable transportation, volt

Although nothing comes out the tailpipe, electric vehicles do produce carbon emissions and other pollutants; the amount of emissions all depends on the power source from which they are charged. A new study from the Union of Concerned Scientists looks at how good or bad EVs in different parts of the US perform in terms of carbon emissions based in differences in how electricity is generated. The report found that location matters a great deal; in some parts of the country where electricity is generated mostly from coal, EVs performed no better than gasoline-powered hybrids.

Read the rest of New Study Reveals that Environmental Impact of Electric Cars Depends on Location

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Post tags: cars, chevy volt, CO2 emissions, electric car, electric vehicles, ev, fossil fuels, fuel economy, fuel efficiency, global warming, green cars, green transportation, hybrids

Word on the street today is that General Motors will be updating the 2013 Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid with some styling upgrades and a new “EV Hold Mode” that will allow the Volt to stay in electric-only mode longer in slower city traffic. The “EV Hold Mode” forces the Volt to use its range-extender engine at higher speeds, like on a highway, which then reserves the battery power for slower speeds.

Read the rest of 2013 Chevy Volt Gets a New “EV Hold Mode” and Styling Updates

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Post tags: chevy, chevy volt, electric car, general motors, green car, green transportation, Opel Ampera, plug-in hybrid

GM halted production of the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid in early March due to rising inventory, but now the automaker has restarted production earlier than expected. GM originally planned on temporarily halting production from March 19 to April 23 to reduce the inventory of unsold Volts sitting in Chevy showrooms, but production has been restarted a week earlier than planned, thanks to increased demand.

Read the rest of GM Restarts Chevy Volt Production Earlier than Expected

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Post tags: chevy, Chevy plug-in hybrid, chevy restarts volt production, chevy volt, chevy volt production restarted, electric car, electric vehicle, ev, GM, green car, green transportation, plug-in hybrid, volt, volt production restarted

General Motors former head of Research and Development, Larry Burns, has been looking to the future, and he sees driverless cars hitting the road as soon as 2020. The notion of removing human interaction from the equation may be unsettling, but developers have long maintained that driverless technologies would reduce the risks associated with distracted or impaired driving and improve fuel efficiency by preventing the unnecessary stop-starting of vehicles.

Read the rest of Former General Motors R and D Head Predicts Driverless Cars by 2020

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Post tags: advanced cruise control, autonomous cars, Chevy Tahoe, chevy volt, DARPA driverless car race, general motors, Google Audi, google prius, gps navigation, Larry Burns, University of Michigan Robotics

It looks like the Chevy Volt‘s fortune might just be turning around; General Motors has announced that it will resume production of the plug-in hybrid on April 16, a week earlier than anticipated. The Volt’s earlier low sales figures were compounded by aggressive politicization during the Republican primaries. As sales lagged behind expectation, GM announced a five week halt in production at its Detroit Hamtramck plant, which began on March 19. But as production idled, sales of the Volt jumped; in March 2,289 units were delivered in the U.S. – a staggering 277% increase compared to the same month last year. With hopes that sales of the Volt will soon total 3,000 cars per month, Mark Reuss, president of GM North America told attendees of the New York International Auto Show, “We are meeting supply and demand… It’s not just the Volt. It’s everything.”

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Post tags: california carpool, chevrolet volt, chevy volt, chevy volt production, dan akerson, detroit hamtramck, electric vehicle sales, fuel economy, new york auto show, plug-in hybrid, volt, volt politicization, volt sales

Sales of GM’s Chevrolet Volt are stronger than ever, with sales in March spiking to 2,289. The numbers gave the Volt its best month ever – up 277 percent from one year ago. The good news comes despite recent negative press over battery fires that broke out in three Volts, and GM’s decision to temporarily cease manufacturing until April 23.

Read the rest of Chevy Volt Sales Surge 277% in March

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Post tags: chevrolet, chevrolet volt, chevy volt, chevy volt sales, detroit, electric car, electric vehicles, general motors, GM, plug-in, plug-in hybrid, volt

Former prez George H.W. Bush recently gave the gift of the Chevrolet Volt to his son Neil for his 57th birthday. A Houston dealership took delivery of the gift to Bush’s fourth son, who ironically has spent much of his career holding positions within the oil industry. Bush Sr.’s purchase adds the 41st president to a growing list of prominent Republicans going ‘rogue’ and publicly rethinking conservative criticism of the car.

