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Last we heard, Fisker Automotive was still “committed” to building the recently revealed Atlantic sedan at the former General Motors plant in Delaware. A few years ago, Fisker announced that site would be the company’s new domestic production home (the Fisker Karma extended-range plug-in hybrid is made by Valmet in Finland). Still, Fisker did say that any definitive statement on the Atlantic’s production location would not come until the end of the summer.

So we were interested to read new reports from local media that show more signs that the Atlantic might not ever be built in Delaware. On Friday, Delaware Online reports, 12 more workers – including engineers and maintenance technicians – were laid off at the plant, leaving “only a small maintenance team” left there. One of those let go was Jeff Garland, who had been working on community affairs and business development efforts in Delaware. He said the plant is currently “absolutely empty.” This is because Fisker has taken out the old GM equipment but has not yet installed the machines it would need to build the Atlantic. As Garland told Delaware Online, “I think what happened was the budget numbers are so tight right now and they’re working so hard to preserve as much cash as they can that something had to give. We’re not making a car in Wilmington right now, so given that situation it was an obvious place to make a cut.”

Fisker spokesman Russell Datz said that the company has flexible plans and will hire people when “we ramp up the project again.” Production of the Atlantic is being delayed, at least in part, because of issues with Fisker’s Department of Energy loan. You can read more about that here.

In related news, some of the components that Fisker and Ford will use in hybrid and all-electric cars are now being made by Magna E-Car Systems in Michigan. The inverters Magna makes are used in the Karma and this new production does not in any way predict a shift of Atlantic production to Michigan.

More layoffs at Fisker; Delaware plant is ‘absolutely empty’

Bob Lutz is not going to take attacks on the electric car lying down – the closest he’ll come to that is doing push-ups on The Colbert Report. After spending a few of his Forbes columns laying into right-wing pundits for their attacks on the Chevrolet Volt, he is switching to a positive message about how plug-in cars can help with American national security. It is not surprising that Lutz, a former Marine, co-authors the article with two former U.S. Marines commandants and the CEO of FedEx (the three are all members of Securing America’s Future Energy’s (SAFE) Energy Security Leadership Council). The gist? Well, here’s part of the opening paragraph:

When … threats exist because the United States is the protector of the world’s global oil supply lines, it is a clear illustration of how our nation’s over-reliance on a single, globally priced fuel impacts our national and economic security.

America’s addiction to gasoline costs the government billions of dollars a year, an estimated $80 billion, in fact, to guard the sea lanes, including one little area by Iran:

From a national security perspective, the U.S. military is forced to protect the world’s vital oil infrastructure. The single greatest chokepoint is the Strait of Hormuz, through which 17 million barrels of oil per day passed in 2011 – 20 percent of global supplies. Protection of the sea lanes of commerce has become an American burden and will remain so, costing the United States Treasury an estimated $80 billion per year while taxing our military, which is already engaged on multiple fronts.

It’s arguments like this that have made the recent right-wing criticism of the Volt such a mystery. If we use less gasoline, we can spend fewer lives and less treasure importing the fuel (of course, we don’t lose many lives at the Canadian border, which is where most of our imported oil comes from). The Army says that today’s soldier uses an average of 22 gallons of gasoline a day.

Lutz and his co-authors are quite clear that high gas prices are hurting Americans’ pocketbooks, “essentially” wiping out tax cuts that Presidents Bush and Obama put into place. That’s why, they say, “government action is needed to mitigate the risks of oil dependence, because there is no free market for oil.” This intervention contains both expanded domestic production and – surprise – plugging in our light-duty transportation fleet as much as possible and feeding our big trucks lots of natural gas. To that end, they write:

Regarding electrification, the beauty of plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf is that they are powered by electricity, which can be generated from many sources: nuclear, coal, natural gas, and renewables. Best yet, these are all domestic energy sources, meaning OPEC won’t be able to corner the market. And the retail price of electricity is far less volatile that the price of oil.

