Insight: GM's Volt: The ugly math of low sales, high costs

[daveman]

Cons are doing the work of their repub heroes, trying to help sully the reputation of the volt. Kill the car if they could. Make it a bad mark for the pres. Eliminate union jobs. To hell with us jobs. they want the white house, and cons are the tools to help them. Forget that good old repub strong business concepts. These are neoncons. No interest in anything but gaining power, and destroying jobs is no concern at all, particularly if many are union jobs.
However, the general public is catching on. Tea parties are decreasing in participation. And people are learning that repub attacks on the volt are agenda driven lies. And, to the disdain of the cons, sales of the volt are rising.

"GM spokesman Jim Cain said the company expects the Volt's August sales to top 2,500, the best month by far since its December 2010 launch. That would mark a 35% increase over July sales and more than a 700% jump from year ago results."
Volt monthly sales to hit record in August - Aug. 30, 2012

DailyTech - August to be Chevrolet Volt's Best Sales Month Yet

This plant has been idled two times this year already due to low demand for the Volt. At least this time demand is remaining high. General Motors sold 10,666 Volt automobiles during the first seven months of 2012. That is a 270% increase from the same span of 2011.

GM had previously forecast the sale of 45,000 Volts for 2012 and abandoned that number saying instead that it would match supply to demand.​

Taxpayers to get charged as Pentagon buys up Chevy Volts | Fox News

The Department of Defense is planning to purchase 1,500 electric cars including Volts as part of its effort to make the military more environmentally friendly. But given the federal government’s bailout of Chevy maker General Motors, President Obama’s praise of the Volt and the car’s long-running problems, the federal purchase is likely to become the latest controversy in the Volt’s short life.

--

Those sales will be boosted at taxpayer expense. The Department of Defense began buying Volts this summer as the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, Calif., purchased two in July. Another 18 Volts will soon be delivered to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where Air Force One is based, according to military magazine Stars and Stripes.

The Obama administration has been among the Volt’s biggest backers with the president vowing to “buy one and drive it myself … five years from now when I’m not president anymore.”

But despite ultra-cheap lease deals and tax breaks of $7,500 for buyers, sales have still been moribund.

Such perks, however, have failed to drive consumers to GM car lots. The vehicle has been forced to suspend production twice this year and will again suspend production later this month after only 2,831 were sold last month.

The General Services Administration bought 100 Volts in 2011 for various agencies.​

The government buying them really isn't indicative of the general population's interest.

 

[asterism]

What proof. Are you just but stupid. Do you seriously think that any company is going to share their business plan with the general public. All I can produce is their statement that it is part of their business plan.

Perhaps you would like to provide the proof that your opinion is worth anything. Opinions are like ass holes. Everyone has one. So, where is your proof, dipshit?? Per GM, the costs that they are up against are development costs. You seem to not understand anything about business. Always, always, always, it takes time to amortize the cost of development of a new technology. Simple enough to understand, should you care to. But then, you do not care to understand anything. You are simply making statements without any research of any kind. Which wastes my time having to respond to your dogma.
You already know how much I respect your opinion. Again, zero proof of anything. All impartial information out there, dipshit, says the same thing. And it is not what you want to believe. It said that there would have been no reorganization. So, go bring back some impartial info that backs you up. If you can find any. And stop wasting time with your opinions.

And before posting more con dogma, read this. It may help explain your problem:
The right's stupidity spreads, enabled by a too-polite left | George Monbiot | Comment is free | The Guardian

All I see from cons is attempts to make the bail out of the auto industry look like a big mistake by the pres. Interestingly enough, it was also fully backed and supported by President Bush and his administration. funny, eh..
George W. Bush: Auto bailout was mine! - In the Loop - The Washington Post
Going after the Volt is a perfect example. No study of the issue at all, Just statements from right wing sites. Straight dogma. Small minds saying what they are told to say, believing what they want to believe. Sad. Really sad.

Defending a huge loser that underperformed even a meager 45,000 yearly goal while telling me that I have no understanding of business. That's funny.

The bailout of GM was a bad thing because it has rewarded failure and created money losers like this. No amount of name calling nor non-sequitur on your part will change that. $22,000 manufacturing cost is too high for the target market. Want the proof? Look at the sales results.

