Detroit Auto Show: Pie-in the sky?
January 07, 2007

With flashing lights simulating lightening encircling the stage, General Motors unveiled the Chevrolet Volt, a concept that runs on electricity.

GM Chairman Rick Wagoner opened the press conference, reiterating highlights of a speech he delivered six weeks ago at the Los Angeles show. He insisted again it is a business necessity to develop alternative sources of energy and alternative propulsion systems. He renewed GM’s commitment to develop a Saturn Vue plug in hybrid.

GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz then rolled out as a passenger in the Chevy Volt. The concept runs on electricity from lithium ion batteries beneath its floor. It also has a fuel tank from which gasoline is to fuel a generator to produce electricity onboard the car. The Volt is the first concept to use a new family of electric propulsion systems being developed by GM. The system is designed to accommodate a variety of fuels as well as hydrogen-powered fuel cells.

Lutz made some lame attempts at jokes like “I’m shocked! Truly shocked” in reference to the Volt’s electric power and made reference to “an inconvenience truth,” the movie title for former Vice President Al Gore’s environmental film. (The director of the documentary, “Who Killed the Electric Car?,” which blamed GM for the death of its electric-powered EV1, was a guest in the audience.)

Skeptics in the crowd called the Chevy Volt another pie in the sky idea and even a PR stunt by GM, which has been harshly criticized for lagging in developing hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles.

GM executives insist, however, the lithium ion batteries for the E-flex system, which are not yet ready for prime time, are in the works in as early as two years. GM is pushing for them to be developed by an American manufacturer; at the moment, Japan and Korea area ahead in battery development.

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