From the article:
"You have seat heaters, which keep your body warm, but your feet get cold and your hands get cold," Champion said.
In saying that, I don't think they mean to imply that the seat heaters are the only heating in the car (I just checked, and heated seats are an option, not standard, btw). If they do, they're wrong. But, it seems they're just saying that the heating system doesn't work all that well or quickly - or, I suspect, all that well when the engine isn't running (which would be the case for short commutes or in the beginning of long commutes).
Anyway, after reading what you said here and in the other thread, I wanted to make it clear that it does have a forced air heating system.
Consumer Reports paid $48,700 for their Volt. That's luxury car money, not freeze your fingers and toes money. For $48,700 it better give you a
and not expect you to call it in the morning.
I know that the gas engine extends the range, but the whole selling point for this thing is not having to use the gas engine. It makes me wonder how long a Prius would go if you could use it on battery alone.
It's nothing but a high priced status symbol for those who want to look like they are "green" without actually being inconvenienced. It's odd to me that the nanny state types who pretend to care about the poor and middle class are so in favor of this little toy for the rich. They're even taking money from working people to help the rich pay for their little toys. Pathetic.
I've heard comments from a number of people that made it sound like they didn't realize the Volt was a hybrid (albeit a serial one) rather than an all electric, and sometimes it's turned out that that was the case - they didn't realize it had a gas engine/generator and thought that you'd have to stop and charge it every 30 or 40 miles. So, I was trying to make it clear that the Volt is a hybrid, though the configuration is quite different than, e.g. the Prius.
As I indicated, the idea of the car is that most of the people that drive them will usually only be driving short distances, but they'll have normal, gas-fed, range if and when they need or want to take a longer trip.
But, again, I'm not a fan of the Volt myself, so I'm not going to argue with you on the general point of whether or not it makes sense for most people.