Motor Trend slams back at Rush....over the new Chevy Volt.

[Historic NY]

Got a minute its a good read........:thumbsup:

<snip>
So, Mr. Limbaugh; you didn’t enjoy your drive of our 2011 Car of the Year, the Chevrolet Volt? Assuming you’ve been anywhere near the biggest automotive technological breakthrough since … I don’t know, maybe the self-starter, could you even find your way to the front seat? Or are you happy attacking a car that you’ve never even seen in person?

Last time you ranted about the Volt, you got confused about the “range,” and said on the air that the car could be driven no more than 40 miles at a time, period. At least you stayed away from that issue this time, but you continue to attack it as the car only a tree hugging, Obama-supporting Government Motors customer would want. As radio loudmouths like you would note, none of those potential customers were to be found after November 2.

Back to us for a moment, our credibility, Mr. Limbaugh, comes from actually driving and testing the car, and understanding its advanced technology. It comes from driving and testing virtually every new car sold, and from doing this once a year with all the all-new or significantly improved models all at the same time. We test, make judgments and write about things we understand.
<snip>

This is another of your distortions, Rush, repeated by the otherwise more level-headed George Will in The Washington Post last Sunday. The $7,500 Obama tax credit is an expansion of President Bush’s hybrid credits from the last decade. The Obama tax credit extends to the new Nissan Leaf, too, but if you or Will slammed that car, I’ve not heard or read it. I’d be surprised if you did, though, as Nissan is building the Leaf in a non-union factory in a right-to-work state represented by two Republican senators. A factory located there because Tennessee offered Nissan big tax credits. Maybe you’re worried that if the $7,500 tax credit works, too many people will buy the Volt, and that could reduce the need for oil drilling tax credits?
<snip>


http://blogs.motortrend.com/rush-judgment-5957.html

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/11/19/motor-trend-defends-its-selection-of-chevy-volt-as-coty/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl4%7Csec3_lnk3%7C185263

[gateley]

1. Good job, motortrend blogger! I wonder what foreign car Rush drives (or, more

than likely, what foreign car his driver drives him around in.)

So typical of him not to take pleasure in GM's success. What a patriot. :eyes:

[Canuckistanian]

17. Rush drives Maybachs - proudly made in Germany

I think he has a few of them.

Here's one of their earlier models:

[gateley]

18. What, like we don't build tanks in America? Typical rich snob. nt

[pokercat999]

44. I thought this was a new Maybach

http://wallpaper-s.org/17__Cadillac_Seville_Elegante_1983.htm

[nashville_brook]

58. here's a later model (ugh)

just a regular joe kinda ride -- if, by regular joe you mean someone who lights their $50 cigars with $100 bills.

[Anakin Skywalker]

25. .

[tanyev]

2. Awesome.

[great white snark]

3. Superb! (nt)

[Aristus]

4. "...driving and Oxycontin don't mix."

Limpballs got PWNED by Motor Trend! :rofl:

[awoke_in_2003]

16. That was the best line. nt

[KeepItReal]

5. Facts over flatulence. Awesome response.

Love his parting shot..."Just remember: driving and Oxycontin don’t mix."

[safeinOhio]

6. He only fits in

a Hummer.

[Jackpine Radical]

20. I thought he went to the Dominican Republic

or someplace like that for his hummers.

[MattSh]

7. Way to go MT

Do not let any of his bullshit go unchallenged. A lot of people should learn from your example.

[givemebackmycountry]

8. I thought I read recently that he has a garage with 6 Maybachs in it...

And he let's his friends drive them when they come to visit.
I think a Maybach is like a 400-600k automobile but I could be wrong.

[old mark]

9. Rush has Maybachs - they range from several hundred thousand dollars

to as much as you care to spend, are made in Germany, and Adolf Hitler used to be quite fond of them...


http://www.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/06/will-rush-limbaughs-new-bride-love-his-cars-too/1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maybach


mark

[toddwv]

10. Anti-voltism has been a right wing meme for some time now.

It's part of the right's full court press to sabotage any economic progress. I REALLY hope that this turn around to bite them in the ass REALLY hard. Unfortunately, the corporate owned and consolidated media gives the right a free ticket and rarely calls them on their stated agenda of destroying the government of the US. We will soon have a Manchurian Party in control of the House of Representatives, a party of individuals who have stated that their goal is to make sure that the President of the United State fails.

All I can do is shake my head with "WTF Republicans!?!?!?!" exasperation.

