According to Businessweek (found via hybridcars.com), GM has a surprise for the Detroit Auto Show. They are bringing a concept Buick based off the Volt engine and design.
General Motors (GM) may have the biggest surprise. Even though GM is reeling from billions in losses and the need for government loans to stay afloat, the 100-year-old carmaker will show a brash Cadillac two-door coupe that would run on the same electric drive system as the ballyhooed Chevrolet Volt, which is scheduled to hit the market in 2010. The Volt's system runs exclusively on an electric motor and can go 40 miles before a small gasoline engine kicks in to recharge the battery.
Several sources inside GM say the Cadillac is just a demonstration, or "concept," car. But it shows that the company plans to go well beyond a small, four-passenger Chevrolet with its electric-drive technology. The new Cadillac is smaller than the Caddy CTS sedan but wears a bolder look even than the highly stylized CTS two-door coupe. One GM executive says the Caddy's drop-dead dramatic styling will make "people want it regardless of the energy source."
Mind, all they have to do is bring the original Volt back, call it a Buick and find out if buyers care at all about the fuel efficiency/aerodynamics. We know people were knocked back by the changes from concept to production for the Volt. Put in some electronics and luxury seats and sell it for $10,000 more than the Volt. I'm willing to bet they could find some buyers.
In the end, however, this is probably just a proof GM is presenting to show they are interested in moving the technology and research they've put into the Volt into wider production.
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