Everyone should go checkout the posts on the impeding auto-industry bailout over at FDL. While I haven’t wrapped my head around the concept yet I want to say something about this post that Jane wrote:

So maybe the people who seem to know even less about auto manufacturing than they do about economics should consider that GM is in the forefront of green engineering with the Chevy Volt.  From US News:

The prototype Volt that GM has been showing off is a sporty four-seater with futuristic touches meant to draw in mainstream gearheads. The dashboard controls are touch-sensitive and set in a white console reminiscent of an iPod. Instead of standard gauges for speed and RPMs, there’s a digital display that looks like the screen of a Sony PSP. Wind-tunnel engineering has made the Volt even more aerodynamic than a Corvette, critical for milking the most mileage possible out of the battery. GM says that recharging the car at home, through an ordinary household outlet, will cost less than $1 per day and drain less power than it takes to run a refrigerator.

 GM is far from at the forefront of "green" engineering. While I’m not saying "let them drown" yet, I think Jane gives them WAY too much credit. The Chevy Volt is at best a concept car, covering up an environmental record that is absolutely horrible. It was their Vice Chairman Bob Lutz who dismissed the climate crisis as a "crock of sh*t." And there is limited evidence this attitude has changed.

I think fundamentally Jane and I agree that any bailout $$$ should be contingent on producing more green cars, but the Chevey Volt is a tiny step in that direct — not the giant leap required.