[jillan]

11. Wow!!! Can we see more of this please, on a whole variety of topics both him and Beck LIE about?

[kiranon]

12. Good grief. Now there are Republican and Democratic cars? Democrats

drive hybrids and other fuel efficient cars; Republicans drive gas guzzlers and cars built by non union labor in states with Republican representatives? Who knew? Volts are for Democrats? Is everything going to be politicized?

[TobileStack]

13. re: Rush

That article is hilarious. But in a way it's scary to think that a car company would even NEED to address what some blowhard on the radio said...

[Jackpine Radical]

21. Been taht way for a long time.

Even in 4wd/AWD circles, Dems drive things like Subarus, Rs drive Hummers & Surburbans.

[NewJeffCT]

43. It wasn't that long ago that Sarah Palin knocked liberals

for driving around in their Subarus.

[uncle ray]

53. care to guess where the highest volume subaru dealer in the country is?

lots of right wingers drive them around here. you gotta be a REAL asshole to drive a hummer.

[mtnsnake]

45. Well, CNN is telling us what Democrats watch on TV and what Republicans watch

So I suppose cars should be no different, although I thought it would be color determining the political label, not the make.

I would guess that red cars would be a bad choice for Democrats. So would anything that says "Look at me" like a yellow or white Hummer or one of those little imported white convertibles (3rd car/play cars for 60 plussers) that you see zipping around so often during the summers. ;)

[Still a Democrat]

14. Facts are useless to Limbaugh

He disregards them deliberately to fit the world view of his audience.

[golfguru]

15. The VOLT runs on electricity

Electricity is produced in power plants.
Power plants burn coal & oil & 5% nuclear.
How does that save on any pollution?

Until the time when majority of electric power comes from
renewable & clean energy sources such as wind & solar, the
electric car is premature. It will save nothing on any pollution.
That is if you can afford the expensive battery replacements and
live with the short range of these cars.

The batteries used in VOLT are another source of toxic waste.

[groundloop]

22. Even coal fired power plants are around 85% efficient, whereas ....

gasoline engines are around 30% efficient. Because of that electric cars put out far less pollution and CO2 (from the powerplant of course) per mile driven than gasoline powered cars. And more and more renewable energy sources are coming on line all the time, so yes, electric cars are a huge improvement over gasoline engines.

As far as the batteries, when they need to be replaced they will be entirely recycled.

The ideal solution will be to have electric cars which are powered by zero emission electrical generators, but even the interim stage we're at right now is a huge improvement over gasoline engines. If we waited for the perfect scenario to materialize we'd keep burning gasoline, keep Rush happy, and keep polluting at ever increasing rates.

[Orrex]

23. God damn that's a terrific answer!

It's so simple now that you've pointed it out, but it's exactly the point I've been looking for when having this discussion with loudmouthed "I heart 8MPG trucks" crowd.

[golfguru]

31. you are Incorrect on efficiency of coal power plants..see link

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_energy_efficiency_of_an_average_coal_powered_plant

Above article states efficiency of coal fired plant at around 31%
That DOS NOT INCLUDE LOSSES IN TRANSMISSION from the plant to your house.

Another huge disadvantage to drivers like me is that I make frequent trips of
400 miles round trip on the same day to visit my kids at the university. With
not many places on Interstate to recharge the batteries it would be extremely
impractical option. Even if charging stations were available, I would be wasting
many hours waiting for the batteries to recharge.

I will make a prediction here. Electric cars will not capture more than 3% of the
market for 20-25 more years.

[The Wizard]

32. The solution is

battery replacement stations. Turn in a dead one for a charged one. Electric cars will be mainstreamed for commuter use as a necessity. Take it to work and home and let it charge up over night.
Solar panels on every roof to supplement the demand for electricity.

[golfguru]

34. 5 Reasons why electric cars will disappoint

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/1561/5-reasons-electric-cars-will-disappoint/

Stations providing charged battery exchange is probably the only solution for over 100 mile drives.
However we are no where near the density of stations needed.

I firmly believe gasoline powered cars are here to stay until oil supply runs out. And there is
probably 100 years supply left in the ground. No one will make the risky investment in alternate
energy until oil runs out. Reason is it costs Saudi's less that $5 to extract and ship a barrel of oil.

[Major Hogwash]

35. You made a great point.

We could argue that coal-fired plants aren't 85% efficient, only 78% efficient, or maybe even 77.6% efficient, but the general idea of your answer is correct.

