Is GM making a big mistake with the Volt? From what I understand, Volt will be $40,000+, with GM taking a loss on each one. Did GM management screw up in putting all there eggs in the Volt basket(i.e. the plug-in hybrid basket)? Should GM have taken the route such as Toyota, Honda, and Ford and come out with electric-gas hybrids like the Prius/Camry/Insight/Fusion that get great gas mileage, can be purchased for a reasonable amount of money, and can be sold in large volumes? Is the Volt a non-factor with gas aroung $2/gallon? Your thoughts...

 

Correction: Volt will be $40,000+, so that GM does not have to take a loss on each one.

Sales will be slow until gas prices spike again. In the meantime, I'm in favor of the Cadillac Converj concept being pushed for production, because a premium vehicle would help pay for all of the expensive R&D that has gone into that platform.

GM has several such hybrids on the market already. More importantly, they've concentrated first on releasing hybrid versions of their full-size trucks, where hybrid technology's impact on fuel economy is most needed and appreciated.

 

Volt is a great move. GM will be the first one out with a real electric car,the R&D will prove useful for the future. It is also a great PR move. Gas won't be $2 for long, once the recession is over the prices will be back up fast, just in time for high MPG vehicles to be in high demand.

Volt is to MPG what Corvette is to HP and 0-60, it is GM's green halo.

I'd still like to see another 40mpg car from GM. They really need to get all they can out of the Cruze and Beat/Spark. I also wish they put the 2 mode in something other than full size vehicles, sales have been a flop. It needs to go into Malibus and Equinox teamed with a DI 4cyl.

 

If gas is still around $2/gal when the Volt hits the showrooms, then this economy is a lot worse off than we feared. (Furthermore, GM probably won't be around in its present form if that were to happen.)

IMHO, the Volt is 100x better than any non-plug in gas/electric hybrid, regardless of the price.

 

I think the only mistake here is that GM has forged ahead with the Volt at the expense of ALL other future product. If gas doesn't spike sufficiently by the time the Volt comes out it may not have the impact it should. That said it's a very innovative product and yes the Cadillac should move ahead to spread costs.

That said other programs shouldn't be completely sacrificed since there are other areas of the market that won't stand still just because GM has.

 

Volt would be a bigger mistake if GM decided not to produce it!

Could you imagine how the 'experts' would go on about GM not being enviro-conscious?

 

Honestly, yes the Volt is a mistake. Hang with me here for a moment. GM brought out the Volt concept as nothing more than a new version of their fuel cell/electric drivetrain they had been working on since the skateboard chassis of the mid 90s. The styling struck a nerve with enthusiasts and the greenies liked what GM said about with the range and other eviro stuff. That is when the pressure was building GM to get a hit product out, gas prices were rising and they still had the image of making only land barge SUVs chugging down gas.

Had GM instead of showing off the Volt concept, shown off the Cruze and said "This will deliver 40 mpg, be on sale next spring, and all for under $20k!" they would have gotten almost as much positive PR for a much smaller price tag. Also if they had moved forward with their 2 mode hybrid system in the Epsilon cars and integrated start stop system (BAS hybrid) on the delta cars they would be in a stronger market position IMO because they would be competing directly with mainstream hybrids instead of burning cash chasing after tech so advanced it isn't going to be fully tested when it hits the showrooms.

Honestly just how much money as the Volt burned in GM's pocket and how could that money have been spent differently? The Volt may be the right car but it isn't coming at the right time.

 

How do you know if Q4 2010 won't be the right time? The world could see some significant changes over the next 18 months. Not to say those changes couldn't hurt Volt viability either, of course.

I just read about the 2010 Toyota Prius... optioned-out it's sticker will exceed $30,000. Volt, with federal tax credit, should be around $32,500. Seems feasible to me.

 

I'm not looking forward to my electric bill increasing 10 fold when everybody has their damn electric car...

I think we should stay ICE/Hybrid IMO.

We'll be screwed, by then "cheap" power plants (read coal) will not even be allowed to operate. I hate hippies.

 

I think that the development time was at the wrong time, given GM's financial situation.

 

Buy some solar panels for your roof and lock in your electric price.

 

Couldn't agree more. The Cruze will be GM's savior, not the Volt.

However the Volt and Cruze share similar styling and platform, so the Volt can be sold as a upscale ultra-green version of the Cruze. Additionally, the Volt will draw folks into Chevrolet dealerships. When buyers see the Volt, then look over at the similarly sized/designed Cruze at half the price and 40 mpg, which will they buy? Most will buy the Cruze, of course. However how many buyers would flock to the lots just to see the Cruze, if there were no Volt?

The Volt is different from today's GM hybrids. The ICE in the Volt merely recharges the on-board battery packs. On today's GM hybrids, the ICE still powers the wheels... which is not the case with Volt. It is a step forward in hybrid ICE/electric vehicles, just not the giant leap everyone makes it out to be.

 

GM makes money on the Corvette.... and at 10K the 1st year versus normally 30K annual sales, GM will sell alot more Corvettes as well.

Couldn't agree with you more.

Unfortunately, you are also right.

I guess GM's got themselves in a corner on this one..... but they painted themselves there.



You have summed up everything I've been trying to say in a very direct way.

GM has burned through money, cancelled projects (the RWD Impala is said to be one of those cancelled) & delayed others to divert both money and personnel to getting the Volt out within the timeframe they promised.

Again, this is resources diverted from vehicles that would actually generate money for GM to go to a project that won't.

That's the problem I have with Volt.

But like SS said, if GM cancells now after all the hoopla they did with the Volt, it would be devestating PR.

GM backed themselves in a corner on this one... and I'm not sure if the company will survive it.



Toyota is worth 100 billion dollars.

General Motors net worth is around negative 60 billion dollars.

Toyota can afford to lose money on a car for the sake of PR.

Can GM divert what little resources they have left out of vehicles that could potentially save the company to one that will lose money... just for PR's sake?

 

I have read that about 500 engineers are working on the Volt. While it is a novel idea, the strategy GM is using is wrong. Given their financial state, they cant afford a huge loss leader.

At 40+k price range, its not in Chevy's main target market. Volumes will be annually under 30k units, its not going to save the company. After spending $1 billion to build less than 1,000 EV1 cars (about $1 million spent per car!!!), does anyone think this proposition will be a cheap date? Will this vehicle replace Saab as the new money pit?

Given the fact that there are readily available hybrids in the mid twenty price range, how are you going to convince large numbers of people to shell out nearly double for a Volt? How much is GM spending advertising the Volt?

Really, GM needs to worry about maximizing the fuel economy of the volume Cobalt replacement (and call it Cobalt) as well as other profitable core products.

 

I wasn't really arguing whether the money was well-spent or not, just the market viability of the car itself. We can talk about (and have at length) GM's poor cash management till the cows come home.