While we might like to believe in their oppression and they might like to believe in their power, the Axis of Evil did not force the suspension of Chevrolet Volt production. As a matter of fact, other than a one-month blip, neither did the NHTSA investigation.
From a safety viewpoint, the Volt is as good as any other battery-powerered car. In fact, since the GM fix, it's probably better. The power cells are now very well protected against punctures or leakage.
The real issue with the Volt is the price. Not long ago, in research for an article, I did a cost/benefit analysis of the Volt and it's actually a complete loser in comparison to other vehicles. Even in 100% electric mode, measured by the same criterion used by the government, the savings do not begin to cover the huge difference in cost, even including the full value of the government incentive.
BTW: That government incentive touted in ads for the Volt, LEAF. Mitsubishi i-EV and upcoming Ford Focus Electric are a bit misleading because it's promoted as being like the government rebate from the "Cash for Clunkers" program. The incentive is a non-refundable tax credit of up to $7,500.00. What this means is that you have to have an additional one-year tax liability of $7,500 or more, after all deductions and other credits have been applied, to get the full value of the credit. If you don't owe that much, you only get the amount equal to the remaining taxes owed. If you don't owe any additional taxes, your credit for buying the Volt or LEAF is zero. A non-refundable credit means the government does not issue a refund for the balance.
Compare the purchase of a Chevrolet Volt to a comparably-equipped Chevrolet Cruze ECO: in the 75,000-mile example used by the EPA, the cost of the vehicle, plus fuel or power (at the national average rates) is $7,123 higher for the Volt than the Cruze, even with the full value of the tax credit. Without the credit, the cost differential is $14,623. That's running the Volt only on electric power for the entire 75,000 miles. A mix of 75% electric and 25% gasoline comes out to a difference of $8,264 with the credit or $15,764 without it. You save nearly enough by buying the Cruze Eco to buy another Cruze Eco.
What if gas goes to $5,00/gallon? In pure electric mode, the Volt is still $4,314 more expensive, including the credt, or $11,814 without it.
Another kicker is the fact the EPA uses the national average price of a kilowatt-hour from 2010. That's $0.115/kWH. In the states where the Volt, LEAF and others are hot items, the cost is higher. In New York, for example, the rate is $0.1863/kWH. In California, it's $0.153/kWH. So, in California, gasoline has to average $7.349/gallon without an increase in electric power rates for the entire 75,000 miles for the Volt to break even compared to the Chevrolet Cruze ECO.
If the breakthrough recently announced by Envia can be translated into mass production, it would make a big difference, but it still doesn't address battery power's second Achilles heel: charging times. Rapid chargers can add another $2,000 to the cost of a LEAF because they not only require the special charger itself but a dedicated 220/240Volt, 40 Amp circuit that must be installed by a qualified electrician almost anywhere in the U.S. If you have a lot of time (up to 20 hours), you can charge the battery using standard household current but, here again, there's a kicker: household wiring is not designed for prolonged use at maximum current draw. There is a potential for fires if the wiring overheats or the house has old wiring, such as aluminum.
Please understand I am not knocking anyone who likes the Volt. I began downsizing my personal vehicles almost 20 years ago and would have bought a Volkswagen TDI diesel last time had one been available. However, as things stand right now, the Volt isn't a sufficiently compelling vehicle for most buyers unless they want to make an environmental statement and have the money to do so. As sales figures for electric cars have shown so far, that is a very tiny segment of the population.
So, it was the numbers, not the Neanderthals, that forced GM to curtail Volt production.
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