...unexpectedly!
It turns out that the government just can't create consumer demand by fiat:
It's been a bad two days for electric cars.
First, the Congressional Budget Office skewered the government's rebate program for electric car buyers, saying the program doesn't actually do anything to boost electric-car sales. Then Toyota announced it is scrapping plans for a small all-electric car, according to Reuters, because nobody wants them.
And on Tuesday, electric car maker Tesla said it is cutting its 2012 revenue projections because production of its heralded Model S car have been too slow. The same day, Consumer Reports announced they find the $100,000 extended-range electric Fisker Karma to be "plagued with flaws."
Taken all together, the news is making conservatives ecstatic. They've mocked, ridiculed and been downright angry about the money the Obama administration is pouring into hybrid and electric cars. They argue the government is meddling in a market of stuff nobody wants to buy.
"What Obama did was use the power of government money to insert himself into market decisions that he was ultimately dead wrong on," said Ben Howe, a blogger and video producer from South Carolina who made a parody commercial of the Chevy Volt. Although light on facts, the parody demonstrates how some people see the Volt and other battery-powered cars: As a joke.
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