At that point, the fuel tank can be filled just as in a normal car to give another 300 miles of range. If the car can be plugged into a wall outlet, the battery can be fully recharged in about 10 hours on normal 120-volt household current, or four hours with a special 240-volt charging station. The gas engine is an 84-horsepower 1.4-liter 4-cylinder, but whether the electric motors are running by themselves or in combination with the gas engine, the combined total is 149 horsepower. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain-side airbags, front-side airbags, and driver and passenger knee airbags. Among the available features are a remote-charging and vehicle-control program that owners can download and run from Blackberry and Apple iPhone cell phones. Among other things, it allows the owner to pre-heat or pre-cool the vehicle before getting in. A navigation system is standard, as is a hard drive for storing digital-music files. Leather upholstery, heated front seats, front- and rear-obstacle detection, and a rearview camera are optional. This evaluation is based on preview test drives.
Occupant protection continues with a strong structure, and the Chevrolet Volt's body-frame-integral structure strategically blends advanced steels to help ensure crashworthiness and stiffness. Nearly 80 percent of the Chevrolet Volt's overall structure consists either of high-strength, advanced high-strength or ultra high-strength steel. Active occupant protection features include eight standard air bags and safety belts with dual pretensioners to help reduce the risk of injury.
After a crash, the Chevrolet Volt offers the security of OnStar, which uses built-in vehicle sensors to automatically alert an OnStar advisor in certain types of collisions. The advisor is immediately connected to the vehicle and can request that emergency help be sent to its location.
Because the Chevrolet Volt operates so quietly in all-electric mode, a driver-activated feature sounds a noise to alert pedestrians, particularly those with visual impairments, in an intersection. The alert was developed in conjunction with the American Federation of the Blind
