For a company of that size, I wouldn't count 321 sales as "red hot." Does that include the fleet vehicles that GE bought?
As gas prices soar, I would hope those sales figures increase.
As far as what the Volt actually is, read carefully from GM's own FAQ:
http://gm-volt.com/chevy-volt-faqs/The electric motor directly propels the car. The battery can power the car for the first 25 to 50 miles. After that, should one continue to need to drive, the on-board gasoline generator provide electricity for the motor and participate in driving the car.The Volt is a series vehicle meaning only the electric motor powers the car at all times, the gas engine is just a generator for making electricity once the battery is depleted. A little like the Prius, the engine does help spin the wheels after the battery is depleted. GM engineers chose to do this because it improved efficiency by 10 to 15 percent.
After that the gas engine will kick in and allow the car to be driven an additional 344 miles on a full tank (9.3 gallons) of gas.
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I dunno, maybe I should just learn to trust large companies more like you do, but it sounds as if GM leaving enough wiggle room in their FAQ to drive a hybrid through.
