PHEV

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New Images of the Volt

August 15, 2008 in Future Cars, PHEVs by kristen | No comments

Chevy Volt front

This right here is the front driver’s side corner of the production Volt. Are you excited yet? Have you added your name to the unofficial list of 30,000-plus who are interested in buying the car for less than Chevy wants to sell it?

GM has flooded the Internet with so many images and baby steps during the development process that it feels like we’re entering “Snakes on a Plane” territory. By the time the Volt actually appears in driveable, saleable form, we’ll all be over it.

But in case you’re not over it yet, here’s the tail end of the car:

Chevy Volt rear

33,000 Unofficial Buyers for GM’s Volt

August 14, 2008 in Consumer News, Future Cars, Hybrids, PHEVs by kristen | No comments

2007 Chevy Volt Concept

Fan site GM-Volt.com has a waiting list for the Chevy Volt with more than 33,000 names on it. (Actually, as of the moment I’m writing this post, there are 34,179.) This number is the kind of encouragement GM engineers need to get the Volt to the market on time in late 2010.

The problem with the list is that its about as unofficial as unofficial can be. The Web site is not in any way affiliated with GM, and there are no deposits being taken by the company yet. The “Wait List” on GM-Volt.com asks for name, address, enthusiasm level, and the price you’d be willing to pay for the plug-in hybrid.

California led the pack of Wait Listers by far, with Texas, Florida, Michigan, and New York rounding out the top five most interested states. On a scale of 1 to 10, enthusiasm was just over 9, but people aren’t so excited about parting with the cash. The average Wait Listers were willing to pay for the PHEV was just over $31,000, about $9,000 short of what GM expects MSRP to be. Nearly 8,000 responders were willing to put their money where their keyboard is, though, with the average deposit they were willing to plunk down for the Volt being $2,500.

New 100 MPG Prius Conversion for under $5K

July 30, 2008 in MPG, PHEVs, small cars by kristen | No comments

PHEV PriusPlug-In Supply in Petaluma, California, is selling plug-in conversion kits for the Toyota Prius for the low, low price of $4,995. How can they sell it so cheap? First, that’s the price of the kit only, no shipping or installation included; second, they’re using CalCars Open Source Prius+ Technology as the basis of the conversion.

For you do-it-yourselfers and engineers out there, the kit includes lead-acid batteries and the box to hold them, charger, and wire harness. There’s also a switch you can flip to operate your Prius on battery power up to 52 mph — 10 mph higher than an unmodfied Prius. The converted PHEV can then run 10-15 miles on electricity before the gasoline engine kicks in, giving you 100+ mpg. Plug-In Supply even designed the kit to be upgraded to lithium-iron-phosphate batteries for longer range, when they become available.

There are currently only a handful of dealers where you can buy the kit and lug it home, but Plug-In Supply is looking for more. Those nine dealers already on board stretch from California to Florida and New Jersey, though, so you might be able to find one not too far from home.