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We’ve spent quite a bit of time lately talking about the brand spankin’ new Chevy Volt and its potential impact on the world of automaking. But the wait is over and the 2010 Volt has finally been unveiled on a curious public, giving journalists and analysts a chance to finally explore what the new ride has to offer.

General Motors unveiled the production model of the Volt and, in doing so, created a new class of vehicles known as the Extended-Range Electric Vehicle or E-REV. The Volt differs from hybrids in that it utilizes electricity to move at all times and all speeds.

The Volt boasts a 40 mile battery range and uses a gas/E85 powered generator to supply power to the electric drive unit. The vehicle has a top speed of 100 miles per hour and should usher in a brand new wave in environmentally-friendly cars.

Using a 16-kWh lithium-ion battery, the Volt should turn some heads on the road with its zippy get-up-and-go. The car’s electric drive unit delivers the equivalent of 150 horsepower, 273 lb-ft. of instant torque, to reach its top speed. The Volt is charged by plugging it into a standard 120v household outlet, giving the driver even more convenience.

Wtih the arrival of the Volt, look for other Chevy cars to continue the trend to save you money and save the environment, too.

When General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner told a throng that there was no guarantee that GM would be using American-made batteries in the brand new Chevrolet Volt, the throng rumbled.

The problem with this arises out of the fact that Detroit automakers recently pressed the government for $25 billion in government loans. With the Volt and the idea that a good portion of it may or may not be spent on the batteries in a domestic capacity, the idea that some or a good portion of the government money set aside to help Detroit automakers could be going to overseas manufacturers flat out doesn’t sit well.

“As we sit here today, I can’t give you a guarantee that it will be made in the U.S.,” Wagoner said regarding the making of the battery for the vehicle. “If we want to get the Volt in the market, as we do by the end of 2010, we’ve got to make some relatively near-term decisions about how we are going to do all that.”

Wagoner’s comment came before he, Alan Mulally, the chief executive officer of Ford, and Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli lobbied Congress for a loans package that would help aid their industry in America. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said top lawmakers had agreed to attach the loan package to a continuing resolution end-of-the-year budget appropriation.

Whether or not the Volt will be 100% American remains to be seen, but at the moment is appears that it and other Chevy cars are more in a rush to get out on the lot than they are to use the American loan from the government in any domestic capacity. We’ll stay on this story as more develops in the coming days.

The brand new Chevy Volt is facing down some serious marketing opportunities. Not only has the Volt been heavily promoted in a variety of avenues, but Stephen Colbert’s show recently had the opportunity to interview General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz and talk about the brand new Chevrolet Volt.

Colbert’s finest hour came when he proffered the question “Will it get me laid?” to a seemingly flustered Lutz.

Lutz’s response: “You’re going to get a lot of nice, no-makeup environmentalist [women].”

While Lutz responded in typically hilarious Colbert Show fashion, Chevy’s promotion of the image of the Volt is dead on target. By going on shows like Colbert’s the Volt will rack up a fair range of marketing opportunities and will get more people interested in the vehicle. But if Lutz and Chevy intends to be continue to raise its profile amongst the target audience for the Volt, they’ll need to be a bit more progressive in terms of the answers.

Lutz sounded outdated and not entirely supportive of the Volt, which is a vehicle that he and all Chevy cars reps need to get behind if the intention is to sell it to a younger public. The appearance on the show along won’t necessarily sell more cars, but his support behind the vehicle will. And he and other Chevy reps will need to work harder in the coming months to promote the vehicle.

By all accounts, General Motors is moving in the right direction. And the upcoming unveiling of the Chevrolet Volt should do more to help their stock prices and their business output.

With “The Future is Green Conference” in Long Beach, California, running a full clip, General Motors is expected to make the unveiling tomorrow at the event in front of a horde of journalists and curious onlookers. The start of what is known as the “Traditional Automobile Season” is coming up and all of the various new releases will hit markets around the world, with the biggest unveilings taking place in Paris, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Geneva. So it makes perfect sense for Chevy cars like the Volt to see the light of day for the first time at a “green” conference like the one in Long Beach.

Chevy’s Volt, released via General Motors of course, is expected to hit the market for an official wide release by the end of 2010. It is a battery powered subcompact with a big upside in the fuel-economy department, giving Chevrolet a car that will finally be able to compete with some of the other environmentally-friendly giants.

General Motors is putting a lot of stock on the Chevrolet Volt and hopes that the car will be the catalyst required to get consumers to start buying from Detroit again and realize that North American cars can also play along in terms of fuel economy and environmental issues.

