Chevy Volt - What is GM doing?

GHook93

Aristotle
Apr 22, 2007
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They stated they had a goal of 10K by the end of the year, but they tested in only 7 markets (mostly CA and NY). They have produced about 300 per month and have sold those easily! At 300 a month the best the could produce in a year is 3600 cars, well short of 10K.

By contrast, Nissan is selling 1,300 Leafs a year. The market is there, yet GM is holding back! Not quite understanding it.

I think the electric car is the future, but I am anxious to get that future started now!

Chevy Volt sales don't have expected spark - chicagotribune.com

Bottom line, he said, GM is still selling every Volt it can build. It just needs to build more.
The plant is capable of producing 600 Volts a week, Peterson said, or roughly 2,400 cars a month.

If demand turns out to be weaker than expected, said Mike Omotoso, an analyst with J.D. Power and Assoc., GM may take steps to strengthen sales to make sure they hit its number.

"If they're way below their target in a month or two, they could ramp up incentives on the Volt," he said.

The Volt is already eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which brings its effective base price down to about $32,500. Also, it's available at a relatively low lease rate of about $350 a month.

Phil Gott, an industry analyst with IHS Global Insight, agrees with Peterson that the Volt's current lagging sales status is no indication that demand for the car is flagging. Still, he said, it also doesn't mean the ultimate demand for the car is that huge, either.
 
They stated they had a goal of 10K by the end of the year, but they tested in only 7 markets (mostly CA and NY). They have produced about 300 per month and have sold those easily! At 300 a month the best the could produce in a year is 3600 cars, well short of 10K.

By contrast, Nissan is selling 1,300 Leafs a year. The market is there, yet GM is holding back! Not quite understanding it.

I think the electric car is the future, but I am anxious to get that future started now!

Chevy Volt sales don't have expected spark - chicagotribune.com

Bottom line, he said, GM is still selling every Volt it can build. It just needs to build more.
The plant is capable of producing 600 Volts a week, Peterson said, or roughly 2,400 cars a month.

If demand turns out to be weaker than expected, said Mike Omotoso, an analyst with J.D. Power and Assoc., GM may take steps to strengthen sales to make sure they hit its number.

"If they're way below their target in a month or two, they could ramp up incentives on the Volt," he said.

The Volt is already eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which brings its effective base price down to about $32,500. Also, it's available at a relatively low lease rate of about $350 a month.

Phil Gott, an industry analyst with IHS Global Insight, agrees with Peterson that the Volt's current lagging sales status is no indication that demand for the car is flagging. Still, he said, it also doesn't mean the ultimate demand for the car is that huge, either.

Note that the demand requires incentives, without which the volt demand would probably be far less. I also wonder if the plants full capacity is availible, or planned. Maybe they are only running 1 or 2 production lines due to profitability.

As for the limited markets, it may have to do with the required dealer infrastructure. As a new tech you will be reliant on the dealer to do your repairs in the beginning, and those mechanics need to be trained up, and the proper equipment bought by dealers in the area.
 
These electric cars don't work very well. Some of them have an unfortunate tendency to explode in the garage.

Owning a Volt or a Leaf means you are a real true believer, and live someplace where you don't have to travel very far to go from place to place.
 
Let's face it. The automobile industry does not want to build a VIABLE electric car. If they did, they would have done it 40 years ago.

The Volt and Leaf are no better than the electric cars that were experimented with in the 1970s. The JOKE is that with electric cars, there is still that dependence on fossil fuels, and that dependence can never be fully "disconnected".

The technology is there. The technology is viable. I know. I am involved in an electric car project that DESTROYS the Volt and Leaf in technology, simplicity, and viability, and at a very affordable pricetag. The difference is that I REFUSE to accept taxpayer money to finance the project.
 
Let's face it. The automobile industry does not want to build a VIABLE electric car. If they did, they would have done it 40 years ago.

The Volt and Leaf are no better than the electric cars that were experimented with in the 1970s. The JOKE is that with electric cars, there is still that dependence on fossil fuels, and that dependence can never be fully "disconnected".

