General Motors launched the most successful Initial Public Stock Offering in history last week, raising more than $18 billion. Just 17 odd months after being force fed $50 billion in bailout funds, the company has now paid the federal government back more than half of that. Like it or hate it, the news is shiny happy and GM folk are walking on air….
Portions of the following article first appeared on Technorati as Technology and Engineering Make 2011 Chevy Volt Car and Automobile of The Year …..
Things are looking up for General Motors. Just last week the automaker announced a third-quarter profit of $2.16 billion. Following positive financial news GM has received praise from two leading automotive lifestyle publications. Motor Trend has designated GM’s 2011 Chevrolet Volt, it’s 2011 Car Of The Year. The Volt has also been named AUTOMOBILE Magazine‘s Automobile Of The Year.
The Volt, a plug-in electric vehicle with a range extending internal combustion engine, has been described as a breakthrough, game-changing car of the future. AUTOMOBILE Magazine Associate Editor Eric Tingwall says, “It is genuinely an all-new car, int he most simplistic sense as well as in the greater notion that the Volt is unlike any Vehicle we have ever driven.”
It might surprise critics of the Volt’s $41,000 price tag that Motor Trend designated the car a “great value”. Consumers will spend $33,500 with a federal tax credit and the Volt will be less expensive to run than a traditional hybrid.
Citing engineering excellence and attention to detail, Motor Trend points out that the Volt’s advanced powertrain allows the car to run as an electric vehicle, a series hybrid, or a parallel hybrid, depending on how far and how efficiently you drive. Built on a GM’s Global Vehicle Architecture, it can be easily adapted to other vehicle formats. The implication for future electric vehicle offerings from GM is significant and is likely to influence investor and consumer confidence.
The highly anticipated delivery of the Volt comes to fruition this month with the delivery of cars in California, New York, Michigan, Washington DC, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Roll out to Chevrolet dealers nationwide will continue over the following 12-18 months.