UM, EXCUSE ME? Who you callin’ a no-makeup environmentalist?

Today on “The Colbert Report,” GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz plugged Chevy’s new electric car, the Volt.  I’ve got a couple bones to pick.

First of all, Lutz made this misleading claim:

Eighty percent of Americans drive 40 miles a day or less, and all of those people will basically never use a drop of fuel [with the Volt].

I take issue:

A: Electric energy is generated in a very wasteful process using coal, natural gas, and, in some states, petroleum.  Those are dirty energy sources / fuel.

B: At the beginning of his interview, Lutz explains that the car runs for 40 miles on a charge and t”at the end of that, a little gasoline engine kicks in — that’s like an emergency generator.  And you’ve got another two- or three-hundred miles of range.”

So, let me get this straight: fuel would be used every time the driver travels more than 40 miles.  “Never use a drop of fuel” is … ridiculous.

Now, my second complaint with Lutz is, admittedly, petty.  It’s his characterization of green-minded girls:

Stephen Colbert: “How about this: is [the Volt] sexy, would it get me laid?”

Lutz: “I think, um…. You’re going to get a lot of nice, no-makeup, environmentalists….[awkwardly trails off].”

HEL-LO!  I wear makeup, high heels, and even — gasp! — fur (but only from a thrift store.)

I make sacrifices where it counts — namely: living in an urban environment where I don’t have to drive at all — but I believe in making the world a more beautiful place, any way I can.  ;)

Then again, Lutz is a guy who doesn’t believe in what he called “the CO2 theory.”

I wouldn’t sleep with him, anyway, cute electric car or no.