[Tagamet]

Well.....

Not sure why this is here But the Chevy Volt concept and electric car is Unique to GM there is no competitors because there is no other car built with similar or same configuration.

Actually, there are several companies that are working on either BEV's, PHEV's, parallel hybrids and series hybrids. Check out autobloggreen.com for some of the info.
Tagamet

 

[Tagamet]

Grim?

I don't think that the future is grim at all! I do agree that competition will drive innovation that will result in many "flavors" of solution that wean us off petroleum. GM's choice to go with a series rather than parallel design is a HUGE improvement over Toyota's current (no pun) hybrid. I'm totally in love with the idea of All Electric Range and its ability to recharge from the grid. Eventually, V2G may also become a reality. GM acknowledges its stupid handling of the EV1 and they can't afford to repeat old mistakes (on a LOT of levels). The transparency of the Volt's development is a symptom of past lessons learned.
Be well and God Bless,
Tagamet