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To be fair, I thought that I should publish the response that I received from my contacts at GM:

Steve,

XXXXXXXXXXX forwarded your question, based on comments made by Rick Wagoner on the Chevy Volt.

I assure you, the Volt remains a top priority for our company, and the program timing for the Volt has not changed.

Mr. Wagoner’s response while phrased differently than our previous responses, is consistent with what we have said all along, “we continue to work aggressively toward our 2010 internal target, but that date is dependent on the availability of battery technology that meets our safety, performance and durability requirements.”

The development of the Volt, and specifically its battery, depends on engineering solutions, rather than invention. We have been testing two battery packs for over two months. The results have been very encouraging with our confidence growing every day. However, we need more data to reliably predict how this battery will perform over 10 years of cycle life in varying conditions. Only through rigorous testing of the battery, which continues every day, will we be able to accurately determine where we are in the development of the battery and the ultimate production date of the Volt.

There are over 200 engineers working directly on this program, with another 300+ chassis, powertrain and manufacturing engineers, designers, and other technical support working every day to bring the Volt to dealers as quickly as possible. More batteries are due in our labs this month, and soon, these batteries will be moving to engineering “mule” vehicles for dynamic testing. We also recently opened a dedicated design studio for the development of the Volt and other future E-Flex vehicles. We have a great deal of talent and treasure allocated to this program all with the expectation that we will be the first to market with this technology.

I hope this answers your question, please feel free to call or e-Mail me if you have any others.

Thanks
Rob Peterson
Mgr. Chevy Volt/E-Flex Communications

I want to reiterate to our readers that I am rooting for the Volt, not against it. I hope that GM can make this car a reality. I also believe that we should continue to keep pressure on them until they do.