Hard to disagree with that. There’s more at Forbes.

Bob Lutz praises Leaf and Volt, says national security requires going electric

Citroën has finally given the world a closer look at the company’s next DS design study. The French automaker is set to introduce the DS line to China this year, and the Numero 9 design study is set to mark the occasion. Citroën will officially unveil the concept at this month’s Beijing Auto Show, and the manufacturer says the low-slung hatchback’s design hints toward future products, namely a premium c-segment sedan, an SUV (read: crossover) and a larger D-segment four door. All we know is, it looks damn good.

The Numero 9 shooting brake is powered by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain that offers a 31-mile electric range and 295 horsepower. Not too shabby. Scroll down for an artsy video of the concept as well as the full press release. Of course, you can also sink your teeth into the dizzying slew of photos in the gallery above.

Continue reading Pics Aplenty: Citroën to roll out sexy Numero 9 concept [w/video]

Pics Aplenty: Citroën to roll out sexy Numero 9 concept [w/video]

While we normally don’t care whether or not Justin Beiber wakes up and takes a breath each morning, it is unfortunate news when the teen pop idol is gifted a six-figure plug-in hybrid produced by one of the world’s best designers, and then proceeds to wrap it in chrome, stick on some fuscia LEDs and drive it around on giant black wheels.

Celebrity-stalking site TMZ caught the Beiber taking his one true love, the also-famous-for-reasons-beyond-our-comprehension Selena Gomez, to Chick-fil-A in the reflective Karma. The editors at TMZ seem to agree with us that Bieber’s treatment of his Karma is criminal, but were surprised to discover that chroming one’s car is well within the rule of law.

That doesn’t mean the Bieb’s daily driver is entirely copacetic, as the tiny strip of fuscia LEDs installed under the front grille violate California law. It also violates the laws of good taste, but that’s just our opinion.

Continue reading Justin Bieber chromes his Fisker Karma

Justin Bieber chromes his Fisker Karma

These days, most Toyota models are about as likely to get your pulse up as the latest hardware from Frigidaire. But it wasn’t always so. There was a time when Toyota counted itself among the world’s sports car manufacturers with vehicles like the Supra, Celica All Trac and MR-2. Those two-doors helped forge generations of enthusiasts before the company shuttered its go-fast ambitions, a door that is only now starting to open again thanks to the new GT 86/Scion FR-S codeveloped with Subaru. Now, according to Automotive News, the company has unveiled a new development and manufacturing framework designed to aid in producing more exciting vehicles. According to CEO Akio Toyoda, the revamped system will allow the company to design multiple models at the same time to reduce costs.

It will also cut the number of executives tied to the design review process to streamline decisionmaking. The company says that with too many people involved, vehicles have been built by “eliminating negatives” instead of focusing on their strengths. Added cooperation between the automaker’s planning and design units may foster more innovative styling, including models with lower centers of gravity and better aerodynamics. Think NS4 Plug-In Concept.

The Toyota New Global Architecture will first be applied to front-wheel drive models.

Toyota retools development process with goal of creating more exciting cars

Former General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz went bicep-to-bicep with “America’s ballsiest pundit,” Stephen Colbert, last night – and came out ahead. Ostensibly, Lutz was on Colbert to talk about his new book, Car Guys Vs. Bean Counters, but as one might expect, the discussion veered into Mitt Romney vs. President Obama territory pretty quickly.

The actual car industry part of the discussion, though, revealed more potential good news for the Chevrolet Volt, the car that Lutz is obviously trying to make his legacy and called “a huge success.” Sure, Colbert talked about what his friends over at Fox News have been saying, but Lutz responded by predicting that sales would be “about 3,000 a month from here on out.” This would not only set a new record (Volt sales for March 2012 were 2,289, the highest so far) but would also put GM’s plug-in car into the 36,000-a-year range. That’s commendable, but still not where GM CEO Dan Akerson said last December things would be this year. Of course, Akerson’s 60,000 number could have included the Opel Ampera and its Vauxhall twin. In any case, things are looking up for the Volt, and that’s something Lutz is more than happy to tell Colbert or anyone else. Watch the video – including an impromptu push-up contest between the two – right now by scrolling below.

