Although the Chevrolet Volt has obviously been under development for some time now, General Motors has officially given the extended-range electric vehicle the green light. Until now, the Volt was only considered a concept. Moreover, we can expect to see the road-going version of the Volt “in the very near future.”
GM CEO Rick Wagoner made the announcement at the company’s annual meeting earlier this week. “The Chevy Volt is a go,” said Wagoner. “We believe this is the biggest step yet in our industry’s move away from our historic, virtually complete reliance on petroleum to power vehicles.” Wagoner added that a production version of the Volt would be revealed “in the very near future,” seemingly confirming rumors that the Volt will be unveiled at October’s Paris Motor Show.
In other Volt news, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz recently had the opportunity to drive a lithium-ion powered Volt mule and reported the experience on the company’s corporate blog. Although the test mule “wasn’t calibrated properly,” Lutz was still impressed with the Volt’s performance. He loved the instant torque of the electric motor, but lamented the fact that there was no roar of an internal combustion engine — even joking that GM’s “friends at XM Satellite Radio may have to start an Internal Combustion Channel.”
But all joking aside, Lutz realized as he passed gas station with $4 a gallon fuel on his way to the Milford proving grounds just how important the Volt is to America. But it sounds like the Volt is well on its way to production and we can’t wait to see the final product.
