Get the Buzz Around General Motors

General Motors recently used the Los Angeles Auto Show to highlight one of their most anticipated new vehicles, the Chevrolet Volt hybrid. Not only has GM focused intense research and development on this new nameplate, but to show the scope of GM’s gamble, the automaker will be investing $336 million on upgrading the Hamtramck plantin Detroit to build the vehicle.Production for the Chevrolet Volt is expected to begin in late 2010. The hybrid is unique in that it has a range of 40 miles on electricity alone thanks to its lithium-ion battery. The Volt has features a combustion engine which recharges the battery and does not power the wheels like traditional hybrid vehicles.The Hamtramck facility was opened in 1985 and employees about 1,200 people. In October, another $230 million had been invested to revamp facilities involving the production of the Volt and the all-new Cruze.Even despite GM's recent financial struggles, Chevrolet Baton Rouge expects that the costs will pay off big in the long-run. Already a substantial level of buzz has surrounded the Volt and it hasn't even reached showrooms yet, which is precisely why countless dealers are eager to see Volts on their lots.