re: Chevy Volt doesn't like winter

The car has an electric range in normal conditions of anywhere between 35 and 52 miles. After the electricity is depleted the gas engine starts charging the battery to keep the car going for a total range of 380 miles. You can also charge the battery when it's depleted at home. It's not a bad idea for a commuter vehicle as you'd only really need the gasoline engine for extended trips and can charge the battery at home every night. That may not be ideal if your electricity is expensive.

You buy an electric car to save on gasoline. You buy a Volt because electric cars still have short ranges that limit your ability to take long trips- which is a major problem with the Nissan Leaf and the old GM EV1 from the 1990s- both of which have short ranges that are also truncated during extreme weather but don't have a supplemental power train.

It's a good idea in theory but the car is too expensive to be a sales blockbuster (30,000 Volts and Amperas were sold in 2012....compared with 240,000 Cruze sedans) since you are basically buying a car with two power trains. It's a technological stepping stone between a hybrid and a full electric.