Mother Nature Network has an interesting, and whiny, article up about the Chevy Albatross, er, Volt, which boils down to
The problem Kelly and the others have with the Volt is that it has Barack Obama’s fingerprints all over it. That’s a reason graphics like the one at left are all over the blogosphere. If the Volt flops, the administration’s investment in the car were wasted, and it’s the political bounty known as Solyndra all over again. Of course, they express it differently, claiming to hate government subsidies. Kelly writes in his op-ed, “When a manufacturer puts politics ahead of market demand, or when the return on investment is measured in terms of political gain rather than financial gain, the results vary drastically….This is not to say I don’t support the development of electric cars, I do —but not at taxpayer expense.â€
Yes, there is a little something to the notion that Conservatives are against the Chevy Voltcart because Obama pushes them. That’s the nature of political opposition. Those on the left have no room to complain, though, since everything Bush was opposed by the Left. Remember, Bush came out in favor of a pathway to citizenship for illegals, and despite being the liberal/Democrat position, they worked hard to find a way to oppose Bush on it, and eventually did.
That said, the primary opposition to the Volt is that it is…..well….a worthless piece of useless shit. What’s the point of an automobile which can barely get one to work, and you have to leave the heat/AC off? I read an article the other day about it taking 6 hours for a trip that usually takes 3. And all for $40k! Awesome!
I’m all for these types of vehicles, when they are actually useable. Ready for prime time. I like hybrids (I’d love a Jeep Liberty hybrid). I do not like oil and coal. But, they are necessary and useful, unlike the Chevy Take A Coworkers Car To Lunch Cause Yours Is Charging.
Oh, and if the Left loves them so much, why are they still buying SUVs?
Raised On Hoecakes has more thoughts on the Chevy Dukakis.
Thanks for the shout out Teach!
Just one minor correction or addendum to your article…
The Volt is $40,000 list, but that is before a $7,500 rebate from the federal government. Next year California is set to give new Volt owners an additional $2,500 as well.
This means the cost of a Volt is actually $30,000.
If people want to pay $40,000 for the car, that is their choice. The government has no business stepping into the marketplace and subsidizing any item in the market through tax payer dollars.
True, true, but, if they had to pay the $40k for a golf cart, they’d by about 5 total.
Do anyone else get purchase-subsidies? Do farmers get subsidies to help buy their tractors and combines in order to FEED US?
Do fishermen get subsidies to buy their boats so that vegans can enjoy their fish?
Do ranchers get subsidized when they buy cattle so that we can have Mcburgers?
Why is it that people who buy fake-green crap get subsidized?
Plug-in p.o.s.
Before Galveston Island disappeared the family owned a beach house on the beach. Everyone got around in a golf cart because the salt would just eat vehicles alive….and hell the golf carts are fun.
Golf carts rock. Hell folks. If we really want to solve this crisis………simply make enclosed golf carts that can run 15 miles on 2 batteries….fill up the compartment with switchable batteries with a flick of a switch and you can run all day at 15 mph on 3-4 sets of batteries…..plug em in and do it all over again in 8 hours.
Insurance companies would scream bloody murder though….they could not charge you 1000’s of dollars per year for insurance cause no ones going to be having any serious headons at 10 mph…..and the greenies are opposed cause IT ACTUALLY SOLVES THE PROBLEM.
That was what I was trying to say as well Teach, although I didn’t do a good job of saying it.
When the Volt fire hazard arose, Chevy offered to buy back any Volt a customer felt uncomfortable with. It was a great idea and great PR but the offer was to repay the owner for the cost of the car based on what they owner paid. There was no depreciation to the buy back program.
That meant if you bought a Volt for $40,000, got the $7,500 rebate, sold the car back to GM because of the fire hazard, you got $40,000. You did not have to return the $7,500. We, the taxpayers ate that. (And yes, I know it is not much in the scheme of the government budget, but it is wasted money by the government through a government controlled company.)
Then you also had MSNBC shilling for the Volt when it did not list it as one of the top ten sales failures of the year, even though its sales figures put it squarely on the list.
The car and the marketing of the car is a sham. It is clothes on the emperor.
Change the name to “Obama Vult”…