A Chevy Volt Owner Shows Us His Mileage

Last week ago I mentioned the strange "controversy" over the Chevy Volt. This car is the brainchild of a lifelong auto enthusiast who is also a political conservative, but to the right-wing media it has become a whipping boy and symbol of pinko environmentalist over-reach.

My friend Garrett Gruener, a successful long-time tech venture capitalist in the SF Bay area (and avid long-time pilot, who once flew his family on an extended around-the-world journey in a turboprop Pilatus much as some families might take an extended drive from coast to coast), sends in this report on his Volt:

I've owned one for the last six weeks.  I'm very pleased.  I've averaged 128 mpg over the life of the car (now about 1100 miles).   It drives well and is well-outfitted (even without adding "...for an American car").  [He includes this shot of the dashboard, showing cumulative mileage of over 132mpg.]

It would interesting to do the math on what the American economy would look like if the Volt were taken toscale.  One thing's for sure, we'd have much less need for the Sixth Fleet.