Yup, well, we wouldn't want to invest in new technology. Better to use the good old gas technology. Let those other countries develop and sell hybrids and electric cars. We should all listen to Asterism, who believes that GM should show us their business plan. Then tells us he knows what the target market will want, over time. Does not know what development costs are, and why it may take a little time. Yup, I think asterism is a real business kind of guy, in his own mind. So, to hell with over a million people who end up out of work. no problem for aterism. Because, asterism is a con tool, and lays out that con tool dogma.

Sure, give the market to Toyota, and Honda, and VW, and all the other foreign makes who are developing that same technology. How long did it take for Toyota to amortize their development cost on their hybrid? What did we, the taxpayers, pay to get Toyota to manufacture here? So, dipshit, what do you know?? You seem to be completely lacking in proof of any of your statements. Just a con tool. What a waste of time.

I never said we shouldn't develop new technology. I said it should not be mass produced before it's financially viable.

We also shouldn't stifle innovation by rewarding failure.

 

[Rshermr]

Cons are doing the work of their repub heroes, trying to help sully the reputation of the volt. Kill the car if they could. Make it a bad mark for the pres. Eliminate union jobs. To hell with us jobs. they want the white house, and cons are the tools to help them. Forget that good old repub strong business concepts. These are neoncons. No interest in anything but gaining power, and destroying jobs is no concern at all, particularly if many are union jobs.
However, the general public is catching on. Tea parties are decreasing in participation. And people are learning that repub attacks on the volt are agenda driven lies. And, to the disdain of the cons, sales of the volt are rising.

"GM spokesman Jim Cain said the company expects the Volt's August sales to top 2,500, the best month by far since its December 2010 launch. That would mark a 35% increase over July sales and more than a 700% jump from year ago results."
Volt monthly sales to hit record in August - Aug. 30, 2012

DailyTech - August to be Chevrolet Volt's Best Sales Month Yet

This plant has been idled two times this year already due to low demand for the Volt. At least this time demand is remaining high. General Motors sold 10,666 Volt automobiles during the first seven months of 2012. That is a 270% increase from the same span of 2011.

GM had previously forecast the sale of 45,000 Volts for 2012 and abandoned that number saying instead that it would match supply to demand.​

Taxpayers to get charged as Pentagon buys up Chevy Volts | Fox News

The Department of Defense is planning to purchase 1,500 electric cars including Volts as part of its effort to make the military more environmentally friendly. But given the federal government’s bailout of Chevy maker General Motors, President Obama’s praise of the Volt and the car’s long-running problems, the federal purchase is likely to become the latest controversy in the Volt’s short life.

--

Those sales will be boosted at taxpayer expense. The Department of Defense began buying Volts this summer as the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, Calif., purchased two in July. Another 18 Volts will soon be delivered to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where Air Force One is based, according to military magazine Stars and Stripes.

The Obama administration has been among the Volt’s biggest backers with the president vowing to “buy one and drive it myself … five years from now when I’m not president anymore.”

But despite ultra-cheap lease deals and tax breaks of $7,500 for buyers, sales have still been moribund.

Such perks, however, have failed to drive consumers to GM car lots. The vehicle has been forced to suspend production twice this year and will again suspend production later this month after only 2,831 were sold last month.

The General Services Administration bought 100 Volts in 2011 for various agencies.​

The government buying them really isn't indicative of the general population's interest.

Fox news as a source pretty much tells me what you are. Which is a con tool.

So, in my humble opinion, you are simply posting conservative dogma and doing what you can to get people to believe that the new technology of the volt is a bad idea, gm is a bad deal, and if you would only follow the con beliefs that. You have no point. The volt will succeed or fail over time, as do all car models. Makes no real difference in the overall scheme of things. BUT, what does make a difference, to cons, is to find any way at all to help prove that gm is BAD, organized labor is BAD, and the saving of the auto industry of the US is BAD. So, you are in the minority, and most see you as what you are, which is a tool. Nothing more. Just a tool.
Real americans, be they repubs or dems or independents, do not take the hard right dogma view of the auto industry. They do not salivate at putting workers out of work. They do not want the economy to tank. But you do. Simply because you want the repubs to regain the white house. Sad. Really really sad to be that much of a turd. And really, really stupid.
Stay where you are, con, behind drill baby drill, gas burning cars, and petrolium use forever. To hell with that whole issue of us using 23% of the worlds oil, but producing only 3%, Drill, baby, drill. Has not helped yet, unless, of course, you are an oil company, or one of many countries that we buy our oil from. You want the oil companies to continue to get more and more of the wealth of this country.
And, what the hell. If the countries we buy our oil from hate us, and they mess with our oil imports, we can always send in the military. Your a con. So you will never associate military costs with oil import costs. And what the hell if we loose a few thousand more of your military men and women. We want the oil. Why EVER look at replacing some of that oil with alternative fuels? Your a con. The oil companies pay your political heroes. So, you have no open mind. Attack those companies that may try to provide alternatives to oil consumption. You have no open mind. Because, after all, you are a con tool.

