New Hybrid Cars for 2011

Chevrolet Volt
GM has never said the Chevrolet Volt is a pure electric vehicle, even though its wheels are driven by electric rather than mechanical power. But if a Volt's lithium battery is depleted and the car is running at a speed higher than 70 m.p.h., the car's gasoline-powered generator-motor can drive the electric motors, making it a hybrid, which blends the vehicle's electric and mechanical power until the gasoline onboard is gone. The company prefers to call the Volt an "extended-range electric vehicle," but the car demonstrates the increasing engineering flexibility of hybrid designs. Prices for the Volt will start at $41,000.

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