Green Cool Hip

I hate fuzzy math. We have all seen fuzzy math with statistic polls, financial stats, etc… In almost every case, it’s always been an industry or company trying to push a product to consumers. I have recently met a number of people who are excited over GM’s latest claim of the Volt’s 230 mpg. If we take a few seconds to review the numbers provided by GM for its widely anticipated Chevy Volt, due to hit market in 2010, some things get lost in translation or in this case, lost in calculation. In order to clarify things a bit, let’s take a real look at the number “230″ thrown at us by GM.

For simplicity, we’ll use 50 miles as the magic number that the average vehicle owner commutes daily in the United States and assume that a gallon of gasoline costs on average $3. The Volt has an effective range of 40 miles on a full electric charge, after which the gasoline engine kicks in. GM claims the gasoline engine generates electricity that is used to recharge the battery, but does not provide how much of the gasoline is used to drive the Volt. Getting to that number should be a matter of running the car in a test lab and compiling some data. GM has this capability and either has not done so or at least is keeping this number from the public. I tend to believe the latter.

So, let’s assume that the vehicle gets 50 miles a gallon and omit the cost of recharging the battery using your home standard 110 volt outlet at night. Ten (10) miles a day is driven on gasoline power. In a five-day workweek, the average commuter drives 50 miles on gasoline which consumes one (1) gallon of gasoline. Now, remember we also drive 40 miles a day on electricity, which is the volt range on a single full electric charge, according to GM. Thus we get 200 miles of electric driving over 5 days. Finally, add the 200 miles and the 50 miles, we can easily conclude the Volt goes 250 miles on a gallon of gas. Substract 20 miles for idle time, that would use either electricity or gasoline, and we have 230 miles.

Or we can arrive at the conclusion that it costs 40 cents to recharge the Volt’s battery when using your home power outlet and the cost of gallon of gasoline averages $2.30. Driving 40 miles or less a day, the cost of a gallon of gasoline would let us drive our Chevy Volt for 230 miles.

Now that GM has started this trend, we can expect every auto manufacturer to come up with such bogus number. Nissan is already claiming 367 miles per gallon with the Leaf, which is by the way a true zero emission car (no gas tank) but not much of a looker in my opinion.

So, if you fill up your tank and embark on a cross-country trip, will you get 230 miles a gallon and be able to drive from New York to Los Angeles on a full tank of gas, (assuming a 15-gallong tank)? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Is the Volt the right step for GM? DEFINITELY.

Although, not a zero-emission vehicle, it surely looks Green, Cool & Hip.

If you are in the United States and looking to buy a hybrid electric vehicle, there are quite a few models to choose from. As every auto manufacturer races to deliver hybrid electric cars, this list will surely grow in the next few months. View our slideshow below.

Now that Ford, Nissan and Tesla Motors will collectively receive $8 billion dollars in government loans to build green cars, let’s hope America can once again become a leader in auto manufacturing.  Both Ford and Nissan plan to retool some of their plants toward the production of energy efficient vehicles and associated parts, while Tesla will continue its vision of bringing the first fully electric sedan to market.  Although Ford was never among those begging the government for a bailout, it always expressed interest in getting a loan from the U.S. government in order to meet its green initiatives.

Because these loans are strictly for companies that stand a chance to survive in this current economic market, General Motors and Chrysler don’t qualify.  We can however expect to see new jobs as a result of this effort since these cars will be made in the United States.

Henrik Fisker whose renowned design already includes the BWM Z8 and the Aston Martin DB9 and the V8 Vantage, was part of the team working on the original design for the Tesla.  He has since left Tesla Motors, faced a lawsuit accusing him of stealing trade secrets from the company and launched its own Hybrid called the Fisker Karma.

After leaving Tesla Motors, Henrik Fisker started Fisker Automotive whose first model is called the Fisker Karma.  While the Karma is a hybrid and not a fully electric powered car like the Tesla models, it’s still ahead of the curve when compared with other available hybrid vehicles.

Image 1 - Fisker Automotive

Much like the Tesla, the Karma is a plug-in hybrid with a battery that can be recharged on a standard 110 volt outlet.  The first 50 miles one drives is completely on battery power.  After that, the Karma switches to balancing gasoline and electric power for the remainder of the trip, just like a regular hybrid.

But what’s really cool and different about this hybrid is that its roof can be equipped with a solar panel that recharges the battery while driving, and provides cooling for its cabin even while the car is parked.

Image 2 - Fisker Automotive

The Karma does not stop being eco-friendly in its powertrain.  Materials used throughout the car are carefully chosen to be as green as possible.  Wood trim throughout its interior is made from dead wood, its ecoglass from recycled sand and the EcoChic model uses an animal-free approach.

Image 3 - Fisker Automotive

Now, one would think all this green technology comes at the expense of performance.  But, with performance numbers such as 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds and a top speed of 125mph, this daily driver screams good karma all over.