Jonathan Roush: General Motors is developing an electric car that doesn't need to burn any gas. He says it can drive 40 miles on a charge and then recharge by using its internal combustion engine, which runs off of electricity. Econ Talk will be available online at econtalk.org; we'd love to hear from you.
Jonathan Rauch, of the Brookings Institution and the Atlantic Monthly, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the evolution of the Chevy Volt, GM's planned electric car. Due to the transparency of GM's effort, Rauch was able to spend a great deal of time on site at GM writing a piece for the Atlantic Monthly on GM's plans and hopes. Rauch discusses the huge risks, GM's past failures, and GM's hopes that the Volt might change the company's culture. The conversation closes with a discussion of competitors and the implications for energy policy.