Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck.
Having said all that, Ptero - you're thread over there reminded me of you as a bull reacting to the Volt as a red cape...you're hatred over that car was not expressed very rationally. I might agree it's not a Tesla, or GM does not have the best management, but they way you demonized that car in a forum of hybrid and EV enthusiasts had a predictable outcome. And that was all you talked about.
|
Chuck, if you look back - and I have no idea if the posts are still up - you will discover that "all I ever talked about" included many early posts about getting maximum mileage out of my Smart Car. There was quite a lengthy series of posts about driving from California to Chicago with a trailer behind the Smart and picking up a 250 cc Wildfire motorcycle car. I also talked about the Aptera I planned to buy and this is what got me interested in hybrids.
But when I researched well-to-wheels efficiency in hybrids and ran the numbers, little petroleum cars kept coming out on top. Then when I looked deeper, I found a lot of hidden subsidies that skewed the stated efficiency numbers in favor of hybrids. It is impossible to mine lithium in Bolivia, haul it to the Pacific coast of South America, transport it by ship to South Korea, make it into batteries, ship those batteries to Detroit, install and run them in hybrid cars for 7 to 10 years, perform end-of-life recycling and still be able to justify ANY mpg gain. At its foundation, it was a political social engineering subsidy transferring wealth from those who did not have hybrids to those who did.
The argument was not well-received in the nest of true-believers at CleanMPG. That was around the time when the Volt batteries started bursting into flames and burning down cars and houses. I was suspicious of the fox investigating the disappearing chickens - and that did not go over well on the forum, either. Finally, I realized no one wanted to hear my arguments and I just started laughing at them. Go ahead and blame me for that. I can only take so much bull**** from people before I blow a fuse. No apologies.