According to Sharon Terlep at the Detroit News, the General may be attempting to limit their PR rock down the electric avenue via the Volt concept car shown at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Although we knew from the start the Volt, a plug-in hybrid concept car, relied on battery systems nowhere near ready for prime time. Apparently, despite numerous internal debates, the team at downtown Detroit's tower of phallic power decided that they needed the dues anyway, and pushed ahead with not only the release of the voltage-powered vehicle, but also with a heavy PR strategy that's got consumers so ready to see the vehicle hit the streets that the General's decided they need to tamp that enthusiasm down just a bit. The situation is reminiscent...
...of that one time when they killed the electric car, isn't it? Oh wait, yes it is: "The Volt isn't GM's first foray into electric cars. In the 1990s, the automaker spent $1 billion on its EV1 electric car program, which ended when GM demanded the return of its leased vehicles. The decision drew the ire of environmental groups and EV1 drivers and spawned the unflattering
"Who Killed the Electric Car?" documentary.
GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner has called killing the EV1 his biggest mistake. For evidence he was right look no further than Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. The maker of the popular Prius hybrid has capitalized on its green image just as more Americans are embracing environmentalism.
Well, then hopefully he learned from that first mistake, eh? Volt gallery of PR shots above.
Related:
Breakin' 2: Electric Babalu: Lutz on the Chevy Volt; Detroit Auto Show: Speeding Volt-a-Motive; GM's Personal Jesus: The Chevy Volt Electric Concept Car [internal]