Is veteran un-American for buying a Volt?

volt-veteran-plateeditors-blog-entry3A lot of folks have been claiming — shouting, actually — that the Chevy Volt is un-American, that it’s an Edsel of the American left, a socialist plot, you know, a so-called “Obamamobile.”

They’re so completely wrong, it’s laughable – though their potentially negative impact on plug-in sales is no laughing matter.

The Volt, whose owners have already saved more than two million gallons of gasoline, or the equivalent of a full oil tanker delivering oil from the American loving, all-American Middle East, is arguably the exact opposite of what its detractors on Fox News and talk radio claim: It’s an all-American car made by an American company right here in America that will help the U.S. substantially reduce its dependence on foreign oil.

Unfortunately, telling this to the “IT’S AN OBAMAMOBILE” crowd (caps here because they’ve literally been SHOUTING this ridiculousness since the Volt first hit showrooms) and trying to convince them the Volt is a patriotic car seems hopeless.

{module 435}

Bill, Rush & Sean: Volt dissers
What I’m describing here is the macro level situation, or the top-of-society level where highly paid (overpaid?) talking heads such as Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity roam on their anti-Volt/anti-plug-in crusade and where a few long-time conservatives such as GM’s Bob Lutz struggle mightily against them.

Thankfully, to a certain extent, what’s happening on the everyday, micro level is different. Many folks are buying the Volt and other plug-ins precisely because they are extremely American.

I was happily reminded of this fact a few days ago when I suddenly found myself driving behind a gleaming new cream-colored Chevy Volt. This Volt was quite likely the same Volt I saw two months ago, the first time I saw a Volt on the road in Colorado.

Honorably Discharged Veteran
The Volt was equipped with a Colorado custom license plate with the words, “Honorably Discharged Veteran” emblazoned on it. [I was too far away from the Volt I saw about six weeks ago to read its license plate].

{googleAds}<div style=”float:right; margin-left: 10px;”>
<script type=”text/javascript”><!–
google_ad_client = “pub-7703542917199961”;
/* 200×200,
created 12/8/09 */
google_ad_slot = “7950368454”;
google_ad_width
 = 200;
google_ad_height = 200;
//–>
</script>
<script
type=”text/javascript”
src=”http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js”>
</script>
</div>

{/googleAds}

I have no idea what the political affiliation of this Volt driver is – and it really doesn’t matter. However, I think it’s a safe bet that a big reason this individual is driving a Volt is to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.

It’s too bad I couldn’t ask the driver about this. I actually never saw him, or her. I drove behind him for about two miles in a southbound direction on Parker Road (Colorado 83) in Aurora, Colo. In fact, for a little bit I was literally eating this driver’s electric dust in my 20-year-old Acura Integra, which, from 0 to 40 mph, struggled to keep up.

In the end, had I gotten a chance to ask this Volt driver whether he/she sees the Volt as a patriotic, American choice, I’m 100 percent sure I would get a very different perspective than the misinformed views of which we’ve been getting far too much from a small, loud, and sadly disproportionately influential part of American society.

Related articles–>