Amidst continual buzz about innovative green vehicle technologies and the impending arrival of the first full-function all-electric vehicles in a decade, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy today released environmental ratings for model year 2010 vehicles. This is the thirteenth year ACEEE has published its rankings as part of ACEEE's Green Book® Online, the organization's environmental guide to cars and trucks, available at greenercars.org. Scrambling to recover from last year's sales slump and bankruptcies, manufacturers are introducing an array of new vehicles designed to meet the demands of fuel-conscious buyers and increasingly stringent fuel economy standards. "With the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf both scheduled to make appearances in the latter half of 2010, manufacturer interest in advanced technologies is even more intense, with a particular emphasis on electric vehicles," said ACEEE vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan. "But the eco-stars this year are once again hybrids and smaller, conventional vehicles. Gasoline vehicles are evolving fast, but manufacturers continue to devote much new efficiency technology to boosting power."
This Tuesday, General Motors announced it is planning to mass-produce the Chevrolet Volt, an electric vehicle that will get fuel economy of 230 miles per gallon in city driving. This is so much more efficient than any car on the road today, that it even makes the Prius look inefficient. The Chevrolet Volt will become the first mass-produced vehicle that will have an MPG rating exceeding 100, and many industry analysts agreed that the car is a generation ahead of the plug-in hybrids that are being considered and developed by a number of GM's competitors. "The GM vehicle is the best one in the country based on what we've seen," according to Don Hillebrand, who is the director of transportation research at the Energy Department's Argonne National Laboratory. This lab is specializing in technology for for plug-in vehicles. "But it's hard to tell -- other companies could be keeping theirs secret." GM's announcement is all the more striking since the company has not been known for being a "green" manufacturer. Apparently it wants to change that image. GM has already launched an advertising campaign which is centered around a logo that forms a "230" using a 2, a 3 and a round electrical outlet. The company hopes that the Volt will become the symbol of a "new" company, with a new strategy, after all the recent bailout problems.
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