by Marni Pyke. Maybe nobody will kill the electric car this time. \ud83d\ude42<\/strong><\/p>\nI love how my Tesla goes from 0 to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds. All right, technically, it’s not my Tesla since it costs $109,000, but it was for 15 minutes Friday.<\/p>\n
I had a chance to test-drive the all-electric car, courtesy of Tesla Store Chicago. The two-seater sports roadster resembles a vintage Porsche with one big exception – it runs on a 990-pound battery with a 245-mile range per charge.<\/p>\n
It’s an odd experience driving a car with a single-speed gearbox, meaning you don’t feel the gears shifting, but it’s easy to get used to. The Tesla has a regenerative brake system that kicks in when you ease off the accelerator, which slows down the vehicle eliminating the need for excessive pumping.<\/p>\n
And the 0 to 60 feature? As good as a roller coaster.<\/p>\n
Tesla’s coming out with a sedan priced around $50,000 in 2012 with similar features – I can just see the acceleration factor coming into play at the mall parking lot.<\/p>\n
Typical buyers range from collectors to sports car fanatics to people who want an alternate fuel vehicle, Tesla Store Chicago General Manager Dustin Krause said.<\/p>\n
And speaking of green cars, General Motors announced this week the Chevrolet Volt – its much-awaited electric car – goes on sale this fall with a $41,000 base price.<\/p>\n
The four-door Volt, runs on electricity for up to 40 miles when a gas generator kicks in, powering the battery for another 300 miles.<\/p>\n
Consumers can cut the cost with a $7,500 federal tax credit, which also applies to the Volt’s competitor, the $32,780 Nissan Leaf, set to debut in December and the Tesla. Both GM and Nissan offer $350-a-month leases.<\/p>\n
But Illinoisans shouldn’t expect to drive off with a Volt in 2010. The car won’t be sold here for at least 12 months.<\/p>\n
And what about the vast majority of us, who want to drive green but don’t have the cash for a $41,000 car?<\/p>\n
Argonne National Laboratory’s Don Hillebrand, a mechanical engineer, has got some picks.<\/p>\n
For starters, he recommends looking at diesel vehicles manufactured by the likes of Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The Volkswagen Golf two-door hatchback starts at $17,620, for example, and gets 22 mpg city\/30 mpg highway.<\/p>\n
To figure out the fuel economy of a diesel engines, “take whatever vehicle you have and add 30 percent,” said Hillebrand, Argonne Center for Transportation Research director and a former Chrysler research manager.<\/p>\n
Then, there are hybrids. Hillebrand likes the Toyota Prius.<\/p>\n
“As hybrids go, it’s still a generation ahead,” he said.<\/p>\n
But other hybrids he recommends include the Ford Fusion, which starts at $19,695, and the Honda Insight.<\/p>\n
When choosing an alternate fuel vehicle, “it all comes down to what you do,” Hillebrand said. “If you live in Peoria and commute, get a diesel. If you live in the city and commute within the city, buy a Prius. And if you’ve got a set commute with not many places to go and a garage to charge a vehicle – you might want an electric vehicle.”<\/p>\n
If you’re looking for more advice on green cars, check out the website chicagocleancities.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.ijdesign.com\/blog\/2011-chevrolet-volt.jpg\" "\\"Green")
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