Zoomi Life

Everyone wants government money. It seems that all of the electric vehicle manufacturers, whether making parts, batteries, or cars want in on that cheap Department of Energy cash. Matthew Lesko is already working on a new book with a working title of “Get FREE Government Money For Your Electric Car Company!”*

Read More: More Department of Energy Loans and Foibles: Tesla, Aptera, and More

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, written by Keith Johnson, lays out the reasons why he believes that General Motors will drop the Volt. An immediate response article on Treehugger.com by Michael G. Richard refutes that argument and lays out his reasoning for it.

Read More: Will GM Drop the Volt?

In a truly GM-styled move, the upcoming Volt’s price will be based not on business dynamics, it’s cost versus consumer demand, or anything else remotely market-based or based in sound business principle.

Read More: Chevy Volt’s Price Will Depend on Gasoline

According to information found in an updated business plan that was presented to the U.S. government yesterday, General Motors is currently requesting an additional $2.6B in low-interest loans to support the development of two new electric cars in addition to their planned Volt PHEV.

Read More: GM to Create Two More Electric Cars in Addition to the Volt

General Motors still thinks it’s in the game and is hoping to get even more stimulus money by building lithium batteries for the Volt in-house. LG Chem, meanwhile, is looking at building a US-based plant as well, but would need guaranteed orders of 50,000 plug-ins per year to justify it–that may be forthcoming soon, however.

Read More: GM Still Has Big Battery Plans - Daimler Does Too

Two recent pieces of information do a lot to undermine General Motor’s public face of “struggling, but in there” Rocky Balboa facade. The first are the huge losses the company posted for last year, which marks gigantic losses for four years in a row for GM. The second is a recent study on the price point of the upcoming Volt.

Read More: GM, The Volt, and Bankruptcy

General Motors currently has six hybrid electric vehicles and the much-anticipated Chevrolet Volt will hit the streets late next year. Based on the Volt’s powertrain (assuming it sells well, I’d imagine), GM will be introducing at least four more vehicles using the plug-in hybrid technology by 2012.

Read More: GM Plans It’s Volt-ific Future: 2 New PHEVs

General Motors, not satisfied with the billions in bailout funds the Bush administration lavished on them after their month-long begathon last year, has now called on major cities (especially San Francisco) to “become plug-in ready.”

Read More: GM Not Content With Bailout Money: Wants San Francisco to Pony Up Too

The South Korean company LG Chem has penned a deal with General Motors to build lithium-ion batteries for the Chevy volt until the end of 2015. The company will be setting up a new production line at its Ochang, S. Korea plant for the deal.

Read More: LG to Provide Batteries for the Chevy Volt

As with our electric car picks for 2008, these electric scooters are all available in the USA now or will be in 2009 and are top picks for various reasons: design, capability, innovation, etc. Most of you know by now that scooters are one of my least favorite things, but there are an amazing number of them on the EV market and they seem to be popular as commuters and all-around “get around” machines.

Read More: Our Top 5 Electric Scooters Of 2008