The Chevy Volt (or what others call the GM Volt), the plug-in car of the future is expected to get at least 230 miles per gallon in city driving according to General Motors.

However, there are several things you must take note of:

• The Volt can only travel up to 40 miles in a single charge
• The maximum range will be 300 miles together with its fuel engine
• The Volt should be plugged in once a day
• Gas free mileage will depend on cargo, travel distance, air-condition usage and number of people in the car

Though its shortcomings, this is a very big leap for automotive technology (at least commercially…). Hopefully this car and other cars that follow suit will help reduce our carbon footprint and thus help the environment.

See video below for more of Chevy Volt:

[image from http://i.zdnet.com]

You’ve most probably heard about the cash for clunker program that the US program created to help consumers get environment-friendly cars. The program is good but leaves out a good portion of the market. To solve that problem, private dealers came out with a solution – the Automotive Stimulus Plan.

The Automotive Stimulus Plan is similar to the cash for clunker program. In essence, it is a supplement to the government program. What it does is fill the gaps the cash for clunker program has. For example, the private dealers are declaring that all vehicles older than 2007 models are eligible for trade-ins. They are also saying that they are allowing the money to be used to buy or lease both new and used cars.

And unlike the government program, the vehicles for trade-in should be a 2006 model or older, in working condition, be owned, registered with insurance for a minimum of six months, and must be less fuel efficient by 2 miles per gallon than their replacement vehicle.

You can check out the official Automotive Stimulus Plan website for more details.

[image from http://www.autostimulusplan.com/]

Before going to the cash for clunkers car list, let us review what the cash for clunker is all about. This program is officially called CARS or the “Car Allowance Rebate System”. This cash for clunkers bill is a program of the United States that helps consumers lease or buy a more environmentally-friendly vehicles from a participating dealer when they trade in a less fuel-efficient car or truck. This program is designed as a means to boost the economy during the recession and help the environment by having cleaner and more fuel efficient vehicles on the road thus killing two birds with one stone.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Consumers will be able to take advantage of this program and receive a $3,500 or $4,500 discount from the car dealer when they trade in their old vehicle and purchase or lease a new one.

Consumers are eligible to receive a $3500 or $4500 discount from the dealer during the trade in of their old vehicle to buy or lease a new one. The question left is, does your car qualify? Here are the qualifications as outlined in cars.gov:

• Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date
• Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements)
• Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in
• One-year Proof of Insurance. If your insurance card does not cover the entire year preceding the trade in, you will need other proof of insurance. Contact your insurance company to get evidence of one-year worth of insurance. The form must include, at a minimum, the insurance company, policy number, VIN, start and end date of insurance (showing at least 1 year).
• Proof of Registration going back at least one-year.
• “Clear” title. This means the title must be free of any liens or other encumbrances. If you have liens, you need to get these cleared before going to the dealer. This may include evidence on the face of the title showing no lien; that the title has been cleared (signed and stamped accordingly), or with an attached lien release from the lien holder.
• The vehicle manufacturer date found on the driver’s door or door jamb is less than 25 years old when you trade it in.

Now here is the cash for clankers car list that shows which vehicles are eligible. The list can be found here.