 

[Rshermr]

Defending a huge loser that underperformed even a meager 45,000 yearly goal while telling me that I have no understanding of business. That's funny.

The bailout of GM was a bad thing because it has rewarded failure and created money losers like this. No amount of name calling nor non-sequitur on your part will change that. $22,000 manufacturing cost is too high for the target market. Want the proof? Look at the sales results.

Yup, well, we wouldn't want to invest in new technology. Better to use the good old gas technology. Let those other countries develop and sell hybrids and electric cars. We should all listen to Asterism, who believes that GM should show us their business plan. Then tells us he knows what the target market will want, over time. Does not know what development costs are, and why it may take a little time. Yup, I think asterism is a real business kind of guy, in his own mind. So, to hell with over a million people who end up out of work. no problem for aterism. Because, asterism is a con tool, and lays out that con tool dogma.

Sure, give the market to Toyota, and Honda, and VW, and all the other foreign makes who are developing that same technology. How long did it take for Toyota to amortize their development cost on their hybrid? What did we, the taxpayers, pay to get Toyota to manufacture here? So, dipshit, what do you know?? You seem to be completely lacking in proof of any of your statements. Just a con tool. What a waste of time.

I never said we shouldn't develop new technology. I said it should not be mass produced before it's financially viable.

We also shouldn't stifle innovation by rewarding failure.

Asterism Says:

I never said we shouldn't develop new technology. I said it should not be mass produced before it's financially viable.

So we should believe you for what reason when you make the judgement on what should be mass produced??? The Toyota Prius lost how much money before it started to make money??

"Toyota loses money on each Prius sold.

Not anymore! Of course, most new designs lose money when first introduced anyway.

It is true that Prius initially lost money. Building the hybrid did cost more than it was sold for, at first. But over the years, Toyota managed to overcome production expenses to reduce that cost to below the window-sticker price. By late 2002, the THS design had proven so successful that Toyota decided to invest again. That made Prius, once again, unprofitable. Fortunately, the new HSD design was created for use in the entire fleet of Toyota passenger vehicles, every single model... which means it is quite inappropriate to place the entire burden of that research & development solely on just one vehicle, Prius.

Now in 2007, there are over 1 million Toyota/Lexus on the road. Earning profit has become a realistic expectation. The other automakers are joining in as a result. The design has proven itself. Losing money is just a memory from the past."
John's Stuff - Toyota Prius Misconceptions
There are many sources that will tell you that, yes indeed, the Prius lost money for years. What you do not want to understand is that what is going on with the Volt is absolutely normal. Because you do not want to understand it. Neither you or I will know what is going to happen with the Volt for a few years. So, why is it that you attack the Volt??? Ignorance??? Or just that you are a con tool???

We also shouldn't stifle innovation by rewarding failure.

I know that you are just so concerned about rewarding failure. Which, of course, has nothing at all to do with stifling innovation. Totally stupid statement. What you are saying is that you feel that we should have allowed the auto industry to go away, causing the loss of over a million jobs, very likely driving the economy into a depression. Because you do not want to "reward failure". Which proves that you are either a con tool, or just plain stupid.

 

[daveman]

Cons are doing the work of their repub heroes, trying to help sully the reputation of the volt. Kill the car if they could. Make it a bad mark for the pres. Eliminate union jobs. To hell with us jobs. they want the white house, and cons are the tools to help them. Forget that good old repub strong business concepts. These are neoncons. No interest in anything but gaining power, and destroying jobs is no concern at all, particularly if many are union jobs.
However, the general public is catching on. Tea parties are decreasing in participation. And people are learning that repub attacks on the volt are agenda driven lies. And, to the disdain of the cons, sales of the volt are rising.

