Bob Lutz: Volt will survive and prosper

According to the President's Task Force on Autos, GM has spent far too much time and money developing the technology that will one day underpin the Chevy Volt. As important as the fuel-saving technology is, the Task Force is keen to point out that it's a loss-making venture, at least to begin with, saying the following in the viability report that was submitted to the President:

"GM is at least one generation behind Toyota on advanced, "green" powertrain development. In an attempt to leapfrog Toyota, GM has devoted significant resources to the Chevy Volt. While the Volt holds promise, it is currently projected to be much more expensive than its gasoline-fueled peers and will likely need substantial reductions in manufacturing cost in order to become commercially viable."

That sounds like bad news for the Volt, no? Naturally, some of the Volt's staunchest proponents are more than a little worried that the Task Force will put the brakes on the plug-in's development. Not so, says Bob Lutz, who on his very last day in his current role with the company wrote in an email to our friends at GM-Volt.com:

"Volt will survive and prosper. We know the numbers better than the Government...we furnished them! First-generation technology is expensive, but you can't have a second generation without a first generation. Common sense and intelligence will prevail, here!"

[Source: GM-Volt.com]