The Chevy Volt Is A Piece Of Crap. Thank You, Government!

Now remind me again: Why have we been giving out $7500 tax credits to get people to buy hunks of automotive dog turd like the Chevy Volt? Oh, yeah, it’s because a bunch of eco-wackos and puffed up Democrats in Washington have decided that the future of cars in America is electric, so we’ve got to encourage the yokels to start buying them up.

One huge problem: The technology just isn’t there yet:

Consumer Reports offered a harsh initial review of the Chevrolet Volt, questioning whether General Motors Co.’s flagship vehicle makes economic “sense.”The extended-range plug-in electric vehicle is on the cover of the April issue – the influential magazine’s annual survey of vehicles – but the GM vehicle comes in for criticism.

“When you are looking at purely dollars and cents, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense. The Volt isn’t particularly efficient as an electric vehicle and it’s not particularly good as a gas vehicle either in terms of fuel economy,” said David Champion, the senior director of Consumer Reports auto testing center at a meeting with reporters here. “This is going to be a tough sell to the average consumer.”

The magazine said in its testing in Connecticut during a harsh winter, its Volt is getting 25 to 27 miles on electric power alone.

GM spokesman Greg Martin noted that it’s been an extremely harsh winter – and as a Volt driver he said he’s getting 29-33 miles on electric range. But he noted that in more moderate recent weather, the range jumped to 40 miles on electric range or higher.

Champion believes a hybrid, such as the Toyota Prius, may make more sense for some trips.

“If you drive about 70 miles, a Prius will actually get you more miles per gallon than the Volt does,” Champion said.

…The magazine has put about 2,500 miles on its Volt. It paid $48,700, including a $5,000 markup by a Chevy dealer.

Champion noted the Volt is about twice as expensive as a Prius.

He was said the five hour time to recharge the Volt was “annoying” and was also critical of the power of the Volt heating system.

This is what happens when the government takes over car companies and tries to pick winners in the marketplace.

Here’s a better idea: Get the government out of Chevrolet and GM, stop protecting the greedy unions that have decimated the automotive industry in this country, cut back on the number of regulations that are strangling the industry, and let the market work.

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