"GM more or less said that the excitement from Tesla helped prompt them to put the Volt concept into the public space as a response"
I think we have to give credit to "Who Killed The Electric Car" for the Volt as well. I know that Bob has admitted that Tesla forced his hand with the Volt but WKTEC had to smart like a mutha.
Oh to be a fly on the hallowed walls of GM when WKTEC came out. Did they get a preview copy? Did the execs put on overcoats and hats and sneak into the theaters? Did any heads roll? We will probably never know.
I know I felt a lot of strong feelings about GM when I saw the film and now we know "Flea" and Jason were moved to buy a Tesla (and who knows how many more did the same). Jason went on to say he would never buy another GM product.
Lutz has said that crushing the cars was a bad
PR mistake and I bet that started as a slow stew that rose to a boil as the film did better and better. 1.6M
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/...lectriccar.htm Then the DVD release saw another stinging wave into GM's offices.
The Volt might have been part of the healing salve that Bob needed to feel good again.