And I agree with you that we are just in an interim stage for the time being.
But, once someone designs a realible and cheap zero emission electrical generator, then electric cars are going to explode all over the planet.

China has a big lead in trying to create more electrical sources than building oil-based or coal-fired based sources these days.
I was reading an article the other day that since everyone knows that China is power hungry for more power like electricity, that billions of dollars and dozens of experts in the field are trying to get China to go green right off of the bat.
To help them leapfrog their technology and bypass the whole oil-gasoline-powered energy race that we are caught up with in the US.

One of the companies that just announced a $2 billion investment in China was GE, to help them build and design a modern electrical power plant that is far more efficient than ones just built here in the last decade.
Since China is going to demand so much of the power available in the world by 2020, we are in a race now to help them build it in order for them to use it more efficiently.
This is very poorly written by me, but I hoped to give you an idea of just how big this new technology is at the moment.

[golfguru]

40. Coal fired plants are only 31% efficient and that does not include

loss of power in transmission from the plant to your house.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_energy_efficiency_of_an_average_coal_powered_plant


So that blows that whole argument out of water.

[Major Hogwash]

47. Electric cars are the wave of the future.

I deal in reality-based solutions.
I'm not a lobbyist for the oil industry, pal.

[rgbecker]

49. We've all got to read up on this issue before we state things as fact.

Turn your google on and start in.

Here's one opinion;

<1> Electrical energy is created by burning fossil fuels in a power plant at 40% efficiency, followed by transmitting it to your house at 93% efficiency, and using it in an electric vehicle at 92% efficiency, providing a total efficiency of around 34% for an electric vehicle. Crude oil refineries operate at 75% efficiency, and gasoline distribution might cause another 6% energy loss. Since internal combustion engines are only 20% efficient, total efficiency would be around 14%. Assuming that the natural gas and oil to power our vehicles comes from the same well, we can directly compare these efficiencies, and thus conclude that electric vehicles are significantly more efficient.

http://truecostblog.com/2009/01/04/electric-vs-gasoline/

Just saying......

[demwing]

56. It might be helpful to read the quoted article

rather than the Wiki answer:

http://www.euractiv.com/en/energy/analysis-efficiency-coal-fired-power-stations-evolution-prospects/article-154672

According to Hans-Dieter Schilling (Energie-Fakten), the average efficiency of all coal power stations in the world currently stand at around 31%, leaving a vast potential to reduce coal consumption and CO2 emissions.

<snip>

In this analysis, Hans-Dieter Schilling (Energie-Fakten) looks at how technological progress in coal-fired power stations can lead to significant energy-efficiency gains and reduced CO2 emissions.

<snip>

(T)he upcoming 20 years should be seen as a unique opportunity for further developments in coal generation technology, says Schilling. In that perspective, H-D. Schilling lists the most relevant options:

• Going on with increasing steam parameters
• Development of CO2 sequestration techniques in order to overcome large storage difficulties
• Combination of coal gasification (with steam generation) and coal combustion, in order to use the advantages of gas turbines
• Direct combination with coal combustion under pressure – targeting 60% efficiency

While experiments in those directions are in their infancy, and still encounter major technical difficulties, Energie-Fakten considers it feasible "to have 55% efficiency available for the necessary replacement and addition of coal-fired power capacity."

<end>

The expert that was quoted is clearly far more optimistic than you.

[nashville_brook]

57. in these arguments, no one ever mentions the energy required to refine oil into gas

and then the transportation costs, etc etc. as if this part of the supply chain just magically appears, free from any sort of consumption. off the books. inconvenient.

[Tesha]

62. You have no idea what you're talking about, and this statement proves it:

> The batteries used in VOLT are another source of toxic waste.

WHat hazardous waste is contained in the Volt's battery?
Please be specific.

Tesha

[StarsInHerHair]

19. let's hope it's built with better standards than the Prius, I was

so disappointed by Toyota.

[JDPriestly]

24. I've ridden in an Equinox. Great car. I don't know much about

cars. I figure it is similar to the Volt.

[Anakin Skywalker]

26. "Just remember: driving and Oxycontin don’t mix." Ha Ha Ha!

I was thinking something along that line when I heard that Rush Windbag has decided to be a car reviewer now.

[madmax]

28. *snort* nt

[Bette Noir]

36. You don't snort Oxycontin; you snort cocaine. You swallow Oxycontin.

[madmax]

37. lol

[madmax]

39. The *snort* was like a laugh and a snort... ever have one?

I thought you were kidding that's why I replied with a lol. Then I read your post again and thought - nah he/she means it.

