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Nissan launches their all electric Leaf, Chevrolet's all electric car turns out to be a hybrid. GM the Hummer.

All-electric claims for Chevy Volt fire up GM's critics
Lingering anger over the automaker's decision to scuttle its pioneering EV1 resurfaces.
October 24, 2010|Michael Hiltzik

To understand the furor that erupted recently when General Motors rolled out its new electric car, the Chevy Volt, for its public debut, it pays to keep the following fact in mind: For electric car enthusiasts, GM is a company with blood on its hands.

The crime was the murder of the EV1, the pioneering all-electric car GM produced from 1996 to 1999 and supported indifferently until it shut down the program for good in 2005.

The killing of the electric car, to paraphrase the title of a fine 2006 documentary about the EV1, is widely seen as a major blunder by the company, and one that led to the U.S. auto industry getting its lunch eaten in the high-mpg market by competitors like Toyota. Instead, GM moved whole-hog into building Hummers, and if you know the definition of "bankruptcy," you know how that turned out.

Given this rap sheet, it's unsurprising that when GM disclosed the technological innards of the Volt last week, EV enthusiasts and the auto press were on the lookout for holes in its story. What they seized on was the revelation that in certain circumstances, the Volt's gasoline engine will have more to do with powering the wheels than GM had previously let on.

This generated incendiary articles on automobile blogs accusing GM of having "lied" about the Volt by making it seem greener and more technologically advanced than it is. "Chevy Volt is not a true EV," wrote Edmunds.com's Insideline blogger, who seemed to take it personally. "Don't believe everything GM says. No matter how many times they say it," he added.

That's not merely a commentary on GM — it's a reminder of the absolutely awful record of this country, its auto industry and its political leaders in delivering on their rhetoric about the need to wean ourselves from foreign oil. By killing the EV1, GM set this all-important goal back by at least a decade.

The new controversy was surely an undesired distraction for what GM hoped would be an unalloyed love-fest for the Chevy Volt from the automotive press. Indeed, the car has received almost universal kudos from test drivers. Having tried it out, I can tell you the demo model, at least, is an impressive, zippy and fun ride. It goes on sale later this year.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/24 ... k-20101024

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

Electric cars already have been obsolete for more than 40 years.

[myownalias]

Hybrids are the way forward I believe; a truly electric car is completely impractical, their range is poor and they are very expensive, not a formula for success IMO!

[Gaz]

turbine/electric hybrids