General Motors has delivered the Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell prototype to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The intention is for the EPA to run a series of tests on the Equinox and to determine if the vehicle meets the high standards of the organization.

General Motors is stating that the tests will take part as part of the EPA’s normal vehicle fleet evaluation activities. The EPA testing is all part of the continuing program from GM and Chevrolet to try to bring fleet vehicles on to the market that pass high environmental standards. The idea is for GM and Chevrolet to be able to take a spot at the top of the ladder in terms of environmentally responsible companies.

“Our organizations have learned a great deal about hydrogen fuel cells and we look forward to furthering the commercialization of this important technology,” Elizabeth Lowery, GM’s vice president for Environment, Energy and Safety Policy said in a statement.

As GM and Chevrolet continue to explore the options in terms of fuel efficiency, their level of competitiveness in the markets should improve. Their goal of being able to take on the giants of Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai in the environmentally friendly sector may be met as long as they continue to pour research and time into the facilitating of earth-friendly technology. As long as Chevy cars continue to advance in this direction, it bodes well for GM.

General Motors is recalling about 300,000 Chevrolet HHR due to a faulty storage bin latch.

As is sometimes the case, production errors can make it to the sales models. In the case of the Chevrolet HHR, the mistake results in a recall. The recall doesn’t appear to have any major safety implications, however, and does not put the Chevrolet HHR in a bad light overall.

The HHRs under rule of the recall are from the 2006-2008 model years. The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration found that the lid on the instrument panel storage bin was prone to unlatch during a crash, causing the lid to open. This failure of the latch is against regulations from the NHTSA that provide vehicle owners protection from interior mechanisms in the case of a crash.

GM is sending owners of HHRs a kit that will allow them to fix the faulty latch. Vehicle owners can also drop by a local dealership to have the proper repairs done and to have the vehicles brought into compliance with the NHTSA regulation.

There are have been no injuries or accidents linked to the problem and the latch kits should be available for motorists within the next month.

Chevy cars and trucks are no strangers to recalls. As a matter of fact, it is extremely rare for any car company to avoid recalls altogether. But if GM’s handling of the situation is any indication, it seems that the car company is well in control of its vehicles and in the protection of its customers.

The 2009 Chevrolet Aveo5 is, by all accounts, a less than powerful little machine that will get the job done.

The Aveo5 has been described as an important car for Chevy and GM and one that is expected to make an impact in the 2009 model year. It is the smallest offering from the car company and is expected to get in the ring with the other small cars from Honda and Toyota to compete for the consumer’s attention and, hopefully, to compete for overall small car sales.

The entire focus of the Aveo5 is based around GM’s premise that American buyers will be ready to buy small cars soon and will follow in the footsteps of Europe. I’m not sure if the GM heads have been paying all that much attention to the markets, but the American consumers are ALREADY buying smaller cars. GM continuously insists on being behind the times, even within its own consumer base.

Nevertheless, the Aveo5 is their answer and it is a satisfactory little car. A 1.6-litre DOHC four-banger lies at the heart of the beast. There isn’t much horsepower to speak of (106), but the car should work well for those who don’t mind a lack of force. Some reviews have the Aveo5 as the slowest passenger car in the 2009 model year.

But does that matter in today’s world? Perhaps if you have the need for speed, it does. But most people with such a desire won’t find themselves in the small car market to begin with, so the notion is almost superfluous on its head. Regardless of the so-called lack of power for the car set, the Aveo5 is an impressive vehicle. It stands among Chevy cars as a sign of a new direction and, seemingly, now is as good a time as any.

Good news for car buyers! General Motors is extending their employee pricing promotion by one month and is adding a few 2009 models into the mix. The idea is to boost sagging sales and to clear out some inventory All of us can benefit from GM’s attempts, can’t we?

The program, launched in late August, applies to almost its entire line-up of 2008 vehicles and has been expanded to include most 2009 vehicles at dealerships, including all Silverado and Sierra pickups. GM’s better selling cars, such as the Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac Vibe are also included in the extended offer

General Motors had troubling sales in July, with numbers down almost 18%. There has been pressure on the American automobile industry to cut costs due to rising material prices and gas prices, but many companies haven’t been heeding the warnings. Sadly, General Motors has been one of those companies and their sales have suffered as a result.

The employee pricing promotion has always proved popular and GM is banking on its ability to move some of their more popular models before the next ones roll in. So Chevy cars, trucks, GM trucks, and Pontiac vehicles will all be, hopefully, sailing off of the lots in the coming months.

Why not head on down to your local dealer today and see what kind of offer you can make on your favourite Chevy cars before the promotion draws to a close?