Curious as to what ever happened to the Chevy Volt battery pack that’s supposed to be replaced every 10 years? Let me ask you another question… Ever get upset when the lights go out due to a power outage? How’s this for two birds with one stone – the extracted Volt batteries can be used to power the lights in your house when there is a power outage! Sounds pretty crazy – a battery powering the lights in an entire house!? But according to Chevrolet, who teamed up with Duke Energy, packaging five Volt lithium-ion batteries into a single unit could give approximately two hours of electricity to 3-5 average U.S. homes.  The power from the unit outputs 25 kilowatt-hours of power and 50 kilowatt-hours of energy. “This is an industry first to be able to do secondary automotive batteries in a grid-based application,” said Pablo Valencia, GM’s senior manager of battery life-cycle management. “In [...]

The Sustainable Dubuque conference took place this week at the Grand Harbor Convention Center and it was a complete success.  What do you think of when you hear the word sustainable?  Nowadays we toss around the word “green” so frequently because the word itself has become hip, chic or very forward thinking, yet it’s actually somewhat difficult to define what being “green” totally encompasses in its true and purest essence.  Sustainability is one of the core components of being “green” – direct definition (from www.merriam-webster.com):” a : of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.”  It’s using, and re-using, our resources to make environmentally sound methods for production of practically anything that will help us improve quality of life and earth. The best of the best in terms of sustainability in vehicles was realized by GM with the recent release [...]

How can you mention Michael Jordan and the Chevy Volt in the same sentence?  Isn’t that basketball sacrilege?  Well, let me explain.  I was reading an article from CNN Money that was saying the new Chevy Volt didn’t rank as one of the top ten “greenest” cars in America.  Now based on all that I have learned about the Volt so far, I found this very hard to believe.  The Volt is primarily an electric car that can travel for about 40 miles on just the power produced from the lithium ion battery pack following a 10 hour overnight charge from a regular 110V outlet (or 4 hours from an installed Voltec 240V charger). I just don’t understand why the CNN Money article and other articles are [...]

2011 officially marks the 100th year for Chevrolet and when you stop to think about it, 100 years of Chevrolet is quite a bit of time for any business to stay up and running. But boy, is it running smooth. Through the years Chevrolet has become a leader in the automotive industry and only shows signs of growing stronger. Lets take a look back to see how it all started. GM was started by automotive marketer William C. Durant in 1908. Through the years Durant took notice of the famous racer, Louis Chevrolet, as he set the land-speed record in 1905 for reaching 111 MPH in a special open race car. Durant hired Chevrolet to do big races and promotional drives for his company. Being cast out [...]

Here’s a walkaround video of the Chevy Volt that demonstrates how the car operates. It also shows some good up-close views of the car. Folks here in the viscinity of Runde Chevy are eagerly anticipating the arrival of this electric Chevy car.  But how does the Chevy Volt stack up against the all-electric Nissan Leaf or a traditional hybrid like the Toyota Prius? I think the following video does a good job of explaining that the Volt is a unique car right now and there is nothing out there that is exactly like it. Of course, each and every car buyer will choose the vehicle that best meets their needs (or wants). The Chevy Volt may not be the ideal car for everyone, but it is a very nice option — an option that buyers never had before now. As to which car is better or the best, I think it all depends [...]

If you haven’t been in the know, then you’d be excited to know that Motor Trend has placed its highest honor to none other than the Chevy Volt Sedan. Winning the Motor Trend Car of the Year (COTY) is no easy task. With 21 vehicles to compete with and a week of intensive testing on various roads and conditions the Volt proved, time and again, that it was the leader of the group. The following video shows the testing they put these vehicles through and what they look for in their pick for Car of the Year .     With most COTY winners Motor [...]

The Volt is just about here and Earth is anxiously waiting for its eco-friendly arrival. Why not help out the environment while experiencing one of the most high-tech rides of all-time.  And at the same time, you can save some green in gas $$$ for driving green? It all seems like a win-win to me. You know what else, though? The fact that if you buy the Volt you could be going home to a professionally installed 240-volt charge station. The Volt runs in one of three ways. 1. All electric – up to 40 miles on a single charge. 2. Extended range capability (gas/electric mixed) – designed to drive up to 350 miles without stopping to recharge or refuel. 3. Gasoline – will last another 300 miles. Needless to say, the [...]

