GM’s Volt

Big automobile companies are choosing electric vehicle as an alternative fuel option again.Volt is going to be an electric vehicle with a petrol engine for on board charging of batteries. Click image to read full news Larry Burns, the driving force behind General Motors’ future product development, visited Melbourne last week. Ian Porter caught up with him. The lessons of the Iraq war – that securing guaranteed supplies of oil can be more expensive than expected – and the possibility that oil supplies may have peaked have prompted the company not to pick a single winner but to place a bet on every number on the roulette wheel. However, electric cars are still the main target. Some will be pure plug-ins and others will have onboard generators, including fuel cells. The Volt marks a big change in GM’s approach. The Autonomy was expected to rival a current petrol-powered car in terms of range, practicality, speed and price. The generation-one Volt, due in 2010, will be a more realistic starting point.