Posted by: Matt Vella on January 17, 2007

General Motors made big news with the introduction of the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show. With one new product — a concept with at least one big placeholder question market no less — it seems the same company that a few short months ago was being railed against in theaters and online for killing the electric car is being given a second by some of the most ardent greens.
Here are some of the online highlights in the wake of the announcement:
Chris Paine, Director, Who Killed the Electric Car? — “It’s a beautiful design and the result of what looks like earnest and incredible hustle at GM over the last 12 months. I was impressed.” More.
AutoblogGreen.com — “A warning shot to the rest of the car word?” More.
GreenCarCongress.com — “Could I actually be getting excited about something from GM?” More.
TreeHugger.com — “Maybe there’s hope that there can be a turn around, not only the environment, but the economy as well.” More.
AutoExtremist.com — “It is a rare occurrence when Toyota gets “out-greened” at a major auto show, or anywhere, for that matter. But GM has done just that with its Volt. As a matter of fact, GM has not only “out-greened” Toyota, it has changed the game completely by raising the bar on the way to pointing the business toward a future dominated by electric vehicles and ultimately - toward an industry dominated by electric vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells.” More.
We also gave General Motors a lot of praise on our site for the Volt, and I've heaped a lot of scorn on GM's products and efforts over the years, and not just in the "green" vehicle arena, either.
But, GM is on the ascent, with some very good new product, the Volt concept, etc. Props given where props are due. Let's hope they can keep it up.
Brendan Moore, editor - www.autosavant.net
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