When Toyota Announced That It Will Build Prius Models in Mississippi Wasn't That The Obituary Notice For The Cevrolet Volt?

Implications: Last week I wrote here that the statements made by GM about the mode of operation of the shortly to be forthcoming Chevrolet Volt were nonsensical. GM said that the Volt would be an 'electric car,' but, based on the statements now made by GM spokesmen it could only be an electric car, which would have a range, at full performance, of 40 miles before needing a recharge. Such a Chevrolet would be a giant golf cart with a very limited use and a range of only 40 miles.

Analysis: GM has either decided to reconfigure the Chevrolet Volt into a so-called plug-in hybrid or it may be that the car was going to be a hybrid all along but GM's management didn't know or understand that fact.

In any case we are now told that the Chevrolet Volt will be reconfigured to carry a 'new' 4 cylinder engine that will have sufficient power to be able to directly drive a generator and in this way allow the car's electric motor(s) to be directly powered while a trickle charge is delivered to the battery to maintain it until it can be recharged. I would guess that if you drove the car long enough as a gasoline-electric hybrid you might also completely recharge the  battery so that ti would then be unnecessary to recharge it. This is not clarified in any GM announcement that I have so far seen. It may be that GM has not yet thought of this problem for long enough to either make a statement about it or find out if it is even possible in the latest configuration.

We are supposed to believe that GM is ready to commit to production of this now me-too car even as they make major changes in its drive train and haven't chosen a battery. This is silly.

In any case it is now clear that Toyota and Honda and, probably, Daimler will have a lithium battery equipped plug-in hybrid ready to compete with the Chevrolet Volt. In fact it is most likely that these competitors will have their car ready before GM does. Toyota will even make such a car in Mississippi, so that it will be an American car and will qualify for the tax credit shamelessly targeted for GM by the cash and carry US Congress.

The idea of giving low cost loans to a mismanaged company like GM could only occur to people even less equipped to manage a large enterprize than the current GM crew.

What an enormous and unconscionable waste of money such a 'bail out' would be.