"GM spokesman Jim Cain said the company expects the Volt's August sales to top 2,500, the best month by far since its December 2010 launch. That would mark a 35% increase over July sales and more than a 700% jump from year ago results."
Volt monthly sales to hit record in August - Aug. 30, 2012

DailyTech - August to be Chevrolet Volt's Best Sales Month Yet

This plant has been idled two times this year already due to low demand for the Volt. At least this time demand is remaining high. General Motors sold 10,666 Volt automobiles during the first seven months of 2012. That is a 270% increase from the same span of 2011.

GM had previously forecast the sale of 45,000 Volts for 2012 and abandoned that number saying instead that it would match supply to demand.​

Taxpayers to get charged as Pentagon buys up Chevy Volts | Fox News

The Department of Defense is planning to purchase 1,500 electric cars including Volts as part of its effort to make the military more environmentally friendly. But given the federal government’s bailout of Chevy maker General Motors, President Obama’s praise of the Volt and the car’s long-running problems, the federal purchase is likely to become the latest controversy in the Volt’s short life.

--

Those sales will be boosted at taxpayer expense. The Department of Defense began buying Volts this summer as the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, Calif., purchased two in July. Another 18 Volts will soon be delivered to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where Air Force One is based, according to military magazine Stars and Stripes.

The Obama administration has been among the Volt’s biggest backers with the president vowing to “buy one and drive it myself … five years from now when I’m not president anymore.”

But despite ultra-cheap lease deals and tax breaks of $7,500 for buyers, sales have still been moribund.

Such perks, however, have failed to drive consumers to GM car lots. The vehicle has been forced to suspend production twice this year and will again suspend production later this month after only 2,831 were sold last month.

The General Services Administration bought 100 Volts in 2011 for various agencies.​

The government buying them really isn't indicative of the general population's interest.

Fox news as a source pretty much tells me what you are. Which is a con tool.

So, in my humble opinion, you are simply posting conservative dogma and doing what you can to get people to believe that the new technology of the volt is a bad idea, gm is a bad deal, and if you would only follow the con beliefs that. You have no point. The volt will succeed or fail over time, as do all car models. Makes no real difference in the overall scheme of things. BUT, what does make a difference, to cons, is to find any way at all to help prove that gm is BAD, organized labor is BAD, and the saving of the auto industry of the US is BAD. So, you are in the minority, and most see you as what you are, which is a tool. Nothing more. Just a tool.
Real americans, be they repubs or dems or independents, do not take the hard right dogma view of the auto industry. They do not salivate at putting workers out of work. They do not want the economy to tank. But you do. Simply because you want the repubs to regain the white house. Sad. Really really sad to be that much of a turd. And really, really stupid.
Stay where you are, con, behind drill baby drill, gas burning cars, and petrolium use forever. To hell with that whole issue of us using 23% of the worlds oil, but producing only 3%, Drill, baby, drill. Has not helped yet, unless, of course, you are an oil company, or one of many countries that we buy our oil from. You want the oil companies to continue to get more and more of the wealth of this country.
And, what the hell. If the countries we buy our oil from hate us, and they mess with our oil imports, we can always send in the military. Your a con. So you will never associate military costs with oil import costs. And what the hell if we loose a few thousand more of your military men and women. We want the oil. Why EVER look at replacing some of that oil with alternative fuels? Your a con. The oil companies pay your political heroes. So, you have no open mind. Attack those companies that may try to provide alternatives to oil consumption. You have no open mind. Because, after all, you are a con tool.

"I don't LIKE it! So it's not true!!"

You're dismissed, stupid moonbat.

 

[martinjlm]

Do you think a car company losing $49,000 on each car it builds of a particular model is a success story?

You would have to assume that GM is losing $49K for EVERY car it builds. It is not.

You would have to assume that GM is losing $49K for every Volt that it builds. It is not.

ASSUMING for a one second that GM IS losing $49K for each Volt and ASSUMING that there will be 30,000 Volts sold this year. That is $1.47B. Using 2011 calendar year sales and financial data, that would be out of global sales of about 9.2M vehicles and revenue of $150B and net income of $7.6B. Still solidly in the black IF the $49B number were true. 2012 sales, revenue, and inet income numbers are expected to be higher.

