Chevy Volt – It’s Electric! It’s Expensive!

Just a few quick thoughts.  It’s a great idea but is riddled with potential problems.

First, I read that it has an MSRP of $40,000.  Wow.  Ok, but it gets 230mpg!  Well, you still have to plug it in.  That’s fine, if you have a garage or extension cord.  If you live in the city, this might not be a viable option.

I just can’t get past the price tag.  Not to mention how long do the batteries last?  I’m sure the price is hefty due in part to those puppies.  If one needs replacing, am I stick with the bill?

Great concept going forward but right now I don’t think it’s highly practical for most.  Give it a couple of generations (in automobiles, not human generations) and I think it’ll gain more of a following.

Just my opinion!

Hi-tech, fuel efficient and ugly as sin

Why?

I saw something on the news about an awesomely fuel efficient car and decided to investigate.  This car looked like a plane with it’s wings chopped off.  Another good analogy might be a flying insect that had it’s wings pulled off.

Can someone design a fuel efficient car that actually looks normal? No I don’t mean the cars that are already out there from Honda, Nissan, etc.  Most of them look normal, except that Prius, ugh.  These cars are just hybrids with no real benefit in my opinion.  They use “less” but we end up paying more to get it.  I guess as long as the planet is ok, it’s ok to be broke?

No, to be truly groundbreaking we need cars that get 80+ mpg.  Hybrids are a start in the right direction but it’s not the long term answer.  Near long term are the 80/100/120+ MPGers.  Very long term is something different altogether.  I do have a news flash though: oil will be used until the demise of human civilization.

So, I applaud the makers of the non-flying-bug-machine that gets 230mpg but put that thrifty engine into a normal looking vehicle.  Do that and I’ll make that my next automobile purchase.

Here is the video:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2008/06/05/washburn.230.mpg.car.kfmb