The cat is out of the bag, so to speak. President in Chief, B. H. Obama let this remark slip out in a speech to the United Auto Workers union last week. He vowed to buy a Volt “five years from now, when I’m not president anymore.” So much for the alarmist’s President-for-life theory.
What occasioned the remark was the then imminent shutting down of the production line for the Chevy VOLT and the ensuing layoff of 1,300 workers by Government Motors. The President wanted to assure the union workers of his continued support for the car. The VOLT has been an utter failure in the market place. Not since Ford introduced the Edsel has a car been such a flop. Ford’s mistake was to put a toilet seat on the front of the car and then give the car a name like Edsel. The failure didn’t cost taxpayers a red cent. The company acknowledged they had launched a loser and discontinued the model. That decision was just common sense born out of necessity.
GM, however, is only a quasi-private sector company that remains subject to the demands of Obama and his administration. While a private sector company must manage sensibly to avoid the bankruptcy courts and assure its ultimate survival, no such discipline exists with the government. The politicians do not pay for their failures; we do.
If the batteries are still good, and he is careful with his speed, Barack will be able to drive electrically up to 40 miles on just one battery charge. All I can say to that is, “Wow!” After only 8-10 hours of recharging at home, he can drive on the batteries for another 40 miles, again “Wow!” Of course, in 5 to 8 years it will be time to replace the batteries. At a cost of about $15,000 before adjusting for inflation, this effectively sets the lifespan of the car.
Now here’s one for the… you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up… department. The VOLT is sold in Europe under the name Volt/Ampera. There are some mighty fine automobiles built in Europe and every year one outstanding example is chosen to be honored as Car of the Year at the Geneva Auto Convention. This year they picked the VOLT.
The auto show, in its review of the vehicle, called the Volt/Ampera a “mature product, after years of development and perfectioning by General Motors, and the first example of an electric vehicle with extended range.”
Europeans are not normally that dense when it comes to engineering. It must be racism. It’s Obama’s car. Ridiculous of course. But so is the car.
RANDOM THOTS 