Where we're going... we don't need electricity...

... but we will need plenty of gas.

Car and Driver recently tested and reviewed the production version of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt (the much-heralded electric car Obama will pay you to own).  And, although they had lots of good things to say about it, the kind folks at Investors Business Daily couldn't help but notice some incongruity between the hype and the reality. 

Here are some of the highlights from their article entitled Volt Fraud at Government Motors:

Volt engineers are now admitting that when the vehicle's lithium-ion battery pack runs down and at speeds near or above 70 mph, the Volt's gasoline engine will directly drive the front wheels along with the electric motors. That's not charging the battery — that's driving the car.

I guess when your "all-electric" car requires a gasoline engine to power the wheels, you shouldn't be surprised when you're called a fraud.

We heard GM's then-CEO Fritz Henderson claim the Volt would get 230 miles per gallon in city conditions. Popular Mechanics found the Volt to get about 37.5 mpg in city driving

And 26 mpg on the highway-- I'm sure that was an honest mistake.

This is what happens when government picks winners and losers in the marketplace and tries to run a business. We are not told that we will be dependent on foreign sources like Bolivia for the lithium to be used in these batteries. Nor are we told about the possible dangers to rescuers and occupants in an accident scenario.

You'd think that paragraph would be the end of the conversation.  But, there is more:

• it will cost $41,000
• it only sits 4 (because of the gigantic battery that runs the length of the car)
• it doesn't look nearly as inviting to drive as the concept version
• electricity is not a cheap power source
• it's a Chevy

The Investors Business Daily article sums it up,

In 2008, candidate Obama pledged to put 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015. Not likely. It was a tough sell when we thought it was all-electric and could get 230 mpg. It will be a tougher sell now that we find it's a glorified Prius with the price tag of a BMW that seats only four because of a battery that runs down the center of the car.

President Obama likes to talk about not giving the GOP back the keys to the car. It's his industrial policy and central planning that have driven us into the ditch.