Hybrid Car Review

GM will be 'taking the Volt technology to other vehicles,' not attempting to brand the Volt the way Toyota is looking to expand the Prius brand according to GM officials. Source: Reuters.

But, I disagree with the author of that news story. Toyota hasn't expanded the Prius brand, but has taken the hybrid synergy drive and placed it into many of its vehicles (and even in other automakers vehicles... see the Nissan Altima).

There have been rumors to the affect that Toyota will be building on the Prius name and creating a Prius line of cars, but it hasn't happened yet. And GM could end up following the same tack if the Volt becomes iconic in the way the Prius has.

"Our thought is to take the Volt technology to other products," Brent Dewar, chief of global operations for Chevrolet, told the Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit.

"The Volt was the original vehicle that we started, but I wouldn't see that as a brand marketing direction for us," he said.

We'll see what happens a decade from now when the Volt has become established.