Chevrolet Volt

General Motors Co. posted its third consecutive profitable quarter Wednesday and is on track to have its first full-year profit since 2004. The Detroit automaker's announcement of a $2-billion profit comes just days before its public offering Nov. 18. Bolstered by higher auto sales, GM reported that revenue rose 28% to $34.1 billion in the quarter. Earnings per share jumped $1.20, compared with a loss of 73 cents a share a year earlier, the company said. "We have just started doing a better job marketing our brands to consumers," GM Chief Executive Daniel F. Akerson said in a conference call with analysts.

For General Motors Co., the Chevrolet Volt may be generating the wrong kind of spark. Federal officials on Friday launched a formal safety defect investigation into GM's plug-in hybrid vehicle after crash tests on several Volts and their batteries resulted in fires. In one case, a fire that started in one of the test vehicles consumed three others parked nearby. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was "concerned" that damage to the Volt's batteries sustained in tests designed to replicate real-world crash scenarios resulted in the vehicles' catching fire.

Federal safety regulators have launched an investigation into the cause of fires in the Chevrolet Cruze, General Motors' bestselling 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.

The Chevrolet Volt, the first mass-market electric vehicle from General Motors Co., will have a sticker price starting at $41,000 when it hits showrooms this year, but it was the attractive lease offer that the automaker announced Tuesday that grabbed the attention of industry analysts. Chevrolet plans to offer a lease program on the Volt with a monthly payment as low as $350 for 36 months plus $2,500 due at lease signing, a deal that could speed up adoption of the new generation of automobiles by making them competitive with traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.

According to the government, the car with the highest mileage per gallon on the market doesn't use a single drop of gasoline. The 2011 Nissan Leaf, which was scheduled to be delivered to its first California customers this weekend, runs entirely on battery. But the Environmental Protection Agency says it can travel 99 miles on the equivalent of a single gallon of fuel. Confused? You're not alone. The mileage-equivalent ratings, meant to help potential buyers compare electric cars with others in their class, are befuddling some consumers who see them as an automotive example of comparing apples and oranges.

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 Electric Co., saying it wants to help spark the electric vehicle industry, said Thursday that it would purchase 25,000 electric vehicles for its fleet by 2015. The Fairfield, Conn., company said its strategy represented the largest-ever electric-vehicle commitment by a company or organization. The plan includes buying 12,000 Chevrolet Volts, which General Motors Co. will start selling by year-end. "Electric-vehicle technology is real and ready for deployment, and we are embracing the transformation with partners like GM and our fleet customers," said Jeff Immelt, GE's chief executive.

The all-electric Nissan Leaf hatchback will cost $32,780 when it hits showrooms in December, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday. But government subsidies will make the price more attractive. There's a federal tax credit of $7,500 for electric vehicles. And Californians are eligible for an additional $5,000 rebate through the state Air Resources Board. That will lower the base price for the standard Leaf, in California, to $20,280. The Leaf will cost far less than the only other currently available pure-electric car on the market, the $109,000 Tesla Roadster, which is a sports car. Pricing for other upcoming electric cars -- including the Chevrolet Volt, also due later this year -- hasn't been revealed.

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.