TV Schedule

McCain: Electric car 'vital' to oil independence

  1. huffamoose2k
  2. related topics
WARREN, Mich. (AP) — Washington allies haven't always been easy to come by for U.S. automakers, but Republican presidential candidate John McCain told General Motors Corp. employees Friday that reviving the struggling industry would be of utmost importance in his administration.
"The key, integral, vital part of our ability to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil will be directly related to that sign over there," McCain told an invitation-only town hall meeting at the GM Technical Center in Warren, pointing to a sign for GM's first plug-in electric car, the Chevrolet Volt.

"I wish you every success, and I want to help in every way," he said.

Organizers added seats and risers to accommodate at least 500 people in GM's Design Dome. The Macomb County technical center north of Detroit employs nearly 17,000 people and is where GM is designing the Volt.

Before the town-hall meeting, the Arizona senator toured the facility with GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner and other company executives. McCain examined and got into a model of a Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid-electric car GM says it plans to have on the market by 2010.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: George W Bush | California | Arizona | Detroit | Michigan | Barack Obama | North America | John McCain | Environmental Protection Agency | United Auto Workers | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | General Motors Corp | Warren | Chevrolet Volt | Macomb County | GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner
McCain has called for incentives for next-generation vehicles and the need to move to new technology such as the Volt.

Wagoner told McCain members of the Volt development team "are pushing the time envelope," an apparent reference to the deadline to get the Volt to showrooms within two years.

The GM officials also showed McCain a cutaway mock-up of the Volt's power system and innovative battery that would let it drive about 40 miles without using any gasoline.
huffamoose2k

Add your response

Login/Registration is required to add a response.