The American taxpayer owned General Motors recently announced that its 2011 Chevrolet Volt will get 230 miles per gallon. While the Obama administration has repeatedly claimed it has “no interest” in running GM, from literally its first day as majority owner of the car maker the White House has been bragging about its ability to direct GM to make smaller cars in idled union factories.
But now along comes Consumer Reports to throw some cold water on GM’s latest eco-friendly claims:
In the end, 230 mpg might be the exaggeration of the “century.” If you are a cyclist like I am, you may have heard about doing a “century,” riding 100 miles. But imagine that after you rode that distance, you found out that some agency has devised a way to calculate your ride as 230 miles based on the ratio of your front sprocket to wheel diameter, wind resistance, and the solar load on your front forks. Would you tell everyone that you rode 100 miles? Or would you say that you rode 230 miles based on a “draft” measurement that you can’t really talk about?
New Geography‘s Wendell Cox adds:
Now there is nothing to be ashamed about 60 miles per gallon, unless, that is, you have claimed 230 miles per gallon. Regrettably, General Motors, which could have claimed a great environmental advance, has diminished it by failing to “level” with the public. This kind of public relations will not help a company whose performance has cost it market share for well over a generation.