Weak Chevy Volt sales lead to five-week plant shutdown, hitting 1,300 workers

General Motors will halt the factory line in Detroit where it builds Chevrolet Volts for five weeks, putting 1,300 workers on a temporary layoff after demand for the plug-in hybrid has fallen far short of Volt output so far. It's the strongest sign to date that the Volt may be more technology than Americans want in their cars.

As Ward's Automotive explains, GM had little choice. It has 6,319 Volts in stock, yet only sold 1,023 in February, despite a Super Bowl ad push. At that rate, GM would need five months to fully deplete its inventories; it usually aims to keep two months' worth of its models on dealers' lots. GM has long abandoned its previous forecast for 60,000 Volt sales worldwide this year, but now it's fair to wonder whether GM will ever meet that goal.