One of the erroneous assumptions in the Forbes article is that the costs of installing the capacity are amortized over the vehicles sold to date. That is a ridiculous assumption. Given that the equipment will be used and depreciated over the full life-cycle of the car and all it's derivatives. Opel Ampera and Cadillac ELR are known derivatives to date. There may or may not be more derivatives coming. The important thing to consider is the overall material cost and labor cost on a per vehicle basis. Those numbers probably still have the Volt being produced at a loss. Thing is, as volume increases, and as battery technology continues to drive the cost of the battery system down, it will reach a point where a profit is realized. It happened with Prius. It happened with Civic Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, etc, etc.....

For what it's worth, I'll be attending the Paris Auto Show where BMW, Audi, and possibly Mercedes Benz will be showing concept and intended production vehicles featuring <gasp!> EREV technology. So, let's just keep on hammering GM for beating good ol' German engineering to the punch!

 

[martinjlm]

...

How many VOLTS do you own? I'm willing to bet no a one. Liberals rarely put their money where there mouth is.

I own one. Not sure I consider myself a liberal, but given that I have voted for Democrats, many of my Republican friends swear that I am one. For the record, I've also voted for a number of Republicans, but that doesn't count when the smears start flying. I consider myself a staunch independent. I vote common sense.

 

[martinjlm]

Do you think a car company losing $49,000 on each car it builds of a particular model is a success story?

You would have to assume that GM is losing $49K for EVERY car it builds. It is not.

You would have to assume that GM is losing $49K for every Volt that it builds. It is not.

ASSUMING for a one second that GM IS losing $49K for each Volt and ASSUMING that there will be 30,000 Volts sold this year. That is $1.47B. Using 2011 calendar year sales and financial data, that would be out of global sales of about 9.2M vehicles and revenue of $150B and net income of $7.6B. Still solidly in the black IF the $49B number were true. 2012 sales, revenue, and inet income numbers are expected to be higher.

One of the erroneous assumptions in the Forbes article is that the costs of installing the capacity are amortized over the vehicles sold to date. That is a ridiculous assumption. Given that the equipment will be used and depreciated over the full life-cycle of the car and all it's derivatives. Opel Ampera and Cadillac ELR are known derivatives to date. There may or may not be more derivatives coming. The important thing to consider is the overall material cost and labor cost on a per vehicle basis. Those numbers probably still have the Volt being produced at a loss. Thing is, as volume increases, and as battery technology continues to drive the cost of the battery system down, it will reach a point where a profit is realized. It happened with Prius. It happened with Civic Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, etc, etc.....

For what it's worth, I'll be attending the Paris Auto Show where BMW, Audi, and possibly Mercedes Benz will be showing concept and intended production vehicles featuring <gasp!> EREV technology. So, let's just keep on hammering GM for beating good ol' German engineering to the punch!

I should also point out that Chevrolet / GM has scored a number of first time GM buyers from the scores of people who come in considering the Volt and DRIVE HOME in a brand new Cruze......a car that GM does make money on. This is what is known as a halo effect. Most successful car makers use this approach.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

I consider myself a staunch independent. I vote common sense.

that means you are independent of the IQ needed to make a decision about whether the Jeffersonian Republican philosophy is better than the liberal philosophy.

Are you too independent to know the difference between up and down? Does your vaunted common sense help you figure it out?

 

[daveman]

Do you think a car company losing $49,000 on each car it builds of a particular model is a success story?

You would have to assume that GM is losing $49K for EVERY car it builds. It is not.

You would have to assume that GM is losing $49K for every Volt that it builds. It is not.

ASSUMING for a one second that GM IS losing $49K for each Volt and ASSUMING that there will be 30,000 Volts sold this year. That is $1.47B. Using 2011 calendar year sales and financial data, that would be out of global sales of about 9.2M vehicles and revenue of $150B and net income of $7.6B. Still solidly in the black IF the $49B number were true. 2012 sales, revenue, and inet income numbers are expected to be higher.

One of the erroneous assumptions in the Forbes article is that the costs of installing the capacity are amortized over the vehicles sold to date. That is a ridiculous assumption. Given that the equipment will be used and depreciated over the full life-cycle of the car and all it's derivatives. Opel Ampera and Cadillac ELR are known derivatives to date. There may or may not be more derivatives coming. The important thing to consider is the overall material cost and labor cost on a per vehicle basis. Those numbers probably still have the Volt being produced at a loss. Thing is, as volume increases, and as battery technology continues to drive the cost of the battery system down, it will reach a point where a profit is realized. It happened with Prius. It happened with Civic Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, etc, etc.....