Continue reading Bob Lutz wins push-up contest on The Colbert Report

Bob Lutz wins push-up contest on The Colbert Report

Audi knows sound, and it wants its upcoming plug-in cars to have as distinctive a grumble as possible, just like its fossil-fuel-burning brethren. That’s why Audi engineers are working on “new sound signatures” for future e-tron models. You can tell how seriously Audi is taking this by the way it references the sounds a car makes to music and “emotional sound structures” in the press release below.

The stated reason for all this e-sound work is so pedestrians will be able to hear the near-silent EVs, but you could just use any old beep to meet that requirement. Audi wants something a bit more refined, to stand out from the space-y blips that the Nissan Leaf puts out or the Volkswagen E-Golf’s baby Wookiee growl.

Scroll down to see a video of the Audi e-sound in progress. In its current form, the sound changes based on what the e-tron is doing. It comes out of a speaker blasting up to 40 watts that is attached to the bottom of the car.

Of course, the question from some blind-advocacy groups is whether having each EV make its own sound is reasonable, or if there should be one “EV sound” that all battery-powered cars are required to emit to tell those with limited sight “a car is nearby.” In the U.S., the laws governing EV sounds are not yet set, but some sort of low-speed warning requirement seems to be coming.

Continue reading Audi developing powertrain sound of the future for R8 e-tron

Audi developing powertrain sound of the future for R8 e-tron

Fisker Automotive may drop plans to use a Delaware factory to build its upcoming Atlantic sedan and is looking at “other options,” Automotive News reports, citing an interview with company CEO Tom LaSorda. The company, in an online meeting with owners of the Fisker Karma extended-range plug-in sedan, spelled out some of the issues that have been plaguing the car.

Fisker will hold off on deciding on the Atlantic’s production site until the end of summer, which will delay the model’s debut. LaSorda maintains that Fisker will be able to produce the Atlantic with or without Department of Energy funding, according to Automotive News. Fisker’s director of corporate communications, Russell Datz, tells AutoblogGreen that the company remains “committed to Delaware” but admits that if the rest of the company’s DOE loan money does not come through, the plan to build the Atlantic in Delaware could change.

Follow the jump to continue reading…

Continue reading Fisker may change plans on Delaware production, details Karma troubles

Fisker may change plans on Delaware production, details Karma troubles

Just the other day, we heard that General Motors might extend its traditional two-week summer shutdown to three weeks for the Chevrolet Volt. But, after record Volt sales last month, we wonder how the calendar looks in Hamtramck now. We wonder because we are hearing reports that the current shutdown – originally scheduled to run for five weeks, from March 19 to April 23 – will be shortened by a week. GM originally decided on the hold to reduce supply that had grown too large because of soft demand.

Don LaForest, the chairman of the United Auto Workers bargaining committee at the Hamtramck plant where the Volt is made, told Talking Points Memo that GM is “adding a week of production back in.” The Detroit News reports that GM President of North America Mark Reuss said the same thing Wednesday during the New York Auto Show. Reuss said, “We’re doing it because we sold a lot.”

Increasing sales numbers (GM sold 2,289 Volts in March – well over double February’s 1,023-unit total) come at a time when some of the right-wing attacks on the plug-in hybrid appear to have calmed down. LaForest told TPM that his union workers have been confused about these criticisms. “I don’t think Newt or Mitt have said a single negative thing about the Nissan Leaf,” he said. “They’re attacking our car to get at the President. But our car is going to change the way America does business. It’s a breath of fresh air.”

