In Defense of the Chevy Volt

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The car is NOT $40,000; the car is closer to $80,000. Deducting the cost paid by taxpayers both insults their contribution (wise or otherwise) to your "marvel" and substantially overstates the degree of folly.
Romney is unequivocally correct: the car is a complete waste of scarce public resources. It would never have been made and sold if not for government intervention in the marketplace. And this means that other, better products - that would have created real value for consumers AND GM - were foregone, by state fiat.
That is mot just wasteful; its un-American, and it only goes on because folks like Rick are party to a hiding of the truth, deliberately or otherwise.

Glenn Farley of AZ 2:25AM May 10, 2012

Coolest, yeah! I love the hard disk music storage and the built-in cell phone. OnStar allows me to remote start on cold mornings to get the car toasty, and it allows for some data to be reported about the mileage. VoltStats.net has almost 950 cars signed up and will show you what the car can achieve. So far the site shows that those cars have driven over 6.3 million miles, 70% of which is on electricity. One car has gone 5600 miles on a gallon of gas! The electricity costs me about 2.5 cents a mile, so I could go that far for $112. Compare to gas @ $4, a 56MPG car would need 100 gallons, or $400.

Volt Owner of CA 2:15AM May 10, 2012

Look, here is the deal.
If the Volt was a great Idea they would be selling like hot cake even w/out a $10,000 subsidy.

Greg West of HI 2:14AM May 10, 2012

The car that Lutz proposed was totally different than what we ended up with. Just as stated in the original article the Volt was supposed to be sort a technology halo car. But when it came down to GM deciding if they should spend their own money to build the Volt they just couldn't justify the expense versus lack luster sales projections. GM would have to sell the car for $80,000 dollars a piece just to break even. But Obama wanted to turn it from a niche vehicle to a car for the masses. Over 20 bilion dollars of the GM bailout was specifically directed to the Volt's development and production. All part of his plan to have one million plug-in electrics on the road by 2015. You don't hear them touting that number much anymore since they are way off the mark to catch that goal. So since GM gets roughly $250,000 per Volt they have no problem knocking half the cost off the car of on the sticker price.
Oh and I love how people conflate direct subsidy's to tax deductions. And honestly I've got no problem with eliminating the mortgage tax deductions if we were to instead lower the tax rate, flatten the curve, and simplify the code. I've got no problems with early adopters choosing to buy a neat bit of technology even though it doesn't make economic sense. But just do it on your own dime without dragging the rest of the taxpayers into the decision loop.

HeftyJo of TX 1:48AM May 10, 2012

Hmmm let's see, I have been averaging 112 mpg with my 2012 Volt. The car rides and handles well, is well built and has technology that Mercedes and BMW dream about and I buy waaaay less oil from countries that don't like us, so what's not to love about the Volt?? I have had Vettes, Lincolns, Audi's, SHO Taurus, GT Mustangs and such and I can say I love my Volt as much or more than any other car I have owned or driven! Go drive one and you will see!! Oh and the lease is the way to go!!

MICHAEL RUDI of MI 1:28AM May 10, 2012

Eric:
It's the coolest car ever, for a geek (like me).
They're up to about 15,000 sold. Maybe as more people see Volts on the road, they'll get more consideration. Maybe not.

David of TX 1:19AM May 10, 2012

JAE:
I get about 40 miles on a charge, which requires 13 kwh of electricity. I'm currently paying .08/kwh. So 40 miles on electricity costs me $1.04.
Now I also get about 40 miles on a gallon of gas, which costs me $4.00.
I don't know about your efficiency numbers, but I do know that 1 dollar is less than 4 dollars. Maybe the utility is subsidized.
This is not an argument that the Volt will pay for itself in gas savings. It won't, but that's not why I bought it.

David of TX 1:10AM May 10, 2012

They only sold 8000 Volts even with the $7500 government handout. That does not sound like a product the market is asking for to me. I personally like the Volt, but I am an engineer and technology geek, not the average car buyer.

Eric Gregori of IL 12:59AM May 10, 2012

Trapeze, what a bunch of confirmation bias in your comments:
The "fire" issue. The NFPA says a car catches on fire every 2-1/2 minutes in the US. So far, 2 have been electric. I won't bore you with the math, but statistically, electrics are less likely to catch on fire.
1. Oh, the tax credit. Never mind the subsidies you get for yourbhouse, your children, your health care, your retirement, etc.
2. It runs on coal. That's right, domestic coal, or natural gas, or nuclear, or hydro. No imported oil required. Just how much are those wars costing?
3. Battery technology is inadequate. I guess you're just guessing, as the Volt has only been around for 18 months. We'll see. The battery is warranted for 100,000 miles or ten years.
4. Well, in an electric car, the heat will come from the battery, which will reduce electric range.
5 and 6. Back to subsidies, which prove economic unviability (sorry if that's not a word). Like the interstate highways, or the Hoover dam? I hope you don't use a GPS device. Read "The Tragedy of the Commons." I hate big government as much as the next guy, but only the government can allocate externalized costs.
As has been endlessly noted, Volt development and electric car subsidies began while Bush and the republicans were in charge.

David of TX 12:56AM May 10, 2012