For what it's worth, I'll be attending the Paris Auto Show where BMW, Audi, and possibly Mercedes Benz will be showing concept and intended production vehicles featuring <gasp!> EREV technology. So, let's just keep on hammering GM for beating good ol' German engineering to the punch!

I wouldn't care if GM were losing truckloads of money on a car with a ridiculously short range if my tax dollars weren't being flushed down the toilet in the process.

Look, you want to send them money to waste so you can feel good about saving the planet, go right ahead. But keep your hands out of my wallet.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

So, let's just keep on hammering GM for beating good ol' German engineering to the punch!

not hammering GM really just the scummy liberal precedent of liberal fool bureaucrats trying to pick winners with other people's hard earned money even after Solyndra, Cuba USSR and Red China failed.
Got it now??

 

[martinjlm]

I consider myself a staunch independent. I vote common sense.

that means you are independent of the IQ needed to make a decision about whether the Jeffersonian Republican philosophy is better than the liberal philosophy.

Are you too independent to know the difference between up and down? Does your vaunted common sense help you figure it out?

****yawn****

 

[martinjlm]

So, let's just keep on hammering GM for beating good ol' German engineering to the punch!

not hammering GM really just the scummy liberal precedent of liberal fool bureaucrats trying to pick winners with other people's hard earned money even after Solyndra, Cuba USSR and Red China failed.
Got it now??

I repeat.......yawn

I'm interested in facts, not rhetoric.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

So, let's just keep on hammering GM for beating good ol' German engineering to the punch!

not hammering GM really just the scummy liberal precedent of liberal fool bureaucrats trying to pick winners with other people's hard earned money even after Solyndra, Cuba USSR and Red China failed.
Got it now??

I repeat.......yawn

I'm interested in facts, not rhetoric.

dear, you forgot to say, facts about what?????????? You want facts to show that USSR and Solyndra failed?????

You want facts to show that a guy investing his own hard earned money will do better than a liberal bureaucrat guessing with someone else's money???????

See why we are positive a liberal will be slow??

 

[chikenwing]

Ford would have loved to see GM close their doors,just like Nash,American motors,packard,cord,and countless others have.The world din't end,and the demand was absorbed by other manufactures.

If DC wanted to bail out people they should have gone to main street.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

Ford would have loved to see GM close their doors,just like Nash,American motors,packard,cord,and countless others have.The world din't end,and the demand was absorbed by other manufactures.

maybe not a good idea since the other manufactures were not US manufacturers

If DC wanted to bail out people they should have gone to main street.

when you bail out a company there is the hope that it will become self-sustaining, while when you bail out people there is little hope that they won't become more and more dependent, addicted Democratic voters.

 

[martinjlm]

A few facts: (clipped article, not my words)

2013 Chevy Volt
The hybrid-electric Chevy Volt has better sales numbers than approximately half of all vehicles sold in the U.S. Domestic car dealers carry approximately 260 different car and truck models for retail sale. Of that number, the Volt ranks almost exactly in the middle, despite recent political debate about the car&#8217;s profitability. An unreliable Associated Press story, which said that GM was losing money on each Volt sold, has been widely debunked. The AP, it was discovered, used improper accounting methods among other glaring inaccuracies.. <see post #46>

Sometimes overlooked in media reviews of the car, the high-tech, crash warning system is quite effective. The clip covers how the program operates, whether the threat of collision comes from the rear or front of the vehicle. Once the stuff of science fiction novels that featured a fellow named Mr. Bond, the safety component is now available on many newer vehicles. Watching how all the science comes together to make it work is fascinating.

Chevy Volt: Update
Despite the incorrect, though widely publicized AP story, the Chevy Volt continues to sell briskly, with many dealers having to put prospective buyers on a waiting list for the popular hybrid. Last month, in fact, the Volt had its best sales period since its debut.
By the end of August, Chevrolet had racked up 13,497 unit sales for the Volt, which turns out to be better than about half of all models. Of 262 vehicle models officially listed as &#8220;for sale,&#8221; in the U.S., Volt ranked 133.

 

[martinjlm]

Ford would have loved to see GM close their doors,just like Nash,American motors,packard,cord,and countless others have.The world din't end,and the demand was absorbed by other manufactures.

If DC wanted to bail out people they should have gone to main street.

Chickenwing,

For some industries that would probably be true. The economics of the industry would redistribute the market share among stronger players.

