Can the Chevy Volt Survive GM?

Chrysler

I know several people that work at Chrysler dealerships

in northern NJ. I've asked them several times how there sales are? repeatable, they have said there sales have never been better. that November was better than Oct and December better than Oct & Nov.

So I would like to know what IS going on?

of @ Dec 04, 2008 12:11:29 PM

GM Volt....

Here again a US car manufacturer has missed the mark. Any guy with a garage, computer, and tools can convert a used small car to battery powered for about $13,000.00. The car would get at least 40 miles to a charge and the technology is already being used. Plans can be found for under a 100 bucks. I have a set.

$30 to $40 thousand for what GM is saying is new technology. I say boloney. This is not new stuff. They (GM), needs to be dumped as a car manufacturer. The amount of energy needed to build the car far out weighs the benefits.

Darrel of WA @ Dec 04, 2008 11:27:16 AM

Still missing the point!

If Gm is hoping to sell many of these sporty cars, what market are they hoping to tap? A young family with 2 children in car seats may want the Volt, but practical families looking to maximize the family budget would turn their nose up when considering the Volt.

What about the guy who goes to Home Depot on Saturday in a Volt. How is he going to get an 8' board in the car? Stick it out the sunroof? GM is not building a car that is practical...just consider what is going into it...GM has been showing off is a sporty four-seater with futuristic touches meant to draw in mainstream gearheads. The dashboard controls are touch-sensitive and set in a white console reminiscent of an iPod. Instead of standard gauges for speed and RPMs, there's a digital display that looks like the screen of a Sony PSP

DOM'T GIVE THIS US CRAP! CUT THE COSTS OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY BY GIVING US A BASIC MODEL THAT WE CAN UPGRADE AS DESIRED!

This car probably has about 4" of legroom in the back seat. Will there be a 4 door model? Take a look at the cars around you on the freeway. How many 2 doors compared to 4 doors?

I dislike SUVs, but at least you could put something in back. What are you going to be able to put in the Volt trunk?...empty Starbucks cups and your iPod.

XbnBX of TX @ Dec 04, 2008 08:30:34 AM

electric car

Hey what about the guys out in California, they already have a car with batteries that goes and looks like a sport car, gets alot more miles per charge. Why isn't there any stories on this?

Pete of @ Dec 04, 2008 08:22:46 AM

Chevy Volt

The Blog on GM and the future of the company and the Volt is interesting but more interesting is that the writer, like so many of the CEO's, seems to have his head buried deep in the sand regarding gas prices. The lower gas prices cannot be expected too last for very long. The sad addiction to oil will result in yet another spike in prices, the only question is how soon (a week, a month, perhaps a year if we are very lucky). The auto industry failed to address the problem of our addiction to oil when we faced shortages in the seventies and, if the CEOs of the automakers continue to have the same short-sighted thinking that the writer of this blog has, they will repeat the history of failing to learn from their mistakes and continuing to avoid investment in increased economy and alternative fuels they will fail again. No biggie though, although the citizens of this country stand unwilling and without means to bail them out, our so called representitives will serve the means of the auto execs and bail them out.

God bless a democracy.

the lorax of IL @ Dec 03, 2008 20:55:36 PM

The Volt is important to GM even if it isn't immediately profitable. If if proves reliable and drives well, it will help cast a halo over GM as a forward-thinking, innovative company, much as the Prius did for Toyota. If GM somehow survives and prospers, people may look back 15 years from now and laud GM for taking the long view in the move away from oil consumption with a fully electric car whose gasoline engine is used only as an onboard generator for long drives, whilst Toyota and Honda went with near-term hybrids that still are mostly gasoline-powered even for short trips.

of MD @ Dec 03, 2008 19:05:55 PM

to the comment about GM building inferior cars in Canda?

The best plant in the world for Quality is in OSHAWA, ONTARIO CANADA...

Get your facts straight.

kris @ Dec 03, 2008 18:52:57 PM

to the comment about GM building inferior cars in Canda?

The best plant in the world for Quality is in OSHAWA, ONTARIO CANADA...

Get your facts straight.

of @ Dec 03, 2008 18:52:22 PM