All-electric, hybrid, and diesel all-in-one!

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POSTED ON AUGUST 10TH, 2011 BY NICK

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We just posted some great videos highlighting green cars from the Washington DC Auto Show (Watch SobukaTV), and we found one more cool car worth mentioning, the amazing Volvo V60! Most car manufacturers pick a specific efficient technology and design the car around it, but the engineers at Volvo decided to merge three different technologies into one!

Scheduled to be revealed at the Geneva Auto Show on March 1st 2011, the Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid is designed to operate as an all-electric, as a hybrid, or as a diesel, at the switch of a button. This gives consumers the choice of changing their driving style depending on the situation. If you have a simple commute of driving back and forth between work and home, you can put it in Pure mode and drive it as an all-electric, with a range of up to 30 miles. Not enough? switch it to a hybrid and stop worrying about the distance, because in Hybrid mode it can cover up-to 745 miles (125 mpg equivalent) on a single tank of diesel! That’s like driving from Washington D.C. to Chicago, IL or Jacksonville, FL on a single tank of gas! Obviously if you’re stuck in traffic, etc. this may change some, but it’s still amazing! And if you pull up next to some ego-tripping “lemme race you and leave you in the dust” type, switch to Power mode and let them taste the 285 horsepower from the combined diesel and electric motors, with 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds and 472 foot-pounds of torque. They’ll have second thoughts of ridiculing your Volvo “family” wagon.

The V60′s front wheels are are powered by the five-cylinder 2.4 liter D5 turbo-diesel engine (215 horsepower and 320 foot-pounds of torque). The rear wheels are powered by a 70 horsepower electric motor that gets its juice from a 12 kilo-watt-hour lithium ion battery pack. The car comes with a six-speed automatic transmission. Volvo estimates the car will be in European showrooms by 2012, and it seems like it will be a while until we get it here in the US. With Europe’s diesel prices at approximately $7.80/gallon compared to the $3.80/gallon in the US, you can’t be mad at them for that… but we need such cars here too! (viaTreehugger, wired, and volvo)

Tags: electric, green cars, green tech, hybrid, plug-inX V60, volvo

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Chevrolet Volt Display

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POSTED ON MAY 27TH, 2011 BY NICK 

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“This post is a recap of my past experience at Pentagon City a year ago. Enjoy!”

Nope. This is not another type of Toyota Hybrid Recall or a car-like bail out. At least not yet.

Ok. I get it. The picture above is the chassis for the Chevrolet Volt. I remember taking this image coming down the elevator from Pentagon City in Washington DC/Virginia a week ago. At first glance it appeared as a go cart until further inspection.

Supposedly this car can run up to 40 miles emissions free. Thus by the time I leave off to work from Hyattsville, Maryland to Baltimore, MD, I am short of several dozen miles to head back home. Okaaay…. So what are my options at this point? Option A: find an electric station, Option B: plug my vehicle at work, or Option C: wonder the streets of Baltimore to find an outlet. At this point, I have to ask myself if this is worth the trouble and hassle. I barely have the discipline to fully charge up my Iphone! Hmmm… Sounds like I better walk away. Maybe next time GM.

By the time, I leave the floor; I am approached by a Volt agent. They explain, “the car is 40-miles gas and emissions free. Thanks to its range-extending gas generator, it produces enough energy to power the Volt for hundreds of miles. It’s more than a new car, it’s the future of transportation.” That means, I can add gas and save on a lot more!

Let’s go back to the features. The body of the Volt is slightly bigger than the Prius with a modern look and feel interior. When this vechicle gets off the assembly line, it may very well set a whole new standard for all cars. I can’t wait to see the body of a Mustang on top of this chassis.

Have a great one folks!

-Nick

Feel free to take a few steps in the right direction by getting quotes from our green contractors for solar or wind energy services, energy efficiency audits, or green remodeling projects by going to our homepage and doing a quick search with your zipcode (currently supporting DC, MD, VA only).

Tags: green tech, toyota hybrid recall

 

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