For status seekers, the Chevy Volt seems to be electrifying

So you think the Chevrolet Volt electric car will cost too much? Tell that to the Chevy dealer who has already decided to charge $20,000 over the sticker price.

That's right. Months before the first Volt lands on a showroom floor, there's enough excitement that the dealer -- who earns a living calculating what the market will bear -- is charging nearly 50% more than General Motors' asking price for the revolutionary car.

If that's any yardstick, the 2011 Volt is drastically underpriced. Supply and demand, baby. It's the free enterprise system.

Despite that, critics -- particularly political opponents of the Obama administration who have decided that what's bad for GM is good for them -- attacked GM for making the Volt too expensive for many people.

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...there was feigned shock when GM revealed the Volt's $41,000 MSRP last week. A federal tax credit will reduce the cost to $33,500, or $350 a month on leases.

The Web site AutoObserver.com first reported the $20,000 charge. The "S" in MSRP stands for "suggested," by the way. GM can't control what its dealers charge. It won't get any extra money from those who go over the manufacturer's suggested retail price.

"Demand is going to far exceed supply for this vehicle, initially our asking price for the Volt is going to be MSRP plus $20,000," a California Chevrolet dealer wrote in an e-mail to prospective buyers, AutoObserver reported.