High oil prices, green regs, and better batteries are behind the mad dash to create the ultimate electric automobile. So far, Asian manufacturers are leaving U.S. rivals in the dust.
Not by itself, but it helped. For several years GM has been touting the battery-powered Chevy Volt as a sign of the company's vitality and proof of its drive to become a technology leader. Former CEO Rick Wagoner drove one in Washington, D.C., last December when he went hunting for federal aid. Despite the car's limited range (40 miles between charges) and stiff price (estimated at $40,000) GM (GM, Fortune 500) had made the Volt its standard-bearer and touted it as an antidote to climate change and oil imports.
Earlier this year a GM executive declared, "We think a plug-in offering 40 miles of gas- and emissions-free driving like the Volt is the sweet spot for the majority of customers." (For those who want to go farther, a small gasoline engine acts as a range extender.)
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