A shuttered General Motors plant in Louisiana will reopen soon but under new ownership. V-Vehicle Co., a new U.S. car maker says it will soon start building environmentally friendly cars at the facility thanks to a major investment by Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens. The company has also hired on former Mazda design boss Tom Motano, the man who penned the Miata, to design the cars.

CEO Frank Varasano, a former VP at Oracle,  says the information on the new car will be released soon and that the production is scheduled to start before the end of 2010.

San Diego-based V-Vehicle Co. expects to hire as many as 1,400 workers in Louisiana to assemble the cars.

“The goal of the company is to provide the American buyer greater product value and a superior automotive experience,” the company said in a statement. ”VVC will produce a high-quality, environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient car for the U.S. market.”

Along with an investment from T. Boone Pickens, additional funding will come from venture capitalists Ray Lane and John Doerr. Plant-owner James Davison is also listed as an investor.