Article from the Atlantic about the development of GM’s Volt

From the Atlantic.com: Electro-Shock Therapy

A fascinating look into the technological hurdles facing the development of GM’s electrical vehicle, the Volt.

Then, in late 2005, Lutz got wind that a Silicon Valley start-up, Tesla Motors, was moving toward production of a high-performance electric roadster. (It’s available this year, if you have $100,000.) At that point, Lutz “just lost it,” as he puts it. He refused to accept that a small start-up company could build and sell an electric car but mighty GM couldn’t. In early 2006, he summoned Jon Lauckner and told him to dream up an electric concept car for the 2007 Detroit auto show, a year away. The car had to be more than just interesting, he said. It had to be remarkable: a game-changer.

Reading this just kind of pisses me off about large companies.  Large companies like GM should have been pushing technology forward.  It’s not until GM sees a start-up working on an electric car that GM starts their own.