Volt and Cruze Engine Plant to be Built in Flint

GM will be building a $326 million plant in Flint to build the 1.4-liter turbo engine for the Chevy Volt EREV (plug-in hybrid) and Chevy Cruze. The Flint City Council will meet on August 25 to consider granting tax incentives for the 530,000 square foot plant. GM is hoping for some state incentives, too. (Source: GM to let workers see Volt).

The Volt will be built at their Hamtramck plant and will begin production in 2010.

GM will give a sneak peek to employees of the Volt at the 100th anniversary celebration in September (no cameras, please!). Wind tunnel testing showed the original prototype had a lousy drag coefficient and was redesigned, so there is a lot of curiosity about the new design. The official showing will occur at the LA Auto Show in November or the Detroit show in January.

More about the Cruze

In a related matter, GM won tax breaks in Ohio this week to build the Cruze, which will get 45 miles per gallon, at its Lordstown assembly plant. The automaker won a 15-year, 75 percent state tax credit worth $77.7 million. It also won a $4.4 million tax credit to create at least 200 jobs at the plant.

The Cruze will replace the Chevy Cobalt and if the small sedan gets 40+ mpg, we may not need to spend as much to buy the Volt, after all.  And it will borrow it's looks from it's popular cousin, the Malibu.