The new Chevrolet Volt electric car is reliably meeting its objectives during testing according to GM’s product supremo, Bob Lutz. Testing the Chevy Volt mule began on Tuesday on and around GM’s Michigan proving grounds. The finished vehicle is scheduled to be launched in America in late 2010.Lutz said: “even with a rough calibration, the wrong drive unit, the wrong body it has been hitting its target of 40 miles on electric power.”Critics have questioned the thermal dynamics of Volt’s lithium-ion batteries, but Lutz maintains that the technology is completely reliable and that the batteries, which can be recharged by a standard fuel-powered combustion engine to allow for a longer range, “are almost the least of our problems.”We won’t be getting the Volt in the UK until 2012, when GM plans to put a diesel variant on sale in European markets.
