Last time they went before Congress rattling tin cups, the chief executives of the Big Three automakers made the mistake of flying to Washington in luxuriously tricked-out corporate jets. Today GM chief Rick Wagoner is driving a fuel-efficient hybrid Chevy Volt prototype to Senate hearings on the proposed bailout for the car companies, reports the Detroit Free Press.
GM officials plan to start building a production model of the Volt in late 2010. The car is designed to travel on electricity for 40 miles. A gas engine kicks in to recharge the batteries, power electric motors and provide a few hundred miles more of driving.
(More General Motors stories.)