http://gm-volt.com/2008/10/03/along-with-wall-street-bailout-plug-in-...

For all the critics out there that think this is a horrible idea, take
a step back and think of how much talent and investment went into
making the electric car a reality.  Research & Development is
extremely costly and by rewarding consumers with a tax break is a
great idea to start enthusiasm among people for a new product.

As a comparison:

Volt: ($35,000 - $7,500 in tax credits)
Range / Efficiency - 8 kWh / 40 miles (before gasoline starts, going
to and from work this should be sufficient)
Cost - $0.08 / kWh
Yearly mileage you drive - 20,000 mi (Assume 4000 mi you have the
gasoline engine on @ 25 mpg)
Gasoline Consumption - 160 gallons
Gasoline Cost - $4 / gallon
Total yearly cost - $256 (Electricity) + $640 (Gasoline) = $896 / yr

Toyota Camry Hybrid: ($26,000)
Range / Efficiency - 34 mpg
Yearly mileage you drive - 20,000 mi
Gasoline Consumption - 588 gallons
Gasoline Cost - $4 / gallon
Total yearly cost - $2352 / yr

A person will save $1456 / yr in fuel by driving a volt as opposed to
a toyota hybrid.  Assume you keep the car for 100k mi / 5 yrs and your
savings have more than paid for the difference ($7280 in total
savings).

GM / Chevy isn't going to die, but maybe for the few out there that
are heavily bullheaded / arrogant, I'm sure they can find a way to try
and discredit the amount of fantastic engineering work that went into
building this car.  As with any product, the first models are more
expensive than the subsequent ones (like hybrids in their infant
stages).

This car is a key to unlocking a greener economy / world.  Yes, some
power is still generated by coal (albeit the emissions are much less
as a multi-million dollar operation has more sophisticated emissions
controls on their stacks than what someone has on their tailpipe), but
it's also generated by hydro-electric (water falling on turbine
drivers), wind, and nuclear.  If the power grid gets stretched (people
are likely to plug their car in at home during the night - lots of
available power then), then that will encourage additional
development / infrastructure.  All is left then is to determine how
society would like to generate it - my preference is for nuclear
energy - toxic waste is produced in small quantities and stored safely
for a huge electrical generation capacity, just ask France.