Chevy Volt To Reach Roads By 2010?
The last news we heard from the General on the plug-in hybrid Volt was they were having some serious problems with the battery systems — i.e., they hadn't invented them yet. So I guess we're a little dubious of the claim this week made by Automotive News they're eyeballing a 2010 date for a vehicle to hit the streets. We're not so much comforted by the comments made by Larry Burns, GM's veep for R&D, on the subject. Burns claims
"It is a formal product program within our company, just like the Chevrolet Malibu is a product program."
So does that mean we should expect the Volt to be a craptastic four-door fleet car that won't look even passably attractive until 30 years into the model name? Still, with 40 city miles of pure electric vehicle range, we hold out hope the General can actually figure out a way to make this happen — if only to make the GM – Toyota hybrid battle interesting.
GM gives Volt a jolt; could hit roads by 2010 (sub. req.) [Automotive News]
Related:
Shanghai Auto Show: GM Reveals Volt Concept Version 2.0 — This Time It's Hydrogen-Powered!; Losing Voltage: Is GM Trying To Kill Hype On The Electric Volt? [internal]