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The Chevy Volt, GM’s extended-range electric vehicle, is set to hit the pavement in select cities in the next six months. You can reserve your own Volt online, but what if you want to see and feel it in person first?

The Chevy Volt will be on tour this fall, with several stops across the country for you to get up close and personal with the car that GM promises will revolutionize the way we drive.

The “Volt Unplugged” tour includes a fleet of six Chevy Volts that will be available for test drives. You will also have a chance to meet with a team of engineers, designers, and others who will be on hand to share details on the Volt’s technology and story.

So which cities are on the tour?

• Oct. 9 and 10 – Seattle
• Oct. 13 and 14 – San Francisco
• Oct. 16 – 18 – Los Angeles
• Oct. 20 – San Diego
• Oct. 22 and 23 – San Antonio
• Oct. 24 and 25 – Houston
• Oct. 28 and 29 – Miami
• Oct. 30 – Orlando
• Oct. 29 and 30 – Washington, D.C.
• Nov. 1 – Raleigh, N.C.
• Nov. 5 – 7 – New York City
• Nov. 18 – 20 – Chicago

Don’t worry if your city or state is not included on this tour or on the first wave of production vehicles this fall. The Volt will first be sold in California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, and Washington DC and General Motors plans to sell the Volt nationwide 12-18 months later.

You can register for your own test drive on ChevroletVoltage. Just be sure to come back and let us and other Honksters know how you liked the car!

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Miss Electric, Ph.D., loves driving clean, green machines. Follow her at MissElectric.com.

Remember the Honda Accord Hybrid sold from 2004-06? You may have to dig deep because Honda sold fewer than 6,000 of those cars in its final year before deciding to cancel the hybrid model. New rumors suggest that the Honda Accord Hybrid may make a comeback soon, though.

But first, why did the first generation Accord Hybrid fare so poorly?  Critics say it’s because Honda engineered the car for performance instead of fuel economy. Rather than convert electrical energy into miles per gallon, Honda used the hybrid’s motor and battery pack to add about 15-horsepower to the already stout 240-horsepower V6 engine.

The result was the world’s first “performance hybrid” that boasted the power of a 6-cylinder engine and the fuel economy of a 4-cylinder engine. Had Honda added its hybrid system to the Accord’s thriftier 4-cylinder engine, it may have given competitors like the Toyota Camry Hybrid a run for their money.

Maybe the Honda Accord Hybrid was simply ahead of its time, though. I had a chance to drive two new muscle-bound hybrids recently: the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 and the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. While these large sport utility vehicles are very different from a midsize sedan, they do share the old Accord Hybrid’s preference for power.

Both of the models I drove featured burly V8 engines with a two-mode hybrid system that allows for all-electric driving at low speeds. The fuel efficiency gains of these two hybrids are modest, but no one can complain that these brawny ‘utes are slow.

So what will the new Honda Accord Hybrid offer? It’s too early for specifics, but my hope is that Honda will change direction this time and uses those extra electrons to eke out more MPGs instead of horsepower.

If there are any muscle hybrid drivers out there, sound off and share your thoughts.

I’ve been searching and waiting for a top-notch video that clearly explains the benefits of electric drive and today I think I’ve found it.

General Electric has a new video series called “The GE Show” where they showcase some of the innovations they’re working on. The latest episode features electric vehicles and includes information on what GE is doing to make recharging those vehicles easy and convenient.

What I like the most about this video production is that it helps drivers decide whether an electric car is right for them based on their real-world driving patterns. Since we’ll have several plug-in vehicles on the market within the next two years, it is important to understand how electric drive can fit into our everyday lifestyles.

The first part of the episode starts off asking viewers for their zip code and average daily miles driven. The viewer is then taken to a virtual map of their neighborhood and you can specify the location of places you frequent most. In other parts of the episode, you can watch real-world people ask real-world questions about how to charge an electric vehicle. Other features include an interactive driving game, as well as a brief history of how our transportation system has evolved and continues to change today.

And yes, there’s a link to that WattStation commercial with the catchy jingle:

Would a plug-in car fit your lifestyle? Let me know your thoughts!

