On 10/5/08 CBS’s 60 minutes aired a segment about the electric car race. The story highlights the Tesla Roadster, and GM Volt. Also shown are the Fisker Karma, and some smaller electric models. There are interviews with Tesla founder Elon Musk, and Volt VP Bob Lutz. Although there are some inaccuracies about the electric car industry, overall a well done story.

There has been a lot of wrangling between car companies and the EPA over how to certify mileage estimates with the new crop of electric vehicles (EVs) and extended range electric vehicles (ER-EV). The EPA is furiously working on a standard testing protocol. According to Catherine C. Milbourn of the EPA, the agency “hopes to have a final policy soon”. To be the first company to achieve the coveted 100 MPG label would be a huge achievement and GM is pressing hard to get that rating for the Volt. The automaker is promising to share onboard computer data with the EPA in hopes of helping the process along. Early reports that the GM Volt has grabbed that rating are premature, as the process continues to go back and forth. It does look promising for the Volt, with industry engineers like Michael Duoba of the Argonne National Laboratory says “A vehicle of the Volt’s design should be able to exceed 100 mpg in tests” and goes on to say “Depending on assumptions about how much gasoline is consumed after the battery needs recharging on the road, Volt could get 120 mpg to 200 mpg”.

Stay tuned for more on the first 100 MPG rating!

General Motors released full details of its game changing car today, the Volt.  Among the specs given are:

• Seats 4
• Range of 40 miles on electric charge, 400 miles with gas generator to charge batteries
• Top speed of 100 MPH
• Equivalent 150 HP
• Can be plugged in standard 120v/240v household outlets
• Touch screen navigation, climate control, and music controls

Official press release here

Yesterday GM apparently “leaked” photos of the final production model of the highly anticipated Volt. Here are some of the photos.