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and go on record saying the 2010 Chicago Auto Show is the auto lovers’ candy store.  The autos are eye candy for kids of all ages. “Bake me up a fresh batch of those Chevy’s, Candyman!!!”  Walking in the entrance to the show floor, it becomes overwhelming to think which direction to go first. Shortly after glancing over the offerings, it becomes apparent that your hours are turning into minutes and that the closing time of 10pm is far from fair. For those of you who couldn’t make the show, have no fear! Runde’s has you covered! Over the next week or so look forward to a review of the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, starting today with a few vehicles that were on display from Chevy. Check out the video’s below to see footage of the Cruze, Aveo RS and Volt!       [...]

It seems there is almost no limit to what a person can do on a ipod these days and it begs the question, “What will technology bring and how advanced will cell phones become in the near future?”  From playing games, to converting practically any measurement you need at the click of a button. The new spawn of smart phones and gadgets are, needless to say, impressive. ‘But what is next?’ you may be asking yourself as you scroll through the thousands and thousands of apps available from the Apple and Verizon store. Well, I have the answer for you, and is it oh-soooo-sweet. Imagine waking up mid-winter to start your day. It’s so cold outside, the last thing you look forward to is feeling your freezing hair rub against [...]

Environmentally friendly vehicles … not sure if I know what that is.  Can you go into more details please? If you are familiar with the show: Top Gear, you know that the boys, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are in charge of completing a mission in every episode. In a recent episode they were challenged to create their own answer to the Chevy Volt. And boy, did they.   With an elegant plywood and sheet-metal exterior and an interior packed with lawn-chairs, semi-detached radio and rotatable windshield the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust gives the Volt has some fierce competition.   The thing almost runs 30 mph, has absurdly oversensitive steering and whoever drives it seems to appreciate the value of safety and life to a whole new level after [...]

Who didn’t like to color as a kid?  Did you ever enter a coloring contest or send a drawing into Highlights magazine? Getting those books of pre-made art for you to fill in with color between the lines (or, at least in my case, outside of the lines) was awesome. Meet your new coloring book – the Chevy Volt, once released, will come in this nice grayish-blue with a hint of greenish color… “Wait, what’s the  color called” you might be asking yourself? Well, my friend, that is entirely up to you… or someone else that thought of a cooler name than you. While the coloring may have already been done, it’s up to you to label the color with a name. A different kind of coloring contest if you will … GM is offering you a trip to drive the one of the first Volts just for giving a name to the color of the Volt above. But that [...]

The Volt sure does look better and better every time new footage of it gets released. Check out that interior during this video test-drive! Lookin’ sharp, Chevy. I haven’t experienced a test-drive in the new Chevy Volt yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m not excited about the car.  The Chevy Volt is a four passenger vehicle that runs primarily on electricity.   It can travel approximately 35 miles on one charge and that’s pretty decent for someone who’s just driving to work and back or someone who’s just running errands around town.   It does have a gas reserve for when it runs out of electricity from the rechargeable battery pack.  Chevrolet states that the total range on what the gas tank can hold is 345 miles.  So there is about a 380 total range between electric output and the miles the gas tank can propel the car for.  That’s not bad and if you’re [...]

The Chevy Volt Hybrid car is something different and new, naturally you probably have some questions about the vehicle and how it all works. Well, to your luck, the Chief Engineer behind the Chevy Volt – Andrew Farah, answered several great questions about the Volt in the following Q&A. 4:02 [Comment From Scott ] How was the drive and how does it compare to other hybrids such as the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius? 4:04 Andrew Farah:  Clearly I enjoyed the significantly longer EV distance that is available with the Volt.   I had to drive quite some distance before the engine came on, even though I didn’t start with a full charge.   By comparison, our chassis is much more sporty than either of [...]

When people want a good stereo in their vehicle, they normally ask, “Does this have the Bose sound system?” or “Does it come with Bose?”  Bose arguably offers the best vehicle sound system available on the market today. You know you’ve seen them all over the place, the self-acclaimed rock stars and vocalists of the roads. People listening to music so good that it makes them want to impress their audience of steering wheel, cup holder and bobble head characters with beautiful mumbled lyrics and cracking voice. Well now you can be inspired to rock even harder, and not feel as bad of energy waste, with the energy efficient Bose system being implemented in the New 2011 Chevy Volt. Prospective buyers of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will have an option to [...]