Video: So Is the 2011 Chevrolet Volt An Electric Car? A Hybrid?Video: So Is the 2011 Chevrolet Volt An Electric Car? A Hybrid?

It’s all about the Volt today, for better and for worse.
On the “worse” side is the tempest in a teapot that erupted today, ably dismantled by more thoughtful commentators, over whether General Motors had “lied” about the drivetrain of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.
In brief, GM revealed today that the Volt, previously described as a range-extended electric car, also has a power mode in which the gasoline engine can provide mechanical torque that blends with the electric drive motor’s torque to power the front wheels.
The advantage, says GM, is an increase in efficiency of 10 to 15 percent at highway speeds, and an overall gain of up to 3 miles of electric range.
Nonetheless, EV purists and short-tempered journalists seem to be enraged at the idea that a gasoline engine might provide some torque to supplement the electric drive motor–no matter how beneficial.
They sneer that the Volt is “no better than a hybrid.”
What’s our take? We shot a short video–meaning less than a minute–that explains why we think that even if the Volt’s powertrain is technically a hybrid, that doesn’t matter.

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