Gas guzzler no more: Bloomington couple installing solar panels to power car, reap savings

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Jim and Tomi Allison's new Chevy Volt runs mostly on coal-powered electricity. But not for long.

When they install solar electric, aka photovoltaic (PV), panels behind their house, their car will be running on sunshine — mostly.

The car can travel 46 miles exclusively on its lithium ion battery, and after that, an on-board gasoline-powered generator kicks in to recharge the battery, extending the driving range to around 400 miles.

"There's no range anxiety," said Jim, an emeritus professor of psychology at Indiana University.
"This is a brilliant car," he said. "GM has really wowed me with their engineering."

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