But the Volt, like the Prius, is likely to prove itself as a reliable, low maintenance, low-cost-of-ownership vehicle, making it especially desirable.

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Solar thermal power is low tech, extremely low cost to manufacture, install and use, and requires very little to no maintenance at all.

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This is why more dealers are offering such things as fast, low-cost oil changes to persuade drivers that coming back to the dealership for maintenance isn't just the road to an empty wallet.

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Right now, the critical barriers to entry for an entrepreneur with a disruptive idea (read: technology which may scale exponentially and unpredictably) are gaining access to low-cost, efficient infrastructure, implementing extremely complex software to maximize compute power and storage, and minimizing maintenance concerns.

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