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CNN reported that General Motors announced its Chevrolet Volt electric car will cost $41,000 when it goes on sale in November.

While the price is about $8,000 more than the Nissan Leaf, GM said it will offer a $350-per-month lease deal that’s essentially equal to the Leaf’s.

Both cars also are eligible for a federal tax credit that will cut their prices by $7,500. The Volt would fall to $33,500 while the Leaf’s would drop to $25,280 from nearly $33,000.

Some states, such as California, Georgia and Oregon, offer additional tax breaks that lower the price further.

Powered by a lithium-ion battery pack, the Volt will be capable of traveling up to 40 miles on purely electric power. For driving beyond 40 miles, the Volt will have a four-cylinder gasoline engine that will generate electricity to power the wheels 300 miles.

GM’s lease deal is $350 a month for 36 months with $2,500 down. Nissan’s lease plan is $349 per month for the same length of time with $1,995 down.

GM will unveil the Volt first in California, then in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Michigan and Texas. The cars will first be sold through 600 Chevrolet dealers. But in 12 to 18 months, dealers nationwide should offer the cars.

Nissan’s Leaf, which goes on sale in December, can go up to 100 miles on a charge. The car doesn’t have a gas engine and must be recharged once its battery is depleted.

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Last Friday I was working out of South Boston, and after being cooped up in a hotel room most of the day I decided to head over to Cambridge on my road bicycle. After traveling only about four blocks in Southie and while waiting at a stop light, I felt the wind of something ghostly whir roll up next to me. Looking to my left and down, I saw a little car occupied by two guys with enormous grins.

Then I noticed the word “Tesla” on the back end. No wonder they were smiling.

“How are liking it?” I dumbly asked.

“Unbelievable. Our first ride!” the one in the passenger seat responded.

Thinking about Tesla’s new IPO, I followed up with, “Would you invest in the company?”

“Maybe,” he replied, “if I had any money left over after buying this.”

Then he asked me, “Want to take a drive? Company reps are giving free test rides down at the Barking Crab and that’s what we’re doing. Ha - we don’t own this baby. Follow us.”

As if I really could follow a four-wheel rocket that does 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds. But I shouted, “Love to!” as the light turned green and they sped off.

Luckily, the BC was just a few blocks down the street. So, I clicked back into my pedals and biked toward my Tesla Mecca. Sure enough, two of Tesla sales staff had staked out some territory in the parking lot near the restaurant’s side entrance. Yes, they were offering rides and a small line of prospective drivers were waiting their turn and getting the low-pressure spiel from the Tesla crew. I locked my bike to a fence and as I got in line, another duo squealed out of the lot.

While we were waiting, the Tesla folks explained that the $125,000 car was Roadster Sport model available in 13 colors. They ran down the basics about the speed, interior (gorgeous, velvety hand-stitched leather), battery pack (6100+ Li-ion cells), range (240+ miles), tunable suspension and electrical requirements (220 volt, 50 amp is okay but they recommend 70 amp service). They said Tesla had opened a sales office in Boston and their worldwide goal was to sell 1000 of the Roadsters per year.

When asked about construction, one of the sales people mentioned that the car was about “7 percent” Lotus, but I think that is wrong (or I misunderstood the question). My understanding is that Lotus makes the entire Roadster chassis but only a small percentage of the Tesla parts are used on true Lotus vehicles.

The two guys whom I first saw in the car were still standing around and talking about the experience. The one who had been driving confessed to having fully tested the 0-60 mph claim and compared the “amazing” experience to a ride he had once been given in a military jet. His passenger said he missed the typical throaty roar that one would get from punching the accelerator of a gas-powered sports car entering a freeway, but he made sure I understood that he thought he’d have no problem whatsoever getting used to the swooshing sound of Roadster Sport.

Using my iPhone, I shot the above video (sorry, no audio) of one group of testers returning and another group taking off.

