Two Stories About The Electric Car (Rush: What Liberals Don't Want You To Know About It)

Rush Limbaugh ^ | 1/31/2011 | Rush Limbaugh

[stompk]

If the Volt is so bad, then why Motor Trend Car of the Year?

and why is Obama a Nobel prize winner? if you answered politics, well, what do I know?

[Grampa Dave]

“I’ll stick with my Exploder.”

Apparently, you, your family, friends or just people you have known had the bad fortune of owning an Exploder!

[IncPen]

If the Volt is so bad, then why Motor Trend Car of the Year? If so bad why Car and Driver top 10?

You are no doubt aware that 'Car of the Year' and top 100 are driven by advertising, and not science, right?

[CanaGuy]

The chances are roughly 25%. 50% of the time the winds would predominantly be from the side (right or left), 25% of the time they would be from the front and 25% they would be from the rear.

I was wondering about that, but didn't want to go out on a ledge with figures. So, when one is sailing, would you agree it's 50-50.....either tack like crazy, or get out the spinnaker.

[alexandria]

Eight years from now, owners will hope the price of these batteries comes down.

Or, some enterprising person/s will find a way to bypass the batteries and just use the engine.

[SunkenCiv]

:’) Thanks RACPE.

[Republic of Texas]

Not to mention that they can’t be recharged during a power failure. Oops, we didn’t think of that!

[Republic of Texas]

Oh, so the ENGINE is what keeps it from being a 4000 lb paper weight? Thanks for the tip. BTW, what does the ENGINE use for fuel?

[truthguy]

and why is Obama a Nobel prize winner? if you answered politics, well, what do I know?

Look it isn't just Motor Trend. It isn't just Car and Driver. It's just about every motoring publication. I haven't read a negative review yet. I've actually know 2 people who have taken test drives in the Volt and they were blown away. One of these two was a real skeptic and loyal Toyota buyer. He was won over by the performance. He likes it much better than his Prius. I think he's wishing that he didn't buy a new Prius just last year.

I know that the Government bailout of GM was not the way most of us wanted to see company restructured. I know most of us hate the UAW (myself included) and their backing of Democrats. But we still need manufacturing and the auto industry is still a big part of that. I just wanted to remind you the Volt was conceived and put into development long before Obama came on the scene. He had absolutely nothing to do with this vehicle. The Volt is the product of a bunch of bright guys at GM (all Americans and one German) who were trying to come up with ways of decreasing our use of imported oil. Now that's not a bad thing and I cannot understand why so many begrudge the Volt the success it deserves. I've been enthusiastic about the vehicle since its inception. I'll probably buy a Volt or another EREV for my next vehicle.

[truthguy]

Oh, so the ENGINE is what keeps it from being a 4000 lb paper weight? Thanks for the tip. BTW, what does the ENGINE use for fuel?

The Volt uses gasoline for its 1.4L ICE engine. But the Ampera, the Volt's European cousin uses either gasoline or diesel. If the EPA would allow it, the Volt could use diesel. But that's the point. The Volt can use gasoline, diesel, E85, Ethanol, or even in the future hydrogen fuel cells. That's the beauty of the Design. The ICE Engine only generates electricity and the Car is driven with an electric motor which is far more efficient. It's similar to the way a Diesel Electric Train works except it's got a battery for a buffer.

78% of Americans drive less than 40 miles a day. 90% of all American drive less than 60 miles a day. (This is excluding those who drive trucks and buses for a living). So for a huge demographic the Volt (or Ampera in Europe) makes a great deal of sense. For many people they will be able to reduce their use of gasoline or diesel (oil) by huge amounts. Is that a bad thing? OK, so you say how do you generate the electricity? Well we generate VERY LITTLE electricity with Oil. The fuels we use to generate electricity are home grown. NO IMPORTS! That's very important, not to send hundreds of billions to the middle east and elsewhere for imported oil.

[Republic of Texas]

Ok, hydrogen? Not even feasible yet. Unless you want to blow something up. Ethanol? Dirtier and more expensive than gas and it’s running up food prices all over the 3rd world. Not to mention it destroys the engines of pre-07 cars. Gas and Diesel? Still the best technology on the market. Oh, and we have plenty here if the Muzzie and Socialists would only let us go get it. It’s 8 degrees here in Dallas with ice on the roads and we lost power last night for about an hour. That Volt is a 4000 lb paperweight here today, and the same goes for the months of June - September when it’s 100 degrees here. You aren’t getting 40 miles then either.

[truthguy]

Top MPG is never achieved in weather extremes no matter what the technology. Your standard ICE vehicle will not achieve EPA MPG ratings in 110 Deg Temperatures with the Air Conditioning running full blast. The volt is no different. But the Volt can handle this situation owing to the ICE engine. You aren't going to have these temperature extremes the whole year. The Volt, unlike the Nissan Leaf (an all electric) can handle temperature extremes with no problems. Does it get the average 40miles/full charge? No, but it will keep you comfortable. Concerning hydrogen, I said it was in the future. Ethanol? Yes we all know that it's not a great fuel due to the fact it takes more energy to create a unit of energy from it than what it gets out. But my comments were meant to show that the electric motors do not care how the electricity is generated.

Finally your comments about having plenty of oil are completely wrong. I know people in the oil business and they are telling me that oil discoveries of significant nature are VERY few and far between. We simply don't have very much recoverable oil in the United States lower 48 if you exclude offshore. Yes, there is oil but it is not recoverable at economical levels.

