NO JUICE – AT 10:09 A.M. ET:  Americans love new technology...some new technology.  The iPod, after all, had an impact.

But some technology just doesn't seem to cut it, especially when the customer is asked to write a large check for something that, to put it mildly, lacks pizazz.  Consider:

Peruse Chevrolet's February sales release, and you'll notice one number that's blatantly missing: the number of Chevy Volts sold. The number – a very modest 281 – is available in the company's detailed data (PDF), but it certainly isn't something that GM wants to highlight, apparently. Keeping the number quiet is a bit understandable, since it's lower than the 321 that Chevy sold in January.

Nissan doesn't have anything to brag about here, either (and it didn't, avoiding any mention of the Leaf sales in its press release). Why? Well, back in January, the company sold 87 Leafs. In February? Just 67. Where does that leave us? Well, here's the big scorecard for all sales of these vehicles thus far:

Volt: 928
Leaf: 173

Ouch.

Maybe the car guys didn't notice that most Americans have one of those little ten-dollar calculators that you get at Staples.  You hit the numbers and realize you'll have to own one of these little primitive buggies for a long time before they pay off in gas savings.  And if you visit grandma's, and the car needs a charge, and grandma lives in an apartment house without a charging station...well, you might be at grandma's a long time.

The technology is undeveloped.  The cars are cosmetically unexciting, or worse.  Americans are practical.  No deal.

March 4, 2011