Is the Chevy Volt Ready for Prime Time?
The buzz surrounding the Chevy Volt is increasingly overwhelming. An overview and update is certainly in order. It was only five years ago when General Motors product chief Bob Lutz said that hybrid cars don’t make “economic or environmental sense.” Since then, the market and the science has proven him absolutely wrong. Prius sales are off the charts and every major automaker is now playing the hybrid game, albeit with different results. Before announcing the Chevy Volt at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, General Motors definitely took its lumps, failing with both Saturn hybrid knock-offs and with trying to implement hybrid systems on large gas-guzzlers like SUVs and trucks. Failing and desperate, executives rolled out the Chevy Volt an impressive piece of machinery until you look at the numbers. Originally well-received by all parties, the Volt now looks as though it’ll come with a price tag twice as high as its competitors. Some are even saying it could lose money for GM,
