In the latest installment of the Butterfly Effect we look at how mining the key ingredient in electric cars could end up enriching potential enemies of America, and force another round of innovation to build an even newer kind of battery.
After years of anticipation (and more than a few points when we thought the vehicle wouldn't make it into production), the extended-range electric Chevy Volt is finally hitting a car dealership near you.
The Chevy Volt, GM's much-hyped extended-range electric vehicle, has been plagued by rumored production problems since it was first announced. But now, finally, it looks like the car is ready for release.
The Chevy Volt extended range electric vehicle is supposed to be GM's golden ticket to renewed success in the auto world. But now a project engineer claims that the Volt's wheels may be driven directly from its gasoline engine at high speeds. Sounds innocuous enough, but if true, that would mean that the so-called extended-range electric vehicle can't operate as an electric vehicle at all if it goes too fast.
Conventional gasoline-powered and hybrid vehicles undergo all sorts of boundary-pushing tests before hitting showrooms, but this kind of testing is still new for plug-in hybrids like the Chevrolet Volt, which has yet to be released. According to GM, the Volt has performed well in a variety of grueling scenarios.
