At the Plug-In conference today, General Motors Hybrid Czar Larry Nitz (pictured) detailed the car maker's hybrid (fuel+electric) and PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) strategy and its goal of displacing petroleum with energy coming from the electrical grid. GM's dual strategy could also be summed up in 2 words: [Saturn] VUE and [Chevy] Volt.

"Our objective is to double the fuel economy of the Hybrid VUE [which is at 25 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on highways] for 20-30 miles during this charge depletion... As opposed to a Volt where we think 40 miles is a more appropriate distance for a pure EV operation", said Nitz.

Inspite 800,000 "equivalent" miles of testing (and millions more to go) GM is still working on its 2-mode power train that will be used by both vehicles. Nitz promised that both cars will still be fun to drive with great acceleration, good drivability and with a "tremendous" fuel economy. Check out Nitz video after the jump.