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Post tags: Bob Lutz, chevrolet volt, chevy volt, electric cars, general motors, george h.w. bush, green transportation, neil bush, oil industry, plug-in hybrid, volt controversy

There is a buzz in the air this week about the Chevy Volt thanks to an announcement by General Motors on Friday that they’ll be shutting down production of the Volt at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant for five weeks. While the news media geared up to make this announcement look like the end for this highly-publicized plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, we bet that this decision to equalize supply with demand is just a Volt growing pain. So, we went straight to the horse’s mouth and asked Rob Peterson of Chevy Volt Communications about the Volt team’s take on this whole situation. It seems the feeling inside the company is decidedly positive — something you might not envision if you just listened to Google News and your television. Peterson started off the interview by telling assuring us what we already though was true, “this is just an opportunity to adjust our inventory levels, it is just temporary,” and then let us in on some insights from the Chevy crew.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: Rob Peterson Of Chevy Talks Volt Production Shutdown, Reveals High Customer Satisfaction

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Post tags: chevrolet volt, chevy volt, chevy volt customer satisfaction, chevy volt customers, chevy volt dealer, chevy volt halt production, chevy volt issues, chevy volt numbers, chevy volt problems, chevy volt production, chevy volt sold, chevy volt solutions, general motors, GM

The Chevy Volt has been getting a lot of attention since GM decided to pause production for five weeks, due to growing inventory. And although sales of the Volt this year are not off to a great start in the U.S, the Volt’s better-looking twin, the Opel Ampera, is apparently doing quite well in Europe according to Opel executives. Opel just started delivering Amperas to customers last month, and has already received over 7,000 orders, which means that the Ampera should hit its sales target of 10,000 units. Opel apparently bumped up its 2012 sales target to 10,000 from 8,000 due to the increased demand.

Read the rest of Chevy Volt’s Twin, the Opel Ampera, Racks Up 7,000 Orders

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Post tags: ampera, chevy, chevy volt, GM, green car, green transportation, Opel, Opel Ampera, plug-in hybrid, volt

In an effort to raise awareness and support for electric vehicles in China, General Motors China has signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC). The MOU gives CATARC the power to manage GM’s Chevy Volt demonstration fleet in Beijing for one year and to help organize workshops and seminars that will build support among decision makers and key stakeholders for vehicle electrification policy in China.

Read the rest of GM Signs New Deal to Bring Chevy Volt Demo Fleet to China

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Post tags: chevy, chevy volt, China Automotive Technology and Research Center, electric vehicles, GM, green transportation, hybrid cars, plug-in hybrid

In the past, the general consensus by all those working for Fox News has been that the Chevy Volt was an epic misstep for the Obama administration and that it was an initiative forced upon General Motors. However, after having Lee Spieckerman, CEO of Spieckerman Media appear in a segment entitled ‘Can the Chevy Volt Help Win the War on Terror?’ hosted by Steve Doocy, the conservative channel appears to have done a complete U-turn.

Read the rest of Chevy Volt U-Turn: Fox News Changes Its Tune About the Electric Car

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Post tags: chevy volt, chevy volt controversy, chevy volt facts, chevy volt fossil fuels, chevy volt fox news, chevy volt inhabitat, chevy volt lee spieckerman, chevy volt national security, chevy volt war on terror

The Chevy Volt* is unique among electric cars because it runs on two sources of energy. You have an electric source – a battery – that allows you to drive gas-free for an EPA–estimated 35 miles. And there’s also an on-board gas generator that produces electricity so you can go farther. So if you want to drive using only electricity, you can. If you want to drive using electricity and gas, you can do that, too. Hear what one proud Volt owner had to say about how the electric car has reinvented her driving experience.

Read the rest of A New Driving Perspective

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Post tags: chevrolet, chevrolet volt, chevy, chevy owner, chevy volt, chevy volt owner, electric car, electric car owner, electric vehicle, electric vehicle owner, energy efficient vehicle, ev, EV owner, extended range electric vehicle, gas electric hybrid, GM electric car, green car, green transportation, green vehicle, hybrid car, hybrid vehicle, inhabitat, laura winger, volt, volt owner, volt owner story, zero emissions car, zero emissions vehicle

Oh the talking heads of the political world — what would we do without them? The latest wonderful blunder has come from one of our favorites, Mr. Bill O’Reilly. In the midst of the fist fight that has become of the Republican presidential race, the entire right-wing of American politicans have joined together to turn their wrath on the gas-saving, American-made Chevy Volt. O’Reilly is now jumping in the ring and is bad-mouthing the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle on his Fox News talk show. But a funny thing happened on the way to the Volt-bashing parade – Media Matters dug up some fun footage of the O’Reilly Factor showing the King of Fox News supporting not only the Chevy Volt, but government subsidies for GM and other car companies building alternative fuel vehicles. It seems that Bill’s got a short term memory and a penchant for following the crowd — even if it means being a documented hypocrite.

