DETROIT — During an online chat with the media last week, General Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner acknowledged that the battery-powered Chevrolet Volt might not be ready by GM's target of 2010. But Monday, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, in a posting on the GM Fastlane blog, insisted that "the [Volt] program remains a top commitment to the company, and we are holding tight to our 2010 deadline."
Lutz's latest posting on the Volt was to wish the vehicle a happy birthday, since January 7 marked the one-year mark since the concept was unveiled at the 2007 North American International Auto Show. "While 2007 was a big year for the Volt, we expect 2008 to be even bigger," Lutz wrote. "As each day passes, our confidence and understanding of the battery technology necessary for the Volt to go into production grows.
"The results from our first two months of testing — some of which has been fairly extreme — have been very encouraging. Soon these batteries will move from the lab to engineering mule vehicles for dynamic testing. There's no way we can predict how these batteries will perform over 10 years based on only two months of testing, but I can assure you, there will be a point in time when we have the full confidence that our solution will reach this goal."
What this means to you: Lutz appears to be more optimistic than others in GM's executive suite about how quickly the Volt will become a reality. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
Lutz's latest posting on the Volt was to wish the vehicle a happy birthday, since January 7 marked the one-year mark since the concept was unveiled at the 2007 North American International Auto Show. "While 2007 was a big year for the Volt, we expect 2008 to be even bigger," Lutz wrote. "As each day passes, our confidence and understanding of the battery technology necessary for the Volt to go into production grows.
"The results from our first two months of testing — some of which has been fairly extreme — have been very encouraging. Soon these batteries will move from the lab to engineering mule vehicles for dynamic testing. There's no way we can predict how these batteries will perform over 10 years based on only two months of testing, but I can assure you, there will be a point in time when we have the full confidence that our solution will reach this goal."
What this means to you: Lutz appears to be more optimistic than others in GM's executive suite about how quickly the Volt will become a reality. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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