YOU MEAN, SALVATION HASN'T COME? – AT 9:07 P.M. ET:  I'm so disappointed.  I figured, now that Barack Obama is in charge of General Motors, the company could do no wrong.  Every model would soar above the roads, owners would drive from N.Y. to L.A. in six and a half hours, the cars would increase in value every year, and there'd be no more climate change.

Not so fast.  It hasn't quite worked out.

The flagship of the "new" General Motors is the Chevy Volt, an electric car with a backup gasoline (sinful) engine.  The hype is that it will revolutionize driving, and is a historic development equal to the parting of the Red Sea.   No, that hasn't worked out either, as Reuters reports:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Motors Co's (NYSE:GM - News) mostly electric Chevy Volt turned in a lackluster performance for efficiency in its first series of road tests by product raters at Consumer Reports.

"We would have really liked to have loved it," David Champion, director of Consumer Reports auto test center told Reuters on Monday after announcing the organization's top picks for 2011.

"It was fun to drive and the ride quality was pretty good. But when you look at the finances, for us it doesn't make any sense," Champion said.

He said consumers seeking value and top fuel efficiency would be better off buying a top-performing gasoline/electric hybrid like the Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM - News; Tokyo:7203.T - News) Prius or a Fusion by Ford Motor Corp. (NYSE:F - News)

Champion's group rates ownership costs, reliability and performance in assessing value.

Consumer reports found that GM's first generation plug-in hybrid, which is the resurgent automaker's signature entry in the industry's drive for greater fuel efficiency, fell well short of its maximum range potential under battery power.

Champion said the Volt that Consumer Reports bought and tested ran for 26 miles before the vehicle's gasoline engine kicked in.

After promoting a 40-mile electric-only range for most of the Volt's development, GM last year introduced a sliding scale of between 25 and 50 miles.

The Toyota Prius, by contrast, gets 51 miles per gallon and the Ford Fusion gets 41 mpg.

And...

The Volt, which rolled off the assembly line in December, retails for about $41,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit. The baseline Prius sells for $23,000 while the Fusion hybrid costs about $28,000.

Typical.  Even with a federal subsidy, the thing is overpriced. 

I actually haven't seen a single Volt on the road.  If you've had any sightings, let me know.  I don't know why, but when I think of Volt the name "Edsel" comes to mind.  It's a puzzlement.

March 1, 2011