Plug It In, Plug It In

Sign me up. I'd much rather pay a higher electric bill than shell out $3.00+ per gallon at Sheetz.

I'll admit it - when hybrid cars first hit the market, I was not interested. Oh sure, I wanted to save a few bucks at the gas pump, but I was afraid that the hybrids would not produce enough "uumph" when I wanted to go fast.

I have been proven dead WRONG.

Now, General Motors is working on a two electric vehicles. First up: the Saturn Vue "Green Line". Although it's not going to be ready for the public until 2010, it will be a "plug-in" hybrid - running up to 10 miles on the battery alone. After the battery power is used, the gasoline engine kicks in to run the car AND recharge the battery.

The second - and more exciting option in my opinion - is the Chevrolet Volt. The Volt would also be a plug-in vehicle with an all-electric motor. While there would be a small internal-combustion engine on board, it would only serve to recharge the batteries when away from an electric power source. The Volt would be able to travel 40 miles on a single battery charge.

Sweet. GM goin' green. It's about friggin' time that a major American auto-maker got serious about plug-in technology.

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Photo: General Motors

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