[Republic of Texas]

"Yes, there is oil but it is not recoverable at economical levels."

Yet. We take oil now that 10 or 20 years ago was not recoverable at economic levels. I know people in the business as well, mostly from my time working in the oil business. If the industry weren't handcuffed, we'd find and produce plenty of oil. It would impact our economy and security greatly. You are parroting the Obama position, which is the destruction of the oil industry.

[enduserindy]

First, its a 93 - solid rear axle not the infamous IRS. Second its a 4.0 l, I get about 15 mpg avg and 20 on the highway. If outfitted for it I bet I could squeeze 25 on the highway. I’ve owned it for years and love it. I have driven it in some cool and crazy places and I drive my 4 kids around in it. I can haul in it, sleep in it, play in it, get there in it, pull a boat-camper or trailer with it, man I love it. Easy to fix and doen’t break often. I wouldn’t sell it for anything, you can ask my wife. *Also I’m ASE certified and know a little about this topic, while in sales now I am factory trained and have 20 years of automotive and HD truck exp. Oh yeah if gas is that high I’ll start the e85 conversion and build my own still. And if society colapses I can find parts in every city as I 4x4 my way through the wastelands.

[enduserindy]

“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,”

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110228/AUTO01/102280401/Consumer-Reports—GM’s-Volt-‘doesn’t-really-make-a-lot-of-sense’#ixzz1FMTEr8RY

[truthguy]

Excrement! This fellow Champion is a former Brit (living in the US) who simply hates all autos that are American. Everyone in the car industry knows about Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports is known for having a particular bias against anything American. They are a shrill for the Japanese. When you have the 10 best of everything Japanese you know they lose credibility.

The example he sites is that if you are traveling 70 miles, a Prius might be a better choice. Duh? That's not what the Volt was designed for. If you are towing a Trailer, the Volt might not also be a good choice either. You just knew Champion had to get a plug in for the Prius. The Volt doesn't get optimum performance in extremely cold weather? Duh? Why don't you try driving a Leaf in extremely cold weather and see how far you get. No vehicle performs at an optimum level in extremely cold weather. No cars will get EPA mileage in ice and snow. DUH!

The Volt was designed for the huge demographic (78%) who drive less than 40 miles per day BUT occasionally want to travel further. That's huge. It wasn't designed to be the car for everyone. If you a plumber you might want a pickup truck instead of a Volt. Wow, it's that a thought. The Volt is a bad choice if you are a plummer and need to carry around tools and such.

Champion is criticizing the Volt for not being the car it wasn't intended to be.

Now as for cost. Yes, new technology is expensive. The first Flat Panel TVs were $10,000. Were they a good buy? Duh? Nobody but the rich would buy them. But they came down in price as the Volt will as they get into quantity production. There will be plenty of earlier adapters who will want the Volt and by the time the average person sees how well they perform, the price will drop. GM has already said in in the Next year of two the price will drop $7,500. Duh, enduserindy. You need to get your information from more reliable sources than Limbaugh or Consumer Reports. And BTW Enduserindy, have you looked at gas prices lately? In six months, $4.00/gal will seem like a very good deal. In a year $5.00/gal will be the norm. Count on it. You will wish you had a Volt.

[enduserindy]

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/03/01/gm-sells-281-chevy-volts-february-nissan-67-leafs/

“Peruse Chevrolet’s February sales release, and you’ll notice one number that’s blatantly missing: the number of Chevy Volts sold. The number – a very modest 281..”

[truthguy]

“Peruse Chevrolet’s February sales release, and you’ll notice one number that’s blatantly missing: the number of Chevy Volts sold. The number – a very modest 281..”

You continue to double down on stupidity. GM has sold out it's Volt production for 2011. They have sold to dealers. They are ramping up production slowly. Also GM has a VERY attractive Lease offering and many are deciding to lease. These numbers are not counted as sold. There are no Volts sitting on Dealers lots unsold, at least not for very long. I've visited every Chevy Dealership in my area on there are no Volts to look at. They are ordered and picked up as soon as delivered.

And once gas hits $5/gal as it will by the early summer, there will be stories about why people cannot get a Volt. If you continue to get your information from the big fat slob Limbaugh, you will continue to be misinformed. Limbaugh simply distorts facts all the time on his show. I listened to him many years ago and still do on occasion in my morning drive, BUT I have found out that when I fact check the guy, he's many a lot of errors or outright lies. The future belongs to EREV.

[enduserindy]

Obama, you and the UAW must be very happy with it. I have not been happy with anything gm in a long time and that was before the big welfare check they got. I’m not impressed with the car and I don’t want one. Not on a train, not on a plane, not in a house not with a mouse. The technology has bugs and gm sucks. If that sounds like a wining combo to you have at it. The point to my post was there won’t be any new line added anytime soon. And they suck. I work in late model salvage. Not only do I get a real good look at what cars look like after wrecks, what breaks the most, what sells the best and what prices, I see what people will take for repairables. BTW I still love my old SUV. Maybe the difference is I’m a hill billy. Gas goes up you run for a death box, I build a still and blend my own. There is no way you will convince me this is a good car, at this point I think you work for GM, Chevy or Obama. I can’t get over you referring to me as stupid and government motors as brilliant and the volt as the car of the year. At the office you are the cause of many laughs.