Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesqf
So how is that really any different than e.g. the guy who buys a great big truck to say "Look how much money I have, and macho I am. (And how insecure about the size of parts of my anatomy :-))"? People buy vehicles for all sorts of reasons, and advertising who/what they are is far from the least important.
Will you shut up about that imaginary huge price tag, already! The Volt goes for about $40K, pretty reasonable for any sort of upscale car.
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It isn't any different. Certain people feel the need to be part of a group, or have people think of them in a certain way. Whether that is a dude in a Prius or huge SUV it doesn't change anything. I posted in response to something talking about a Prius cutting them off. It happens just as much with people in huge SUV's, no different. My point is that cars like the Prius and Volt have attracted a group of people that drive them to be seen in them, rather than appreciate their economical value. Thats why I have so much respect for ecomodders who strive to increase economical value without caring what people think of them.
The Volt was not meant to be some upscale luxury car. The federal and state governments subsidized the development, and continue to subsidize the sales of the Volt. The reason is because the government wants to push for less oil use and more electric use. The Volt was meant to be the American electric car that proved EV can be practical and within reach of normal drivers. The reason I criticize the price is because for a car so heavily invested by the government, it really has nothing to show.
GM does not make money off the car. Even before you pay any money, the government has paid $7.5k in credits, and GM just announced a $5k incentive to boost sales. It's a perfect example of how government run programs are usually messy. Any private company that was not bought out by the government, and did not receive taxpayer money to develop, build, and sell this car would have stopped production and discontinued the model by now. The only reason the Volt exists is because of the governments financing and their continued agenda of pushing "green" technology on consumers. While I don't have a problem with green technology, I do have a problem with taxpayer money being used to finance it, even when clearly it is a losing situation (Volt, Solyndra, etc).