Hasta La Gadget!

Not one to be one-upped by Hertz — which already announced a plug-in rental program that’ll include the almighty Tesla Roadster and the diminutive Smart Fortwo — Enterprise Rent-A-Car has just announced that it’ll be the first to offer Chevrolet’s Volt later in the month. The company’s Mark Christopher Auto Center in Ontario, California will have an undisclosed amount in stock for daily and weekly rentals, and it sounds as if it’ll be grappling for more just as soon as they roll off of the production line. For those who can’t quite make it down to the desert, Enterprise will be offering 500 Nissan Leaf vehicles nationwide, with charging stations already installed in Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Monica. No word on what type of fee you’ll be hit with when you bring it back with only 20 percent of the batteries charged, but you can rest assured the bigwigs at Enterprise are already thinking about it.

Continue reading Enterprise to offer Chevy Volt in California, probably ding you for bringing it back half-charged

Enterprise to offer Chevy Volt in California, probably ding you for bringing it back half-charged originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 01:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM may have filed for bankruptcy back in 2009, but a lot has changed since then. GM’s venture branch now apparently has enough cash in the bank to drop five million on a multi-year commercial deal for Powermat’s wireless charging technology. The terms of the deal give GM the option to convert their investment into an equity stake within the first six months and provide GM exclusive use of Powermat’s technology for one year in vehicles worldwide. Subsequently, the Volt is slotted to be one of the first vehicles receiving the new tech and a prototype version with charging mats in the front consoles and back seat will be shown this year at CES. However, the automaker is unsure as to what other models will receive Powermat upgrades. Micky Bly, leader of GM’s electric car development efforts, stated though that initial tests did not reveal any significant issues with porting the technology into vehicles, leading GM to shoot for launching commercial integrations sometime in 2012. The automaker hasn’t forgotten its an investor however and hopes other manufacturers will join the wireless charging bandwagon to help drive down costs after their exclusive buffer ends.

GM invests $5 million in Powermat, says wireless charging headed to Volt in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM has announced that Chevrolet Volt’s currently in production will feature parts made from recycled Deepwater Horizon oil spill clean-up materials.

Around 100 miles of plastic boom–a material used to help keep the oil spill contained–will be used to create plastic, under-the-hood parts for the current generation of Volts. GM will be using around 100,000 pounds of plastic boom. The plastic will be used to create deflectors around the vehicle’s radiator. The parts will consist of 25 percent recycled boom plastic, 25 percent recycled tires, and 50 percent post-consumer recycled plastics.

“Creative recycling is one extension of GM’s overall strategy to reduce its environmental impact,” Mike Robinson, GM vice president of Environment, Energy and Safety policy, said. “We reuse and recycle material by-products at our 76 landfill-free facilities every day. This is a good example of using this expertise and applying it to a greater magnitude.”

Via PlugInCars.com

You can be as jaded as you like, and trust us we’ve offered our own fair share of cynicism, but let’s put that aside for a moment as we learn that General Motors is pulling in about 100 miles worth of oil-soaking booms, 100,000 pounds worth that would have otherwise gone into landfills, and turning them into stacks of plastic parts that will go under the hood and in the front bumper of the Chevrolet Volt. The booms of course come from the Louisiana coasts, where oil is still being collected despite the US media having collectively forgotten all about it. These 100 miles of booms will provide enough parts to outfit the entire first-year production Volts and, while we’re sure this is as much a PR move as it is a practical or environmental one, we’re going to go ahead and just call it a win-win.

GM making Volt parts from oil-soaked booms used in Louisiana, getting greener by the minute originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mark it down, folks — it’s a monumental day. In a way, this marks the end of one of the longest running sagas covered at Engadget, but in reality, it’s probably the start of something else entirely. Chevrolet’s Volt was once the starlet of the electric vehicle universe. And then 2009 happened. In the meanwhile, a smattering of other automakers have moved forward with hybrid and pure electric plans, with Tesla’s Roadster heading out to thousands of motorists and Nissan’s Leaf shipping to customers earlier this week (just to name a couple). Of course, GM still maintains that the Volt is the “world’s first-and-only electric vehicle with extended-range capability,” but we’re sure a laundry list of rivals would love to argue that point. Regardless of the hurdles and hardships, Chevy has still managed to turn a far-flung concept into reality for around 160 people this week, and a slow but steady trickle of these things should continue for the foreseeable future. If you’re wondering if placing an order is right for you, have a look at our most recent test drives.

Continue reading Chevy Volt starts shipping to customers, most of whom forgot they ordered one last decade

Chevy Volt starts shipping to customers, most of whom forgot they ordered one last decade originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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