Fast forward to our little “Greenie” car — the Volt from Government Motors — and its potential buyers.
GovMot will have to give potential buyers hefty subsidized discounts of $11K to bring the $44K MSRP into striking range of customers. Then there are a few nagging questions.
If the Volt only gets 40 miles on a charge before it has to be plugged-in or switch to its backup gas engine, this is hardly efficient.
Where are you going to plug-in the Volt? Eco-Greenies don't want power plants and oppose them at ever turn. Since electricity doesn't come out of a wall socket — it has to be GENERATED — where are the charging stations, whether at work or at home or on the road. I suspect that Volts will get a lot more use from their backup engines than the Greenies think.
Since the car is “fuel efficient”, expect gasoline revenues to take a hit and the politicians will push for higher gas taxes to “solve” the shortfall problem.
The battery pack is hideously expensive and is also a haz-mat item when it has to be replaced. Who's picking up the haz-mat disposal fee? How much does a new battery pack cost and how long will it be expected to last (average)? Note to Eco-Greenies: Your battery life will vary greatly depending on whether you live in a very hot or very cold climate. What then?
What I see is a bunch of Eco-Greenies buying Volts so they can drive them around to show off to friends and other Eco-Greenies. After that's over, the car will go into the garage and their SUV will be back for daily driving.
I actually don’t oppose hybrid or even all-electric vehicles. There’s a demand and they fill it. They also hold the promise of decreasing dependency upon nations that want to kill us.
The governmental subsidy is a sticking point. The “green” aspect, I couldn’t care less. Battery life and disposal have been concerns, but first gen Toyota Prius have been serving pretty strenuous duty as even taxis in some parts of the world, still going strong.
If the technology continues to improve and the cost of purchase declines, I wouldn’t be at all opposed to buying one.