Improving Chevy Volt sales leads GM to shorten summer shutdown

Overheard at the reveal event for the Fisker Atlantic this evening: This is the car you buy your secretary.

Yes, the altogether good-looking Atlantic sets a new high for plug-in hybrid looks, and even though Fisker is tight-lipped about things like all-electric range, cost or an estimated delivery date, for now the car speaks for itself. All anyone would tell us is that the Atlantic will come in at “a much lower price point than the Karma,” as Fisker executive chairman Henrik Fisker put it, suggesting something in the range of the Audi A5 or “the upper end of the BMW 3 Series.” So, $45,000? In any case, Fisker seems to have learned its lesson with the Karma situation/delay, and is keeping mum about its future plans.

One thing Fisker was very happy to talk about was that the Atlantic is a car that will be built and will go into production. It is “a promise we are going to deliver,” he said.

Whenever the Atlantic arrives, it is most likely going to be incredibly similar to what we see in the pictures here (and in recent spy shots). Fisker said that his company does not do concepts – see how little the Karma changed between auto show reveal and showroom. And that’s fine by us. The lines and angles of the little Karma might be too busy for some, but in person they most certainly work. One thing to note is that in person the headlights have a frozen/frosted look that offers an ‘eagle eye’ with a strength of strong character not seen on a production car before,” the Fisker press release says.

Despite the off-hand suggestion from the peanut gallery that this is a car for those with a bit of money to throw around, Fisker repeatedly emphasized the practicality of the Atlantic. For one thing, it will have the second-generation EVer (Electric Vehicle with extended range) powertrain that incorporates a BMW four-cylinder gasoline engine, because, Fisker said, “range equals freedom.” He also showed the gathered media how the rear seats fold down and called it “a pure family vehicle.” Must be nice to be in that family.

Continue reading Fisker Atlantic revealed, promises to be available to mortals someday

Fisker Atlantic revealed, promises to be available to mortals someday

Here it is, folks. This is the car that was under cover in the spy shots we showed you a few days ago, and it’s going to be called the Fisker Atlantic when it debuts this week at the New York Auto Show. These two images of the car appeared today on a Czech website, and the rear shot clearly shows a license plate bearing the name “Atlantic.”

Previously called Project Nina, the Atlantic will slot in Fisker’s fledgeling lineup below the Karma, and reportedly cost considerably less. While any talk of pricing is just a guess at this point, rumor has it the Atlantic will be about half the price of the Karma, putting it squarely in the $45,000-$55,000 range. It’s a plug-in series hybrid, just like its big brother, but the Atlantic will reportedly use a turbocharged four-cylinder from BMW as its range-extending generator.

We’ll have more detailed information about the Atlantic when it officially debuts at the New York Auto Show this week, so come back for our live show coverage on Wednesday and Thursday, April 4-5.

Project Nina revealed as Fisker Atlantic, images leak early

It appears the right-wing wall against the Chevrolet Volt is starting to crumble. Following months of beating on the Volt, Fox News aired a puff piece on how great the Volt is earlier this week. Now we hear that former president George H.W. Bush has purchased a Volt for his son Neil as a birthday present. As our friend Chelsea Sexton said on Twitter, “Can’t wait to see what Fox News makes of that!”

In a sense, the Bush family should be among the first to buy one of GM’s plug-in hybrids, since the $7,500 federal tax credit that the car qualifies for was put into place during President George W. Bush’s second term. Since President Obama has also promised to buy a Volt when he gets out of office, that makes the Volt a vehicle that presidents from both major American parties can agree on.

Happy Birthday! President George H.W. Bush buys son Neil a Chevy Volt

BMW i, the sub-brand within BMW with its eye towards the future of mobility, has unveiled its third concept, the i8 Spyder. Based on the i8 coupe that debuted last year alongside the i3 city car, the i8 Spyder is at once an obvious followup, but also appears to be a couple of steps closer to the production models that will eventually go on sale to the public.

