GM Will Buy Volts Back From Any Owner That Asks
12-02-2011, 02:31 PM
#1
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GM Will Buy Volts Back From Any Owner That Asks
So far nobody has taken GM up on the offer. This must mean they like and trust their Volts.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=23424
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=23424
GM is going to great lengths to make Volt owners happy
GM and its extended range EV called the Volt have been under fire lately for vehicles that caught fire after crash testing. GM has so far pointed out that it hasn't received any reports of the Volt catching fire in an actual accident despite the incidences in crash testing. The drama surrounding the Volt started in the middle of November when the NHTSA conducted a side impact crash test on a Volt and then parked it in the parking lot.
The Volt sat there for three weeks before catching fire and burning hot enough to damage other vehicles nearby. The resulting fire after three weeks was linked to the battery packs used in the Volt and the NHTSA kicked off an investigation into the Volt. Three more Volts were obtained and out of those three subjected to the same side impact crash tests with simulated rollovers; two of them had more issues. One of the cars caught fire within seven days of the test and the other started smoking and throwing sparks immediately after the test.
GM has been upfront with buyers so far and has even offered loaner cars until the investigation is complete to any Volt owner that is worried about the risk of fire. GM has now sweetened the deal with GM CEO Dan Akerson saying in a recent interview that GM would purchase back any Volt from an owner that requested it. So far, none of the Volt owners has asked GM to buy their car back.
GM did note that out of the roughly 6,000 Volts sold it had received about 230 calls from concerned owners and that so far 33 Volt owners have asked for loaner cars. GM spokesman Selim Bingol has said, "We're going to do what it takes to make every consumer completely satisfied."
Despite the issues with the Volt and possibility of fire, the car still has the highest satisfaction rate in the automotive market at 93% of owners saying they would buy the car again. That is higher than the 91% satisfaction that owners of the Dodge Challenger and Porsche 911 have expressed.
GM has also noted that it will not hit its 10,000 unit mark for the Volt this year. GM has sold 6,142 Volts so far. Even with the battery fire publicity the Volt sold more than 1,108 units in November for its best month ever. The Volt is selling so well now that some in Washington are wanting to end the $7,500 tax credit the Volt offers.
Source: The Detroit News
GM and its extended range EV called the Volt have been under fire lately for vehicles that caught fire after crash testing. GM has so far pointed out that it hasn't received any reports of the Volt catching fire in an actual accident despite the incidences in crash testing. The drama surrounding the Volt started in the middle of November when the NHTSA conducted a side impact crash test on a Volt and then parked it in the parking lot.
The Volt sat there for three weeks before catching fire and burning hot enough to damage other vehicles nearby. The resulting fire after three weeks was linked to the battery packs used in the Volt and the NHTSA kicked off an investigation into the Volt. Three more Volts were obtained and out of those three subjected to the same side impact crash tests with simulated rollovers; two of them had more issues. One of the cars caught fire within seven days of the test and the other started smoking and throwing sparks immediately after the test.
GM has been upfront with buyers so far and has even offered loaner cars until the investigation is complete to any Volt owner that is worried about the risk of fire. GM has now sweetened the deal with GM CEO Dan Akerson saying in a recent interview that GM would purchase back any Volt from an owner that requested it. So far, none of the Volt owners has asked GM to buy their car back.
GM did note that out of the roughly 6,000 Volts sold it had received about 230 calls from concerned owners and that so far 33 Volt owners have asked for loaner cars. GM spokesman Selim Bingol has said, "We're going to do what it takes to make every consumer completely satisfied."
Despite the issues with the Volt and possibility of fire, the car still has the highest satisfaction rate in the automotive market at 93% of owners saying they would buy the car again. That is higher than the 91% satisfaction that owners of the Dodge Challenger and Porsche 911 have expressed.
