I have to admit–we here at KilledThat.com are treehuggers. Yes, we do take pleasure in copping new Lanvin shoes and driving SUVs, but we start to worry when people start telling us global warming will bring us closer to 10 foot pythons or send New York City underwater in 50 years. So imagine our excitement when we heard about the new Chevy Volt.

What is it you ask? A futuristic car with the two most ballerific features we’ve seen in a while–er, never seen before:

There are two things that make the Volt’s E-flex drivetrain noteworthy. First, it is a series hybrid, which means power is fed directly to the motor, not the battery. It can be plugged into a household electric socket and charged fully within about six hours. Completely charged it can drive roughly 40 miles on electricity alone. According to GM, more than 75 percent of Americans live within 20 miles of where they work, meaning the Volt would get them to the office and back on 100% electricity with no direct emissions.

If the battery does run down, the 1.0-liter, three-cylinder gas engine acts as a generator to charge the battery and provides enough power to for up to an additional 600 miles.

The second significant aspect is that the gasoline-driven generator engine can easily be replaced with an engine that runs on E85, diesel, bio-diesel, pure ethanol or even a hydrogen fuel cell. People would then be able to chose their engine based on fuel availability and prices in their region.  (via TreeHugger)

So guys, get rid of your Range Rovers and X5s…get ready for the Chevy Volt. (No word on pricing yet)