Like the coupe, the i8 Spyder is a plug-in through-the-road hybrid with a 96 kW (131 horsepower) electric motor up front powering the front axle and a mid-mounted turbocharged three-cylinder gas engine (presumably with a displacement of 1.5 liters like the coupe) producing 223 hp that powers the rear. A pack of lithium-ion batteries are located in a center tunnel between the two power sources, which together can produce a total system output of 354 hp and 405 lb-ft of torque. On electricity alone, the i8 Spyder can travel about 19 miles before the gas engine turns on to recharge the batteries. BMW says the system is good for 94 miles per gallon on the Imperial cycle, which converts to upwards of 78 miles per gallon on our own EPA cycle.

The beauty of the i8 Spyder’s drivetrain is the car can be front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive depending on whether efficiency, performance or all-weather traction is called for. Like the coupe, the i8 Spyder also features a perfect 50:50 weight distribution, and BMW claims to have completely cancelled out the extra weight of the hybrid drivetrain through extensive use of lightweight materials like carbon fiber and aluminum. Performance is also impressive, with 0-62 mph happening in five seconds and a top speed governed at 155 mph.

Not everything between the coupe and spyder is the same, though. The i8 Spyder has a slightly shorter wheelbase and overall length. Its upward-swiveling, windowless doors are also different. The car’s developers have also whimsically included a pair of electric scooters underneath a glass panel in the rear. Aside from a few more exterior tweaks to accommodate the open air design, which can be closed again with a two-section folding roof, the rest of the i8 Spyder is identical to the coupe, including the interior that features a slightly warmer choice of colors.

Scroll down for the official specs and info from BMW, and stay tuned while we hunt down the i8 Spyder for some in-person impressions. Though BMW makes no mention of its appearance at next week’s New York Auto Show, the timing of this debut suggests it will be there.

Continue reading BMW i8 Spyder pops the top on future mobility

BMW i8 Spyder pops the top on future mobility

Azure Dynamics, which develops electric-drive powertrains for automakers such as Ford, said this week that it will file for financial protection from its creditors under Canadian law and will cancel its plans to sell shares in what may be a precursor to a bankruptcy filing.

Azure is the company that adds the all-electric powertrain to Ford’s practical little Transit Connect Electric. For now, no new TCEs will be made. Azure’s Mike Elwood told AutoblogGreen that production of the Transit Connect Electric has stopped as a result of the restructuring and that, “While we go through our restructuring there will be no TCE activity until we present an approved plan.” We’re told that warranty issues for those who have already purchased a Transit Connect Electric will be a part of this plan.

Ford’s Wes Sherwood told AutoblogGreen that Azure’s filing does not affect Ford’s overall EV and green-vehicle strategy. “Our priority is to ensure that Azure’s Transit Connect Electric customers continue to have support throughout their ownership experience,” he said. “Our Ford electric vehicle product plans remain on track, as part of our commitment to provide customers the power of choice for fuel economy solutions across our lineup – from EcoBoost-powered vehicles and hybrids to plug-in hybrids and full electrics.”

Azure Dynamics joins a list of companies that were looking to capitalize on an increase in demand for battery-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles but have had problems staying afloat. Extended-range plug-in utility vehicle maker Bright Automotive folded last month amid its claims that the federal government took too long to process the $400 million in loans promised to the company, while Fisker Automotive, which makes the extended-range plug-in Karma, has faced questions about its own future and most of the federal government loans earmarked for the company have been delayed.

Continue reading Azure Dynamics files for protection, Transit Connect Electric production halted

Azure Dynamics files for protection, Transit Connect Electric production halted

Who wants to wait until the official unveiling of the Fisker Nina plug-in hybrid next week when we can see spy shots right this second? Neither do we.

