Change is in the Air

So, it's been very chilly here on the East Coast, and since we never got around to putting any heat whatsoever in the e-Van, driving it has become decidedly unpleasant. Definitely a priority upgrade! I'm dreaming about the Chevy Volt, the first production EV since the EV-1. Don't know if we can hold out two years to get a second vehicle, but if we can, it'll look something like this:



There's a nice overview of the Volt here. If you want to read up on its progress towards regularly there's no better spot than this dedicated site.

Matt sent me an interesting video interview with Bob Lutz, General Motor's chief of global product development a while back. It was filmed just before the Chevrolet Tahoe Two-Mode Hybrid won the Green Car of the Year award at the L.A. auto show in November. In it Lutz complains about Toyota's reputation as a green auto manufacturer, admits that if he didn't work for GM he'd have loved to drive a Honda Insight, and frankly says that GM wants to be seen as "the absolute undisputed leader in advanced environmental and fuel-saving technology." Asked what will help them improve their green reputation in the eyes of consumers, he says "If we could put the Volt into production tomorrow and start selling 60 to 70,000 of them a year that would definitely do it."

Well, duh. Here's looking forward to GM truly committing itself to producing enough Volts to meet demand!

In my next entry: back to discussing conversions! Really!