Chevy Volt Driven!

Finally, GM has allowed someone in the press to drive a Chevy Volt with the gas engine enabled and write about it.   Paul E. at DetroitBureau writes,

In normal mode, Volt delivered reasonable acceleration, launching from 0 to 60 in what we estimated to be around 10 seconds.  But switched to Sport mode we got an unexpected jolt.  Electric motors deliver maximum wheel-spinning torque the moment they start to turn, and with Volt, that translates into a very sporty launch feel and 0 to 60 times of about two seconds quicker.

Farah had intentionally given our prototype Volt just a limited charge, just enough so that we could experience the vehicle on battery power then have it automatically transition to extended-range mode – a fancy way of saying its inline-four-cylinder internal combustion engine fired up.  The transition was all but seamless and even with the engine running, the cabin remained surprisingly quiet.

Good news--the gas engine is quiet when recharging the batteries, even in Michigan winter conditions.

You can read the whole thing here.

Oh, and 100 points if you can find the typo, with which Eisenstein accidentally demotes the Volt to a Mitsubishi product.