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I do believe that "embodied energy" is a legitimate concern of new car construction.
It was an especially hot topic right when the Prius came out.
People should be concerned about e-waste, manufacturing pollution, etc.
I also think that you have to divide car purchasing into NEW vs USED catagories. Here's why.
A while back, I was talking to a Prius owner. He loves his car. He takes great care to get very good fuel economy. He washes it all the time, does great maintenance, etc, etc.
I told him that I was not interested in buying a Prius, as I already had a better than average fuel economy vehicle, it is paid for, and I should be able to still put another 100,000 miles on it. To me, it wasn't worth shelling out all that money on a new car to get better (but not say double or triple) the fuel economy I was already getting.
Now this is where I actually "got it".
He said "Ah, but I was planning on buying a NEW CAR ANYWAYS.. AND keeping it for a LONG TIME. The Prius will be the lowest cost of ownership and save the most gas in the long-term."
So the moral of the story is:
It's not what car you buy or drive. It's what car you buy or drive VS what ELSE you would be using.
So, the Volt really isn't about folks who area already driving a 1992 Civic. It's about people who would be buying a new car in the first place.
And it's not even about average fuel economy or cost per mile. There are lots of other reasons that people drive one car over another - style, image, seating capacity, range, comfort, brand name, etc.
And back to "Supply and Demand" - keep in mind that SUPPLY AND DEMAND are not simply invisible market forces. They can be artificially manipulated. That's why there are so many car commercials on television. (I think automobile dealers/manufacturers may be the biggest advertiser on TV.)
Advertising stimulates demand for a specific brand and product. One of the reasons why SUVs are so popular is that they have been very well advertised. They have been advertised, because they are more profitable (compared to small cars) for the auto manufacturers, who are in business to make money.
Similarly, tax rebates and governmental incentives can influence supply and demand by changing the price point of the product on the supply/demand curve. (I am not debating if tax breaks are right or wrong, simply that they change the end price, which changes supply/demand.)
Remember, it also wasn't too long ago that tax breaks greatly encouraged the purchase of SUVs!
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