What's Missing?

Passion84Autos@flickr

GM is making big news on the plug-in hybrid called the Chevy Volt they promise to make someday. None of the splashy stories (read press release touch-ups) today mention when it is supposed to go into production but they all have the same laser like focus on the 230 miles per gallon GM claims the Volt will achieve. The car will go 40 miles on the batteries, has a 300 mile range and gets 230 miles on a gallon of gas. 230+40= roughly a one gallon fuel tank? Both of the vessels in this picture look like they hold a few gallons so why isn't the range even more? If there were ten gallons of gas on board wouldn't the car have a range of 2300 miles or more? I'm guessing the engine doesn't do the job of an overnight charge. Hey, who am I to ask?

Good on GM if they really pull it off. Let's hope they have more going on than press releases. Otherwise, we'll never get that money back. Then again, if they can't make money selling cars they already have a foot in the door with the government. They could probably work out a deal to sell these things to the defense department for 30 million each. It works for fighter jets.

Alan, You're a Rich Man

 

How ya like me now?

Ford CEO Alan Mulally wasn't a household name before a gaggle of congressdouches treated him and his two American peers like dogs last year. Having his name besmirched for problems he'd only recently inherited couldn't have been too much fun, but when he becomes the face of American CEOs and probably Time's man of the year (or second to Obama) that congressional drubbing will be a distant memory. Ford is poised to really kick some ass and for that Mr. Mulally will be paid handsomely. Ford's Board granted Mulally options to buy 5 million Ford shares at a little under two bucks. Today that was worth about twenty million clams. When sales climb close to or all the way back to what they were or and Ford has gained more market share than anyone thought possible (I say 20% domestic easily) his options should be a cool hundred million.