Auto Maker Hopes High-Mileage Car Will Repair Image.
John D. Stoll - WSJ - Sept. 15, 2008
Detroit -- General Motors Corp. on Tuesday plans to officially unveil its most important model in decades -- and possibly the key to its survival.
The Chevrolet Volt is a battery-powered compact car scheduled to hit the market by the end of 2010. It is designed to give GM the kind of highly fuel-efficient vehicle it needs to compete in an era of near $4-a-gallon gasoline.
But the car also has another, more-strategic purpose: to change minds.
GM is hoping the Volt will be such a technological leap forward that the many consumers who have turned their backs on Detroit will give the company and its cars a fresh look.
The auto maker also hopes the Volt will become its signature product, supplanting the big sport-utility vehicles like the Hummer and Chevrolet Suburban that now define its image.
On Tuesday, as part of its 100th anniversary celebration, GM will show off the version of the Volt it plans to put into production. And it looks like the increasing buzz about the car already is having an impact
[Read More]
Linear Mode
