Gov't Motors' Electric Edsel

IBD Editorials ^ | August 2, 2010 | Investors Business Daily staff

[Kaslin]

Industrial Policy: The administration's electric car represents both the genius of American technology and the stupidity of its government. Imagine Rube Goldberg with $50 billion. Buy now and get a free 40-mile-long extension cord.

It wasn't exactly Michael Dukakis riding in a tank wearing a Snoopy helmet, but it was close. President Obama, who reportedly hasn't driven an inch himself since taking office, visited a GM plant in Hamtramck near Detroit on Friday to drive a Chevy Volt 10 feet off an assembly line. It was a perfect image, as the American economy is being driven off a cliff by this White House.

The administration, at taxpayers' expense, has labored mightily and brought forth an Edsel that needs to be recharged. If a camel is a horse designed by committee, the Chevy Volt is a car designed by government. It is a perfect example of industrial policy run amok, of what happens when government picks winners and losers. Without heavy subsidies and government ownership, it never would have been built.

The base sticker price is about $41,000, comparable to the base price for a BMW 335i. For that price, you could also get a good-sized SUV that can seat more than four people and get all your stuff back from the big-box store.

There's a $7,500 tax credit offered by our utterly bankrupt federal government that's supposed to help, but even a presidential commission in 2009 said the Volt "will likely be too expensive to be commercially successful in the short term."

[bray]

The Chevy Dolt will be the perfect symbol for this failure.

Pray for America

[P-Marlowe]

Where does the eletricity come from?

[ryan71]

Even Edsels were collected years later.

The Volt will be melted down and used to can tuna.

[Nervous Tick]

...the “leaf”. From what I can gather, it outperforms the GM offering in pretty much every category...

Including its name. "Leaf" is 7.8x10^6 times more green than "Volt", as the scientific illustrations below prove:

LEAF

VOLT

[Nervous Tick]

>> The Volt will be melted down and used to can tuna.

Those are going to be some interesting cans — lithium and plastic.

Really light, though. :-)

[Chode]

what kinda mileage does it get at -15deg???

[P-Marlowe]

Even Edsels were collected years later. The Volt will be melted down and used to can tuna.

Wrong. Because of the heavy metal batteries, it will have to be disposed of in a toxic waste dump.

[Nervous Tick]

>> what kinda mileage does it get at -15deg???

I r a engineer so I can calculate that for you.

How much do you eat, and how fast can you push a car?

[Kirkwood]

No worries. A/C will not be allowed in the future. Govt controlled thermostats will take care of that.

[CedarDave]

Do a keyword search for volt to see similar scathing reviews.

[Cobra64]

I don't think the grid can handle a charging heap of electric batteries on top of this kind of stress. Somebody is going to get an ear-full when the blackout start.

I mentioned this back in '07 when the Volt first appeared in the Detroit auto show.

It should be interesting to see CA go from brownouts to blackouts.

[Kirkwood]

“With about 10 gallons of gas—I would bet about 500 miles of range!!”

I’ll take that bet. How much do you want to lose?

[longtermmemmory]

I think it is about new taxes.

imagine how your electric bill will no have a road tax even if you are not stupid enough to buy an obamamobile.

[Nervous Tick]

>> It should be interesting to see CA go from brownouts to blackouts.

Particularly with that “BANANA” mentality they have out there.

[VAarea]

I assumed that also, but nope, it has to be plugged in for the battery to top up.

---

I consider that limitation a safety feature. Imagine the potential for carbon monoxide poisoning cases if these were left running for extended periods to charge in a closed garage!

[Cobra64]

.

.

[longtermmemmory]

Just wail until a “road tax” appears on people’s electric bills EVEN IF YOU DID NOT BUY THIS MONSTROSITY.

The volt is about taxation not transportation.

[seton89]

Are faggy low profile tires standard?

[raptor22]

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[raptor22]

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