GM has also noted that it will not hit its 10,000 unit mark for the Volt this year. GM has sold 6,142 Volts so far. Even with the battery fire publicity the Volt sold more than 1,108 units in November for its best month ever. The Volt is selling so well now that some in Washington are wanting to end the $7,500 tax credit the Volt offers.
Source: The Detroit News
12-02-2011, 10:16 PM
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Re: GM Will Buy Volts Back From Any Owner That Asks
Odd. My 2008 Silverado that was still under warranty caught fire sitting in my driveway (electric fire in the door). They told me...a loyal customer...to either wait 90 days with no replacement vehicle or have my insurance fix it.
They couldn't have tried much harder to lose a customer.
/rant off
They couldn't have tried much harder to lose a customer.
/rant off
12-03-2011, 07:06 AM
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Re: GM Will Buy Volts Back From Any Owner That Asks
Odd. My 2008 Silverado that was still under warranty caught fire sitting in my driveway (electric fire in the door). They told me...a loyal customer...to either wait 90 days with no replacement vehicle or have my insurance fix it.
They couldn't have tried much harder to lose a customer.
/rant off
They couldn't have tried much harder to lose a customer.
/rant off
What was the 'wait 90 days' part of it?
12-03-2011, 08:20 AM
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12-03-2011, 10:19 AM
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12-03-2011, 07:49 PM
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Re: GM Will Buy Volts Back From Any Owner That Asks
I feel REALLY bad for GM, for once.
If you smack a gasoline powered-car hard enough, it too will burst into flames. And not 3 weeks later when it's sitting in a storage facility, like, NOW, while you're still in it, trying to disentangle yourself from the wreckage.
Meanwhile the media and stupid-heads are all running around crazy thinking they've found the next Ford Pinto or Chevy CK pickup with frame mounted fuel tanks in the bedsides. Aye. We need people to LOVE these cars, not fear them...
If you smack a gasoline powered-car hard enough, it too will burst into flames. And not 3 weeks later when it's sitting in a storage facility, like, NOW, while you're still in it, trying to disentangle yourself from the wreckage.
Meanwhile the media and stupid-heads are all running around crazy thinking they've found the next Ford Pinto or Chevy CK pickup with frame mounted fuel tanks in the bedsides. Aye. We need people to LOVE these cars, not fear them...
12-04-2011, 04:26 PM
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Re: GM Will Buy Volts Back From Any Owner That Asks
I feel REALLY bad for GM, for once.
If you smack a gasoline powered-car hard enough, it too will burst into flames. And not 3 weeks later when it's sitting in a storage facility, like, NOW, while you're still in it, trying to disentangle yourself from the wreckage.
Meanwhile the media and stupid-heads are all running around crazy thinking they've found the next Ford Pinto or Chevy CK pickup with frame mounted fuel tanks in the bedsides. Aye. We need people to LOVE these cars, not fear them...
If you smack a gasoline powered-car hard enough, it too will burst into flames. And not 3 weeks later when it's sitting in a storage facility, like, NOW, while you're still in it, trying to disentangle yourself from the wreckage.
Meanwhile the media and stupid-heads are all running around crazy thinking they've found the next Ford Pinto or Chevy CK pickup with frame mounted fuel tanks in the bedsides. Aye. We need people to LOVE these cars, not fear them...
Like I said in the other thread, I think the bigger concern was the second volt mentioned in the original study -- the one that immolated itself and burned down the garage it was in during normal charging.
Why is no one talking about that one? Is GM PR that good?
12-05-2011, 12:07 PM
#12
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Re: GM Will Buy Volts Back From Any Owner That Asks
Are you talking about the Volt in North Carolina? If you are that is because all of the investigators that have looked at that fire determined that neither the Volt nor its charger caused the fire in that garage. They just happened to be parked in a garage that burnt down.
12-05-2011, 12:48 PM
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12-05-2011, 01:24 PM
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12-05-2011, 01:56 PM
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Re: GM Will Buy Volts Back From Any Owner That Asks
GM is being pretty proactive about this. Here is an update
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=23434
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=23434