We'll toss in a fire extinguisher

Well, the Volt may be smokin' but its sales sure aren't:

Washington- General Motors extended-range electric Chevrolet Volt had its worst sales month since August, as negative publicity over fire risks hurt vehicles sales in January.

GM sold just 603 Volts - above its sales in January 2011, but far below GM's best-ever sales month in December, when GM sold 1,529 Volts.

Why might that be happening?  Other than folks seeing through the whole "eco-friendly" pitch?  (Which by the way gets demolished by one simple question - So, just where does the electricity to charge the battery come from?)

Last week, GM North America President Mark Reuss said sales of the Volt have been hurt by bad publicity.

Reuss said bad publicity from the government's investigation into fire risks of post-crash Volts is "definitely a component" of the decline in sales.

Hello?

You might think that Government Motors would have been shielded by the administration.  I guess that a series of blazing cars is something that's kind of hard to hide.

The whole story can be found HERE.

Pipeline thoughts

Most all but the Greens would agree.

Solar Energy in Germany

The expense of solar energy subsidies is prompting a re-thinking of governmental efforts for "Green" energy to replace traditional electricity sources.  From Der Spiegel:

The costs of subsidizing solar electricity have exceeded the 100-billion-euro mark in Germany, but poor results are jeopardizing the country's transition to renewable energy. The government is struggling to come up with a new concept to promote the inefficient technology in the future.

Note....that's Billion, with a B.  100 billion euros.  Even with the recent fall in the value of the euro, that's a LOT of money.  With the demands on Germany to bail out the PIIGS, politicians are realizing they can't have it all.

Read the whole story from Der Spiegel at THIS LINK.