Read the rest of Bill O’Reilly Caught Red-Handed in a Flip Flop – He Used to Support the Volt and Government Subsidies

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Post tags: bill o'reilly, bill o'reilly electric cars, chevy volt, chevy volt criticisms, chevy volt critics, chevy volt media coverage, chevy volt republicans, right wing chevy volt

Former General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz recently took to his Forbes blog to defend the Chevy Volt, which has been under fire since GM announced plans to stop production for five weeks due to rising inventory. Now there’s an interview with General Motors CEO, Daniel Akerson, who recently chatted with Fortune to discuss many of GM’s current issues, including the Volt. Read on to see what Akerson said about the car and the way its being portrayed in the political arena.

Read the rest of General Motors CEO Daniel Akerson Discusses the Politics of the Chevy Volt with Fortune

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Post tags: Bob Lutz, chevrolet, chevy, chevy volt, chevy volt politics, chevy volt problems, Daniel Akerson, Fortune, general motors, GM, hybrid, NHTSA, plug-in hybrid vehicle, president obama, volt

Following an announcement by General Motors that production of the Chevy Volt would be stopped for five weeks, the media and opponents of the Volt have been buzzing about the supposed “failure” of the plug-in hybrid. Fox News recently cast the Chevy Volt “as the poster child of President Obama’s socialist meddling in the free automotive market,” which apparently set former GM vice chairman, Bob Lutz on fire. Lutz recently took to his blog on Forbes.com, in which he fired back at Fox News and the negative press that the Chevy Volt has received.

Read the rest of Bob Lutz Goes on the Defensive for the Chevy Volt

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Post tags: Bob Lutz, chevy, chevy volt, Forbes, Fox News, general motors, GM, green transportation, NHTSA, plug-in hybrid vehicle

When General Motors unveiled plans to temporarily halt production of the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt for five weeks, the announcement was widely portrayed as the demise of one of our favorite vehicles. Well, we’re here to tell you that the bad news is all hype – the Chevy Volt is here to stay, and the electric vehicle market is just getting started. Where gasoline once had a monopoly on the market, now even the President of the United States is putting his weight behind algae, fuel cells, and electric vehicles. We predict that as one of the first to make a splash, the Volt will climb over this five week slump and continue to be sold as one of America’s most innovative driving machines – read on to learn why.

Read the rest of Why the Halt in Chevy Volt Production Doesn’t Foretell Electric Vehicle Doomsday

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Post tags: alternative drivetrain, chevy volt, chevy volt issues, chevy volt production, electric car, electric vehicle, general motors, general motors chevy volt, GM electric car, halt production of the chevy volt, plug in hybrid electric car, volt, volt manufacturing, volt manufacturing halt

General Motors recently announced that it will halt production of the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid for up to five weeks due to poor sales and rising inventory numbers. In February GM sold 1,023 Volts, but at the end of the month the automaker still had 6,300 Volts in its inventory. Even worse, GM hopes to sell 45,000 units this year, but only selling 1,626 units in the first two months of this year is not exactly the pace that the Volt needs to set to meet that goal. Low Volt sales have been partially attributed to negative attention the vehicle has garnered over the last few months, as safety concerns rose over battery fires and Republicans turned the vehicle into a political punching bag.

Read the rest of General Motors Halts Chevy Volt Production for Five Weeks Due to Poor Sales

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Post tags: automotive, chevy, Chevy Cruze, chevy volt, chevy volt defense, chevy volt production, chevy volt sales, electric vehicle, GM, gm halts volt production, hybrid, lithium ion battery, plug-in hybrid

Amongst the slew of other awards the Chevy Volt received last year, GM may not have felt too snubbed when they lost out to the Nissan Leaf for the 2011 European Car of the Year. But in case they did, they may now rest easy since the GM-produced hybrid and its European counterparts, the Vauxhall and Opel Ampera, have officially been named 2012 European Car of the Year. In a glowing review, the awarding body stated “Volt/Ampera offers a mature product, after years of development and perfectioning by General Motors, and the first example of an electric vehicle with extended range. Others will come along this path.”

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Post tags: 2012 car of the year, chevrolet volt, chevy volt, european car of the year, hybrid cars, Nissan Leaf, Opel Ampera, plug-in hybrid car, tax credits, vauxhall ampera, volt sales