A little over ten days ago, GM's Bob Lutz told us that the Chevy Volt would not be ready for media drives until July. While that announcement was slightly newsworthy because it signaled a small delay/shifting of the timeline. Whatever. The news that the lithium-ion-powered mules would still be on track to be driven at all was a good sign. Lutz has now confirmed to Reuters that those rides are still scheduled for July but then announced a delay of a different kind.

Two companies, Continental Automotive Systems and Compact Power Inc., are supplying test batteries for the Volt. GM had been hoping to name a supplier for the production Volt's batteries in the first half of 2008, but that announcement will now come later in the year. Lutz told Reuters that, "We need a better handle on who has the technological capability we need and who is going to have the production capability." And all the Volt fans held their breath a bit longer.

[Source: Reuters]

As posted by sibling Autoblog, Suzuki plans to expand its operations world-wide to meet the demand for its smaller vehicles, the bulk being the fuel-efficient Swift compact (pictured) and SX4 Grand Vitara.

The automaker, the fourth largest in Japan (after Toyota, Nissan, and Honda) will be building its first compact car factory in Japan. The factory is also Suzuki's first in 25 years. The demand for smaller cars follows on the heels of continued high gas prices since Hurricane Katrina and may continue with the closure of the Alaskan pipeline in the U.S. as well as increased demand for vehicles in growing markets such as India and China. Fuel-efficiency plays an important role in these markets and Suzuki's small vehicles are able to capitalize on this demand, which we at AutoblogGreen hope will continued to be recognized by other automakers.

Related:

• GM to co-develop and sell hybrids with Suzuki in North America?

[Source: Motoring]