GM Doublespeak

This press release seems to state clearly what everyone has always known all along. When dealing with a government entity, often there is confusion about what they really mean. Phrases like "bend the cost curve" or "tax cuts for 95% of Americans" often are misunderstood as clear expressions and therefore we need to have a spokesperson stand and preface a statement with, "Let me be perfectly clear".

So, we learn this about the $41,000 green machine:

When We Said 40 Mile Range We Meant 25-50, But Probably Less Than 40

That sounds like I would be able to go from my house to the nearest supermarket and make it about a third of the way home before I ran out of juice. But, it would be reassuring to know that if I plug it in to suck 220 volts in my rewired garage overnight, I could then make it to school for classes the next day and half way back.

The release locations are particularly enlightening. Washington DC, of course. I've got a life sized 8x10 glossy of the Congress-critters that will be gallivanting around the mall on these. New York city metro area? Sure thing. Who would want to steal one?

But California and Texas are two places where you simply can't get anywhere in 40 miles of round tripping. A few days of puttering along in your lawn-mower recharge mode as guys roar by in 3/4 ton pick-em-ups and expectorate Copenhagen on your window in their wake should drive a stake in the heart of this lunacy.

Especially telling is that line about reductions in your range if you wish to heat or cool the passenger compartment. Yeah, Texans in the summer will just eat that up.