Reminds me of my RCA console stereo. When it was in fully functional condition it had a nice rich sound. Not overpowering, just nice.
But then the turntable started to act up, and now the amp will randomly make a full volume "click" after its been running for a few minutes.
Someday I'll fix it but for right now it just serves a nice place to put my keys and wallet.

This reminds me of a family my parents are friends with.
Their son was diagnosed with moderate autism at about age 10. Everyone that knew the kid wasn't surprised, he always had just a general lack of social grace. So he was enrolled in classes to teach him social skills. And for the year that he was in the classes his behaviour was vastly improved. You could just tell he was observing the situation and formulating a response.
The problem was as soon as he stopped going to the classes he went right back to being a little asshole. Except, when my mother was around. When she was around he was a pleasant young man, the moment she was out of earshot he transformed into a little prick.
Then there was an incident where my father played a practical joke on him. The boy was red faced and emotionally laid bare in front of everyone he held dear. Then my father puts his arm around and says, "See what happens when you don't listen."
Then it clicked for me. That's what dad did to my sister and I when we were being a little shits. He was the master of public humiliation as discipline device ("You need to listen to the advice I'm giving you, or else.").
Which meant that mom had a "We need to talk" moment with him (My mother has this way of being so calm she's scary during those conversations).
So fast forward to a couple of years ago. We're all at a 4th of July party. He's being a more of an ass than any 15 year old has a right to be. When we were away from the party for a moment, I used a couple of joint locks on him and got him pinned face down on the lawn. Then I told him point blank, "You're being a little shit. Stop it or I will get very angry." After I let him up, he behaved. Never had a problem with him since.

Ok, when I read your reply I see: I want something as equally complex as the Volt, but less capable.

I'm going to make a stab in the dark and assume you are a: single male, under 25 years of age, and live in a large metropolitan area.

Dude,
I've been there and I'm here to tell you, it gets better.
I know it seems unfair that you get lumped in with all the other assholes in your age bracket.
I use to pay $120 a month for liability coverage on a 1984 Plymouth Reliant.
I know the feeling of watching that check you wrote to the insurance co annihilate you bank account.
But someday you'll be 30 and the insurance company will all but forget about you.
I pay about $300 A YEAR for liability on two cars.
I know it seems a long way off, but if you can just keep holding on,
It Will Get Better.

[Pedantic point]
The ICE in the Volt only clutches in when the car is in charge sustain mode. On a full battery it will hit the speed limiter without powering up the ICE.
[/ Pedantic point]

No, that's Honda's IMA hybrid set up

You really think a 30hp ICE will triple your range? I get where your coming from, but you have to factor in a few things. The 34hp engine in my KLR650 weights about 130lbs. A small four cylinder car engine weighs about 200-250lbs and makes 100-140hp.
If your going to add an ICE gen set to your EV you may as well make it big enough to do the work.

The Volt only drives the wheels from the ICE when its traveling 70+ mph in charge sustain mode i.e. when your already running the the ICE.
The ICE only has a single fixed ratio to the wheels, so your only adding a couple a gears and an electronically controlled clutch.
It adds less complexity than a single speed AWD transfer case and increases the vehicles overall efficiency.

And no, you can not have the ECU reduce power at all. Ever.
It is a modern automotive sin to in any way inconvenience The Driver, or expect The Driver to conform to the vehicle.
That's why the Volt has the same ICE as its platform mates, because when you're in charge sustain mode the ICE is powering the car. Only instead of torque converter its spinning a generator.
What do you thing the average driver would do if their new car suddenly slowed to the speed limit or below and refused to go any faster?
They would pull into the first dealership they saw and Pitch-a-fit (tm).
Their next stop would be the class action trial lawyer's office.

The GM engineers basically said the Volt will perform the same no matter what, you'll just use gas sometimes.

No, that would be Chrysler.
GM use to just milk the govt taxes breaks and grants, until Wall St. fucked shit up for everyone.

Hell, shitty construction contractors have been doing that for years.
Hank's Construction becomes Hank & Sons after a botched kitchen.
Same ass hole, new business cards.

Here's to the best temp in Chiswick.
(Raises a bottle of WhiteOut)

Yes, but, you generality are required to make a good faith effort to locate the owner within a certain time frame (check your local listings, Your mileage may very, open to residents of the continental United States only).

Someone leaves an item at your home. You go, "it's mine now bitch". Original Owner comes to reclaim item within the prescribed time frame. If you don't return it, you are committing a crime.

You post the item in Craigslist lost & found on a regular basis until the time frame has elapsed and the OO comes to claim it a day late, "Suck it, it's mine now bitch."

I can testify to that. I've the old PD I worked for used unencrypted radios. I'd run someone, and the moment I unkeyed my mic their phone would blowup.
You try taking a crash report from an already shaken up 16 y/o while everyone she knows is trying to call her. I made the mistake of asking her to turn off her phone till we were done. That backfired, everyone started to call 911 because she wasn't answering her phone.

A 747 from 1969 and a 747 form today are very different aircraft. Sure they share the same basic airframe, but that's where the similarities end.
Yes they fly the same route, at the same altitude, in the same time However a modern 747 does it requiring less maintenance, less flight crew, and using less fuel.

Aircraft manufactures are hyper conservative when it comes to materials and processes. Their product is very expensive to develop and if it fails has the potential to kill hundreds if not thousands in a single shot, only to then be the lead story on every news outlet worldwide. Boeing is only now starting to use composite construction in the 787. Yeah, they're 40 years late to the parity but last thing they want is the 787 to be the new DC10.

The part of your post I thought was asinine was the statement about GM management deliberately sabotaging the car. Yes, the marketing has been off the mark, but its a fundamentally new product to the modern automotive marketplace so there's a learning curve to the marketing. I also doubt they're going to sink massive marketing money into a car they know has limited market appeal.

Yes, the math is variable with the Volt & Pruis. The sad fact is people don't buy those cars because of logic or math, they buy them because they fill an emotional need.

It's not bait and switch, it's a loss leader. GM doesn't make any profit on the Volt (or the Corvette for that matter), GM has said they don't expect the Volt to be profitable until generation 2 or 3. The Cruise on the other hand makes a profit for every unit sold.

The point of a halo car is to drive brand awareness and dealer foot traffic. The Volt (like the Prius) is not going to be a major player in Chevy's sales figures, 1-2% tops. The Cruise will likely out sell the Volt 5 to 1.

Wow, that is the most asinine statement I've seen in a while.

Yeah, they're deliberately fucking up on a car that they spent few billion on to get out to market in near record time. It's not like they had the perfect opportunity to drop it when they were, I don't know, going though bankruptcy (like they did with the diesel engine for light duty trucks).

The Volt is a halo car like the Corvette. The car itself is the marketing. Its job is to get people into showrooms so the sales force can sell costumers another Chevy product.

"Wow, Volt is nifty little car. I think the only time I'd have to use gas is when we visit the cabin."
"Even then it will deliver mileage in the high 30's"
"Wow, but forty large is steep."
"Well for about eighteen five you can get into a Cruise Eco, that'll deliver 40 plus on the highway."
"Oh, so its a hybrid?"
"Nope, they just tweaked the regular Cruise for maximum mileage."
"I see, so it doesn't have A/C or air bags. It's a stripper."
"Nope, its got the same amenities as every other Cruise, its actually nicely equipped. If you have time for a test drive I'll show you."
"Sure, why not."