U.S. Taxpayers Giving General Electric $375 Million Worth of Chevy Volts

Does GE really need that money more than hard-pressed American taxpayers?

The Chevy Volt, that little darlin' of the green set, is a four-door hatchback that goes about 25 to 50 miles on a 111 kilowatt electric motor after a 4- to 10-hour charge of its lithium-ion batteries, which are manufactured by a South Korean chemical company. After the battery gives out, or when the Volt hits freeway speeds, the motor switches over to a conventional gasoline engine. In mixed driving, the Volt provides about 31 miles per gallon of premium fuel. Subtract the fuel used by the car heater or air conditioner and the Volt gets about 27 miles per gallon of that ever-pricier premium fuel.

According to the Green Car Book, which judges vehicles on fuel economy, tailpipe emissions, factory pollution, and ease of recycling, the Volt was ranked in 11th place, behind even gas burners like the Hyundai Elantra.  

Consumer Reports doesn't think much of the Volt either:

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.

Thus, despite Barack Hussein Obama's recommendation to buy a Chevy Volt and a $7,500 tax credit to anyone who purchases one (bringing its price down to $33,500), General Motors has succeeded in selling only 326 Volts in December, 321 in January, and 281 in February.

In one full quarter, GM managed to sell only 928 Volts--less than 1,000.

Could Volt enthusiasts be waiting for optional solar panels?

To the rescue: Jeff Immelt of General Electric infamy who, as chair of Obama's Economic Advisory Board, is one of the CEOs helping the President turn the U.S. into one of Brazil's petroleum customers while simultaneously leading a corporation that paid $0.00 in 2010 federal income taxes on profits of 14.2 billion.

Interestingly, as Forbes.com recently reported:

Immelt announced that GE will buy 50,000 Volts in the next two years, or half the total produced. Assuming the corporation qualifies for the same tax credit, we (you and me) just shelled out $375,000,000 to a company to buy cars that no one else wants so that GM will not tank and [will] produce even more cars that no one wants.

Instant replay: Obama is giving $375 million of American tax serf dollars to his economic advisor to use to buy cars from General Motors, a company that still owes U.S. taxpayers nearly $50 billion.

Of course, Obama does not plan on personally driving a Chevy Volt anytime soon. The presidential state car, known as The Beast, is fitted with assorted weaponry and 5-inch thick armor, making it about as unlikely to be powered by a lithium-ion battery system as Air Force One.

Hopefully, though, we'll be seeing Private Citizen Barack Obama behind the wheel of his very own Chevy Volt in March of 2013.  On family outings, though, the Obamas will have to leave grandmother behind. The Volt seats only four people.
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