There is a sad ending to this story. While waiting for my turn, one of the sales staff heard the clip-clop of my bicycle shoes and asked to see the soles. One look at the knobby bottoms, and he said, “No way.”

“How about if I just wear my socks?” I pleaded.

He arched an eyebrow, handed me his business card and, just before he twirled away, said, “Call me next week when you are ready to take a serious a test ride.”

“But, but  . . . I’ll be in Columbus next week!”

He never glanced back.

For more CTT stories on Tesla, see:

Toyota, Tesla team to build all electric cars

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Having just announced that they will be spending $550 million converting a Detroit SUV factory into a hybrid and electric vehicle factory, Ford Motors has announced a further investment of $450 million into electric cars and batteries.

Part of the money will be used to move lithium-ion battery production from its current location in Mexico to Michigan. Ford’s executive chairman, Bill Ford, said they were moving to address environmental, energy and economic issues.

Jennifer Granholm, the outgoing state governor, said that “vehicle electrification is part of our ongoing strategy to diversify Michigan´s economy and make the state a center for green and advanced manufacturing.”

The company has outlined plans to bring several vehicles to market over the next three years including the Ford Transit Connect electric commercial van, the Ford Focus electric passenger car and a hybrid based on the C-car platform.

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Detroit’s WWMT.com reported that GM has manufactured an advanced lithium-ion battery for its electric vehicle, the Chevy Volt.

The Volt is designed to drive up to 40 miles on electricity without using gasoline or producing emissions. When Volt’s lithium-ion battery is depleted of energy, a flex-fuel engine-generator operates to extend total driving range to about 300 miles before refueling or stopping to recharge the battery.

The Volt’s battery pack is made up of multiple linked battery modules and around 200 battery cells. The initial assembly area is where cells are processed and installed by automated equipment into modules and delivered to battery pack main line area. It features an “automated guided cart” system including operations for thermal and electrical assembly, along with quality and dimensional checks.

Ed Whitacre, chairman and CEO of GM, said, “The development of electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt is creating entire new sectors in the auto industry an ‘ecosystem’ of battery developers and recyclers, builders of home and commercial charging stations, electric motor suppliers and much more. These companies and universities are creating new jobs in Michigan and across the US, green jobs and they’re doing it by developing new technology, establishing new manufacturing capability, and strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness.”

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Example of Better Place charging locations.

The New York Times today has a story about a major tax-policy initiative underway in Denmark that government officials are hoping will provide a big boost to the use of electric cars. The story also reports on how Better Place, a company we’ve written on in the past, and Dong Energy, Denmark’s largest utility company, is working to build a charging infrastructure/battery-replacement system throughout the nation.

According to the story, Danish citizens now get to waive a 200 percent tax levied on most cars. Thus a car nominally priced at $20,000 would end up costing $60,000. A car buyer in Denmark could save $40,000 or more if they opt for an electric vehicle. An additional perk is free downtown parking in cities such as Copenhagen.

Expect to see some of this feature in background stories related to the meeting next week of world leaders in Copenhagen on the topic of climate change. Better Place signed an agreement back in May with city leaders to have a demonstration of the technology ready when the global warming conference begins.

The Times quotes Lars Barfoed, Denmark’s transportation minister, as saying, “We want to be a test and laboratory country for electric cars, hybrid cars and other new technology. And as host of the climate change conference, that’s made us feel responsible and want to show the world we can do something.”

Better Place apparently recently predicted that Denmark will have 100,000 charging locations functioning by 2010, but the Times suggests that the company is falling behind, having only 55 locations functioning now. Better Place is now saying that a 2011 deadline is more likely.

The vulnerable underbelly to these plans is resistance by automakers. So far, only Renault has agreed to build cars compatible with the Better Place system. However, big players, such as Toyota, say they have no interest in the Better Place approach.

One other interesting side note is that the Better Place/Dong Energy plan is to use wind power to support their charging system.

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