Chevy Volt Won't Make Money, But Still Key To Any GM Revival - Yahoo! Finance

The Chevy Volt is a year away from showrooms, but GM execs and their government overseers see the plug-in hybrid as key to the automaker's hopes for revival after it exits bankruptcy.

The plug-in hybrid, scheduled to launch in late 2010, won't be a moneymaker for GM, at least not initially, even at $40,000 a pop. Its main goal is to change GM's image as unreliable and obsolete -- and lure Americans back to GM showrooms, analysts said.

"It's an image-changer in the sense that it's trying to convey that GM is really out front from a technological standpoint," said David Zoia, editorial director at Wards-Auto.com. "It's a marketing tool."
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Meanwhile, the Volt's $40,000 price tag -- about double the price of a Toyota Prius -- could be a turnoff as competition increases in the small-car segment.

August '08: Obama calls for 'clean energy' nation - Mike Allen - Politico.com

“If I am president, I will immediately direct the full resources of the federal government and the full energy of the private sector to a single, overarching goal — in 10 years, we will eliminate the need for oil from the entire Middle East and Venezuela,” Obama said.
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To set an example, Obama is vowing to convert the entire White House fleet to plug-in hybrid vehicles within one year, and convert all federal vehicle purchases to plug-in hybrids or all-electric by 2012.