So, what do the shots reveal? For starters, we can see that the Nina is indeed shorter than its Karma big brother. This is expected, but the impression we have is that the Karma’s design language translates quite well into a vehicle about the size of a BMW 5 Series. The front end, too, sports a moustache-like grille that’s similar to the one on the Karma. On the back side, the “EVer” badge is still proudly in place, but the non-functional diamond-shaped exhaust outlets are missing. The four-door sedan’s rear doors have the handles hidden smoothly between the window and the C-pillar. Then there are the wheels. It’s hard to miss those. If you want to compare the Nina with the Karma directly, open the gallery above as well as this gallery in another tab and click away.

The problem with these images is that they still don’t tell us much about the car itself. We’ve heard the cost for the Nina, which is supposed to be powered by a BMW four-cylinder engine, will be about the same as a top-of-the-line BMW 3 Series. That implies something north of $45,000, despite what Vice President Joe Biden said back in October of 2009: “It looks like a four-door Ferrari, I can’t believe it’s only going to be $40,000.” We’ll hopefully know more when we get to the New York Auto Show next week.

After all the problems Fisker has had with the Karma launch and the DOE loan, it’s important to remember that it’s the vehicle you see above that the DOE has been helping with all along. Do you like where your tax dollars have gone?

Fisker Nina caught peeking out before New York reveal

Dutch website NU recently reported that Volvo expects low demand for its C30 Electric, and therefore it decided to stop building the mostly electric car (it has a small, ethanol-burning heater to keep passengers warm). The original source for this information was a story in the Belgian newspaper The Age that cited Volvo’s government affairs director, Anders Kärrberg. Turns out, this isn’t quite right.

First, Volvo has always said the C30 Electric is a limited program. When the company started making the attractive EV in last summer, the public plan was to make just 250 units. So, the fact that the automaker is getting ready to finish up building the 250 units and then reevaluate the situation is not a surprise.

We asked Volvo’s Malin Persson about the situation, and she told Autoblog that “[it has] never been our aim to continue with production of C30 Electric for a longer period of time.” She added that:

• [Volvo Car Corporation] will not end the production of the C30 Electric – but it has always been a project limited in numbers and time.
• Approximately 200 cars have been built from the first generation, another 50 remain to be built before summer.
• In the second generation, starting after the summer, 100 cars will be built in cooperation with Siemens and with Siemens technology.
• The know-how and experience VCC has gained and will gain from the C30 Electric project will be extremely valuable when taking decisions about the way forward when it comes to electric cars.

So, instead of reporting that Volvo is stopping C30 Electric production, the reality is that 100 vehicles has been added to the build order. How aggressively Volvo continues to push on with electric technology beyond its C30 program – in something like the XC60 plug-in hybrid – remains to be seen. Kärrberg told The Age that Volvo thinks EVs will only make up one percent of the market in the next eight years, thanks to expensive batteries and a hodgepodge of government incentives.

Despite rumors, Volvo not ceasing electric C30 production plans

The BMW i8 plug-in-hybrid sports car is just the sort of crazy project that could help redefine the BMW brand – and perhaps even the notion of what makes a car enthusiast – for the 21st Century. It’s the sort of out-of-the-box thinking we’ve been waiting for some automaker to deploy, so these new details are exciting.

To start with, according to Britain’s Car, the i8 will only be available as a plug-in hybrid – no conventional, internal-combustion-only version will be offered. That means no M version will be in the cards, at least not an M product in the way we currently define the BMW performance moniker. But the report says the i8 will have a more powerful gas engine than we’ve previously reported, with its 1.5-liter three-cylinder cranking out 223 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque through the rear wheels. The front-drive electric motor is said to be rated at 170 horsepower, giving the i8 a combined 393 hp and 406 lb-ft.

The report claims that the i8 will have a 20-mile all-electric range, a top speed of 156 miles per hour, and sprint from 0 to 62 mph in 4.9 seconds. Curb weight is said to be just 3,125 pounds, which is less than most models of the new 2012 3 Series, thanks to the i8’s carbon fiber body and aluminum chassis. Recharge time is said to be six hours, presumably on a 220-volt system. In all, a pretty amazing package.

