GreenBeat

Flint, Mich., the small automotive city northwest of Detroit known best for being featured in Michael Moore’s first documentary, Roger & Me, has been in dire straits for a while. When the movie came out in 1989, it was already suffering from mass unemployment. Now, 20 years later, it may have a chance to rebrand itself as a home to General Motors’ Chevy Volt — perhaps the most practical electric vehicle primed to hit the market next year.

Today, the carmaker announced that four old plants in Flint will be revamped for assembly of engines for the Volt and its other small, fuel efficient model, the Cruze, by the start of 2011. The decision could be a turning point for the city, bringing back jobs and the sheen of an automotive industry striving to reinvent itself.

When GM took its millions in bailout money earlier this year, it promised to focus on products compatible with a new, greener fuel economy. Shortly thereafter, its bankruptcy forced it to stick plans for the Flint plants in a drawer, even though they are apparently vital to the company’s survival. Now, finally capable of investing serious dollars in the project, GM has earmarked a little over $230 million for the four plants.

About $202 million of this money will be used to renovate one of the facilities to produce 1.4-liter engines. The remaining $30 million (give or take) will go to the Grand Blanc Weld Tool Center, which is working on robotic equipment designed to put together Volt car bodies at another plant. About $1.7 million has also been allocated for the Flint Metal Center, charged with producing the metal sheets for the Volt’s body panels.

Because these production lines probably won’t be up and running until the later part of next year, after the Chevy Volt’s designated launch date, the first batch of engines will be coming from a manufacturer in Austria. GM’s plan is to ramp up turnout from the Flint facilities, starting at 40 engines per day with capacity to ramp up to 800 engines per day. The ultimate goal is to assemble 10,000 models of the Volt in 2010 alone.

The car’s engine is special because, as a plug-in hybrid-electric, it needs to be able to draw power from both a lithium-ion battery and a gas tank if the charge is depleted. While still a fully gas-powered vehicle, the Cruze’s size will allow it to get a mileage of 40 miles per gallon.

The cars themselves won’t be put together in Flint, but rather in Hamtramck, Mich., another town similarly effected by the demise of big automotive business in the region. The lithium ion batteries, perhaps the most important component of the Volt, will be made by LG Chem, a Korean company, but assembled into usable battery packs in the Detroit metro area as well.

While many skeptics have accused GM of exaggerating the driving range and convenience of the Chevy Volt (pictured above), it is still expected to be the most practical plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle available next year. The car maker says the eventual price should hover somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000, making it much cheaper than Tesla Motors‘ $109,000 roadster (and even its more affordable Model S), and Fisker Automotive’s $87,000 Karma — while still remaining more similar to traditional vehicles than supposedly cheaper EVs made by Zenn Motor Company and Coda Automotive.

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Tags: co:Coda Automotive, co:fisker-automotive, co:general-motors, co:Tesla-Motors, co:Zenn Motor Company