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In fact there is nothing in the car that tells the driver that the engine is running. According to Farah, the intent is to make everything as transparent as possible for the driver. He tells us that the Volt team is designing the car for mainstream audiences rather than the hyper-miling crowd. They wanted people to just get in the car and focus on driving rather than watching all the gauges and trying to eek out every last foot from a gallon of gas.
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Looking back at the EV1, that car featured a long tear drop tail to help ease the air stream off. Because of the need to make the Volt a four-seater with a real trunk, that shape was not a practical alternative.
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When we arrived for our drive session, the car was plugged in to get some juice back in the battery. Vehicle chief engineer Andrew Farah rode shot gun with us as we set out with the battery gauge indicating six miles of electric range.
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*sigh* It wasn't designed for eco-nerds, it's been dumbed down for a broader audience. That also explains the "need" for a trunk.
Have they released specs on battery chemistry, voltage, and mass? And they're not really down to six miles of electric range, are they? A few years back, they were talking up 40mi, and later 32mi.
This car has been the subject of much hype for three years, and it had better live up to that hype.