Is there any car out there that draws more political fire than the Chevy Volt? Sure, people rag on the Nissan Leaf for its limited range and on a bunch of cars – the Murano CrossCabriolet, the Acura ZDX, the Juke – for their styling, but the Volt really seems to have a special ability to get people’s claws out. It’s almost like they’ve forgotten all about the Toyota Prius. The main issues are the alternative powertrain and the political effects of the feds bailing out General Motors and issuing plug-in vehicle rebates.
Take, for example, a recent article on Red State titled, “The Chevy Volt: designed for Democratic bureaucrats.” Writer Moe Lane attacks the car for being “a glorified hybrid,” saying that “the effective gas mileage is somewhere around 27 mpg.” That’s almost a reasonable argument, especially when compared to some of the vitriol directed at the Volt from people like Rush Limbaugh. Whatever the politicians say, at least one retired member of the U.S. Navy, Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, is willing to go out on a limb and say: “‘Clean’ Cars are Patriotic.” Still, over on Hot Air, the reasoning goes:
Feel like buying a Chevy Volt? Probably not, thanks to the steep price tag; the car retails north of $40,000, a high price for a subcompact four-seater. What you may not know is that you’re already buying Volts, thanks to [the $7,500] tax credit.
Enter our old friend Bob Lutz, who has a new book coming out on June 9. Titled “Car Guys vs Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business,” the book “puts the Volt birthers and their tinfoil-hat-wearing fellow travelers in their place,” writes Motor Trend. MT also quotes Lutz as writing:
Animosity towards the Obama administration is so intense among the right-wing talk-show hosts that any vulnerability, however tenuous, must be attacked and blamed on ‘socialist influence’, with no regard to truth or to the damage these reckless claims can make to GM, an American corporation, to the dedicated and hard-driving members of the Volt team, and to a now-misinformed public that may be steered away from a transportation solution that would fill their needs perfectly.
Apparently, Lutz doesn’t spare those on the left of the political spectrum, but he’s really peeved at the right-wing bloviators: “To all the doubters, opponents, critics and skeptics… [including] Glenn Beck, I say: ‘Eat your hearts out. Volt is the future’.”
[Source: Motor Trend, Red State, FavStocks, Green Car Journal]
