So, what about that "230 mpg" GM touted last year. Well, that was a different way to calculate things. "230 by itself was never intended to be a composite number," Parks said.

President Barack Obama’s administration has bought almost a fourth of the Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. hybrid vehicles sold since he took office, accelerating federal purchases as consumer demand wanes.

The U.S. General Services Administration, which runs the government fleet, bought at least 14,584 hybrid vehicles in the past two fiscal years, or about 10 percent of 145,473 vehicles the agency purchased in that period, according to sales data obtained by Bloomberg under a Freedom of Information Act request. In fiscal 2008, hybrids accounted for less than 1 percent of government purchases, the data showed.

The government is boosting investment in a technology that has failed to win broad acceptance after more than a decade in the marketplace. Consumer sales of hybrids are headed for their third consecutive yearly decline. Government agencies and businesses have said they also will purchase all-electric models being introduced by automakers including GM.

“At some point, the reality is that for this technology to be accepted, it needs to be done without a government crutch,” said Jeff Schuster, director of forecasting at J.D. Power & Associates in Troy, Michigan. “But without a huge gas-price increase or further government demand, the natural demand just isn’t to be there.”

Stimulus Money Used

About 3,100 of the hybrids purchased by GSA were paid for out of $300 million that the agency received from the 2009 economic stimulus package, said Sara Merriam, a spokeswoman for the agency, in an interview. Another 5,600 were bought with proceeds from selling older cars in the government fleet, she said. A majority of fiscal 2009 hybrid sales came after Obama took office in January 2009.

“This is the beginning,” Merriam said. “Our main goal is to increase the fuel efficiency of the federal fleet. The other goal is to drive the market toward cleaner technologies. It’s in the early stages of the government acquiring more hybrids and in larger quantities.”

The models purchased by the government ranged from $23,072 to $47,079, according to the data.

The government paid an average of $5,281 less for its hybrid vehicles than sticker prices at a dealership, according to a comparison of the GSA purchase data with prices collected by Edmunds.com, a consumer information website.

Global sales of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric cars are projected to be 954,500 vehicles, or 2.2 percent of the 44.7 million passenger vehicles projected to be sold this year, J.D. Power said in an Oct. 27 report. That may rise to 5.2 million units in 2020, according to the report.

Not Cost Competitive

“The lesson learned is that it isn’t easy to make these vehicles mainstream,” said Brett Smith, who specializes in alternative propulsion vehicles at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “They are still not near the point where they are cost-competitive in the market.”

Toyota Motor Corp. sold the first hybrid Prius in Japan in 1997 and Honda Motor Co. introduced the first hybrid to the U.S. in 1999. Total U.S. hybrid sales since then have been about 1.8 million, or about 1 percent of the 175 million cars and trucks sold during that period. More than half of those hybrids were Prius models.

The U.S. government buys hybrids almost exclusively from Ford and GM. It bought only 17 Prius models and five of Honda’s Civic hybrids in the past two years. Chrysler Group LLC stopped making hybrids in 2008 after about two months of production.

The government purchased about 64 percent of GM’s Chevy Malibu hybrid models and 29 percent of all Ford Fusion hybrids manufactured since Obama took office in 2009, the data show. GM stopped making the Malibu hybrid in 2009 after lack of consumer demand.

Leading by Example

GSA also bought about 14 percent of Ford Escape hybrids. Obama leased a hybrid Escape for himself in May 2007, before he was elected president. He turned it in this year because he’s rarely allowed to drive.

“It is good that the government leads by example,” Dan Becker, director of the Washington-based Safe Climate Campaign, said in an interview. “At a time when we’re just beginning the era of the hybrid, it’s a positive sign that the government is stepping up to the plate and helping build that market.”

The next wave of new technology vehicles are so-called plug-in hybrids and electric models. GM’s Chevrolet Volt, which has a gasoline engine primarily for charging the battery, and Nissan Motor Co.’s full-electric Leaf go on sale later this year. Ford’s Transit Connect electric delivery van is already on sale.

Plug-In Goals

Obama has set a goal of 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015 and has committed more than $11 billion in taxpayer funding to help support the technology.

GSA has accepted bids for contracts that may supply 100 electric delivery vehicles from a Ford dealership in Minnesota and Smith Electric, an affiliate of Washington, England-based Tanfield Group, the agency said on its website.

Hybrid and electric vehicles can be $3,000 to $20,000 more expensive than gasoline models, Smith said. The U.S. offers as much as $7,500 in tax credits for the purchase of plug-in vehicles and about a dozen U.S. states offer additional incentives.

