Chevrolet Volt

When Chris Paine pulls his Chevrolet Volt into a Culver City parking lot and plugs it into the solar-powered public charging station, two other electric vehicles are already there: a low-slung Tesla Roadster and a hatchback Nissan Leaf. Just five years ago, the director of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" wouldn't have believed such a scene would even be possible. After Paine released his 2006 documentary about the demise of General Motors' groundbreaking plug-in vehicle, the EV1, his take-away was "a sense of loss.

Federal safety regulators have launched an investigation into the cause of fires in the Chevrolet Cruze, General Motors' best-selling passenger car. According to complaints made with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there have been at least two incidents in which the small sedan has caught fire while being driven. GM said it is researching warranty claims involving fires for at least 19 Cruzes. Regulators also are looking at fires in the Jeep Wrangler sport utility vehicle.

2011 Chevrolet Volt Base price: $41,000 Price as tested: $42,395 Powertrain: 111-kilowatt drive motor with 54-kilowatt generator motor, 16-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, 1.4-liter DOHC inline four, four valves per cylinder, sequential port fuel injection Maximum horsepower: 111 kilowatts, or 149 horsepower equivalent Maximum torque: 273 pound-feet Maximum speed: 100 mph ...

Federal safety regulators have given the Chevrolet Volt an all-clear. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday that it did not identify a safety defect, concluding that the car does not pose any unusual risk of fire. In closing the book on its investigation into Volts catching on fire, NHTSA also issued new guidelines for how emergency personnel and tow truck operators should deal with electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids that have been damaged in severe accidents.

Cadillac, the upscale General Motors Co. brand, plans to come out with a luxury electric compact car — based on the decidedly blue-collar Chevrolet Volt. GM said Wednesday that the Cadillac ELR will use a drivetrain similar to what it developed for the Chevrolet Volt, which will enable the new model to travel some distance on only electricity before a gas motor kicks in to act as a generator and extend the vehicle's range. Such a system is known as a series plug-in hybrid vehicle, but others, including GM, call it an extended-range electric vehicle.

General Motors Co. said it will make modifications to the Chevrolet Volt after a series of fires occurred following test crashes of the plug-in hybrid vehicle. GM said the fires were caused by a coolant leak that occurred when the battery pack in the vehicle was punctured during the tests of severe side crashes by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  The fires occurred hours to weeks after the tests as the coolant leaked and eventually created a short circuit. The automaker will add structural reinforcement that better protects the battery pack from puncture or a coolant link in a severe side crash, said Mary Barra, GM's senior vice president of global product development.

When it comes to sales of electric vehicles, Nissan's Leaf is charging ahead. Nissan Motor Co. has sold 4,134 of the battery-powered electric cars this year. General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet, by comparison, has sold 2,745 of its Volt car, which is technically a plug-in hybrid because it runs on electricity for about 40 miles before a gasoline-fueled generator kicks in to extend the vehicle's range. Fans of the pure electric vehicles, rather than plug-in hybrid models such as the Volt, should be pleased, said Mike Omotoso, an auto industry analyst at J.D. Power & Associates.

Federal safety officials have launched a probe into whether the batteries in Chevrolet's Volt plug-in hybrid sedan are prone to fires. The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was launched after a Volt caught fire following a crash test, General Motors Co. said. The agency will be looking at the safety of batteries from several makes of electric vehicles, according to the Associated Press. The Volt is designed to run off its batteries for about 40 miles.

It accelerates with a big husky twist of its electric motor. Actually, you can even chirp the front tires if you push the go-button hard enough -- very unlike a golf cart. It corners confidently and brakes crisply and, if it's no Ferrari, it certainly won't embarrass itself on the 110 Freeway, otherwise known as the Pasadena Grand Prix. It's comfortable, practical and -- graded on the curve of five-seat family hatchbacks -- reasonably attractive. Think German-made-dishwasher pretty.

As the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric car, the Toyota Prius has become the iPod of hybrids. More than 2 million of these automotive icons have been sold since the Prius was introduced in 1997, with mostly minor changes to its aerodynamic profile. But that's about to change with the 2012 Prius v — a larger version that looks as if growth hormones were slipped into the tank. Due in showrooms in October, the v — for "versatility" — lengthens the rear cargo hold on the regular Prius and ratchets up the hatch, opening up far more space in the back 40 without sacrificing too many miles per gallon.

