Tax cheats found lucrative ground last year with the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles. The IRS says that of the approximately 65,000 people that claimed the credit, 20 percent were in error.

The EV tax credit was claimed for such vehicles as the Hummer H3, Dodge Durango, and Cadillac Escalade.

According to the IRS, the credit only applies to vehicles primarily powered by an electric motor, and that can be plugged in to recharge the batteries. Further, the batteries must have a capacity of at least 5 kilowatt-hours. A vehicle that meets this minimum requirement would render a $2,500 credit. For every kilowatt-hour of capacity over 5, an additional $417 credit is earned, up to a maximum of $7,500.

Amongst the erroneous filers, the IRS pointed out that 29 were actually in prison for the entire year. Even some IRS employees who did not have electric cars claimed the credit.

Cars currently on sale that would qualify for the credit are the Tesla Roadster, the Nissan Leaf, and the Chevy Volt

DETROIT – General Motors today announced plans to add a third shift at Flint Assembly, generating 750 jobs for the plant that makes the award-winning Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickups.

The shift is expected to start in the third quarter with employees starting to arrive at Flint Assembly in the second quarter.

"Adding a third shift is a response to customer demand for heavy-duty pickups, which most people use to tow, haul and plow," said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America. "Equally importantly, it brings jobs and a needed economic boost to the Flint area."

Flint Assembly currently employs nearly 2,100 hourly and salaried employees and operates two production shifts. In 2010 the plant produced 115,000 trucks, the majority of them regular and crew-cab versions of the heavy-duty Silverado and Sierra. Last year, the plant added production of regular and crew-cab version of the light-duty Silverado.

"It's become political," he said.

Gary's mayor has been driven around town in a taxpayer-funded Hummer H3 for nearly five years, ever since he took office. Few of his decisions have drawn quite as much public ire, but Clay has defended it with equal passion.

"I've got one of the cheapest SUVs on the highway," Clay said in 2009, "and it's like the world is coming to an end."

Now, with the primary election just months away, he said he'll soon start using one of more than 100 fuel-efficient cars purchased by the city with a $3 million federal stimulus grant last year.

General Motors seems intent on banishing all memories of the unloved Aveo – so much so that it's gone and renamed its entry-level fighter in the States. While we're still not 100-percent in love with the name (we can't get visions of spiky-haired hedgehogs out of our heads...), all three flavors of the Sonic do appear to be vastly improved over the machine they replace, though one of them, the Z Spec, is still in the concept stage.

 More than anything else, they look vastly better both inside and out, but until we get a stint behind the wheel we'll hold off final judgment. According to Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet marketing, "The all-new Chevrolet Sonic blends the practicality of a small car with the passion for driving that Chevrolet vehicles like the Corvette are known for." That won't be the only time you'll ever hear someone mention the Sonic in the same sentence as the Corvette. In fact, Chevy tells us that Corvette engineers are responsible for the ride and handling of the sub-compact.