GM's Electric Car Update

Back in February I wrote a piece on the GM's Volt and expressed my interest in owning one. GM's new electric hybrid prototype aptly named the Volt, took a giant leap forward this week, as the first working model hit the road and with that came the announcement from GM that Volts will start rolling off the production line in early 2010.

This vehicle is unlike any other hybrid and it appears it is poised to turn the auto industry on it's ear. With it's ability to drive without the use of fuel for the first 60 km and then use it's small and ultra efficient on board gas engine to re-charge the batteries that power the fully electric engine, this car is like no other available. This has the potential to put GM back in the drivers seat as an industry leader and will force all vehicle manufacturers to reexamine the way they look at fuel efficiency. Good news for drivers, environmentalists and manufacturers alike.

The news that the Volt will go into production came as an unexpected surprise to the naysayers (...myself included) that expected this project to go the way of the EV1, GM's previous electric car project that was swept up in controversy after destroying the cars and scarping the project despite a waiting list of tens of thousands. The documentary "Who Killed The Electric Car" was the first to dig into the theories surrounding this controversial decision by General Motors. One of the most suspicious in a long line of questionable decisions for this vehicle was when GM turned down a 1.9 million dollar offer to buy the remaining 78 cars and 3 days later had all 78 of them shredded. You can check out the trailer HERE.

Here is a video from ABC news regarding the project that I though was very good at explaining what this car is all about.