DETROIT -- GENERAL MOTORS -- the bad-daddy patriarch of Detroit, the
strangler of electric cars, the 800-pound plaintiff against air-quality rules
from Washington, D.C., to Sacramento -- reached out and hugged a tree last
week.
On the floor of Cobo Hall, site of the North American International Auto Show
(ending Sunday), GM unveiled its Chevy Volt concept car, a wind-cheating,
four-seat electric vehicle that was the sensation of the show. The Volt utters
all the sacred shibboleths that EV enthusiasts have longed to hear: The Volt is
a plug-in hybrid, which when charged from a wall socket should be able to travel
40 miles in all-electric mode -- more than enough to cover most people's
daily driving using nary a drop of gas.
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1 comments so far...
19-Jan-2007
45469
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This article brings up some crucial points. While the Volt is a great concept, it has to be built and sold. Then it has to be the biggest seller in GM's history so that the vast majority of the GM fleet is shifted to this serial hybrid system. All other manufacturers are forced to follow suit, so that as a result America takes a nice big step toward the twin goals of energy independence (national security) and environmental healing (quality of life). That's the free market fantasy version that virtually guarantees this will never happen, especially with all the auto industry lobby-twisted regulations on the books. A comprehensive restructuring and tightening of environmental regulations, including significantly higher minimum mileage requirements and carbon-emission tax for all vehicles is needed for things to really change for the better. For the good of the country and the survival of the domestic auto industry, these changes have to be mandated. And now, until next time, I will step down from my soapbox.
Posted by: Buck Fush
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