Detroit Free Press clueless that the Chevy Volt is a hybrid

Detroit Free Press writer Mark Phelan tried to write a piece hinging on the technology of the Chevy Volt. I know technical writers. And you, sir, are no technical writer. Why oh why do these MSM outlets have clueless beat writers attempt to write pieces that include technology? They haven't a clue. Ironically, these same outlets continue to sneer at bloggers like myself for not having an approved pedigree in journalism (like it's rocket science or something) while they have their people write about matters for which they have no pedigree (including rocket science).

You may have noticed that a few publications that actually have good technical writers (like Popular Mechanics for one) took the Chevy Volt out for a spin - or rather beat on it like a rented donkey - and came to the conclusion that, egads!, it's just another plug-in hybrid. Well duh! According to Granholm, such critics are un-American (Video of Granholm: Criticizing the Chevy Volt is un-American!). Back in January of this year (Detroit News: Buyers won't recoup extra cost of electric vehicles, but electric vehicles will save Michigan's economy or something), I said this about the Volt:

The lead article of course trumpets the rolling out of lithium car batteries to be used in the Chevy Volt that is touted as an electric vehicle, but is in reality a series hybrid where the engine recharges the battery only and never is hooked into the drivetrain. Electric vehicles right now are neither economically or environmentally feasible.

It's always been a hybrid. Hybrid vehicles are those that use 2 forms of energy to move. Electric during some portions, and gas at other times. Parallel hybrids differ from series hybrids in that the gas engine could turn the drivetrain bypassing the electric motors altogether. Mark Phelan is absolutely clueless as to these well-known classifications: Volt furor pointless: Car needs electricity to move

On Monday, several publications, including Edmunds.com and Popular Mechanics, said that the Volt uses its gasoline engine in a way that was similar to most hybrids, ultimately questioning whether the car was really just an advanced hybrid instead of an electric.

Googling "series hybrid" is beyond Phelan's capability. He didn't even see to it to look up the classification on Wikipedia, the very first Google hit. I wonder if Phelan would classify most locomotives today as electric trains because they run on electricity generated by a diesel engine. Or modern ships that operate the same way. Towards the end of his piece, Phelan breaks out the lynch pin of his argument - what the federal government says:

If you don't believe Parks and the independent testers who've driven the car, though, ask the federal government. It has approved the Volt for a $7,500 tax credit that only applies to electric vehicles. Hybrids need not apply.

That may well be the dumbest thing I have read in the Free Press in many months now. And that's saying a lot. If the government says it's electric, then it's electric. There was a time in this country when black people were not defined by the government as people, and therefore had no constitutional rights. It was wrong of course. The same thing is being done to babies right now before they are born. Which gives me an idea. I'm going to solve the homeless problem by redefining what homeless is. I will define homeless as anyone that has an insulative layer to sleep under, whether it's clothing or a cardboard box. There. Problem solved. I will go further by solving the poverty crisis. I will redefine the poverty line as anyone that gets more that $10 in any calendar year. There. No more poverty. Did any of those definitions change the reality though?

I nominate Mark Phelan for the Pea Brain Award.

UPDATE: From Auto Blog Green: GM: Yes, the Volt's gas engine can power the wheels

GM has now confirmed, late in the game, that the Volt can, in some situations, use the ICE to power the wheels. This came to light after Motor Trend was allowed to test the car for three long drives and discovered:

However of particular interest, when going above 70 mph in charge sustaining mode, and the generator gets coupled to the drivetrain, the gas engine participates in the motive force. GM says the engine never drives the wheels all by itself, but will participate in this particular situation in the name of efficiency, which is improved by 10 to 15 percent.

This is exactly the opposite what GM has been saying for years – most recently in June, when GM spokesman Rob Peterson told AutoblogGreen that there was no mechanism in the Volt to drive the wheels even if the engineers wanted too.

So it's not even a series hybrid. Oh brother...

Previously:
Video of Granholm: Criticizing the Chevy Volt is un-American!
Top auto supplier CEO: Government too focused on electric vehicles, "ignoring" other technologies
Video: 'The Truth About Cars' Editor Edward Niedermeyer on why the Chevy Volt is a $41,000 electric lemon
That $41,000 price tag for the Chevy Volt? Could be $61,000
Robert Gibbs: Hey - I bet Rush Limbaugh doesn't drive one of those awesome GM F-150s
Granholm to Congress: Put battery incentives in energy bill because it will do for jobs nationally what it did for jobs in Michigan
Obama comes to Michigan, touts money he's giving to KOREAN battery plant to create jobs at $504,667 each
Irony: Michigan touts electric cars for economic growth, but denies permits for power plants to charge them
Detroit News: Buyers won't recoup extra cost of electric vehicles, but electric vehicles will save Michigan's economy or something
Confirmed: Chevy Volt 230 mpg claim is bs
Side-splitting headline of the day: GM touts Volt with 230 mpg city rating (by using Enron accounting methods)
Another Plug-In Hybrid False Mileage/Energy Savings Claim
Government report: electric cars won’t reduce carbon emissions and likely create more
UNTRUE! - Enron Accounting on the 100 mpg Hummer H3
DetNews: 12 projects expected to create 2,900 jobs