EconTalk Jonathan Rauch on the Volt, Risk, and Corporate Culture
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Sep 1, 2008 The Chevy Volt was more than a daring electric-car project: GM hoped it could remake the company. Jonathan Rauch traces the Volt’s roots in the celebrated, ill-fated EV1 and explores the engineering hurdles, commercial risks, and competition from Toyota and Tesla. The conversation also examines how shifting gas prices, climate concerns, and energy policy could shape the car’s future.
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EV1 Triumph Turned PR Disaster
- GM built the EV1 in the 1990s as a technological masterpiece but leased and later recalled and destroyed many cars, creating a PR fiasco.
- Engineers say legal and liability concerns, not anti-electric motives, forced the destruction despite pride in the EV1's engineering.
Killing Hybrids Let Toyota Leapfrog
- GM killed its hybrid program in the early 2000s and missed the Prius opportunity, which Toyota developed into a mainstream success.
- That strategic retreat left GM without hybrid expertise as the market matured and Toyota gained a green-image advantage.
Tesla and Lutz Forced GM's Pivot
- Bob Lutz pushed for an electric car after seeing Tesla and working at Exide, reframing GM's fuel-cell work as essentially electric propulsion.
- Tesla's lithium-ion Roadster proved feasibility and pressured GM to act despite internal skepticism.