The Chevy Volt is a car that only appeals to preening schmoes and will fall flat on its face.

Or so says Audi of America president, Johan de Nysschen, who went off on the Chevy Volt and electric cars in general, with Lawrence Ulrich of MSN's Exhaust Notes.

Nysschen tells Ulrich, “No one is going to pay a $15,000 premium for a car that competes with a (Toyota) Corolla...They’re for the intellectual elite who want to show what enlightened souls they are...so there are not enough idiots who will buy it."

He thinks the Volt will fall flat, and then the government will rush to its aid with generous subsidies so as to not look like a bunch of fools.

Nysschen would rather the government supported more diesels since they produce fewer emissions than an electric car that's charged by coal. And they're ready today at a competitve price. He says the government is tricking the public into thinking electrics are clean. Unless the power grid gets cleaner, our electric cars will remain dirty.

In the government's defense, it's not solely about cleaner cars. It's also about the reliance on oil, which causes serious economic problems for the United States. And some people think oil has something to do with some wars. So, putting aside the green arguments, there's at least two good reasons to support electrics.