What is a problem for the Volt is GM’s inability or unwillingness to build it in volumes that make a difference in the near future, its excessive price, its compromised capability and the fact that, at all times, the car will be dragging an anchor. Sometimes the anchor is the engine and sometimes the anchor is the battery but, any way you slice it, it’s dragging an anchor along.

Jenkins got the gas issue wrong but he’s still right about the Volt.

I recently ran stored 3+ year old non-stabilized jerrycanned RUG through my 2002 Ranger (w/ancient Vulcan pushrod) without a hiccup. The computer didn’t care and compensated for any octane deviance that might have been present.

I agree 100%. And I admire your courage in eloquently defending your convictions as a member of the minority around here. I don’t see myself as an ideologue so much as a realistic student of history and honest interpreter of current events. I see that quality in Bernanke. He’s a realist.

I get a kick out of those, clinging to their market purity, who speak as though they have a crystal ball before them while completely ignoring any lessons of the past. Unfortunately, there is a tendency (here, there, and everywhere, I guess) to categorize those with whom we disagree as representatives of extremes when often they’re not.

Never heard of it never seen it. On the contrary, seen and personally experienced numerous cases where a car ran fine after being parked in the driveway for months even a year.

That’s all I need to know about Mr. Jenkin’s brilliance as an automotive writer.

As for the Volt. Auto engineers design what they’re told. Like the Camaro this is the flight of fancy of a senior exec and has nothing to do with providing for the mass market which should be the core business for GM wouldn’t you say ?

The Volt with its 16KWHr battery continues to take heat based on its marketability. OTOH a less expensive battery-free VOLT is possible and would still deliver most of the advantages of hybridisation. Full decoupling of the engine in the Volt, as opposed to the partial decoupling of the Prius engine, should allow an even smaller engine perhaps under 1.0 Liter to be fitted.

You have to understand that the efficacy of the Toyota HSD system though obviously superior to a conventional mechanical multistage transmission still manages to place a limit on engine revs and hence power whereas the Volt system does not. My vision is that this simpler type of powertrain could achieve a reduced price point and present a significant challenge to the coming release of future Honda and Toyota hybrid products.
T2

Nobody actually wants to fix this country’s problems, they just want to win. Until that changes, everything is only going to keep getting worse.

Actually–and I say this as a flag-burning commie myself–ideological myopia strikes both the left and right extremes. Mind you, extreme right-wingers usually get more soapbox time in North America, so you’d be forgiven thinking it was the right alone.

I agree with scrapping CAFE in favour of a gas tax, but I also agree with posters who’ve stated that this will never happen. Americans just do not support broad, proportional taxes; they prefer either nickel-and-time usage fees and/or supply-side constraints.

Nonetheless, that was then and this is now. As much as I still like the idea that we should have American companies manufacturing automobiles (and lots of other things), we have shown that as investors, we’re interested solely in short term value. We the people have allowed a tax and accounting structure to arise which has created the likes of GM, and for that matter Lehman Bros and Bear Stearns. We still want to believe the siren song that we can get something for nothing.

Corporate “leadership” has simply evolved to most take advantage of this lie.

Preach it brother, but be prepared to be called everthing save a flag burning commie for your trouble.

I sense you feel slighted by his treatment of soon-to-be President Obama…

His point about the ‘two fleet rule’ needs expanding.

His point about The One may pan out. A cynic (which Jenkins may be) would suggest The One resigned from the Senate to avoid making a bailout vote. Or point out The One’s lack of proposals/leadership regarding a bailout.

Dr Lemming:
In other words, did Jenkins complain in 2000 and 2004 that the Bush policy agendas bore very little resemblance to the empty platitudes that he ran on?

Jenkins is consistent. He beat up the GOP for it’s spending and corruption ways. Of course, when it comes to mocking derisiveness, he tends to pick Democrats.

If not, why take Jenkins seriously?

His epic take on the Pruis wadded eco-panties nationwide:
http://blog.vehiclevoice.com/2005/11/dear_valued_hybrid_customer.html

So Jenkins wants a gas tax to replace CAFE. Sure, lots of folks across the political spectrum do. But that’s DOA — and has been for years — because of the rabidly anti-tax political right. If Obama proposed a major gas tax the Dems would be utterly destroyed in Congressional elections two years from now. So for Jenkins to push that meme is akin to Lucy offering to hold the football.

It seems pretty silly for Jenkins to imply that the Chrysler loan guarantees were bad public policy. The simple fact of the matter is that they worked, both for taxpayers and for Chrysler. This is the problem with ideologues — they get so fixated on upholding an abstract idea that they can’t see reality until it slaps them in the face.

I haven’t followed Jenkins so I’m curious if he is intellectually honest in his critique of what he sees as Obama’s “handwaving designed to capture the presidency rather than tell voters what really to expect.” In other words, did Jenkins complain in 2000 and 2004 that the Bush policy agendas bore very little resemblance to the empty platitudes that he ran on?

If not, why take Jenkins seriously?

1) GM goes C11; govt. provides debtor in possession financing.

2) Govt. provides emergency loans to stabilize the suppliers in the aftermath of the bankruptcy.

3) Bridge loans to Ford when/if they need them.

Of course they know that nobody will actually buy it. It would take about $250/barrel oil for this car to start making economic sense and even than it would be blasted away by china’s BYD which is already about to launch it’s F3DM PHEV with a longer all-electric range at about half the price.