However, it was the automobiles that stole the commercials. The most moving of them was the Chrysler commercial with Eminem rolling through the streets narrating an American dream and touching the grit of our national souls, revealing the new American car slogan - Imported from Detroit. While this may have been the most moving commercial I saw, it was not backed up by the best product.
The product that won the super bowl is the Chevy Volt. If you aren't familiar with this modern marvel, then the Washington Post article reviewing it recently is worth a read. Especially, since the former director of the CIA makes an appearance in the review. ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/21/AR2011012105347.html )
The most impressive thing I've read about the Chevy Volt is how the petroleum engine in it works. It runs at a constant rate and produces electricity to run the motor. It's so elegant and smart. An engine running at a constant rate, producing the electricity for an electric engine will have less wear and tear from revving up and down. It can be tuned to maximally produce electrical output. Obviously, this is what they did, as the engine can get around 37mpg when it's running off of the gas-producing-electric-configuration.
Functionally, the consumer gets an electric car for the short daily commutes (40 mile range). Then, if it is the weekend and you're running a ton of errands or go for a road trip, you are riding around in a car that gets 37mpg. This is a win-win.
If I had the money to invest, I'd go Chevrolet for stock right now. Then again, it's only a matter of time before Toyota takes the Camry, or Honda takes the Accord and tunes it to get 60mpg with it's own gas-producing-electric-configuration.
1 comments:
Chevy is also offering, or planning to offer, leases at very affordable rates on the Volt. Given that it's a first-gen technology, at least in an automotive application, I'd say this is a great example of where a lease makes more sense than a purchase. You're at much less risk if the system doesn't age well. Overall, there is still a lot of work to do in matching hybrid performance to consumer demands, but the Volt is a solid first step.
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