But here’s the kicker: Car says the i8 will be priced above €100,000, which is $132,600 based on today’s exchange rates. We expect the i8 to hit the market as a 2014 model, and while that price is spendy by plebeian standards, the queue for the car will most certainly be long, at least initially.

Click past the jump if you’ve missed any of BMW’s i8 videos.

Continue reading BMW nixes plan for M version of i8, but production car to have more power? [w/video]

BMW nixes plan for M version of i8, but production car to have more power? [w/video]

The Detroit News is reporting that General Motors will replace the 120-volt power cords on the majority of Chevrolet Volt models the company has sold since 2010. The new charge cords are said to be more durable than the old hardware and should provide “more consistency in charging,” according to the report. GM has sold around 10,000 Volt units since the plug-in hybrid went on sale two years ago, and while some of those vehicles have already shipped with the new charge cords, most still use the old design.

Volt owners may also contact their Chevrolet dealers to begin scheduling appointments to have additional crash structure added around the vehicle’s battery packs. The additional steel is designed to protect against severe side-impacts. Technicians are also expected to add a new sensor to monitor battery coolant levels. The changes are in response to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into unlikely vehicle fires. GM will reportedly continue to sell Volt models without the new structure and sensor, saying neither poses a safety issue.

GM replacing Chevrolet Volt power cords

Our spy photographers managed to spot something curious (and decidedly hilarious) recently. General Motors has been busy testing what would appear to be Chevrolet Volt models with massive 20-inch wheels and tires in place of the low-rolling resistance pieces on the stock plug-in.

Why? Guesses are slim at the moment, but one hypothesis is that this is actually our first glimpse at a Cadillac Converj test mule. That vehicle will make use of an altered version of the Voltec drivetrain found in the Chevrolet, albeit bolted to flashier wheels. The luxury hybrid has been an on-again-off-again affair for General Motors since the concept first rolled across the stage at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

Last we heard, the Converj is on track for launch in either 2013 or 2014. If true, now would be the time to begin working out any engineering bugs on the rumored Voltec 1.5 system. With luxury buyers more willing to hand over stacks of cash for new technology, the Converj could make quite a bit more sense to buyers than the Volt. Or bolting chrome dubs to a hybrid, for that matter.

Is this dub-rockin’ Chevrolet Volt actually a Cadillac Converj in disguise?

Found in translation?

Demand for the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid vehicle in the U.S. has been up and down over the car’s first 16-odd months, but executives at General Motors’ Opel division in Europe are saying that the Ampera, the Volt’s European twin, is getting some good attention.

The Ampera has received more than 7,000 orders, leading Opel executives to believe that the Ampera will hit its 2012 sales target of 10,000 units, website Plug In Cars is reporting, citing Enno Fuchs, Opel’s e-mobility launch director.

Opel started shipping Amperas to customers last month, saying that most of those owners previously owning high-end cars from automakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz. General Motors is hoping the Ampera will be better received in Europe than the Volt has been here in the States, where it has become a political lightning rod. Earlier this month, GM said it would shut down Volt production for five weeks – starting this week – in order to thin-out dealer inventory of the car. And last year, GM missed its sales goal of 10,000 units, selling just 7,671 units. GM makes both the Volt and the Ampera at the same plant in Hamtramck, MI.

Still, the Volt showed signs of more life last month when the model moved 1,023 units, up from 603 vehicles in January. The Volt and Ampera were also recently named the 2012 European Car of the Year. Last October, Opel bumped the Ampera’s 2012 sales target to at least 10,000 from 8,000 after Opel had received more than 6,000 paid reservations.

Chevy Volt sister car Opel Ampera gets 7,000 pre-orders, may hit 2012 sales target