Chevy Volt: Could GM Kill the Electric Car...Again?

Reuters reports, "Stung by an association with gas-guzzling SUVs and pushed to the brink of failure by plunging sales, U.S. automakers have been touting efforts to roll out more fuel-efficient small cars, gas-saving technology and gas-free electric vehicles. The star of that marketing show has been the Chevy Volt, a rechargeable car that General Motors Corp is designing to run 40 miles on battery power, meaning some commuters would never need to fill up with gas. But with its cash dwindling and U.S. auto sales crashing to 25-year lows, GM has joined Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC in seeking $25 billion in federal handouts, which are under consideration this week by the U.S. Congress. That has critics concerned that a meltdown for Detroit could delay the rollout of green cars like the Volt."

The Volt enthusiast site GM-Volt.com is worried about the possibility. The site is asking readers to sign a "Letter to the U.S. Government," which reads, "General Motors' upcoming Chevy Volt represents the future of this country. The ability to drive without gasoline and on US-produced electricity will usher in a fantastic new era of petroleum independence and a vast enterprise of related green technologies, including the critical field of advanced battery production...Allowing the US automotive industry to die on the vine in the coming weeks will weaken our country severely, wreak terrible suffering on millions of Americans, and result in the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars of revenue. So too may it imperil our chances for an energy independent future."

Others, however, see the opportunity to push Detroit toward greener cars in the bailout proposal. Business Week notes, "As Washington weighs a potential bailout of the U.S. automobile industry, environmental groups urge that such a rescue should come with eco-friendly strings attached." Business Week adds, "While President-elect Barack Obama has recently made public statements suggesting he would support federal assistance to automakers, his previous public statements suggest he would also back environmentalists' concerns."

Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) has even proposed increasing existing fuel economy requirements as part of a bailout package. Autoblog reports that Nelson "wants U.S. automakers to achieve a fleet average of 50 mpg by 2020. Right now, the CAFE target is 35 mpg by 2020 -- a goal agreed upon only after a huge amount of jockeying in and out of Congress. Nelson asked, ‘Why should we be pouring taxpayer money into an automobile industry that has continued to resist higher miles per gallon, which has led us in part to the problems we're in?