The new and improved Commerce Clause can save General Motors

Today's Boston Globe ran an editorial today about the high cost of the Chevy Volt and wondered if Americans will buy the $41,000 car: "Electric power, sticker shock"

But who will drive the Volt out of showrooms in late 2011? It will be $8,000 more costly than Nissan’s Leaf electric car, more than twice the price of conventional compact cars - and even more expensive than an entry-level Mercedes, BMW, or Audi. Leasing costs for the Volt are somewhat more competitive. But if General Motors wants the Volt to catch on, the purchase price must come down quickly.

And now the LA Times reports that rental car companies are planning to add Nissan Leafs (Leaves?) to their fleets:

Beginning as early as January, electric cars will be available at the nation's two largest auto rental companies.Enterprise Rent-A-Car, North America's largest car rental firm, unveiled plans last week to offer about 500 Nissan Leaf all-electric cars, initially at dealerships in Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland and Seattle.
The announcement came a few months after Hertz , the world's largest car rental company, said it planned to offer Nissan Leafs at a handful of locations in the U.S. and Europe, including New York, Washington and San Francisco, next year. A fully charged Leaf has a range of about 100 miles.

Since we've now established with Obamacare that Americans can be compelled to purchase something from a private company if it serves the government's interest, it's fairly obvious what Washington needs to do. We need to force the car-rental companies to cancel their orders to Nissan and purchase Chevy Volts. It's what the Founding Fathers would have wanted.