Although the Chevrolet Beat concept made its debut a couple of years ago at the New York Auto Show, General Motors has stated on several occasions that the diminutive hatchback is not coming stateside. However, the Detroit automaker may have had a change of heart as an updated version of the Beat will make an appearance at the Detroit show.
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Reuters news service reported that Cerberus Capital has received numerous bids for it’s Viper brand of automotible. Belonging to the Dodge Brand, the Viper was introduced in 1992 as a flagship model sportscar. Production numbers have been limited with several special edition models added to the mix.

Chrysler LLC has decided to offer up it’s Viper unit sometime in August, when a few parties became interested. This is a result to raise cash for ongoing operations as the automotive industry is entering a deep slowdown across the board.

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According to Bob Lutz, 76 year old head of new car technology at GM, 25% of cars will be electric in the world by 2020 or so. General Motors is contributing to this by making vehicles such as the Volt, which claims it can run up to 40 miles on a single charge.

Toyota claims it can offer a plug in version of it’s car the Prius in a plug in version with a Litium-ion battery for fleets by 2010. Roughly the same time the Volt is due out. GM’s Lutz claims everything is going 100% according to plan, which is a rarity for new product launches for companies such as GM.

According to statistics, if the entire US converted to electric, gas prices would fall and consumption would drop by 70%. But on the same token, electricity useage would spike by 17%.

Tesla motors have already started taking orders for their Tesla supercars powered by electricity. Just recentl they have signed up Italian and Swedish distributors for their vehicles. The Tesla design can run on a single electric charge up to 220 miles. The downside? It costs over $100,000 to buy one.

GM, Honda, Toyota, as well as almost every other make out there is trying to be the one to offer breakthrough technology at an affordable price.

The Volt can travel up to 40 miles on a single electric charge. According to Lutz, it is enough to satisfy the daily commute of 60% of the population. David Kaplan, formerly of Microsoft with his new startup called V2Green is already working to develop software to plug in and charge electric cars in off-peak times such as when residential and commercial customers are not using power.