Senior Obama administration officials are in Detroit today, visiting a Ford plant that makes green vehicles and touring the production line of the Chevrolet Volt.

The Volt hit the market late last year with a surge in attention, but its sales so far have been disappointing.

General Motors set a goal of selling 10,000 Volts in 2011. But with less than three months to go, the automaker has moved only 3,895 of the plug-in electric cars, which have an electric battery range of about 35 miles.