GM turns 100: is its future electric?

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Sep 13: The Chevrolet Volt is expected to be the icing on General Motors’ 100th birthday cake this week. The much-promoted sedan, which will operate as an electric car in typical local driving, is intended to provide a jump-start for the company’s second century.

The timing of the Tuesday event is fortuitous, for much more is riding on the Volt than whether a new model using experimental technologies will be a hit. For if the Volt succeeds, it could put the troubled company on a whole new path after 10 decades tethered to the internal-combustion engine. If it fails, it could drag GM, and perhaps the entire struggling American auto industry, even further behind Asian competitors.

It was on September 16, 1908, that William Crapo Durant filed the incorporation papers that formed GM, with a revitalised Buick as its foundation. The centennial should be a time of joy at the company. But, with losses since 2005 approaching $70 billion, and Toyota having accelerated past GM into the No.1 spot in global auto sales, the company’s staff won’t be dancing in party hats.

Instead of toasting the glory days when GM owned half of the United States car and truck market — its share peaked at 51% in 1962 amid suggestions that it should be broken up under antitrust laws — GM executives are looking expectantly ahead to November 2010. That’s when the Volt, expected to break cover this week in close to final form, is due to reach customers.

By mobilising its formidable marketing resources, GM has piqued interest in the Volt. Anticipation is high; when unauthorised photos and surreptitious video footage emerged recently, they spread across the Internet with viral intensity. The interest goes beyond the usual curiosity about the styling and features of a wholly new model.

The public, like industry veterans and seasoned experts, seems to grasp the potential: the Volt could revive Detroit’s fortunes while loosening OPEC’s stranglehold.

Burt Rutan, the aerospace visionary whose accomplishments include the Voyager round-the-world aircraft and who is also an electric-car enthusiast, is among the believers. “I expect the Chevy Volt to be both a success and a transportation game-changer,” he said.