Bob Lutz has come out and said it again: "I would say there's almost no reasonable doubt in our minds anymore that this is going to work." And that isn't just that the Chevy Volt will work -- it's that it will work on time and as promised. In spite of the difficulties GM has had getting Volt technology up-to-speed within its timeframes, the man upstairs is apparently as confident as ever.

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An article in the Atlantic Monthly examines the genesis and gestation of the Chevy Volt, and concludes with an intriguing mix of potential hits and misses. Calling the Volt "the Barack Obama of automobiles-everyone's hope for change," even the Atlantic Monthly knows that this car currently means more to GM and perhaps the U.S. car buying public than anything else. There is a huge amount of emotion behind the Volt, and not all of it is supportive.

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In order to create the next generation of more efficient transportation, automakers and suppliers need a lot of engineering talent. The problem is the talent pool today is very limited and those that have the necessary skills are tending to find greener pastures than Michigan. The number of American students going into science and engineering has been on the decline as everyone wants to be the next Donald Trump instead of the next Charles Kettering. Kettering, you say? Who's that? That's precisely the problem. Few of the engineers and scientists who have helped shape the industry over the past century have gotten the kind of popular recognition that financial types have gotten.

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Not long ago we spoke about a campaign by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) that recommended to verify how often motor oil had to be changed. General Motors has joined the campaign and will support CIWMB in informing motorists that millions vehicles can be driven much longer than the old standard of 3,000 miles between changes. Driver farther, save oil.

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Despite rising tensions (and a lawsuit) between General Motors and the Canadian Auto Workers union, the automaker may be interested in adding a new car line at its soon-to-closed truck plant in Oshawa, Ontario. Though that plant was originally scheduled to stay open a few more years, slumping sales of full-size trucks built there have forced GM to announce its early closure along with three other pickup and SUV plants.

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General Motors is apparently serious about it's green push and will be launching a new commercial later this month to show off its environmental intentions. The spot, created by McCann-Erickson, is GM's televised Dear John letter to Big Oil that begins by saying, "We've had this great relationship for many years. We think we will both be a lot happier and healthier if we see less of each other."

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While New York City is using Ford Escape Hybrids as taxis, that simply wouldn't do in the Middle East. General Motors has delivered ten of its Chevy Tahoe hybrids to the Dubai government for a taxi fleet test. The test program was kicked off by His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai at an event held at the Monarch Hotel in Dubai. The attendees at the event also watched a "documentary" on hybrids that discussed the efforts to reduce emissions and fuel consumption in the UAE (of which Dubai is a part).

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Shortly after reports of leaky batteries coming from Cobasys, which greatly slowed the production of GM's mild hybrid vehicles, such as the Saturn Vue and Aura hybrids and Chevy Malibu hybrid, comes a report from Automotive News which suggests that General Motors may just purchase the troubled battery maker outright. That's one way to manage the problem, wouldn't you say? Though GM would own 100-percent of Cobasys, some sort of partnership is said to be in the works, though that other entity remains unknown.

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Considering the sorry state of financial affairs that GM appears to be in, it seems extremely unsurprising that the board would like to see some big changes made at the very top of the company. What is a little shocking, though, is just how soundly the specific proposals were rejected. For instance, a proposal sponsored by John Chevedden of Redondo Beach, California, which would have given shareholders an annual advisory vote on executive compensation and pay, found less than 38-percent of voters in support. Another proposal which was soundly defeated would have tied executive stock options and awards with company performance.

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The other day, we found out that GM was having problems with the Cobasys batteries in the automaker's mild hybrid vehicles. The hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Vue and Saturn Aura are affected and around 9,000 batteries were recalled and replaced. At least, that's how GM explained it.

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With both hands extended, General Motors has asked Detroit City Council members for tax breaks to ensure the highly-anticipated hybrid electric-powered Chevrolet Volt will be built in their city. This news comes on the heels of GM asking Congress for a tax break to ensure the price remains near $30,000 when it arrives in showrooms in 2010. Enough already. Stuck in the turmoil of a $38 billion loss last year, pending job cuts, UAW strikes, and in the midst of an economy favoring fuel-efficient vehicles (as pickups and SUVs roll down the assembly line), GM is scrambling to survive. Whether it arrives as a hybrid, or in all-electric versions, the Chevrolet Volt can't come to market soon enough... regardless of who GM panhandles.

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Despite already selling a version of the Toyota Matrix as the Pontiac Vibe, it seems that the coffers at General Motors may bring the Pontiac G3 to the U.S. market. Already sold to our neighbors up north, though known in Canada as the Wave, the G3 is a slightly revised Chevrolet Aveo, which is currently the cheapest vehicle the General offers for sale in the U.S. Oddly enough, the G3 would not post significantly better fuel economy figures than the already available Vibe, though it would undercut its slightly larger sibling by a few thousand dollars. While we can see the reasoning behind wanting as full a vehicle line-up as possible for dealers representing the Pontiac-Buick-GMC trifecta, the G3 seems to do little more than continue to water-down Pontiac's already shaky performance image.

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There are rumors floating around the interwebs today regarding the Opel Insignia being the first official product from General Motors using its highly-efficient homegeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI for short. We can't confirm these rumors at this point, as GM has made no official announcements at all regarding the future of its HCCI engines. We do, however, know that engineers in crisp white lab coats are currently hard at work perfecting the technology.

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With closure to the American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings strike in sight, General Motors is pushing forward to resume production at the idled and slowed plants -- assuming UAW members approve a tentative contract later this week.

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The General Motors EV1 has turned into one of the largest scapegoats in the automotive industry. Many people believe that the futuristic electric car was put to pasture long before its full usefulness had been met, a controversial viewpoint supported by the Chris Paine film, "Who Killed the Electric Car." To those conspiracy theorists, Angus MacKenzie at Motor Trend has another take to offer: blame CARB.

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