The technology is there. The technology is viable. I know. I am involved in an electric car project that DESTROYS the Volt and Leaf in technology, simplicity, and viability, and at a very affordable pricetag. The difference is that I REFUSE to accept taxpayer money to finance the project.

How do you charge it during a brown-out ?
 
Let's face it. The automobile industry does not want to build a VIABLE electric car. If they did, they would have done it 40 years ago.

The Volt and Leaf are no better than the electric cars that were experimented with in the 1970s. The JOKE is that with electric cars, there is still that dependence on fossil fuels, and that dependence can never be fully "disconnected".

The technology is there. The technology is viable. I know. I am involved in an electric car project that DESTROYS the Volt and Leaf in technology, simplicity, and viability, and at a very affordable pricetag. The difference is that I REFUSE to accept taxpayer money to finance the project.

If it were viable, there would be corporate execs beating the doors down to fund it.

No need for gov't subsides. :eusa_whistle:
 
These electric cars don't work very well. Some of them have an unfortunate tendency to explode in the garage.

Owning a Volt or a Leaf means you are a real true believer, and live someplace where you don't have to travel very far to go from place to place.

Welcome to the board.


Another reason for the purchase:

‘In fact, more than half of the Prius buyers surveyed this spring by CNW Marketing Research of Bandon, Ore., said the main reason they purchased their car was that “it makes a statement about me.” ‘Say ‘Hybrid’ and Many People Will Hear ‘Prius’ - New York Times
 
They stated they had a goal of 10K by the end of the year, but they tested in only 7 markets (mostly CA and NY). They have produced about 300 per month and have sold those easily! At 300 a month the best the could produce in a year is 3600 cars, well short of 10K.

By contrast, Nissan is selling 1,300 Leafs a year. The market is there, yet GM is holding back! Not quite understanding it.

I think the electric car is the future, but I am anxious to get that future started now!

Chevy Volt sales don't have expected spark - chicagotribune.com

Bottom line, he said, GM is still selling every Volt it can build. It just needs to build more.
The plant is capable of producing 600 Volts a week, Peterson said, or roughly 2,400 cars a month.

If demand turns out to be weaker than expected, said Mike Omotoso, an analyst with J.D. Power and Assoc., GM may take steps to strengthen sales to make sure they hit its number.

"If they're way below their target in a month or two, they could ramp up incentives on the Volt," he said.

The Volt is already eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which brings its effective base price down to about $32,500. Also, it's available at a relatively low lease rate of about $350 a month.

Phil Gott, an industry analyst with IHS Global Insight, agrees with Peterson that the Volt's current lagging sales status is no indication that demand for the car is flagging. Still, he said, it also doesn't mean the ultimate demand for the car is that huge, either.

Americans say 'no' to electrics despite high gas prices
USA Today -- Nearly six of 10 Americans — 57% — say they won't buy an all-electric car no matter the price of gas, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.

That's a stiff headwind just as automakers are developing electrics to help meet tighter federal rules that could require their fleets to average as high as 62 miles per gallon in 2025. And President Obama has set a goal of a million electric vehicles in use in the U.S. by 2015.

The anti-electric sentiment unmasked by the poll shows that pure electrics — defined in the poll question as "an electric car that you could only drive for a limited number of miles at one time" — could have trouble getting a foothold in the U.S.

Such cars "are very much niche vehicles. They find acceptance among a core group of passionistas, but too many questions remain ..
Researcher J.D. Power and Associates projects sales of pure electrics this year will be 10,727, rising to 95,939 in 2015. Industry estimates for total 2011 light-vehicle sales are in the 13 million range, rising to about 14 million by 2015.
The poll of 1,024 adults nationwide has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. It was done May 12 to 15, when the average gas price was about $3.98. It's now about $3.83.
Americans say 'no' to electrics despite high gas prices - USATODAY.com
 
Let's face it. The automobile industry does not want to build a VIABLE electric car. If they did, they would have done it 40 years ago.

The Volt and Leaf are no better than the electric cars that were experimented with in the 1970s. The JOKE is that with electric cars, there is still that dependence on fossil fuels, and that dependence can never be fully "disconnected".

The technology is there. The technology is viable. I know. I am involved in an electric car project that DESTROYS the Volt and Leaf in technology, simplicity, and viability, and at a very affordable pricetag. The difference is that I REFUSE to accept taxpayer money to finance the project.

