Cobb has the definitive word on the Chevy Volt (and cites other notable missives, as well as provides an excellent video documenting other automotive engineering feats which came about without market influences – see below). It will apparently be the Obama Administration’s version of a Trabant, but with several additional features: it will only do 40 miles per day, it’s really expensive to purchase, and it requires premium gas, making it really expensive to own. Using the Volt’s key feature – the fact that it runs on an electric motor part of the time – will give you the added bonus of having the plug the damn thing in every night, as well as watching your electric bill soar (absorbing whatever shavings you might have amassed by spending less on gasoline).

If one listens to our policymakers, the Volt represents a gigantic leap forward in efficient, clean transportation. If one listens to the market, an alternative narrative is presented. “Anyone who has $41k+ to spend on a car is going to purchase a BMW” the market says. “The only people who think spending that kind of money on what essentially amounts to a $17k sedan are hippies. And hippies don’t have any money.”

Well duh.

It’s unclear exactly who will be driving the Volt, but I think I have an idea. As for me, I’m waiting for either (a) fuel-cell vehicles, or (b) an aftermarket Mr. Fusion I can attach to my fuel tank. Whichever comes first.

Either way, it will be a market-driven invention, and not the ideologically-based, taxpayer-funded imposition GM has produced.