Wheego Electric Cars to make White House buy 100 plug-in models

When President Obama was wearing his car salesman/economy-spurring hat he made a public promise in March of this year to purchase the first 100 plug-in electric vehicles to roll off of an American assembly line.

That promise, it turns out, may result in the purchase of 100 Wheego LiFes – not the 100 Chevrolet Volts the President likely intended when he made such a promise, according to Automotive News.

How did this happen? Because the Chevrolet Volt isn’t set to enter production until November, while the Wheego LiFe enters production and goes on sale in October.

“We’ve been operating under the radar screen rather than making a lot of media noise,” CEO Mike McQuary told AutoNews. “But we’ve got dealers standing by and expect to have the Wheego LiFe on sale in October.”

Wheego has obviously managed to make it within days of production without a hint of media coverage, something they hope to change by making use of the President’s promise – a promise Wheego fully intends to hold the White House to, “”He was probably assuming they would be Chevy Volts, but they will be Wheego LiFes. We’ve contacted the White House to make sure they know,” said McQuary.

McQuary hopes and believes that this seemingly back-fired promise may mean a whole lot more than 100 orders for Wheego as a visit from the President of the United States of America to the California-based automaker’s facility would sure provide for a heck of a lot of (long overdue) media attention.

About the 2011 Wheego LiFe

It’s a safe bet to assume you likely have not heard of the Wheego LiFe, so we thought now would be as good a time as ever to detail the car.

The LiFe has a Smart Car-like shape and design, with its own unique stylization touches and comes only in all-electric form. The full-speed Wheego LiFe has an approximate range of 100 miles, a top speed of 65 miles per hour. Power can be had in the form of 20 nominal and 60 peak horsepower, along with 95 lb-ft of torque. and has a retail price of $32,995 – before the $7,500 federal tax credit.

The 115V lithium battery pack can be charged from a standard 120V outlet, a 240V outlet or any of the J1772 standard charging stations being installed in public locations throughout the US. Features include both driver and passenger airbags, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, MP3/USB-ready radio and power windows and locks.

It is available in red, white, blue, black, silver or green with a gray interior.