Hybrid and electric vehicle technology only makes sense if it can stand without government support, Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally told Detroit-area supplier executives in a Nov. 8 speech that was closed to the media.

“He was saying, ‘You have to have a business that doesn’t need all these government incentives,’” Karen Hampton, a Ford spokeswoman said, recounting the talk. “Incentives have a role to play when you’re trying to get new technology off the ground or change behaviors, but it’s not meant to be a permanent part of the business equation.”

Of course, money-saving is not the Volt’s only raison-de-d’être. This is an electric-drive car that conserves energy in electric mode and does not come with range anxiety. As such, it advances the cause of reducing greenhouse gases and reducing our reliance on foreign oil. According to our recent green-car survey, saving money is not the number one goal for EV intenders, anyway.

Consumer Reports offered a harsh initial review of the Chevrolet Volt, questioning whether General Motors Co.'s flagship vehicle makes economic "sense."The extended-range plug-in electric vehicle is on the cover of the April issue — the influential magazine's annual survey of vehicles — but the GM vehicle comes in for criticism.
"When you are looking at purely dollars and cents, it doesn't really make a lot of sense. The Volt isn't particularly efficient as an electric vehicle and it's not particularly good as a gas vehicle either in terms of fuel economy," said David Champion, the senior director of Consumer Reports auto testing center at a meeting with reporters here. "This is going to be a tough sell to the average consumer."


The magazine said in its testing in Connecticut during a harsh winter, its Volt is getting 25 to 27 miles on electric power alone.
GM spokesman Greg Martin noted that it's been an extremely harsh winter — and as a Volt driver he said he's getting 29-33 miles on electric range. But he noted that in more moderate recent weather, the range jumped to 40 miles on electric range or higher.
Champion believes a hybrid, such as the Toyota Prius, may make more sense for some trips.
"If you drive about 70 miles, a Prius will actually get you more miles per gallon than the Volt does," Champion said.
But GM has noted that most Americans can avoid using gasoline for most regular commuting with the Volt, while its gasoline engine can allow the freedom to travel farther, if needed.

The magazine has put about 2,500 miles on its Volt. It paid $48,700, including a $5,000 markup by a Chevy dealer.
Champion noted the Volt is about twice as expensive as a Prius.
He was said the five hour time to recharge the Volt was "annoying" and was also critical of the power of the Volt heating system.
"You have seat heaters, which keep your body warm, but your feet get cold and your hands get cold," Champion said.
Consumer Reports will release a full road test of the Volt later this year and will update it.
Champion praised the heater on the all-electric Nissan Leaf - which Consumer Reports borrowed from the Japanese automaker -- but said it also got very short ranges in very cold weather.
On one commute, his range in a Leaf was at 43 miles when he turned onto an eight-mile stretch of highway, but it fell from 43 to 16 miles after eight miles at 70 mph.
"If it keeps on going down at this rate, will I get to work," Champion said.
Champion said in an interview he thinks the Volt "will sell the quantity that they want to sell to the people that really want it."
Despite his criticism of the Volt, Champion praised its acceleration and acknowledged that under certain driving cycles, consumers could mostly avoid using gasoline. The magazine noted the Volt is nicely equipped and has a "taut yet supple ride."
But he said there are a lot of trade-offs.
"They are going to live with the compromises the vehicle delivers," Champion said. "When you look at it from a purely logical point of view, it doesn't make an awful lot of sense."
Before Consumer Reports decides whether to recommend the Volt, it needs data from at least 100 subscribers who own one, and a year of reliability data.

When you look at it from a purely logical point of view, it doesn't make an awful lot of sense.

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt will have a resale value of a tick over $17,000 after 36 months, the length of an average lease, according to Kelley Blue Book. That's only 42 percent of the plug-in hybrid's $41,000 MSRP. KBB's projection assumes that the going rate for a gallon of gas will hold steady at $4/gallon 36 months from now.

Eric Ibara, director of residual value consulting at Kelley, told Automotive News that the Volt's projected residual value may seem to be on the low side. But, as Ibara points out, the first 200,000 Volts sold qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit, effectively slashing its sticker price down to $33,500 (well, maybe not).

Using that $33,500 number, KBB's projection means the Volt will hold onto 51 percent of its value. That compares to 46 percent for the 2011 Toyota Prius and 37.5 percent for the 2011 Ford Focus. As we see it, factoring in the $7,500 tax credit is crazy, but we'll let you guys and gals debate that.