The Volt Goes to Washington D.C.

2 Responses to “The Volt Goes to Washington D.C.”

1. 
   
   

   CommonSense Says:
   July 23rd, 2007 at 12:09 am

   I do some work with DriveCongress.com and I think that it is important to note on this issue that there is some legislation that the auto industry has said is achievable that can be used as middle ground. The Hill Terry legislation that is being proposed is a compromise that both sides can be happy with that does raise CAFE standards but is still something that is realistic for our auto manufacturers. I normally don’t agree with government regulations on business in these types of cases, but I do believe that this is one that we should look into to take a common sense approach we can all agree on.  
   
   (Quote)

2. 
   
   

   mlhm5 Says:
   July 24th, 2007 at 9:18 am

   GM will never market the VOLT. After all it was GM that marketed the EV-1 and when it looked like it was going to be successful, canceled all the leases, rounded up every single EV-1 ever built and crushed them all.

   The car was more successful than GM ever thought it could have been, even with limited mileage.

   IMO was a threat to the status quo in the symbiotic relationship between Big Oil and GM. A partnership, which in the past, had colluded, and was found guilty of removing all the street cars from American cities.

   Public acceptance of the hybrid, so far, has been fantastic. The Prius is the 9th best selling vehicle and is selling over 25K cars a month and it is not a plug in hybrid like the Volt.

   As far as GM ever marketing the Volt, well GM is fighting the new CAFE standards tooth and nail, yet a plug in hybrid is their savior.

   In June 2007, GM sold 320,000 light vehicles in the US, which is equivalent to selling ~3,840,000 vehicles a year.

   Assuming GM sales in the US increase by just 2% per year for the next 13 years, GM would be selling the equivalent of 4,838,400 vehicles a year in 2020.

   Currently, the average US auto fleet gets 25 miles per gallon, assuming GM’s fleet gets the same mpg.

   The proposed new CAFE standard call for 40 mpg by 2020, which will be reduced by the time it become law.

   If GM were to mass produce the Chevy VOLT, a car that should get at least 100 miles per gallon, then GM would need to sell only 663,400 Volts per year, to avoid making any mileage improvements to the remaining 4,175,000 vehicles in its fleet.

   Did you get that? GM can avoid spending any $$ to make ANY mileage improvements to the rest of its entire fleet. Of course competition may force the issue, but legally they would be on solid ground.

   If by 2020 the Chevy Volt’s basic. usefu. roomy, variants i.e. hatchback, sedan, wagon or wagon type SUV made up 13.7% of total GM fleet sales in the US, GM would have to legally do nothing to increase the mileage efficiency for the remaining 86.7% of its fleet.

   To me, it seems that the above scenario would be easier to achieve than trying to come up with a 40mpg SUV. If I am wrong, and GM sold slightly less Volts, they would have to make ever so slight improvements in the mileage of its remaining fleet vehicles.

   So why GM is fighting the new CAFE standards when it is obvious the public has already accepted hybrids, and Toyota has plans to make the Prius a plug in hybrid?  
   
   (Quote)

Leave a Reply