The Electric Car Solar Power Energy
Generation Guide
The Electric Car May Replace Cars Running On Gas
By J K Hellios
There has been a stir in the air for years as people
have claimed "the electric car is dead" and
"who killed the electric car?" Some people
point to General Motors (GM) for pulling an electric
car off the market a few years ago, one which many experts
claimed had the potential to revolutionize the automobile
landscape. Recently however, GM has made some huge strides
in resurrecting the electric car.
This news came much to the glee of those in the environmental
movement. Those who are eager and anxious for as many
viable options as possible to be introduced into the
market in order to lessen the number of fossil fuel
burning vehicles on the roads.
So, longtime critics of GM who had accused them of
snuffing the electric car, were actually pleased at
the beginning of 2007 when GM announced their latest
entry into the hybrid electric car market. A new model
is expected to hit the showroom floors in the next 12
to 24 months.
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The GM Chevy Volt
The electric car that GM recently introduced and one
that has caused a good amount of buzz, is called the
Chevy Volt. This concept car is promised to soon be
moved into production so that it will likely be seen
in showrooms and on the roads in your town within the
coming months.
The General Motors chief engineer, Tony Posawatz, has
claimed that with the introduction of the Chevy Volt,
GM is effectively leapfrogging over the current electric
car technology. This current technology, which has been
most favored by the environmentalist crowd, is the hybrid
electric car that plugs in to charge.
Charging The Battery While The Car Is In Use
The newly announced Volt is a new advancement in electric
cars, according to GM. It can be plugged into a wall-outlet
to recharge overnight, just like its cousin hybrid electric
cars that are currently on the market. However, the
real distinction for the Volt is that its battery array
can be recharged while the electric car is in use, rolling
down the road.
This can be achieved because it features an on-board
generator that allows energy to essentially be recycled
back into the bank of batteries. This advance in technology
gives the Chevy Volt an estimated range of 600 miles
on the overnight charge, which is a significant improvement
over the other hybrid electric cars that are now available.
The Generator Uses A Small Small Gas Engine
The on-board generating system in the Volt does rely
on utilizing a small gasoline engine for operation,
but GM has plans for future models to have small diesel
engines or hydrogen fuel cells to power the generator
and facilitate the drive-time recharging of the batteries.
The battery pack in the Chevy Volt is also what differentiates
this electric car from others that rely on a diesel
drive train for the electric generator. It effectively
negates the advantages of the electric car because in
other such vehicles the diesel generator must run constantly.
This is not the case with the Volt because of the innovative
battery pack that powers the generator.
Some auto industry experts consider GMs introduction
of the Chevy Volt as a signal of the rebirth of the
electric car. Some pundits are going so far as to predict
that the current versions of hybrid electric cars that
must be plugged in, in order to operate, will soon become
a thing of the past.
About the Author:
J K Hellios has written a number of articles on solar
power and renewable energy including Solar
Panels, Homes and
Solar Power.
Keep a lookout for more articles coming soon on this
website.
Little Known Electric Car Facts.....
What is the benefit to driving an electric car?
The obvious benefit to the consumer
is that instead of paying around $4.00 for a gallon of
gasoline that may last around fifteen miles; an electric
car is around $1.00 and can usually get double the mileage.
The other benefit is producing less harmful emissions
for the environment.
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