Turns out you don’t have to give out mortgages like candy and then blow all the proceeds on drugs and strippers to get your hands on part of the government’s $700 billion bailout package. Instead, put down the hooker and pick up a Chevy Volt.
As part of the Wall Street bailout package, $1 billion is set aside for discounts for hybrid cars with batteries rated at 4 kWh (kilowatt hours) or more. While the current Prius’ 1.3 kWh battery pack does not qualify, the 6 kWh Chevrolet Volt should qualify for the maximum $7,500 tax credit. See, sometimes the good people win (or at least get some of their own money back to buy a car.)
It’s no surprise. Not only is the Chevrolet Volt easily one of GM’s most ambitious projects (new technology, short timeline), but we have also been hearing many rumors that the European Opel brand will get its own version of the gas/electric hybrid. So, very few were surprised at the official announcement from General Motors at the Paris Auto Show that Opel’s Volt will arrive in 2011 (Chevrolet’s will debut in 2010.)
"Since fuel economy and the whole issue of ecological driving is as important in Europe as it is in North America, we made a decision that we’re going to trail the North American Volt with an Opel version of that vehicle in the 2011 time frame," said Hans Demant, managing director of Opel.
Opel will utilize the technology and powertrain from Chevy’s Volt, but says it will likely change the design for its customers. The final product will likely still look a lot like the Volt considering the final shape was chosen for its low aerodynamic drag.
Bob Lutz is a man in demand. After our interview time with him about the Chevrolet Volt, Lutz was quickly whisked away to go to New York. At first we didn’t know exactly why, but now its clear we were the warm up interview for Stephen Colbert.
General Motors spent a lot of time, money and political capital in the Chevy Volt. The car that started out as just another concept last year has become the company’s springboard for its second hundred years. In fact, in the time GM set aside to talk to the press about its 100th anniversary, almost all of the occasion was taken up by information on the Volt.
With this in mind, it is worth going through a detailed breakdown of what GM wants you to know, including what it has accomplished and what GM still has to complete on its Volt.
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Most car companies usually do not reveal too much about their new cars before they are for sale, and General Motors is no exception. But when you’re Bob Lutz, the rockstar of the automotive world, and the Volt is like having a new album, then it’s time to promote. GM is doing an uncharacteristically large amount of press well before the production Volt hits the showrooms in late 2010. Lutz sat down with a few Journalists including TopSpeed to explain why the Volt turned out like it did, and what to expect between now and when it hits the showrooms.
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