General Motors Co. plans to bring a special version of the Chevrolet Volt to the California market that will qualify the plug-in hybrid sedan for a $1,500 state rebate and a coveted carpool lane sticker. The Volt, which the automaker has made the poster child for its environmental credentials, has sold more slowly in California than its all-electric rival, the Nissan Leaf, in part because it previously did not qualify as a vehicle that solo drivers could use in the state's network of time-saving carpool lanes.

General Motors Co. plans to bring a special version of the Chevrolet Volt to the California market that will qualify the plug-in hybrid sedan for a $1,500 state rebate and a coveted carpool lane sticker. The Volt, which the automaker has made the poster child for its environmental credentials, has sold slower in California than its all-electric rival, the Nissan Leaf -- in part because it previously did not qualify as a vehicle solo drivers could use in the state's network of time-saving carpool lanes.

General Motors Co. said it would make modifications to the Chevrolet Volt after a series of fires ignited after test crashes of the plug-in hybrid vehicle. GM said the fires were caused by a coolant leak that occurred when the battery pack in the vehicle was punctured during severe side test crashes by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The fires occurred hours to weeks after the tests as the coolant leaked and eventually created a short circuit. The automaker will add structural reinforcement that better protects the battery pack from punctures or a coolant leak in a severe side crash, said Mary Barra, GM's senior vice president of global product development.

General Motors Co. said it will make modifications to the Chevrolet Volt after a series of fires occurred following test crashes of the plug-in hybrid vehicle. GM said the fires were caused by a coolant leak that occurred when the battery pack in the vehicle was punctured during the tests of severe side crashes by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  The fires occurred hours to weeks after the tests as the coolant leaked and eventually created a short circuit. The automaker will add structural reinforcement that better protects the battery pack from puncture or a coolant link in a severe side crash, said Mary Barra, GM's senior vice president of global product development.

Afraid your new Chevrolet Volt will catch on fire? General Motors will go as far as to buy it back from you. As safety investigations continue on the electric car, which caught fire following test crashes, GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson said the automaker would repurchase Volts from any concerned consumers. The assurance marked an escalation of the company's response to the post-crash reports. Earlier this week, GM offered to loan free vehicles to Volt owners until the safety concerns were resolved.

General Motors Co. is offering to provide a free loaner car to Chevrolet Volt owners who are concerned about the safety of their vehicles after a series of fires that occurred during crash-testing of the electric vehicle and its batteries. "Our customers' peace of mind is the most important thing. This technology should inspire confidence and pride, not raise any concern or doubt," said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America. Reuss said GM would contact all Volt owners "to reassure them" that the vehicles are safe to drive and won't spontaneously catch fire, even in a crash.

In the hullaballoo surrounding last year's debuts of the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf, one new electric vehicle was mostly overlooked: The Smart Fortwo Electric Drive. It was an understandable oversight ? and not just because of the cars' microscopic size. Smart USA is a bit player in the auto market. Just 6,000 gas-powered Fortwos were sold in the U.S. in 2010. Engineered by Mercedes-Benz, manufactured by Daimler and distributed by Smart USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Penske Automotive Group, the internal-combustion cult car is being joined by 250 Smart Fortwo Electric Drives.

Stalled for nearly a century, electric cars are about to move into the fast lane when the first of a new generation of vehicles reaches dealer showrooms next month. Every major automaker plans some sort of electric or plug-in hybrid offering over the next several years, a wave of competing technologies reminiscent of the beginning of the automobile age. General Motors Co. this month will start shipping its Chevrolet Volt, which uses a gas engine to generate electricity when the batteries run out. It will be available for sale in December.

For years General Motors Co. has wanted to be more like Toyota Motor Corp. It wanted to sell more passenger cars like Toyota. It wanted Toyota's reputation for reliability. But in one area, GM is doing everything it can to not be like Toyota. As federal safety officials began investigating the cause of fires that followed test crashes of its Chevrolet Volt electric vehicles, GM shifted into communications overdrive, trotting out senior executives and engineers to talk about the issue and launching a customer-care initiative.