New GM Electric Car Gets 230 Miles Per Gallon in Early Testing

Miraculously, it seems that General Motors re-discovered the electric car technology that was not cost-effective or realistic only a few short years ago. It's amazing what a near-government take-over and a total collapse of the U.S. auto industry can yield in terms of innovation and progress. Now, General Motors has emerged as a leader in the development of electric vehicle technology.

Of course, the GM Volt MPG ratings are based on city-only driving conditions in which there would be no need for the small internal combustion engine to kick in - at least for the first 40 miles. After 40 miles, the combustion engine will burn gasoline to generate electricity to run the vehicle for a total range of about 300 miles. The car's battery can be re-charged in a standard residential electrical outlet and GM engineers are still working out some bugs in various aspects of the car's performance.

Volts are expected to hit U.S. showrooms in late 2010 with an anticipated price tag of about 40,000 per vehicle. Of course, it would be safe to assume that there will be significant government incentives to buy one of these vehicles and there will be numerous cost-benefit breakdowns floating about to help buyers determine how much they could save in fuel costs.

People with relatively short commutes for work could likely reduce their need for gasoline considerably - practically eliminating it. And despite GM's announcement of its miles-per-gallon triumph, Toyota and Nissan are hard at work developing their own models of electric vehicles. Once the seal is broken, expect to see a flood of these vehicles hit the market. in the coming years.