I knew my way around pharmaceuticals back in the day, I'm a boomer :evilgrin:

[Jackpine Radical]

48. I took it for humor too.

[demwing]

52. Yes, you absolutely can snort Oxycontin.

Read on it:

What are the side effects of snorting oxycontin?

Snorting Oxycontin

Lung damage from snorting oxycontin --Doctors Lounge(TM)

Google it, there are plenty of sources discussing the delivery methods of this opiate.

[uncle ray]

54. you obviously don't know junkies very well.

they'll snort or shoot anything.

[madmax]

27. Fantastic. KaPow! Smack! Pow! Good job MT n/t

[1776Forever]

29. Now that is awesome! About damn time someone stepped up & addressed this fool! n/t

[Major Hogwash]

30. Rush knows just about as much about cars as he does about sex and football.

He knows there is a drive shaft with one of them, a sex drive with one of the other subjects, and a long drive is a good thing with the other one -- but he can't remember which one applies to which subject!!!

Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!

[BREMPRO]

33. takedown! love to see a snarky credible pile on of the bloated lie factory.

what an idiot. can't accept Obama's bailout of GM has paid off. Rush. Wrong. AGAIN. and again and again...

[Life Long Dem]

38. A little pricey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbbv-CCVqyg

[keopeli]

41. Best line: We test, make judgments and write about things we understand.

That's true about so much today. People listen to anyone talk about anything and believe it to be true. It used to be that, if you had a question about science, you spoke with a scientist. If you had a question about religion, a pastor. Likewise, a question about history would be posed to a historian.

Nowadays, every blabbermouth on TeeVee is the farthest thing from an expert that money can buy - and they're expensive, too. Glen Beck and Bill O'Reilly are the most obvious culprits, but the left has them, too.

It's so simple to ask an expert. Even if you avoid the internet for answers (which is not a bad idea), it's easy to go to an encyclopedia or read a book or even talk to someone you know who knows something about what they're talking about.

Amazing. And that's what effective, unlimited propaganda looks like.

[Enthusiast]

42. Limbaugh = scum.

That is all.

[Faygo Kid]

46. Limbaugh is and has been the greatest cyst on this nation's butt ever.

And I will never forgive you for legitimizing his hatred, Sir Elton.

[TheCowsCameHome]

50. Rush, first of all, your arms have to be able to reach the steering wheel.

There's your #1 disadvantage.

[blondeatlast]

51. That left a mark! k/r

[causamortis]

55. Is this what it means to be a Republican nowadays

that you must be vested in the failure of the American economy? Sure a lot of this work has been outsourced, but if being vested in the loss of 1 million American jobs means being a good Repblican, then count me out.

[progressoid]

59. Could Jabba even fit in a Volt?

[Blue_Tires]

60. ttt

[and-justice-for-all]

61. Jabba the rush deserves every bit of that...nt

[sweetapogee]

63. from the Volt website

according to GM (Volt):

"In moderate conditions, you should get from 25 to 50 miles of gas-free and tailpipe emission-free driving. Your results will vary depending on temperature, terrain, driving technique and battery age. Based on GM testing. EPA estimates are not yet available."

And don't forget, this car, after tax credits cost $33,500.00 for a base model.
Personally I think it is a little too early to crow about how great this car is.

Another thing about the price, I have mentioned this before, the cost to consumer for this car is comparable to a Mercedes C-Class when comparing base models. The Mercedes is a proven vehicle, the company on solid financial ground, the Volt is a concept car, the manufacturer running on infused cash. It wasn't that long ago when it was considered normal to bitch about GM's quality (or lack of) quality standards.

Personally, I have had mostly Chevy's, Saturns and a few Fords. I take good care of my cars and do 95% of my own repairs. My wife and I both put a lot of miles on our cars, 25K per year per car. I have a Saturn VUE in my driveway that has 186,000 miles on it and this is typical as far as life of vehicle for me. I had a Ford Ranger that I put 340,000 miles on before I gave it away. Point is I know how to maintain cars for the long haul.

We, my wife and I decided to take a look at Mercedes in 2006, ran the numbers and decided to go that route and as far as I'm concerned, if I'm spending $35K on a car it better be a solid vehicle and the C-Class is all that and more, even today with almost 100K on the clock. People think it's a money car but if you drive a lot of miles and the car will do what you want it to do it makes economical sense to consider one. BTW, it gets 30+ MPG.

[wicket]

64. Bwahahahaha!

:rofl: