Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Chevrolet Volt is coming sooner

According to GM Chairman Rick Wagoner, the plug-in electric Volt is a top priority for the company. Wagoner went on to say that GM has let two contracts to battery suppliers in an effort to get the program moving.

As painful as $3+ gasoline is, here's a good example of why it's in our long term best interests to get reamed by Exxon right now. As gas prices climb, alternatives like the Volt, which, driven with some care regarding length of trip and speed, might never use a gallon of gas, start to look pretty darn attractive.

For me, if someone can build a reliable, 40 miles-to-the-charge, all-electric car and sell it for under $40k, I am totally in. It doesn't have to be a giant sedan or SUV. All I want is seats for four adults, a trunk big enough for a load of groceries, a four-speaker sound system, and decent enough craftsmanship and materials to last for five or six years. Producing a vehicle fitting this description for under $40k doesn't sound unreasonable to me.

If you can come up with that, GM (or anyone else), I'll take two tomorrow.

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