The “Break it Down” Blog

After GM intentionally destroyed it’s lead with the electric car in early 2000, it looks like the battle to win the electric car race is heating up.

First GM announces the Volt and starts promoting it years before a production model is completed. The way the Volt works is to run completely off of internal batteries, providing 161 hp and roughly 40 miles on a single battery charge. While the car also contains a 71 hp gasoline-powered engine and a 12 gallon gas tank, the gas-powered engine is *only* run to charge the battery and has no mechanical connection to the drive train.

This disconnected approach surely benefits from allowing alternatively-fueled motors to be plugged into the design with the purpose of charging the battery… maybe hydrogen? maybe steam? maybe moon-candy… who knows what’s down the road.

Then Chrysler, not to be outdone, decides to announce the ENVI skunk-works project to develop their own series of electric-only cars.

Very interesting that we are not getting back into electric-vehicles. Atleast that would move the choke-point of pollution off of trying to control the 20 million cars on the road and instead focus it on the few thousand power plants we have instead.