When President Obama won his office, many felt cheered and relieved that a savvy, well-spoken – "cool" – man of the people had replaced an incurious, inarticulate – embarrassing – aristocrat as "leader of the free world." But many right-wing media outfits and politicians have kept campaigning against Obama, and some have cast silly suspicion on the country's first black president as a foreign-born Marxist that would "turn [the US] into a Muslim nation." And, since Obama routed some of the TARP bank bailout money to save General Motors, and some of the Recovery Act stimulus money to create a domestic electric car industry, many right-wingers have gone on to smear GM's new electric car – the Chevy Volt. In the same silly fashion, some of these right-wingers have painted the car as an "exploding Obamamobile," made in China, that might leave you stranded in the Lincoln Tunnel. But (like Obama) the Chevy Volt is cool. You plug it into an electric socket in your garage overnight, and the next day drive it 35 miles solely on electric power, for about one-third the price of gasoline. After those 35 miles, whether you find yourself in the Lincoln Tunnel or anywhere else, the Volt's gasoline motor switches on, and you can drive to the farthest coast getting 40 highway miles per gallon. If you never drive more than 35 miles, you practically never buy gas. And, by the acclaim of the automotive press and of those who own one, the Volt is a safe, trouble-free, well-performing, fun-to-drive vehicle. 39 owners reviewed the Volt at Edmunds' website, giving it an average of five out of five stars. Here are some of the comments:
The best way that I can describe how the Volt drives and handles is that it is solid and extremely quiet. The doors close with a solid thud and when underway, the steering is connected to the road and the cabin is extremely quiet. ... (2012-03-23)
I just purchased a Volt; great car: great performance, really fun to drive, amazing torque, very high quality build, been running it almost entirely on electricity (... radius of my daily driving is not more than 35 miles), the gasoline engine kicks in seamlessely to extend range to 300+ miles (at approx 40 mpg), and easy to recharge at night. ... (2012-03-03)
This car is fantastic! -- It's as roomy as an entry level Mercedes Benz, zips around city streets like a sports car, handles like a BMW and is quieter than a Rolls Royce. ... The interior is sleek and comfortable ... According to my odometer, so far I've driven 1325 miles on 0.2 gallons of gas. (2012-02-16)
This is the best car I have ever owned. It looks good, handles well and is incredibly inexpensive to drive. 6,500 miles and 41 gallons of gas - only because I drove it to FL from MI. 42.5 mpg on the way down using gas. I drive it typically under 30 miles per day and usually have 39-40 miles of battery available when I start in the morning. So unless I need to go more than 40 miles, I don't use any gas. I plug the car into my 110v house system at 8:00 at night and it's fully charged in 10 hrs (6 am). ...
(2012-01-26)
My wife and I had the privilege of having a 1999 GM EV1 when it was a prototype all electric car with a range of 90-110 miles. ... We loved that car! When the EV1 was taken back by GM as part of the agreed up prototye lease agreement we kept aiting and looking for an alternative fuel replacement. ...
The Volt meets nearly all my needs. It has an all electric range of 38-50 miles in my experience. ... I am an engineer and this car is loaded with features. I feel GM could have badged this as a Cadillac. (2012-04-20)
These ratings are borne out by
Consumer Reports' survey finding the Chevy Volt number one in customer satisfaction. The Volt has also won the
North American and
Euro Car of the Year awards. And a citizen of the U.S.A. can take pride that this machine is designed, engineered and
built in America, its factories in Flint, Hamtrammack, and elsewhere around Detroit, the good old heart of America's auto industry. And you don't have to say it of President Obama to say it of the Chevy Volt – it is all-American and cool.
(From The Paragraph.) [Sources] (Click for FREE BOOK.)
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By Quinn Hungeski,TheParagraph.com, Copyright (CC BY-ND) 2012