What makes an ultimate commuter car? How about fast, stylish, and cheap on fuel? That’s the idea behind a new version of electric cars tailored for drivers on a mission to their daily 9-to-5.

In fact, there is currently an around-the-world race taking place right now made only of these ultimate commuter cars. The Zero Race, as it is called, is made up of teams from four continents that compete to traverse the planet in 80 days using no gas at all. The only rules of the race are that the vehicles:

• Be propelled by an electric motor
• Drive at least 250 kilometers (about 155 miles) distance at an average speed of at least 80 kilometers per hour (about 50 miles per hour)
• Be able to reach a maximum distance of 500 kilometers per day (about 310 miles), with a recharge stop of 4 hours during the competitor’s lunch break
• Carry at least two people on board

The race started on August 16 in Switzerland and you can follow along on their journey here.

I had the opportunity to drive around in one of the original versions of these commuter cars two years ago. The Sparrow was originally conceived of and produced by Lee Iaccoca and I had a chance to take one out for an exhilarating spin around the block. Some say the concept was ahead of its time. While that may be true, I definitely had fun putting the pedal to the metal in this baby. And the looks that I got from passerby’s were priceless.

I happened across another electric commuter car at this year’s Plug-In 2010 conference called the Arcimoto Pulse. The Pulse is less designed for speed as it is for comfort and efficiency. It features room for two and a has an MP3 stereo system to accompany your ride around town. It has a 40-mile range, a top-speed of 65 mph, and charges in 4 hours.

Electric commuter cars revolutionize the way we think about mobility. Does it really make sense, for example, to drive our SUVs that seat eight if we are going solo to our jobs? These cars are yet another example of the wide variety of technologies that are shifting our transportation sector towards clean electric drive.

Dr. Shannon Arvizu loves driving clean, green machines. You can find out more at MissElectric.com.

The Smart ForTwo has been turning heads for several years now, but a new version may give its cousin a run for its money when it starts zooming by on city streets this fall. A Smart ForTwo Electric Drive (ED) is in the works and a select group of drivers will have the opportunity to be one of the first early adopters for this clean, green machine.

I happened across the Smart ForTwo ED a few weeks ago at the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, CA. This annual conference was the place to be to catch a glimpse of some of the most innovative cars of the future. The convertible Smart definitely caught my eye on the exhibition floor and I contacted Rick Bourgoise, Director of Communications for Smart USA, to find out more.

Rick told me that the Smart ForTwo ED has been in development in the U.K. since 2007. An electric version was part of the initial vision for the Smart ForTwo, given its mission to be one of the cleanest automotive product lines in the world. In fact, the original design was built to accommodate an electric vehicle powertrain without compromising the structure of the vehicle itself. The Smart ForTwo ED is nearly identical to the conventional ForTwo – the battery pack and electric drive system take up the same space once occupied by the engine and fuel tank.

The Smart ForTwo ED is optimized for urban driving. The car is powered by a 30 kW drive motor from electricity stored in a 16.5 kWh lithium-ion battery. Smart says that initial acceleration is brisk and that top speed will be a highway-capable 60 miles per hour.

Using a 220-volt outlet, like the kind your clothing dryer plugs into, this Smart can fully charge in less than eight hours and offers a range of 82 clean miles on a single charge.

For those cutting-edge early adopters looking for a clean ride for their urban commute, Smart USA is now accepting “hand-raisers” who are interested in being part of their field test trial program. They will offer a limited number of Smart forTwo EDs in five target markets: Portland, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Orlando/Tampa, and cities along the I-95 corridor from Boston to D.C. The vehicles will be available starting in October 2010 for a four-year lease for $599/month. Production-ready vehicles for sale are expected to be available in 2012.

Rick mentioned that each field test driver will have their own web page that details real-time usage of their Smart forTwo ED. This information is intended to provide drivers and Daimler (manufacturer of the Smart ForTwo ED) data that will be used to inform the ultimate design of the production-ready version.

While being an early adopter is not for everyone, having the chance to test out future car technology (while getting a lot of head-turning attention on the road) is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

There are a wide variety of options for clean mobility in the near future, and the Smart ForTwo ED is a welcome addition to the bunch.

Dr. Shannon Arvizu loves driving clean, green machines. You can find out more at MissElectric.com.