GM’s new Volt … BUSTED!
That new Volt all-electric car you've been hearing so much about -- and which GM has been touting as an example of its resurgent We Get It attitude -- is apparently a con.
from The American Spectator and AmSpecBlog by Eric Peters: The Volt was supposed to change all that by effectively eliminating the range problem. By carrying its power source (for electricity) with it rather than being tied to a fixed charging station somewhere, the Volt promised the same convenience and ease-of-use as a standard car. Now comes the catch. Turns out the Volt’s gas engine does more than provide juice to refresh the batteries. It also drives the wheels — though GM never mentioned this during the year-long build-up to the car’s launch and, indeed, touted precisely the opposite, claiming the Volt’s gas engine did not directly power the car at all. It just charged up the batteries. Well, not quite. At high speeds (highway speeds) the Volt’s gas engine does provide direct supplemental boost. Which means the Volt is more dependent on gasoline — that elixir of all that is evil — than GM was claiming. It’s not a grotesque lie — but it is a significant fib that GM’s been caught peddling. Edsel would be proud.
Related articles
- GM hits back Volt critics (businessgreen.com)
- GM: Yes, the Volt’s gas engine can power the wheels (autoblog.com)
- Chevy Volt: Hybrid or Electric? (newsy.com)
- GM Criticized Over Chevy Volt’s Hybrid Similarities (tech.slashdot.org)
- Initial 2011 Chevrolet Volt Tests are Very Uninspiring. (ridelust.com)
- How GM “Lied” About The Electric Car [I Feel Gassy] (jalopnik.com)
- GM’s Volt Not Always Electric (online.wsj.com)
