GM's Volt - or should I say the Peoples Car

[J_Wales]

As an economic system, fascism is socialism with a capitalist veneer. The word derives from fasces, the Roman symbol of collectivism and power: a tied bundle of rods with a protruding ax. In its day (the 1920s and 1930s), fascism was seen as the happy medium between boom-and-bust-prone liberal capitalism, with its alleged class conflict, wasteful competition, and profit-oriented egoism, and revolutionary Marxism, with its violent and socially divisive persecution of the bourgeoisie. Fascism substituted the particularity of nationalism and racialism—“blood and soil”—for the internationalism of both classical liberalism and Marxism.
Where socialism sought totalitarian control of a society’s economic processes through direct state operation of the means of production, fascism sought that control indirectly, through domination of nominally private owners. Where socialism nationalized property explicitly, fascism did so implicitly, by requiring owners to use their property in the “national interest”—that is, as the autocratic authority conceived it. - Fascism: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics | Library of Economics and Liberty

Government Motors is one of the many examples showing that we have the government that we have the government our Founding Fathers tried to protect us from. We get what we tolerate, so get involved in 2012!

Well said.

 

[spencer rifle]

Do any of you have actual experience with an electric car?
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/174551-1986_honda_all_electric_conversion.html

No, they are not made for interstate travel (yet). But they are great for getting around town.
Yes, they get their power from a coal-fired power plant. But the technology and economies of scale allow one smokestack to be kept cleaner than 1000 tailpipes. And you gotta figure in exploration, pumping, refining, transport and final delivery costs for gasoline, not to mention government subsidies.
No, I will never buy one of these Volt thingies. Not when I can make my own for 1/4 of that (including mistakes and learning curve). And mine will be much easier to work on - I can't imagine how complex the new ones are. As Mr. Scott so wisely said: "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."
Yes, there are successfully-used electric cars in Indiana. And they have batteries.

 

[gunowner930]

Is it really too much to ask to allow the market to determine when and which alternative powered cars are viable? It's simple, once people are no longer willing to pay for gasoline, automakers will start designing cars that people want to buy. There is not much of a demand for electric cars right now, but the Feds want the Volt on the market anyways. Who in the hell would pay $40k for a compact sedan. I could buy a Civic that gets 40 mpg for less than half that price, and its more practical.

I'd hate to support GM, but I'd have to throw principle out the door to pick up a Vette if I had the opportunity.

 

[IndyGunner]

The last group of people to name a vehicle "the peoples car" were nazis... coincidence?

 

[jve153]

so if each one of these cars has 250k in gov subsidies, and the gov gets all that money from us (or china, but we will pay them back later), then shouldnt we be able to just walk in and take one like we register to vote or get our liscense plates? i wouldnt want one, however the raw materials would be nice to use for scrap so i can go buy more ammunition.

 

[IndyGunner]

so if each one of these cars has 250k in gov subsidies, and the gov gets all that money from us, then shouldnt we be able to just walk in and take one like we register to vote or get our liscense plates? i wouldnt want one, however the raw materials would be nice to use for scrap so i can go buy more ammunition.

YES!!!!!!!!!! Rep if I had anymore.

 

[SSGSAD]

GOT HIM for YA !!!!!

 

[KLB]

The Volt is a joke. Electric cars in general are not. Check out Tesla. That is what happens when the government isn't involved. The upcoming sedan can have up to a 300 mile range. They are pricey, but they are marketed as luxury sedans.

 

[Martin Draco]

The Volt is a joke. Electric cars in general are not. Check out Tesla. That is what happens when the government isn't involved. The upcoming sedan can have up to a 300 mile range. They are pricey, but they are marketed as luxury sedans.

^This.

Model S | Tesla Motors
Perhaps we should do like we do with most of our other technology and steal it from somebody else.

 

[IndyGunner]

^This.

Model S | Tesla Motors
Perhaps we should like we do with most of our other technology and steal it from somebody else.

As long as we dont turn into asia!

 

[wallotcorydon]

what about locomotive style power

Locomotives used on today's railroads, have diesel engines. These engine however, do not power the locomotive as the engines in our cars do. They power a generator. The power to the wheels on a locomotive is from electric motors. This system is highly efficient and allows the locomotive to pull 10's of thousands of tons of freight great distances. I would be inclined to think this type of system could be scaled down to make a true hybrid type car vs. total electric or total fossil fuel. I am not a big fan of the green movement, however, I do believe something has to happen so we are no longer controlled by the oil companies. Yes, with the type of vehicle I have described, we would still be dependant on oil, albeit much less than we currently are, and we all know the supply and demand theory......