Posted on 08/02/2010 6:13:14 PM PDT by 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."
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
I’ve gotten mail from Nissan over the last several months (am a Nissan owner) pushing their own electric vehicle - the “leaf”. From what I can gather, it outperforms the GM offering in pretty much every category... and was not subsidized by the Federal Government.
That thing is mofugly. As much as I thought this car was a true lemon, I’d take the 1972 Bel Air my family had over this monstrosity.
The Chevy Dolt.
LOL!!
“Electric Edsel”
Absolutely love it.
‘With Assembly Plant Manager Teri Quigley riding shotgun, Obama drove the car 10 feet, a ride he pronounced “pretty smooth.”’
Somebody is going to get an ear-full when the blackout start.
” Somebody is going to get an ear-full when the blackout start. “
That is, of course, assuming that they actually sell enough of them to have an impact on the grid...
I’m betting not.... ;)
Is it possible that the U. S. Government engineered the
possibilty of toyota quality deficencies (later found to
be operator error) in order to push G.M. and Chrysler?
Wow, that's just insane.
The darn thing won't even charge it's own battery?
You would think that once you kick in the gas engine, the battery would charge.
I’m not going that far, though the attempted lynching by the Feds was definitely political in nature.
That being said, not all of the Toyota issues were user problems (though testing has shown that mashing the brake pedal would stop ANY production Toyota, even with the throttle stuck wide-open).
Funny - even with the Toyota recalls - GM has had FAR more recalls in the same time period, and over their history, both in actual number of mandatory recalls and in number of affected units.
These people are all morons. This car runs for 40 miles on coal and then when it's coal power gives out it runs on gasoline.
And what happens if everyone starts driving electric cars? The drain on the electrical grid will cause either a need for new coal powered electrical plants in every neighborhood or there will be rolling blackouts everywhere. I suspect that the libs would prefer to shut down the electrical grid to building new power plants.
Liberalism is a mental disorder. The Volt is a car built by morons for morons.
The “40 mile range” is ONLY the “pure electric range” —BEFORE the generator kicks in to recharge it—or charge it by the A/C line. This is known as a “PHEV” “Hybrid” as it has SOME “purely electric range” before the gasoline needs to be used to recharge. With about 10 gallons of gas—I would bet about 500 miles of range!!
I am NOT a fan of “electric cars” —but this IS a MUCH better idea—with a substantial battery pack—than the Prius. Had the EV-1 had this ability..probably 50,000 would have been sold by now--maybe more....
I assumed that also, but nope, it has to be plugged in for the battery to top up.
That is assuming anyone has any money and there is any real electric generation capability if the watermelons in the regime get their way.
Where does the eletricity come from?
(Note to Democrats: the correct answer is not "the battery" or "your house".)
It's not only possible, but very likely. It fits the pattern of the two-bit Chicago politician, and Obama is that.
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