Supporters of electric vehicles are getting charged up in their defense of battery-powered cars, citing the pros of plug-ins and attacking critics for ignoring, misrepresenting or misunderstanding the facts.
General Motors, for instance, is now saying Chevrolet Volt owners collectively have “saved a supertanker of gasoline since the electric car with extended range went on sale.” Volt owners have gone 40 million miles on electricity and avoided using more than 2.1 million gallons of gasoline, says GM in a new release.
“No electric vehicle has ever caught fire, and yet the political right is constantly talking about the flammability, overheating, fire hazards and so forth,” an exasperated Lutz is reported have said. “Folks,” said the former Marine Corp. pilot and noted global warning skeptic, “it’s a pure fiction. Get it out of your heads.”
Lutz himself is no friend of left-wingers and liberals on most issues, but when it comes to EVs he’s almost in bed with the Ralph Naders of the world. For more on his views, have a look at his recent column in Forbes entitled “I Give Up On Correcting The Wrong-Headed Right Over The Volt.”
It’s hard to imagine Lutz penning something with “Wrong-Headed Right” in the headline, but such is the juiced atmosphere in the EV debate.
