The extended-range Chevrolet Volt will make its first appearance at the White House on Wednesday — though the president isn’t likely to see the electric car parked there.

“Like a lot of things that we do with the Volt, we want to continually share and expose people to the technology and what’s required to deliver the technology,” said Tony Posawatz, GM’s Volt vehicle line director. “It’s part of our mission — how we are reinventing the car and reinventing the company.”

The Obama administration recently announced it is buying 17,600 green vehicles from Detroit’s Big Three automakers, including 2,500 hybrids, with $285 million in stimulus funds.

A number of green vehicles from domestic automakers will be on display at the White House Wednesday — Earth Day.

Posawatz spoke on Capitol Hill Tuesday for a larger showing of 65 green vehicles from companies across the world. GM was showing off a hydrogen fuel cell Chevrolet Equinox, a hybrid Chevrolet Malibu and the prototype Volt.

GM will build about 80 vehicles by year’s end that will actually look like the Volt, with the production vehicle’s propulsion system. A fleet of “mule” cars with the Volt propulsion system are currently being tested. Production is set to begin at GM’s Hamtramck-Detroit plant in late 2010.

Other green vehicles on display on Capitol Hill Tuesday included Tesla’s electric roadster, a Toyota plug-in electric Prius, the Honda Insight and Mercedes-Benz S-400 hybrid, which goes on sale this fall.



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