The Chevrolet Volt is approaching a major milestone as General

Motors prepares to build the first production prototypes, cars that "look, taste, smell and feel" and, of course, drive like the range-extended electric vehicle GM promises to put in showrooms by the end of next year.

The General will start building the first of these cars, known in the industry as integration vehicles, on June 1 and they'll be tooling around within a couple of weeks. So far all we've seen are Malibu and Cruze test mules. The cars we'll see next month will be the real deal.

"These will be the first vehicles to both look like the production Volts and be powered by the Voltec propulsion system," spokesman Rob Peterson told us.

That's significant, because production prototypes are the cars that get shaken down, beaten up and tested more thoroughly than Lance Armstrong to make sure they meet GM's quality standards and federal safety regulations. Building the cars also irons out any kinks in the manufacturing process so the assembly line runs smoothly.

It offers convincing evidence that GM is on track to deliver its first range-extended EVs by November, 2010.

Our friend Lyle Dennis over at GM-Volt.com says

Andrew Farrah, the lead engineer on the Volt project, has a clock on his wall counting down the days until the first production prototype will be built at GM's pre-production plant in Warren, Mich. These cars will "will look, taste, smell and feel like the

Volt," Farrah said. "They are the Volt. My goal is by the Fourth of July to be out driving several of them."

How many is several?

GM plans to ramp up production to about 10 a week, and Peterson says the goal is to have a fleet of 80 by fall. The cars "validate our production design and allow for continued testing of the overall vehicle, from crash and safety testing to the refinement of performance attributes," Peterson said. "They also provide us the opportunity to refine our manufacturing processes in preparation for high-volume production."

Photo: General Motors

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