

You can't trust Government Motors: the GM Volt is a hybrid, not a true EV - maxharris
http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2010/10/is_the_chevrolet_volt_a_true_e.html

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CWuestefeld
tl;dr: key paragraph:

 _The automaker says there is no direct mechanical link from the gas engine to
the drive train. We're not gearheads, but the folks at Edmunds are, and they
claim "GM lied."_

If the existence of a direct linkage is what's going to drive your decision to
buy this or not, then I think you've got some messed up priorities. Are you
making a symbolic statement about what you think should be driving 21st
century transportation, or are you looking for what is, _in fact_ , the best
transportation?

(I don't mean to imply that the Volt is or is not the best, just that this is
a stupid criterion for deciding it.)

~~~
maxharris
But there _is_ a direct mechanical link! In some conditions, this mechanical
link is activated - that engine is turning a shaft with some gears on it,
which turns another gear and shaft, which turns an axle and two CV joints,
which turns two wheels.

What people thought they were getting was a car with an engine + giant
generator _without_ a transmission geared to or hooked up to the wheels
directly. Then people (or GM, in a future model) could rip the engine, gas
tank, etc. out and put a bigger battery in there! Instead, what we're getting
is just another Prius, only more expensive and with a crappier more plastic-y
interior.

