Volt Birth Watch 137: CNN Shills for Chevy

Even as it heads for Chapter 11, GM isn’t giving up its plug-in hybrid Hail Mary electric – gas Chevrolet Volt without a fight. (If at all.) Turning its back on their number one fanboy, Dr. Lyle Dennis, GM PR, has blessed CNNMoney Senior Shill—I mean auto writer Peter Valdez-Depena with a drive in their Volt test mule. The bottom line: it moves. As for everything else—range, recharge time, “charge sustaining mode,” etc.—all we get is regurgitated prevarication and promises. Or, more musically, smoke gets in your mirrors. “The guts of the car were about 80% those of the final Chevy Volt, according to Vehicle Line Executive Frank Weber.” Did Depena even look under the hood? I would imagine not, as he took everything he was told on faith and neglected to mention the fact that “old” GM will never build this machine. So, children, what did we learn today?

The Volt’s electric motor is sized to provide performance comparable to a 250-horsepower V6, said Posawatz, and that seemed about right . . .

The first time I drove the front wheel drive test vehicle into a turn, the weight came as a surprise. It felt almost like the small Cruze had turned into something more like a Cadillac the moment I turned the steering wheel.

A lot can be done with suspension tuning, though, GM’s Posowatz assured me. The benefit of the battery pack is that it puts the weight low in the car. That will give the Volt a lower center of gravity, which will help it feel more stable in turns.

It will still be heavier than other cars its size, though. Nothing’s going to change that. But better-tuned suspension and different wheels and tires should help.

Just not yet. Hang on. Is CNNMoney’s car guy calling Caddies whales? Way to bring your A-game, Pete. In fact, CNNMoney ends its exclusive with the most nauseating example of “sales pitch as journalism” I’ve seen since I struggled though the May edition of Car and Driver.

Next-generation Voltec cars—that means cars planned for 2015 and beyond—will be lighter, roomier and will cost less than the Volt.

While GM hasn’t said, officially, what the Volt will cost, it also hasn’t batted aside the common prediction that it will cost about $40,000. Buyers should be eligible for a $7,500 tax credit, so the real cost for most people will be about $32,500.

So, even factoring in the tax incentive, that puts the Volt in the range of an entry-level luxury car. It will certainly be the most expensive Chevrolet you can buy this side of a Corvette or a top-of-the-line Camaro.

Depending on driving habits and, of course, gas prices, fuel savings could easily make up that cost difference. Unlike a typical hybrid car, a Volt owner could potentially cut gasoline almost entirely out of the budget.

High gas prices would also drive up resale values on a car like the Volt, assuming the car proves to be dependable. (GM quality has improved greatly in recent years, so that’s far from a crazy assumption.)

In the end, the Volt won’t be a huge seller or a big money-maker for GM. Its value lies in changing perceptions. A test drive in this early version is one step in the process.

I just threw up a little in my mouth.