How do you charge it during a brown-out ?

That's the part I can't disclose. As far as corporate execs go, why the hell would I trust any corporation who throws money at me and claims to be willing to turn the auto industry upside down with my VIABLE electric vehicle that people can afford?

Ever seen the movie "Tucker"?
 
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These electric cars don't work very well. Some of them have an unfortunate tendency to explode in the garage.
Where did you get the from? i call bullshit!
My cousin in NY says otherwise. He says it runs smooth like a regular modern car, but the battery mileage and gas mileage are less than advertised

Owning a Volt or a Leaf means you are a real true believer, and live someplace where you don't have to travel very far to go from place to place.
First generation new technologies always bring out the true believers! Take the celephone. The first ones required a large ugly bag and costs $5 a min!

Take computers, they used to fill an entire room!

Heck look at the first firearms, GAS POWERED cars etc!
 
Let's face it. The automobile industry does not want to build a VIABLE electric car. If they did, they would have done it 40 years ago.

The Volt and Leaf are no better than the electric cars that were experimented with in the 1970s. The JOKE is that with electric cars, there is still that dependence on fossil fuels, and that dependence can never be fully "disconnected".

The technology is there. The technology is viable. I know. I am involved in an electric car project that DESTROYS the Volt and Leaf in technology, simplicity, and viability, and at a very affordable pricetag. The difference is that I REFUSE to accept taxpayer money to finance the project.

If it were viable, there would be corporate execs beating the doors down to fund it.

No need for gov't subsides. :eusa_whistle:

It's viable, just very difficult!
 
These electric cars don't work very well. Some of them have an unfortunate tendency to explode in the garage.

Owning a Volt or a Leaf means you are a real true believer, and live someplace where you don't have to travel very far to go from place to place.

Welcome to the board.


Another reason for the purchase:

‘In fact, more than half of the Prius buyers surveyed this spring by CNW Marketing Research of Bandon, Ore., said the main reason they purchased their car was that “it makes a statement about me.” ‘Say ‘Hybrid’ and Many People Will Hear ‘Prius’ - New York Times

That is the same reason you see an Obama sticker on nearly every Prius!
 
These electric cars don't work very well. Some of them have an unfortunate tendency to explode in the garage.
Where did you get the from? i call bullshit!
My cousin in NY says otherwise. He says it runs smooth like a regular modern car, but the battery mileage and gas mileage are less than advertised

Owning a Volt or a Leaf means you are a real true believer, and live someplace where you don't have to travel very far to go from place to place.
First generation new technologies always bring out the true believers! Take the celephone. The first ones required a large ugly bag and costs $5 a min!

Take computers, they used to fill an entire room!

Heck look at the first firearms, GAS POWERED cars etc!

The blowing up thing is probably related to the early hybrid self-conversions where people screwed up the recharge circuitry and got electrical fires.

The one thing you have to remember with an electric car is that your power supply is for EVERYTHING. In a ICE or hybrid vehicle you get electricty from your alternator and heat from your engine cooling system as byproducts of your fuel supply. With an all electric, every button you press, be it the radio, the signals, the lights or the heat/AC count as "miles" in your remaining charge.
 
GHook::

Folks are pretty smart.. They know that there is MORE advertising and govt attn placed on getting you to unplug your cell phone chargers and turn off the lights, then there is on actually beefing up the power grid to charge our electric cars..

If you believe that with CONSERVATION as the main answer to ALL our electricity problems, that the PRICE won't be going up and the "smart grid" won't abuse you -- you're not in the real world..

Trying to get a significant percentage of transportation energy switched over to electric at a time where NO ONE is interested in building capacity into it -- is truely absurd..
 
These electric cars don't work very well.

I drove a Volt just last night. What part of my driving experience (versus the normal hybrid I drove to the dealership) do you think was lacking because of how the electric part of that car didn't work?
 
You can only hum along to the Pizza take-out and back if you are lucky. Chevy says it gets 35 miles on a charge. Cut that in half after a couple of months. So you have a dinky little gas eater with a gigantic battery you can't replace or get rid of.
 

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