Does it represent excellence in broadcasting to condemn a product without being sure of your facts? Quibbles over government bailouts aside, it's more than just about price with a car that is, literally, in a class of its own.

By Joseph Babiasz

Well, Rush Limbaugh, you've done it! You've managed to tick off one of the biggest right-leaning independents you'll ever meet. I'm a capitalist pig at heart. Just your kind of guy, really. You've recently been bloviating about the Chevy Volt--about its price, that it's built by Government Motors, and that Motor Trend named it Car of the Year. Sensing that your unhappiness with the current administration is spilling over into things you apparently don't understand was enough to make me grab my laptop and pound out this letter.

Having spent 34 years working at General Motors and later owning a car dealership, I'm fortunate enough now to write about cars and travel for a living. I have a pretty good understanding of how the industry works. I admit I buy products from American-based companies whenever possible. And, as far as cars go, you'll never find one with a foreign nameplate in my driveway. I don't expect people to buy inferior products just because they are made in America--but I sure don't support making U.S. companies meet a higher standard than their foreign competitors.

When it comes to the Volt, it seems that if it ran on sunshine and turned nickels into dimes, you still wouldn't be happy. I get that you are displeased with the dirty Obama bailout bath water, but this is one baby you shouldn't toss out.

Let's first address the Volt's price. At $41,000, it's not as cheap as a Chevy Malibu--nor should it be. That doesn't make it the most, or least, expensive car of its size. I wanted to say "in its class" --but there is none. The closest competitors are either hybrids such as the Toyota Prius or electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf.

Today's hybrids barely exceed the best of their non-hybrid competitors for fuel mileage and cost of ownership. They are simply cars with all the mechanical complexity of a conventional gasoline-engine driveline, plus all the electrical complexity of a second electric-powered driveline--integrated about as well as any two incompatible systems can be.

As for electric-powered vehicles, the Nissan Leaf is the only one that offers any significant range. Still, Nissan Leaf drivers had better have the