General Electric and General Motors today announced the creation of a prototype hybrid gasoline/electric car, the Chevy Volt, designed to achieve high mileage through the use of specially-engineered plastics to reduce the weight of many parts of the vehicle. They claim that “the Chevrolet Volt concept vehicle is capable of 40 miles of pure electrical vehicle driving, which according to the Environmental Protection Agency, means that, for most city drivers, the Chevrolet Volt will use little or no gasoline.”

Somehow this doesn’t impress me as much as the cute little Zap Obvio Electric Cars, which are pure electric and have a range of 200 to 240 miles, and will actually be on the market soon, or the sleek, sexy Tesla Roadster that looks and performs like a high-end sports car, is also 100% electric, gets 250 miles per charge, and is actually out on the roads already.

So, GE/GM: a valiant effort, but 40 miles of electrical driving isn’t that big a deal, and until you actually build something to sell, I’m not impressed.

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