Chrysler is preparing to reveal an electric car with a gasoline engine onboard that kicks in only to recharge its batteries.  Sound familiar?  Haven't you read this story recently?

Yes, but that was the Chevy Volt.  This is Chrysler's answer.

According to Autoblog Green, Chrysler's "top brass... will host a video conference on Tuesday to show off the vehicles that the ENVI division is working on. ENVI is the unit that Chrysler launched last year to develop electrically-driven vehicles. Top of the list is expected to be a car that goes 40 miles on a full charge of its lithium ion batteries at which point a range extending engine and generator kick on to keep the fun going."  In other words, a car that works exactly like the Volt.

Tomorrow's video conference, however, will be shown only to Chrysler dealers - a move designed to settle their anxieties about the company's product planning in a changing automotive market.

Chrysler needs something like this badly.  The AP explains, "Chrysler has felt pressure to break away from its dependence on fuel-guzzling trucks and sport utility vehicles amid the recent decline in auto sales but has been behind other automakers that plan to launch electric vehicles in the next few years." While all automakers have seen their sales drop this year, Chrysler's have seemingly fallen into an abyss.  "Its sales this year are down 24 percent through August, compared with an 11 percent drop industrywide, according to Autodata Corp."

What isn't clear is when the car might be ready.  The Detroit Free Press notes, "Earlier this year, Chrysler told the Free Press its electric car would not be ready for production for three to five years."  The Volt may arrive in 2010.  A planned electric car from Nissan and a more efficient Toyota Prius may also arrive that year.

We also don't know what the car might look like.  At last January's  Detroit Auto Show,  Chrysler showed three concept cars it said could be built as electric vehicles --  including one called the Chrysler ecoVoyager, which the Free Press notes, "would be primarily powered by a lithium-ion battery pack good for a daily commute of less than 40 miles."

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