Handicapping and Psychoanalyzing the Electric Vehicle Race

The Chevrolet Volt has morphed over the past year from being a different kind of hybrid to being a full-on electric vehicle, with gas-propulsion as a sidekick.

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From my perspective, the Chevy Volt has morphed over the past year from being a different kind of hybrid to being a full-on electric vehicle, with gas-propulsion as a sidekick. Initially, the car was explained to the public as utilizing a drivetrain that, unlike that on the Toyota Prius, could conceivably never burn any gas. The Volt uses what General Motors calls a Volt system, with an electric motor providing 40 miles of range before a small gas motor kicks in to recharge the battery. The gas motor has no connection to the drive wheels, however. And the lithium-ion battery can be plugged in to re-juice the vehicle.

The whole plug-in hybrid? designation has fallen away (although Wikipedia still uses it), replaced by extended-range electric vehicle? (E-REV). And now GM has rolled out an entire website devoted to all things Volt (check out the video of a Volt under construction). Among other things, it contains a link to a Volt-evangelist site that runs down the potential competition from Nissan and Ford (F), both of whom recently received Department of Energy loans to develop advanced cars. The focus of the rundown is on highlighting Nissan and Ford's decision to avoid range-extension and instead go with greater battery range.