Washington - Arabstoday
Chevrolet are very proud of their range-extended Volt, so much so that they have compiled a series of statistics, some of which are interesting, others are just marketing nonsense, if you ask us. For example, they say that Volt owners have already collectively saved a supertanker’s-worth of gasoline - that sounds like an achievement, but we feel it’s a bit relative. Also, since its launch, owners have racked up 64 million kilometers (40 million miles) on electric power alone, thus avoiding the use of some 8 million liters (2.1 million gallons) of gasoline, but then again the electricity that went into their batteries was probably produced with fossil fuels and until everybody has their own (hypothetical) solar and wind powered charging station at home, it’s only advantage is taking the pollution away from city centers and making more of it around fossil fuel burning powerplants. The only reason you’d buy a Volt is to go where you need to go (slightly) cheaper, not to save the planet. Anyway, the overall monetary gain amounts to almost €6.2 ($8) million. Also, according Chevrolet, Volt owners regularly drive around 1400 km (900miles) before refilling the the car with gasoline, proving that the electric motor is really doing its thing and is genuinely making the car more efficient.