Here is a critique of a Wall Street Journal article, written by Felix
Kramer of CalCars. It addresses some issue that have come up here,
notably the problem of leaving gas in the tank of a plug-in hybrid.
Sort of address it . . .
- Jed
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This is part of the W.S.J. article comments in square brackets by Kramer.
Obama's Car Puzzle by Holman Jenkins, Jr.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122645159441719325.html
You have in GM's Volt a perfect car of the Age of Obama -- or at
least the Honeymoon of Obama, before the reality principle kicks in.
Even as GM teeters toward bankruptcy and wheedles for billions in
public aid, its forthcoming plug-in hybrid continues to absorb a big
chunk of the company's product development budget. This is a car
that, by GM's own admission, won't make money. It's a car that can't
possibly provide a buyer with value commensurate with the resources
and labor needed to build it. It's a car that will be unsalable
without multiple handouts from government. [COMMENT: even before
federal tax credits were announced, 40,000 buyers signed up at
http://www.gm-volt.com, in addition to the 400,000 who signaled their
interest when the car was announced.]
The first subsidy has already been written into law, with a $7,500
tax handout for every buyer. Another subsidy is in the works, in the
form of a mileage rating of 100 mpg -- allowing GM to make and sell
that many more low-mileage SUVs under the cockamamie "fleet average"
mileage rules. [COMMENT: cars and trucks still have separate MPG standards.]
Even so, the Volt will still lose money for GM, which expects to
price the car at up to $40,000. [COMMENT: most new cars lose money
when they're first produced. GM's modular Volt design is a platform
for multiple cars (starting with the Opel Flextreme diesel version of
the Volt).]
We're talking about a headache of a car that will have to be
recharged for six hours to give 40 miles of gasoline-free driving.
What if you park on the street or in a public garage? Tough luck.
[COMMENT: The first buyers will be among the many tens of millions of
households with garages.] The Volt also will have a small gas engine
onboard to recharge the battery for trips of more than 40 miles.
Don't believe press blather that it will get 50 mpg in this mode.
[COMMENT: That's what well-designed hybrid cars get.] Submarines and
locomotives have operated on the same principle for a century. If it
were so efficient in cars, they'd clog the roads by now. [COMMENT:
That's why the Prius and the Honda Civic sell well.] (That GM allows
the 50 mpg myth to persist in the press, and even abets it, only
testifies to the company's desperation.)
Hardly mentioned is the fact that gasoline goes bad after a few
months. If the Volt is used as intended, for daily trips of 40 miles
or less, the car's tank will have to be drained periodically and the
gas disposed of. [COMMENT: In a well-designed system, "stale gas"
doesn't become an issue for a long time--not having been to a gas
station for that six months to a year be a problem I'd love to have!]
