Chevy Suspends Volt Production

Is this a sign of things to come for Detroit? Let’s hope not. General Motors announced Friday that that company would put a stop to its Chevrolet Volt production for five weeks, putting 1,300 factory workers out of jobs temporarily. The company also said that its European counterpart, Opel Ampera, would be off for the same amount of time. Chevrolet fell short of its goal of selling 10,000 Volts in 2011, selling 7,671 instead. Sales were up in February over January, but a spokesman said the company is still attempting to “align” its “production with demand.” GM had made plans to expand the production of the plug-in hybrid cars to 60,000, but its unclear if they will retune that goal. The factory will close from March 19 to April 23.