January 18, 2012 

An electric car, a Chevy Volt, will be on display in the Ketcham Community Center gymnasium on the campus of North Central Missouri College this Friday and Saturday.  The display is being promoted by NCMC’s Postsecondary Agriculture Student Organization (PAS) Club.  A portion of the instruction provided at the college’s Barton Farm Campus is focused on alternative energy; therefore, those students have an interest in this project.  Rustin Jumps and David Nowland are the PAS sponsors.

 The Volt is a true hybrid, according to Brent Wyant, owner of the Barnes-Baker Automotive Group of Trenton/Chillicothe.  “The Volt actually runs on an electric motor with a gas-powered generator.  The generator will recharge the battery when necessary, but the car has about a 30-mile driving range on pure electricity before the gas generator kicks on.   I drove the car for a week between my home in Trenton and the dealership in Chillicothe and used no gas at all.  In the evening, I plugged the car into a regular electric outlet in my garage, and after I drove to Chillicothe in the morning, I plugged it again at the dealership.  As I didn’t drive more than 30 miles between charges, the gas generator never kicked on.” 

 A service technician from Barnes-Baker and a student from the PAS Club will be available at the KCC to answer questions about the car. Wyant said, “The purpose of this display is for college students to visit with our automotive technician to discuss the technological aspects of the car’s operating system, but we would encourage all who are interested in alternative energy to come look at it.”  The car will continue to be on display during the basketball games in the KCC on Saturday.