Remember the Opel Flextreme? We haven't heard too much about this version of the E-Flex platform with the Segways in the back since it was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show back in September. But General Motors has repeated an interesting announcement regarding the high-tech lithium ion batteries in the Flextreme - and in the Chevy Volt - during the current LA Auto Show: the General is seriously considering leasing, not selling, the new and expensive batteries to consumers. So says Just Auto (subs req'd), which got the confirmation from GM today and adds that leasing the batteries would solve "a number of issues that would otherwise significantly slow their launch."

GM has been talking about leasing the batteries for these cars since at least August. In September, Nick Reilly, the president of General Motors Asia Pacific, explained that leasing costs for the batteries could cost as much as gas does today. Looks like this story is not going anywhere, which certainly hints that we'll be seeing it again in the future.

[Source: Just Auto]

There is a series of professionally-shot videos, called Studio Story, about the design, theory and then reveal of the Opel Flextreme at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The clip above, episode four, was posted yesterday, and shows a pre-strike Bob Lutz's stage performance from Frankfurt and the way the Flextreme was unveiled. It's slightly Opel-porn, but if you like your concept cars delivered in a seductive way, this is the video for you.

For more, check out the first three episodes of this Flextreme series after the break.

[Source: GM, Chris Coole]

AutoblogGreen has written quite a few posts about last week's unveiling of the Opel Flextreme (see below), but what does GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz think about the European version of the E-Flex system? His recent post on the GM FastLane blog lets us know.

Lutz writes that the Chevy Volt still gets his pulse racing, but the Flextreme's design still makes it a "great-looking car." The rear-hinged passenger door, which GM calls FlexDoor (because suicide door just sounds wrong), that's on the Flextreme will be moving into production on GM cars.

Back in January, Lutz said that, the Chevy Volt could be gas-free for more than half of all Americans, because that's how many live within around 30 km of their work, and the Volt can go 60 km on its batteries. The Flextreme has a similar electric-only range, 55 km, but that means almost 75 percent of Europeans could drive gas-free to work and back. Just goes to show one difference between lifestyles in Europe and America.

You can read the rest of Lutz's thoughts on the Flextreme here.

Related:

• Chevy Volt goes to Europe: Opel Flextreme Concept has ultra-low emissions of 40g/km of CO2 (!) and two on-board Segways
• Frankfurt 2007: Opel Flextreme live shots, unloading the Segways
• VIDEO: A background look at the designers behind the Opel Flextreme

[Source: GM FastLane blog]

Click the photo for a high-res gallery of the Opel Flextreme concept

The inclusion of a pair on-board Segway scooters may have been a questionable design decision for the Opel Flextreme concept, but the packaging was certainly well integrated. The back end of Flextreme has a compartment behind the bumper that holds the scooters and provides charging ports that ensure they are charged when you need them.

While no one from the ABG team was on site in Frankfurt this week, our partners over on the Autoblog side of the house were there and they got photos of the Flextreme reveal. Those photos have now been added to the Flextreme gallery where the ramp that drops down can be clearly seen. If the Segways are discarded, this would make a nice concealed storage area for the stuff you want to keep out of sight.