The Gullible Wall Street Journal Buying the Gen Motors Fraud

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Electric motors are 4 TIMES THE ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER as gasoline engines of equal power, because all new electrical-generation plants for many decades have been (and for the foreseeable future will be) fueled by coal (or in a few cases by natural gas, which is also a hydrocarbon producing the same amount of greenhouse gases) -- AND 75% OF THE ENERGY CONTENT OF THE COAL OR NATURAL GAS IS EXPENDED IN GENERATING THE ELECTRICITY!!!

The Chevrolet Volt, which General Motors estimates will get 230 miles per gallon of gasoline in city driving, IS A FRAUD FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL VIEWPOINT!!!

The Volt is a “plug in” electric vehicle with a range of 40 miles. So for the first 40 miles of each trip, the Volt’s mileage on the basis of gasoline consumption is infinite.

However, when the Volt has traveled 40 miles and its batteries are exhausted, it has a gasoline engine that, INSTEAD OF POWERING THE CAR DIRECTLY, kicks in to power a generator which re-charges the batteries to keep the car running!!!

So, for the portion of any trip over 40 miles, the Volt’s mileage as measured by gasoline consumption is going to be 25% of the mileage of a conventional gasoline-powered automobile (assuming that the Volt loses the same 75% in electrical generation as the country’s electric utility industry).

So if you assume virtually all of your driving comprises trips exceeding 40 miles each, your mileage in terms of gasoline is 25% of a conventional gasoline-powered car. And if you assume all of your driving comprises trips of less than 40 miles between re-charging, your mileage in terms of gasoline is infinite.

Obviously, General Motors could have picked any number it wanted!!!

And it arbitrarily chose 230 miles per gallon of gasoline!!!

HOWEVER, THIS IS MISLEADING AND, INDEED, FRAUDULENT BECAUSE IT IS DESIGNED TO FOOL THE PUBLIC INTO BELIEVING THAT THE VOLT IS ENVIRONMENTALLY DESIRABLE -- RATHER THAN THE ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER THAT IT IS!!!

The two oldest items (in terms of time/date posted) are stories in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, both dated 11 August 2009, that were included by Pat in the original proposal of this topic on 17 August 2009 to demonstrate how the country’s media uncritically bought the fraud perpetrated by General Motors’ announcement of 230 miles per gallon for the Volt.

The next 2 articles (in terms of time/date posted) result from Googling “Chevrolet Volt” on 3 November 2009. More than half of the top 50 “hits” were General Motors web sites and virtually all of the rest were regurgitations of General Motors propaganda. Virtually the only 2 exceptions =

The U.S. News & World Report article of 11 August 2009 which, unlike the gullible NY Times and the gullible Wall Street Journal, actually explained the fraud that General Motors was perpetrating.

The year-old Car and Driver article of October 2008 which, after discussing at length such issues as styling and the tremendous extra costs of the batteries, etc., finally reported uncritically the claims of General Motors regarding the cost of the plug-in electricity on a per-mile basis vs. gasoline costs.

First, General Motors claims regarding the cost of the electricity are suspect, since they almost certainly contain quite a bit of hydroelectric power which costs virtually nothing -- but no new dams have been built in the U.S. for many decades.

Second, even the cost of electricity from a coal-fired electrical plant is not a true measure of the environmental disaster that a coal-fired electrical plant is, because the price of coal is always a mere fraction of the cost of crude oil if they are compared in terms of energy content.

Third, General Motors ignores the 75% environmental disaster from its gasoline engine kicking in after 40 miles between re-charging.

SO FOR BOTH THE FIRST 40 MILES BETWEEN RE-CHARGING AND THE ADDITIONAL MILES WHEN THE GASOLINE ENGINE KICKS IN TO GENERATE MORE ELECTRICITY, THE VOLT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER!!!
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johnkarls
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The Gullible Wall Street Journal Buying the Gen Motors Fraud

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Wall Street Journal Article – 12 August 2009

GM Hopes Volt Juices Its Future
By SHARON TERLEP

General Motors Co., outlining a raft of new vehicles designed to reinvigorate its lineup, said its much-awaited Chevrolet Volt is expected to get 230 miles per gallon in city driving.

The Volt is at the forefront of GM's efforts to win back lost U.S. market share with 25 product launches by 2011.

At 230 mpg, the Volt would dwarf the fuel economy of any mass-market vehicle on sale today, including Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius hybrid, which is rated at 51 mpg in city driving. It also could deliver a big boost to GM's efforts to cultivate a green image, a key element of the company's restructuring.

The Volt is set for U.S. launch late next year as a 2011 model. The mileage expectation reflects new methodology for electric and plug-in hybrid cars being finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency that factors in electricity used to try to reach a miles-per-gallon equivalent. The intent is to allow consumers to measure the vehicles against traditional gasoline-powered ones.

The EPA said it hasn't tested the Volt.

The Volt is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack, with a range of about 40 miles, that can be recharged through a traditional power outlet. For longer drives, a small gasoline engine takes over, powering a generator that creates electricity to run the car's motors. The Volt's expected total range on one tank of gas is more than 300 miles, GM said.

Frederick "Fritz" Henderson, GM's chief executive, said at a media event that owners who charge the Volt daily could go days without the gas engine firing up. The U.S. Transportation Department says 80% of Americans commute less than 40 miles a day.

Mr. Henderson added he is confident the Volt's combined city and highway mileage -- the figure commonly used to gauge efficiency -- will be in the triple digits. "Having a car that gets triple-digit fuel economy can and will be a game-changer for us," he said.

GM's mileage estimate for the Volt promises to start a battle among auto makers as they rush to deliver electric cars, a segment that some executives believe could account for 10% of sales within four years.Nissan Motor Co. plans to launch next year the Leaf, a plug-in hatchback. On Tuesday it responded to the Volt news with a reminder that the Leaf would get a 367-mpg rating under the EPA draft guidelines. But unlike the Volt, the all-electric Leaf will need to be recharged when its battery expires after about 100 miles.

Mr. Henderson acknowledged the Volt's high price, expected at around $40,000, and lack of available public recharging stations are potential challenges. Even with an expected $7,500 tax credit the Volt will cost substantially more than the $22,000 Prius. Charging the batteries should cost owners about 88 cents on average, GM said.

The Volt will be unprofitable for GM at launch because of the high costs of its development and the batteries. GM is counting on economies of scale to make the vehicle profitable eventually.

The new GM board has said it wants management to accelerate product launches. Coming models include high-end compact cars for Buick and Cadillac, a convertible version of the Chevrolet Camaro and a revamped Chevrolet Aveo subcompact.

Mr. Henderson said GM remains on track to have positive net cash flow next year and post a net profit by 2011. He also said it intends to increase production as the "cash for clunkers" rebates boost demand for its vehicles.

Write to Sharon Terlep at sharon.terlep@dowjones.com

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B1

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