If General Motors’ ambitious plans pay off, drivers will be able to buy a hybrid that plugs into a wall outlet and costs less than a cup of coffee to charge up and drive 64 kilometres a day. The revolutionary vehicle that will do this is the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, which the company says is on schedule for release in November 2010.

GM is confident the team of 700 engineers dedicated to developing the Volt will overcome the challenges in achieving the goal of an electric-only range of 64 km, which the company says is enough to take care of 75 percent of Americans’ daily driving needs.

In Pictures: Chevrolet Volt

“The Volt is based on technology that still needs a lot of development and research,” says Michael Omotoso, J.D. Power and Associates’ senior manager of global powertrain forecasting. “And the process will continue right up until the vehicle is launched.”

Cutting Through the Hype

Manufacturers usually don’t release facts and official photos of a vehicle that isn’t even ready for production. But consumers are getting an earlier-than-usual glimpse of the Volt because of what GM says was a simple mishap: After photos of the production version were accidentally put on its press site prematurely, the company released a full slate of official images and other press materials on Sept. 16, more than two years before the car goes on sale.

The company has kept up a steady stream of announcements since the Volt concept car was first introduced at the 2007 North American International Auto show in Detroit. “GM is being very open about the development process, and they’re building up hype that way,” says Stephanie Brinley, senior manager for product analysis at AutoPacific, an industry research firm.

Commercials that ran during the Beijing Olympics also helped thrust the Volt more into the public eye.

All hype aside, GM's most recent announcement introduces some salient new details that will interest potential buyers. For one, the Chevrolet Volt that will go on sale in 2010 looks drastically different from the original concept car.

It’s not unusual for vehicles to change dramatically from the boundary-pushing concept cars they’re based on. In the Volt’s case, the production version looks more conventional than its futuristic show-car precursor, partly because it has been tweaked with real-world practicality in mind. For instance, GM designers adjusted the car’s exterior and interior so that adult males 6 feet 2 inches tall can comfortably fit in the front and rear seats.

Also, the chiseled front end of the Volt concept car has been smoothed and rounded to reduce wind resistance and maximize the car’s driving range. The rear retains some sharp edges to promote good air flow. A steeply raked windshield and back glass further reduce turbulence and aerodynamic drag.

Wind resistance accounts for about 20 percent of the energy consumed by an average vehicle, which directly reduces fuel efficiency, GM says.

Creating the Ultimate Battery

One area still under development is the Volt’s high-tech battery pack, which is roughly 6 feet long and weighs more than 375 pounds. The t-shaped unit runs down the center of the vehicle and under the rear seats. It’s so big that it must be treated as part of the Volt’s load-bearing structure.

The battery pack is made up of more than 220 lithium-ion cells, like those used in laptops and cell phones. Lithium-ion batteries can hold more power than traditional lead-acid and nickel-metal-hydride batteries, but they are more expensive and tend to overheat.

GM is working closely with companies like battery specialist A123Systems and parts-supplier Continental to overcome those and other inherent challenges. For example, J.D. Power’s Omotoso says GM is developing a special cooling system that pipes water through the battery pack to help dissipate heat.

The Chevrolet Volt’s battery pack is projected to cost around $10,000 to replace. Technicians are working to extend the battery life to 10 years, or 150,000 miles, to help defray maintenance costs.

GM has not said where it stands in reaching that goal.

Not Your Average Hybrid

The Chevrolet Volt is unique in that it’s not just an electric car and it’s not just a hybrid. It’s both.

After the batteries are drained to 30 percent of their capacity during electric-only driving, a small combustion engine that runs on either gasoline or E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, fires up and acts like an onboard generator to recharge the batteries and extend the driving range to that of a normal car.

GM estimates that the Volt can drive more than 400 miles (643 km) between fill-ups or recharges.

On paper, it appears that the Volt will be roughly on par with small cars like the Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Focus and Honda Civic, not just in terms of driving range but also with regard to performance: GM says the Volt's 16-kilowatt electric drive unit delivers the equivalent of 150 horsepower, 273 pound-feet of torque and a top speed of 160 kilometres per hour.

One difference, though, will be how quiet it is to drive in electric-only mode, where engine noise is nonexistent.

Cheap Motoring

GM estimates that the Chevy Volt will cost 2 cents per mile (1.6km) to drive 40 miles a day on electric power, compared to 12 cents per mile using gasoline priced at $3.60 per gallon. Motorists who don’t drive more than 40 miles a day would need only electric power to get by with the Volt.

Unlike current hybrids, which can’t be plugged in to recharge their batteries, the Chevrolet Volt can charge from a regular 120-volt household outlet. It takes 8 hours to replenish fully drained batteries.

Using a 240-volt outlet cuts charge-up time to less than 3 hours. Charge times are reduced if the batteries aren’t fully drained.

GM estimates that the Volt will cost of about 80 cents per day at 10 cents per kilowatt-hour — " less than your favorite cup of coffee," GM says — to recharge fully drained batteries. Another comparison GM gives is that charging the Volt once daily will consume less electric energy annually than the average home's refrigerator and freezer units.

GM’s Darovitz says the Volt is projected to cost between $30,000 and $40,000 in the US.

Analysts say one possible scenario is that initially the cost could hit the upper end of that estimate and then come down over time as economies of scale kick in. J.D. Power’s Omotoso estimates that GM could sell about 40,000 Volts a year at a starting price of around $40,000.

“I don’t believe the gas prices will go down significantly to cause a loss of interest in the Volt,” AutoPacific’s Brinley says. “There will still be emission issues and a growing concern about environmental issues and energy use that will keep interest in this vehicle.”

Come November 2010, one indicator for the Volt’s success might be coffee sales: If it takes less than the cost of a cup of coffee to recharge a Volt, perhaps we will reconsider drinking their daily cup of Joe.

In Pictures: 2011 Chevrolet Volt

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