Once again, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt dazzles by winning the public’s heart and the Green Car of the Year award at the Los Angeles auto show on November 18. This puts the US Volt ahead its Asian competitors Nissan and Hyundai.
The car snatched the prize from an imposing top five, including Ford Fiesta, the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, and the Nissan LEAF. The award came as step forward of hope for the US car industry, still in recovery from the global financial crisis that hit it in 2008.
When receiving the Green Car Journal-judged award at the LA car show, the General Motor vice-president, Joel Ewanick, said “I’m very humbled to stand up here with this car.” He also gave recognition to his engineers’ efforts and the amazing end-product of their efforts: “They wanted to make a great car, but they also felt that they were doing something for the environment, for the world, to give us energy security going forward.”
One battery charge can last up to 40 miles (65 km) and the drive range can be considerably broadened thanks to its ingeniously installed extra gasoline engine for the battery recharge.
One of the judging board members was the US talk show host and car collector Jay Leno. Even the US President Barack Obama drove a Volt in July when he toured Detroit for gathering votes for his economic policies and the revitalization of the auto industry.
As a personal opinion… I don’t know if the same thing will happen in Shanghai, for example.
