March 14th, 2009
Never has an un-launched car carried such a heavy load
Insight. Courtesy Honda.
General Motors just reached a point where he didn’t have to ask for another government bail-out…right away. But the biggest question in GM’s future may still be the Volt. Will it give GM a jolt? Help it charge into the future?
Volt will have a gasoline-poowered engine that will NOT run the car, but re-charge the battery pack.
COST
The Volt may be a bit pricey to fix GM’s problems. Some analysts have predic tedc it could cost as much as $40K. That would make it uncompetitive with hyrbid cars from other car-makers. Honda’s Insight will be listed at about $20K for the basic model and it goes on sale now. And Toyota aims to have a competitive model in that price range as well. The Volt is expected next year.
Regardless of the GM’s success with the volt, there’ll be a number of recharging autos on the market within four years…from at least nine major car makers. That includes GM’s #1 domestic competitor, Ford.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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