cts | Volt a Day | Coda to the Coda? September 25, 2010

Ah, the price-sensitive American. What I had always hoped, when I first started driving our EV1, was that people could see the real price of their cars and their impact over time. The nation had $2 per gallon gas at that point, but in order to protect our supplies we supported dictators and brutal regimes and made a big mess in the Middle East. Every time I read a blog post from the Volt team I always see at least one comment from someone saying, "Sounds like a great car, but the PRICE!"

The price, ultimately, will be peace. And that will be less expensive than war, even if we ignore the cost of human life and look at just the dollars. Not having to depend on foreign oil is just better for the nation and electric vehicle are a step on that path. It is a difficult path, like trying to land a man on the moon and bringing him safely home, but I strongly believe that there are a lot of benefits that we don't even yet know. Like some of the things we gained from the moon shot program (think of Tang!).

So here is the Coda. And it is a mess. By than I mean that the chassis is made one place, the body was designed in China, but tweaked by the geniuses at Porsche Design (I guess that's Austria, right?). The battery and drivetrain system were designed here in the United States and the entire thing will be finished-assembly in Northern California. That's a mess. They have no dealer network, instead they will own boutique stores to show, sell and support the car. To do warranty work they will have roving teams to do the work. That means that they are not looking at a large fleet of vehicles, or they are hoping for very light demand for those services. Neither seems smart.

Even as a mess, it is great to have another choice out there for an electric vehicle.

The problem is that they just announced the price and it's $44,900. According to this article in Wired, that's going to mean they have a huge barrier to initial sales. What a drag. This needs some publicity. Someone needs to step up and explain that it is not expensive for a car that will change the way people live their lives, the way the nation feeds its energy needs, or the way the atmosphere blows for the next generation.

I have to be careful. I think my end-of-the-day posts are more political and more nutty. Whoops.