The Chevrolet Volt was named the 2011 North American Car of the Year after making its debut on the international automotive scene as a concept car. “It’s a great honor to be recognized,” said GM CEO Dan Akerson. “Since development began, we believed the Volt had the potential to transform the automotive industry. Today, the Volt is the first electric vehicle to win the prestigious North American Car of the Year award, and the first vehicle ever to receive the industry’s highest automotive, technology, and environmental recognitions.”

This esteemed award is selected by a group of automotive journalists from a broad selection of American and Canadian magazine, radio, television, newspaper and digital channels. In order to be eligible for the award a vehicle must be a new or “substantially” changed vehicle. Entries are judged on a variety of metrics including innovation, design, safety and driver satisfaction.

The car was first delivered in December, and demand has since grown enough to raise anticipated U.S. production.

The 2012 Buick LaCrosse with eAssist was recently introduced at the LA Auto Show in November.  With this new model, consumers will get a premium driving experience, along with a fuel efficient vehicle. Buick is adding its eAssist fuel-saving technology as standard equipment on four-cylinder versions of the 2012 LaCrosse. With the new LaCrosse you get a 2.4-liter direct-injection engine with a 15-kilowatt motor/generator connected to a small (0.5 kW-hr) lithium-ion battery pack. You get 25/37-mpg , automatic stop-start with no interruption in the air conditioning, and aggressive fuel shutoff when coasting. The eAssist model replaces the conventional four-cylinder LaCrosse, creating a clear price difference between the LaCrosse and Regal ranges.