[Mr. Wyndham]

THE CHEVY VOLT!!!!


How to annihilate the competition:

Step 1: leapfrog their technology and design appeal
Step 2: Secure government-sponsored tax credits for YOUR vehicle, not theirs.
Step 3: Have the EPA rate your vehicle as the first 100mpg car EVER!!!!

Company 'T' has got to be pissssed!!!

GM shifts gears to gain mileage bragging rights

General Motors last week reached a preliminary agreement with U.S. regulators to certify the Chevrolet Volt, an electric vehicle that can be recharged at home or with a 1.4-litre gasoline engine, as the first 100 mile-per-gallon car, the company said.

The country's biggest automaker, whose sales of pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles collapsed this year as gasoline prices soared, is cutting the mileage deal while urging Congress to approve $25 billion in government loans to help the industry meet new federal fuel-economy standards.

Earning a 100 m.p.g. certification would give GM the holy grail auto companies began seeking following the oil shocks of the 1970s. The Environmental Protection Agency agreed to a testing method that will produce a rating at least that high, said Tony Posawatz, 48, vehicle-line director for the Volt in Warren, Mich.. The four-passenger car, which goes on sale in November 2010, will be able to travel 40 miles (64 kilometres) before the internal-combustion engine needs to recharge the battery.

"It's a huge milestone to beat 100 m.p.g. It's bragging rights," said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Mass. "To many people, GM is just about gas-guzzling SUVs. They never get credit for fuel economy. If Toyota were doing the Volt, they would be having parades and waving flags."

While the Volt is classified as an electric car, GM will still be able to claim it's the most fuel-efficient vehicle on the road because the gasoline-powered generator will start after the sedan exceeds the battery's 40-mile range.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s hybrid Prius is the highest-rated car on the road today, achieving 48 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the highway. It has a 1.5-litre gasoline engine, isn't rechargeable at an electric outlet and can drive only 2 miles on its battery, according to the company, which leads global sales in the category.

The Volt may sell for more than $30,000 in the U.S., according to GM vice chairman Robert Lutz, 76.

Obtaining a 100-mpg rating will require the EPA to develop a new way of measuring fuel efficiency for a car that's likely to rely more heavily on electric than internal-combustion power, according to GM's Posawatz. The automaker promised to share mileage data captured from the Volt's onboard computers to verify real-world performance if EPA will grant the certification now, he said.

"It's a new process. No one has done a vehicle like this before," said Posawatz. "We would like to have 80 per cent of the people get better than the label."

Chevy's Volt can be plugged into a standard 120-volt outlet and be charged in about eight hours, GM said. The process takes less than three hours with a 240-volt outlet.

The cost for a full charge providing 40 miles of driving is about 80 cents per day, at an electricity cost of 10 cents per kilowatt hour, according to GM. Charging the Volt about once daily will consume less electricity annually than the average home's refrigerator and freezer, the company said.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimesc...d-951db9742907