The auto industry is a little different because of all the 1st Tier, 2nd Tier, and 3rd Tier suppliers that rely on the biggest industry players. GM, Ford, FiatChrysler, and to a lesser but increasing degree Toyota and Nissan and the tentacles of their supply base support multiple communities. The factories themselves have the economies of small towns, supporting the existence of pizza parlors, sandwich shops, hair salons and other small entrepreneurial ventures that pop up in their shadow. So it wouldn't be just GM or Chrysler being eliminated, but hundreds, maybe thousands of small businesses and all their emoyees. When suppliers and local community businesses are factored in, the US Auto Industry impacts either 1/10 or 1/8 of all jobs in the US. Of course that includes all those impacted by Ford, Toyota, Nissan, etc who were not involved in the buyout, but the relative magnitude is still quite great.

The automakers I mention enjoy a very tense relationship, where each to some degree rely on the others to help stabilize the supply base. They all want to has each others head in, but not to the point of resulting in annihilation.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

A few facts: (clipped article, not my words)

2013 Chevy Volt
The hybrid-electric Chevy Volt has better sales numbers than approximately half of all vehicles sold in the U.S. Domestic car dealers carry approximately 260 different car and truck models for retail sale. Of that number, the Volt ranks almost exactly in the middle, despite recent political debate about the car’s profitability. An unreliable Associated Press story, which said that GM was losing money on each Volt sold, has been widely debunked. The AP, it was discovered, used improper accounting methods among other glaring inaccuracies.. <see post #46>

Sometimes overlooked in media reviews of the car, the high-tech, crash warning system is quite effective. The clip covers how the program operates, whether the threat of collision comes from the rear or front of the vehicle. Once the stuff of science fiction novels that featured a fellow named Mr. Bond, the safety component is now available on many newer vehicles. Watching how all the science comes together to make it work is fascinating.

Chevy Volt: Update
Despite the incorrect, though widely publicized AP story, the Chevy Volt continues to sell briskly, with many dealers having to put prospective buyers on a waiting list for the popular hybrid. Last month, in fact, the Volt had its best sales period since its debut.
By the end of August, Chevrolet had racked up 13,497 unit sales for the Volt, which turns out to be better than about half of all models. Of 262 vehicle models officially listed as “for sale,” in the U.S., Volt ranked 133.

do you have any idea what your point is???? Do you want liberal bureaucrats to pick all new products???? Are you communist? Do you know what you are?

 

[martinjlm]

A few facts: (clipped article, not my words)

2013 Chevy Volt
The hybrid-electric Chevy Volt has better sales numbers than approximately half of all vehicles sold in the U.S. Domestic car dealers carry approximately 260 different car and truck models for retail sale. Of that number, the Volt ranks almost exactly in the middle, despite recent political debate about the car’s profitability. An unreliable Associated Press story, which said that GM was losing money on each Volt sold, has been widely debunked. The AP, it was discovered, used improper accounting methods among other glaring inaccuracies.. <see post #46>

Sometimes overlooked in media reviews of the car, the high-tech, crash warning system is quite effective. The clip covers how the program operates, whether the threat of collision comes from the rear or front of the vehicle. Once the stuff of science fiction novels that featured a fellow named Mr. Bond, the safety component is now available on many newer vehicles. Watching how all the science comes together to make it work is fascinating.

Chevy Volt: Update
Despite the incorrect, though widely publicized AP story, the Chevy Volt continues to sell briskly, with many dealers having to put prospective buyers on a waiting list for the popular hybrid. Last month, in fact, the Volt had its best sales period since its debut.
By the end of August, Chevrolet had racked up 13,497 unit sales for the Volt, which turns out to be better than about half of all models. Of 262 vehicle models officially listed as “for sale,” in the U.S., Volt ranked 133.

do you have any idea what your point is???? Do you want liberal bureaucrats to pick all new products???? Are you communist? Do you know what you are?

My point is that cars and politics are like biscuits and boots. Both exist but they have very little to do with each other EXCEPT in an election year when one side has nothing to talk about. You can decide for yourself which side that may be.

And when politicians stick their noses in the PRODUCT side of the industry, they tend to come off sounding and acting like complete idiots to those of us who live and breathe the industry every day. There are reasons for politics to play out on the BUSINESS and FINANCE side of the industry, but to waste people's time by politicizing one particular car (which by the way, they major players in the industry are stumbling all over themselves trying to copy) is totally ludicrous and serves no one.