From Warren Meyer:
I am thinking about renaming the Chevy Volt the Chevy Bastiat. Because the entire vehicle concept is based on the hope that people will ignore the unseen. Specifically, those pushing the vehicle are hoping that buyers will just assume the electricity for the vehicle is free (after all it is not separately metered) and that the CO2 footprint is zero (despite the fact that in states like Michigan, an electric car is essentially powered by coal combustion.
Bastiat argued the good economist accounts for both the seen and the unseen costs when evaluating an action. What Warren is saying is that its proponents don't want people to think about the unseen costs of having a Volt over and above the cost of purchasing it. So it's probably more appropriate to call it the AntiBastiat.
Here are Doc's thoughts. Here's a former post I wrote about the Stanley Steamer that explains why gasoline is preferred over steam power in fuelling cars.