The all-new Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle will go on sale later this year as a key part of GM’s efforts to provide customers with more fuel-efficient sources of transportation.

The stylish sedan will  provide an all-electric driving range of up to 40 miles, enough to deliver emissions-free commutes for most U.S. drivers, and an overall range of up to 340 miles, offering anxiety-free travel for everyone. The Volt’s secret: In addition to its advanced electric motor, it also holsters a small four-cylinder engine that runs on gasoline and can generate its own electricity for the car when the Volt’s batteries are depleted.

And now, Chevrolet is announcing a whole new way to make it easy for Volt owners to keep their rides on the road. Thanks to a grant from the American Recorvery and Reinvestment Act and the Transportation Electrification Initiative, administered by the Department of Energy (DOE), the first 4,400 Volt buyers will be eligible for free home-charging stations from either ECOtality or Coloumb Technologies. For many customers, this will include free home installation as well.

Of course, a home-charging unit isn’t necessary for the Volt, which can be fully recharged in about eight hours using a standard electrical outlet. As explained by Tony DiSalle, product and marketing director for the Chevrolet Volt, “Many owners will plug their Volt into a normal 120-volt electrical outlet, charge overnight and drive to work in the morning using only battery power. For Volt owners who want to install a faster 240-volt charge station, we expect the Department of Energy project to save between $1,000 and $2,000.”

The project represents a true win-win proposition, too. While consumers will save money, the DOE will collect data from these home-chargers to help facilitate the growth of the electric vehicle market and infrastructure.

For more information on the game-changing Chevrolet Volt, visit www.chevrolet.com/volt today.

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With vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle, scheduled to go on sale later this year, and a lineup of full-size hybrid pickups and SUVs that can get 21 mpg in the city, General Motors is carving out a leadership role in the campaign to reduce our country’s dependence on foreign sources of oil. But GM refuses to be limited to just today’s technologies. That’s why the company also continues to put significant resources into developing hydrogen fuel cells as a viable alternative to current fuel-saving efforts.

This includes a brand-new partnership with The Gas Company (TGC), Hawaii’s No. 1 provider of gas energy. Currently, the synthetic natural gas TGC provides customers on the island of Oahu is more than 5 percent hydrogen. But leveraging a proprietary process to separate the hydrogen, the company’s 1,000 miles of pipeline and the GM partnership, TGC will be able to easily route the hydrogen to local filling stations.

On Oahu, this will help overcome one of the biggest obstacles to the widespread use of fuel-cell vehicles, the lack of an infrastructure from which to actually fuel them.

“This is the type of enabler that a hydrogen transportation infrastructure needs because it addresses both the source of the hydrogen and a feasible way to deliver it for fuel cell vehicle use,” said Charles Freese, executive director of GM Global Fuel Cell Activities. “The Hawaii infrastructure could eventually support tens of thousands of fuel cell vehicles.”

And it’s just the latest move in GM’s ongoing multi-billion-dollar research into fuel-cell vehicles. The automaker’s “Project Driveway” campaign has already allowed thousands of people to rack up millions of miles in a GM fleet of fuel-cell powered Chevy Equinox crossovers, and the results from this program are being used to develop a production-intent fuel-cell system that could be ready for the mainstream market by as soon as 2015.

That may seem like a ways into the future, but, as one of the new project’s supporters, U.S. Senator Dan Inouye, D-Hawaii, reminds people, “It is an important step forward in the establishment of a hydrogen transportation infrastructure upon which new fleets can be tested and utilized. Every step to reduce our dependency on foreign oil is a step forward.”

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On Wednesday a 26-year-old man driving a Chevy Malibu at 100 mph launched the vehicle up an embankment, sending the vehicle 173 feet into the air and into the third floor of an apartment building.

The 2004 Malibu was completely destroyed by the accident, and the driver, Mentor, Ohio resident Carmen Ritacco, was pronounced dead at the scene. No one was present in the apartment that car flew into.

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It is still undetermined what caused the Ritacco to drive into the embankment, which caused the vehicle the become airborne. However, tests will be conducted to determine whether alcohol or drugs could have played a role in the incident.

“His family was stunned, unable to explain it,” said Police Chief Michael Lazor.

According to Police, the car sped west on Vine Street through Willoughby, Ohio. At one point, Ritacco veered off the road just north of Lake Shore Blvd. and slammed into the 6-foot-high mound adjacent to the front of the Shoregate Towers apartment building.

At the speed Ritacco was was traveling, the Malibu reportedly had little effort launching off of the mound following the impact.

Aside from damage to the building, no other damage to vehicle in the nearby parking lot was reported.  No other injuries to residents in the building were reported.

“It’s remarkable the car only marked up the building and that it didn’t cave in,” said Allen Gill, 59, who lives on the 11th floor. “I can’t believe he flew over other cars before he hit the apartment. Everyone in the building had to hear and feel the impact. We were fortunate nobody else got hurt.”

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When it comes to Corvettes, there’s no topping the amazing ZR1. Packing a supercharged V8 that develops a pavement-pounding 638 hp and 604 lb-ft of torque, numerous carbon-fiber body components and a top speed of 205 mph, the ZR1 is the fastest, most expensive Corvette available. But there’s a new version of the ‘Vette coming this summer that just might go faster—at least in terms of sales—than the current King of the Corvettes: the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Carbon Limited Edition.

According to Tadge Juechter, the Corvette’s chief engineer, “For track use, the Z06 Carbon is the best balanced Corvette yet. It combines the lightweight and naturally aspirated Z06 engine with the road-holding and braking of the ZR1.”

