The first Chevy Volt electric cars are now making their way to consumers. Executives at GM promised the Volt would be available for sale by the end of 2010, and starting this week, 350 vehicles have rolled out of the company's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant, on their way to eagerly waiting buyers in New York, California, Texas and Washington, D.C.

The vehicle will retail for about $41,000, but with a $7,500 tax credit, its price will be $33,500, close to the price of its hybrid car competitors. A national rollout of the Volt will begin 18 months from now.

The vehicle can travel about 35 miles on battery power, and then a gasoline-fueled generator kicks in, giving it a total range of less than 400 miles. Executives at GM say the car will get the equivalent of 93 miles per gallon.

I've driven the 2011 Chevy Volt and found it to be an exceptional car. Its acceleration was surprisingly powerful, with a tremendous kick of torque, a characteristic of electric motors. I especially like its huge video screens with their gorgeous graphics, excellent Android OS integration, and helpful OnStar navigation, with a real person assisting via a cellular wireless connection.

This car's 35-mile electric range will be just right for those of us with short- to medium-range commutes to drive to and from work without using gasoline. Sounds great, and they're on sale — if you can get one. Now if GM could just build more of them — one GM executive said there will be just 60,000 of them built in 2012 — maybe economies of scale can bring the price down to a more affordable level.