Wrenchtalk

The Mainstream Media has been absolutely awash with talk about Chevy’s new offering, the “Volt”.

I couldn’t resist digging a little to see if this is really the dawning of a new era or just smoke and mirrors.

First stop; Chevrolet’s Volt website. The headline of the first paragraph is “230. A Big Number. Even Bigger Thinking.”

There’s that number everyone is talking about, 230, as in 230 mpg. Wow! Just imagine being able to drive from Sacramento to Reno, round-trip, on less than a tank of gas! Even if gas climbs back up to $4.00 a gallon, heck it would be so cheap you’d almost have to go every weekend, just because you could.

I read on as Chevy described the wonders of their newest offering. Then I realized that much of their claims were in the future-tense. “Chevy Volt is expected to achieve a city fuel economy of at least 230 MPG. The EPA procedure for plug-in electric vehicles, which is still being finalized, assumes a single charge each day. In the EPA testing procedure, the Volt is expected to achieve up to 40 miles of electric-only, gasoline-free driving, in both city and highway test cycles.”

The anticipated price is $40,000.

Hold on a second. At best, that means one could drive 40 miles a day and pay less than a buck for the electricity. OK. So how many miles will the thing go on a gallon of gasoline, when you’ve used up the electricity? Not entirely clear, but it seems that after the magic 40 miles, the gas engine powers a generator that charges a lithium-ion battery which will provide electricity to run the car. How this works out to 230 mpg is not explained in detail.

For $40K, I can get a Lexus ES 350, with real wood and leather inside and 272 hp or even a BMW 328i coupe with all-wheel drive and 230 hp. Most Americans want muscle under the hood and reasonable gas mileage (22+ city/highway combined).

While neither of these cars is going to get better than 30 mpg, after years of ownership, when the warranty expires, I can take my car to any competent mechanic and get repairs made. With the Volt, I’ll probably be shackled to the Chevy dealer for as long as I own the car.

As for “saving the Planet”, even if every American who could afford it bought a Volt, given the utter lack of interest the rest of the world has shown in preserving the environment when is comes to automotive emissions (with the notable exceepttions of Great Briton and the EU), the impact would be almost immeasurable.

I like the idea of weaning us all off of foriegn oil. And who doesn’t want a clean, ultra-fuel-efficient vehicle? But given the price-point that GM has set for the Volt, it’s probably just too high for the people who drive the most miles – households with adults aged 35-59 and at least one child 16-17, according to the Department of Energy. If they don’t sell enough units, Chevy could discontinue the line and owners would be stuck with an orphan car that only a collector would be willing to buy.

The Volt looks promising, but I’ll wait and see how things work out before running in to the showroom to buy one.

Not mechanically-related but decidedly interesting.

Earlier today, President Obama announced that while the Cash for Clunkers program will continue through the weekend, the cash-strapped CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) program may be suspended after Monday if more money is not allotted toward it.

Cash for Clunkers has been a bonus for many automobile dealerships trying to fatten their bottom line. That’s the good news. It’s also good news for radio and TV stations everywhere that those dealers have spent huge amounts of money on ad campaigns encouraging buyers to participate in the government’s CARS program.

The downside is that the entire $1 billion dollar allocated for the program has been spent. There isn’t any money available for the deals moving forward and this could leave the dealers holding the bag.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the government is looking at all the options available.

On Thursday night, the White House said Thursday that “dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid CARS transactions that have taken place to date will be honored.”

This is one program that really found huge acceptance. Let’s hope the government can find some more money… FAST!

In the beginning…

This is my first posting here. I haven’t done this before, but this may be a new way to keep in touch with all of you.

Not much to report today except that Chrysler/Fiat has announced that it will sell four models of its “500″ series here next year. The mid-range model 500 comes with a 1.4 liter, 96 horsepower, engine, that is almost twice as large and nearly three times as powerful as this John Deere riding lawnmower. Wonder how that will sell over here at what is likely to be a $13,000 USD asking price (plus tax, lic, etc.)?

Let the hilarity begin!!!