GM just issued a press release announcing that it’s joining the all-electric club with the introduction of the Chevy Spark EV city car. The Spark, similar to the Beat which was recently shown in India, will be sold in select U.S. cities in two years.

The Spark will be quite small and likely have a range designed specifically for zipping around in a city. It will run on a nanophosphate lithium-ion battery pack. We’ll being you more details on the GM Spark as they become available.

Since the official announcement that a diesel-powered Chevy Cruze was coming to the U.S. we have not heard a lot about it other than it won’t be available until 2013. Now we’re starting to hear some very exciting news from GM insiders who are saying that the Chevy Cruze diesel will get 50 MPG.

Additionally, it’s rumored that, unlike the Chevy Cruze Eco, the diesel version will have just as impressive mileage with an automatic transmission as it does with a manual transmission.

The Chevy Cruze diesel engine has been confirmed to be based on the 2.0-liter that’s used in the Holden Zruze CDX which offers 160 HP and 265 pound-feet of torque which will give it more zip than the Cruze Eco.

GM has been tinkering away on the next generation of EN-V two-person electric podcar which it hopes to start selling to the public by 2020. EN-V secong gen augmentations are said to include a bigger pod as well as a four-wheel model.

Rumors suggest that GM is targeting urban centers in China, South Africa and The U.S. with an expected price tag of $10K. Apparently GM is bringing the unusual electric podcar into mass production based on substantial positive feedback from the public.

The EN-V was designed as a solution to modern cities’ problems like traffic congestion, parking availability, air quality and vehicle affordability. Is the podcar something that could actually make financial sense or is this just another redundant vehicle like the Segway. Let us know what you think.

In case you’re wondering what the typical 2011 Chevy Volt buyer is like we’ve got the stats on what these early adopters are like according to a report from General Motors.

Of the 2,184 Chevy Volt owners they are 90% male, 80% have a college degree and 45% have an advanced degree. They spend 2/3 of their driving time in electric mode and of those who traded in a vehicle for the Volt, 14% were GM vehicles. Fifty percent paid extra for the 240-volt high speed charger and 93% of the buyers were either satisfied or very satisfied with their Chevy Volt.

A Chevy Volt owned by Dee and Storm Connors in Barkhamsted, CT was caught in a garage fire and ruined along with the home-converted electric Suzuki Samurai that was parked there. Now more recently, the same Chevy Volt, which has remained sitting in the remains of the burnt out garage, has apparently reignited somehow.

The Chevy Volt was not plugged in when it caught fire for the second time and the local authorities are looking into the cause of the second fire. The cause of the first Chevy Volt fire is yet to be announced although there have been rumors swirling that it was also caused by the Volt.

GM, who obviously have a stake in the results of this investigation, have sent their own team of experts to Berkhamsted after making a public request that people refrain from speculating on the cause of the fire until it’s been thoroughly looked into.

Ask people who don’t think that the Chevy Volt will be successful why they feel that way and nine times out of 10 they’ll tell you it’s priced too high. Undoubtedly this fact hasn’t slipped by the powers that be at GM and if rumors are to be believed, they’re working on a $30,000 version of the Chevy Volt right now.

A GM insider recently told FavStocks that a lower cost Volt is exactly what is being worked on by a re-engineering, increasing production and using a new, lower cost, lower range battery.

The new cheaper battery could see the Volt range drop to 20 miles, but that might be pretty palatable to most consumers when it comes with a $10,000 cut in the price tag too. Once you factor in the federal tax credit, a $30,000 Chevy Volt could very well compete with other eco-friendly cars like the super popular Toyota Prius.

Stay tuned to Eco Auto Ninja to find out what GM’s official statement on the prospect of a lower cost Volt is.

This blogger wasn’t shocked at the success of the Chevy Volt but it looks like General Motors was. A number of sources are now reporting that they are going to more than double the number of Chevy Volts they produce next year from 45,000 up to 120,000!

Additionally, it looks like GM may also try and boost Volt production for this year from 10,000 to 25,000. Wow, you can almost hear the exectives talking to themselves saying, “Holy crap, people really do like the Volt!”

GM North America President Mark Reuss stated late last year that Chevy Volt production levels would be bottle-necked by the limited number of battery packs that LG Chem could produce. There has been no announcement on how or if this hurdle has been addressed but presumably it has. Only time will tell how many Volts will hit the car lots over the next couple years.

With the 2011 Chevy Volt now on the market all the speculations of it and GM’s chances for success will come to an end and we will see if the big risk they’ve taken will have been worth it. One of the biggest challenges that the Volt faces is its $41,000 price tag which puts it along side luxury vehicles like the BMW 3-Series, Cadillac CTS, Volvo S80, Lexus’ ES 350, HS 250h and Acura TL.

Among the things perspective buyers will be looking at will include the multiple awards the Volt has already won which include this year’s North American Car of the Year title, the Motor Trend Car of the Year, Automobile of the Year, Green Car of the Year and the Detroit Free Press’ Car of the Year title.

It’s hard to deny that the Volt is generally regarded as a ground breaking feat of automotive engineering. The only question that remains is, will buyers sacrifice luxury car qualities in favor of a sedan that saves big on gas?

Another important thing that buyers will need to take into account is of course the $7,500 credit that qualified buyers are eligible for, as well as the additional incentives that certain people will be able to take advantage of.

Since I get all of my most crucial information from former Baywatch stars, my ears really perked up when I read that Alexandra Paul is now supporting GM.

Paul was a vocal critic of GM in the 2006 documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” The focus of her wrath of course being GM pulling the plug on EV1 production and then going that extra mile and physically destroying all of EV1s that they could get their hands on.

Paul’s change of heart towards GM is fueled, not surprisingly, by the Chevy Volt. She recently described the Volt as “an amazing piece of machinery,” and going on to state that it’s, “more advanced than what any other car company in the world is doing.”

Paul has been stating her case for the 2011 Chevy Volt through a series of videos called Ask Alexandra. All 12 of Paul’s video clips are up on Chevy’s Youtube channel.

With the Chevy Volt beginning production today, GM is already looking ahead for the technology that will power the next generation of their electric cars.

Their commitment to this comes in the form of investing in tech savvy personnel, 1,000 of them to be exact. These 1,000 new GM electric vehicle engineering and development positions will be in Michigan and will help GM bring in new powertrain options for its customers.

Dan Akerson, GM’s CEO, stated earlier today of the mass hiring that, “We want to give our customers energy choices other than petroleum and to make the automobile part of the solution when it comes to the environment.”