And that’s pretty much the story here: The Carbon maintains the “regular” Z06’s big 7-liter V8, capable of making a none-too-shabby 505 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque, but adds many of the ZR1’s other enhancements. These include Brembo carbon ceramic brakes, Magnetic Selective Ride Control, a ZR1-style spoiler, and carbon-fiber hood, rockers and splitter. It even comes with its own easy-to-apply “Euro-styled racing numbers.”

As befitting its limited-edition status, customers also get a limited choice of exterior colors for the Z06 Carbon: Either Inferno Orange or the new Supersonic Blue. The sharp Chevy gets a premium interior, too, with plenty of leather and suede, along with a model-specific steering-wheel emblem, door-sill plates and headrests. Tysons Corner Chevorlet dealerships believe  that this is one ‘Vette that shouldn’t be missed by Corvette enthusiasts.

The Z06 is designed to recognize the 50th anniversary of Corvette’s first foray into the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, where the Team Corvette has won six class victories in the past decade.

Coincidentally, with just 500 Z06 Carbons being built, 24 hours also might be how long it takes for the car to sell out.

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It appears that Toyota is not the only one offering 0 percent financing. General Motors, perhaps in an attempt to capitalize further on Toyota’s current vulnerability, is offering 0 percent financing for 60 months on most 2010 new vehicles.

Although GM says the decision to launch its new sales incentive has no relation to Toyota’s similar incentive program, the timing seems a bit too convenient.

“That was our plan prior to hearing about what Toyota was going to do. We locked this in about a week ago,” GM’s vice president for U.S. marketing Susan Docherty.

Overall auto sales during the month of February were up by 13 percent. GM specifically announced a 12 percent increase last month.

While following in Toyota’s footsteps during such as tumultuous time for the Japanese automaker may seem like a bad idea, it may be just what was needed for Langs Chevrolet and other dealerships. With incredible deals being advertised in on the Web, on TV, and elsewhere, the new incentives have already spurred foot-traffic in countess showrooms. Incentives have already helped Clermont Chevrolet attract many shoppers that also had considered Toyota products.

GM, like Toyota, is still trying to rebuild its brand and revive sales momentum. Although the company still has plenty of challenges ahead, it doesn’t seem to be causing concern among GM execs based on Docherty’s confidence in their current lineup.

“Obviously, with our hot launch products, we don’t need to put 0 percent financing for 60 months on that,” she said. “That 0-for-60 will be primarily on products like our pickups.”

In addition to its 2010 models, the new inventive plan also covers most 2009 models with 0 percent financing for a 72 month period.

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Maybe this is why GM wanted to sell Opel: The General is now saying it wants more than double the current Chevrolet sales in Europe within the next five years.   With high hopes of the Bow-tie brand reaching the million-unit mark across the pond by 2015.  To get there, GM is taking a page from Ford’s playbook, but with a twist.  Ford is currently finding success by importing global products from Europe to the U.S.  These vehicles include:  the Ford Transit Connect, Ford Focus, and Ford Fiesta.  Also, the General wants to export global products from the U.S.  to Europe.  These cars include: the Chevrolet Volt, Chevrolet Cruze, and Chevrolet Orlando.

A million sales set the bar pretty high, but other recent news, shows GM may be on the right track.  The Cruze has been named a finalist for the World Car of the Year Award, while the Chevrolet Camaro has been short-listed for World Car Design of the Year honors.  Each year, the awards are decided by a panel of international auto journalists and will be presented at the New York International Auto Show in April.

The honor would be another important recognition for the Cruze.  The compact is the first passenger car to earn top marks in both front-and side-impact crash testing from the European New Car Assessment Program.  It’s also received five-star and best-in-class ratings from the Australasian and Chinese programs. One Warrenton Chevrolet dealer points out that the Cruze was intended to be a global car, and strong ratings are proving that Chevrolet has successfully created the car they needed.

The Camaro, combining a sophisticated mixture of retro cues and cutting-edge design, has been one of GM’s brightest spots this past year.  VA used Chevrolet dealers attest that the Camaro has always been a vehicle that was capable of captivating drivers, and the altest generation is no different. It outsold the Ford Mustang for eight straight months and the demand for this modern-day muscle-car shows no signs of letting up.   That means both of these vehicles could be in for big honors in the Big Apple this spring.

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Chevrolet Cruze Interior

The Chevrolet Cruze is quickly coming on to the radar of Chevrolet enthusiasts and Chevy dealership alike. As a global replacement for the Cobalt, the Chevrolet Cruze is looking to be a formidable replacement for the compact sedan, with the target launch date of late 2010.

Although some Chevy Cruze photos have been spotted already, the latest pics to hit the Web include shots of the Cruze’s interior. Based on the interior photos, there seems to be impressive build quality and fairly good materials. The center dash in particular appears to be extremely ergonomic.

Aside from build quality, many dealers are eagerly anticipating the Chevrolet Cruze due to its efficiency, as it will reportedly offer 40 miles per gallon. Although the Cobalt remains an in-demand model among the San Diego Chevrolet lineup and among other Chevy dealers, it’s falling behind the likes of the Ford Focus, which has been a tremendous success among Ford Dealers Ashland, as well as numerous import makes which enjoy a reputation for fuel efficiency.

Expect the Chevrolet Cruze to gain even more buzz as there doesn’t seem to be a relief from sky-high gas prices anywhere in sight. In addition, the Cruze should provide more excitement in terms of design that should appeal to new car buyers that are currently avoiding Chevy dealerships which many consider to be providing lackluster models compared with hot, efficient imports.

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More new on Chevy compacts soon.