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Round and round we go... where we stop, nobody knows! That sounds like an apt description of the merry-go-round that is the Chevrolet Volt, especially when pricing and delivery date are concerned. Perhaps what we are witnessing in this case is the first truly transparent product launch in history. Do major shifts like this happen with all vehicles, or is the new technology needed to make the Volt a reality causing pricing headaches for GM management? Maybe it's all of the above. Whatever the case, GM CEO Jim Wagoner has been quoted on Forbes as suggesting that General Motors will be selling an electric car for less than $30,000 by the year 2010.

Another possible explanation for this pricing confusion could involve the upcoming plug-in Saturn Vue. How can we be sure that Wagoner was referring to the Volt when he cited the pricing and deadline of the electric vehicle? We can't. It's possible that GM could have a plug-in Vue ready for the market in 2010 with an electric-only mode, making it an electric car of sorts. We'll just need to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the Volt's, and the Vue's, debut.

[Source: Forbes]

Smartlets. Sounds like a new, electrolyte-filled candy or something you plug into your MacBook. Instead, Smartlets are one idea that would provide power to plug-in electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt or the Saturn Vue.
Partners Richard Lowenthal, CEO of California-based Coulomb Technologies, and Praveen Mandal will describe Smartlets to attendees of the Plug-In Car show in San Jose, California this July. According to Automotive News, Loenthal envisions Smartlets available for EVs and PHEVs in urban areas where people normally park their cars: parking lots, offices, stores, etc. Of course, Smartlet-like chargers are already available (for free) in some areas, like London.

GM likes the idea, but is taking a hands-off approach, but GM's vice president of global program management. Jon Lauckner, told Lowenthal and Mandal last fall that Smartlets are "a good idea." Of course, even though the Vue and the Volt are likely to be among the first plug-in vehicles available from a large automaker, Smarlets would probably be compatible with many plug-in vehicles, at least those that use a standard plug and can accept 110 or 220 volts. We'll need a wait a while to here more about Smartets. The Coulomb Technologies website says the company "is currently in quiet mode."

[Source: Jamie LaReau / Automotive News]