 General Motors ' then @-@ Vice @-@ Chairman Robert Lutz said the two @-@ seater sports car being developed by Tesla , the Tesla Roadster , and the rapid advancement of lithium @-@ ion battery technology inspired him to push the carmaker to develop the Volt after the 2006 Detroit Auto Show . Lutz 's initial idea was to develop an all @-@ electric car , but Jon Lauckner , General Motors Vice President for Global Vehicle Development , convinced him that to avoid an expensive battery , range anxiety concerns , and lack of public charging infrastructure , they could use a smaller battery pack with a small gasoline engine driving a generator acting as a backup to extend the range , but without a mechanical connection between the gasoline engine and the drive wheels , so it would be a pure electrically driven vehicle without many of the limitations General Motors learned from the EV1 experience . 
