Chevrolet's gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, the Volt, attracted dozens of articles and blog posts Tuesday marveling at its stated city mileage of 230 miles per gallon. A smashing figure. Even more intriguing, though, was General Motors' statement that the sticker may also carry another measure: 25 kilowatt-hours per 100 city miles.
If that happens, the vehicle would be the first to express its fuel economy in electrical terms, and it feels like a milestone: KWh on a sticker price.
That 25 kWh would cost someone in White Plains, New York, a lot more than someone in Macon, Georgia. Gasoline prices vary, but power prices run a bigger gamut. The average New York state residential kWh was about 17.45 cents in April, according to the Energy Information Administration. A typical kWh in Georgia was about 9.85 cents. So in New York 100 miles would cost about $4.36, in Georgia about $2.46. Theoretically.
There are automobile experts parsing the Volt's claims, and a lot can happen between now and late next year, when GM plans to release the car. But it's a short time to wait for the sight of kWh's on car stickers, if EPA goes that way. Nowhere near the end of the gasoline era, but the visible beginning of a new time.
No mention yet, however, of an all-in mileage rate, one that includes the total carbon footprint of the 100 miles.
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