In order to encourage carpooling and decrease traffic congestion, the State of California came up with the idea of creating the so-called High Occupancy Vehicle lanes or HOV for short, which could only be used by cars with two or more occupants.
Last July, however, the Golden State altered the regulations allowing single-passenger vehicles to use them as well, provided they were all-electric or powered by hydrogen fuel cells or natural gas.
Despite being a hybrid, the Volt was excluded from the list specifying the vehicles allowed to use the HOV lanes, which span more than 1,400 miles and reduce driving time by an average of 36 minutes each day, because of its emissions.
Chevrolet is changing that with the 2012 model as the updated Volt that goes on sale this week will be equiiped with a Low Emissions Package as standard in California, making it eligible for the HOV lanes even with just the driver aboard.
The package comprises a secondary air-injection pump streaming ambient air into the exhaust system, thus increasing the catalytic converter’s ability to remove pollutant gasses generated by the internal combustion engine, which is used as a range extender.
“The Volts with the Low Emissions Package are certain to be a strong draw for California commuters looking to travel the state’s notoriously congested freeways in the carpool lane”, said Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet Marketing.
The Volt has a driving range of 379 miles (610 km). With its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery pack fully charge, it can be driven solely on electric power for the first 35 miles (56 km) with no emissions at all before the internal combustion engine kicks in.
In addition to getting access to HOV lanes, the 2012 Volt is included in the California Clean Vehicle Rebate Project which adds up to US$1,500 in tax rebates on top of the US$7,500 federal tax credit. Moreover, it can also use HOV lanes in the states of Georgia, New York and Florida.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is making 40,000 Clean Air Stickers available for vehicles that meet the state’s emissions standards. Owners of such vehicles can download them from the DMV’s web site at www.dmv.ca.gov.
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