The 2010 Chevrolet Volt

Transformers, a Japanese cartoon, was brought to the big screen by our great friend - the 2010 Camaro. The movie was great, the cars were great, and the Camaro was instantly recognized as a celebrity, not just a car. Now, however, there are a few others joining the ranks of car celebrities, one of which is GM's electric car, Volt.

The Volt was imaginatively named after one of its power sources It is an electric car that will do 40 miles on a charge, before the petrol-powered engine kicks in. That's not very impressive. Or it is rather, but I'm not impressed at how long you can drive on a charge, but how little you can drive on a charge! 40 miles? One word - pathetic!

Tesla, the first company to give us a 100% battery powered sports car is said to run out of juice in over 200 miles. On Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson proved that you can drive it hard and fast enough to make it run out in less than 60. But 60 is fine. I drive about 60 miles in a week. OK, maybe more, but no matter. 40 miles is a poor claim.

There's another very important aspect of this whole battery powered car thing - it just won't work! If you're going to alter our fuel source, don't use a battery. You're not saving the planet! It is still a very dirty business of mining the lithium ion, shipping it, packaging, etc,... If you're going to alter fuel source, it's got to be hydrogen!

There is, however, one thing going for the Volt, and that's looks. It certainly looks electric, and like the Camaro, it does have characteristics of a robot. Maybe it's just a trend in GM's new concepts, since GM and Transformers have a little deal going.

I think it's absolutely hopeless though. If GM decided to build a car that looks like a Volt, but was powered by a hydrogen Fuel-Cell, I would take great interest in it. And if they decided to try to build an engine that runs on hydrogen fuel, like BMW, I would also take great interest in it. But since it's a petty little battery that will propel you to a distance of 40 miles on a charge, before a regular engine kicks in, I wouldn't even take another look at it if I were out to buy a car. Needless to say that 40 miles is still just a claim; it's just a figure. It doesn't mean anything to me because I suspect that if you drive it like there's no tomorrow, you'll end up doing only about five miles before the battery is out.

So, it looks great, it may feel and drive great, and it's just as damaging to mother nature as a regular engine, but the driver doesn't do all the damage, the factory does most of the damage. What's the point? Well, I think there is no point. I just think that GM is trying to appeal to Eco-mentalists who think that petrol-powered cars will kill the planet in the next five years. And they got them suckered in as well, thinking that it produces no emissions for 40 miles, before it starts killing the planet. If only these Eco-mentalists saw how the battery power was mined.