GM-Volt.com has just been signed to the Internet advertising agency Federated Media. This company is significant, they are the ad partners for such massive sites as Techcrunch, BoingBoing, and Digg.
This relationship will allows us access to high quality direct advertisers and actually help us spread the Volt word to corporate America.
Sorry to do this, but they require me to post a brief readership survey. I would appreciate it if you could take a moment or two to fill it out (link below). It is anonymous.
Anyway, since they will give me back the results, I will post them back here. It might actually be interesting to see a demographic profile for the typical reader of GM-Volt.com.
Thanks.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 5:45 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Apr 29th, 2008 (6:14 am)Done. Lyle, I hope this works out for you.
Apr 29th, 2008 (6:24 am)You should be interviewing them! You are growing a nice, diverse group of potential customers. They should sign you up fast.
So, does this mean you are going to give up your practice and work for the electrification movement full time? To be honest, I don’t see a more important and timely endeavor… Even for a doctor! The path the world takes in the next few years could determine wether there’s great suffering or great progress…. Anyway, good luck and I hope the revenues at least covers your expenses to travel the world educating and organizing people.
Apr 29th, 2008 (6:27 am)Mission completed, target neutralized…..
Apr 29th, 2008 (6:34 am)It is finished
Apr 29th, 2008 (6:57 am)Don’t be apologetic for necessary evils that are used to spread the GM-VOLT good news!
Apr 29th, 2008 (7:16 am)Lyle,
South Texas reporting in. Job completed.
Apr 29th, 2008 (7:32 am)All completed Lyle.
Apr 29th, 2008 (7:35 am)done deal–that’s 2 for South Texas…………
Apr 29th, 2008 (7:40 am)Done. Don’t hesitate to ask.
Apr 29th, 2008 (7:43 am)I NEVER fill out questionnaires like this, but I’ll gladly do so for THIS website. Keep up the good work, Lyle.
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:06 am)I will happily take the survey…and overestimate myself.
Over 250K?
Sure….in pounds too? Why not!
Please tell us your job level. CEO?
Well, I guess…if there is no ‘king’ icon.
Job Function?
Maintaining the earth’s gravity.
How often do I travel by air for business?
What is this ‘ground I hear so much about?
Ok, maybe not, I was honest.
(I don’t actually ‘maintain’ earth’s gravity…whose got time for that? I stick to just controling the axis).
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:08 am)Done
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:08 am)I use Firefox with Adblock Plus. I’m amazed whenever I use someone else’s browser at the angry noisy fruit salad that awaits most people on regular websites. I usually have trouble navigating the sites that I read regularly without the adblock software, because there’s so much noise.
Webpages should sit on my desktop until *I* am ready to read them, and shouldn’t attempt to attract my attention with anything other than quality information — no flash, no music, no animated gifs, nothing. Once advertisers stop that obnoxious crap, then they can display their ads to me.
I also don’t own a TV anymore, for similar reasons. (I got rid of it during the 2004 election, if that tells you anything…)
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:10 am)#13 Luke
“I also don’t own a TV anymore, for similar reasons. (I got rid of it during the 2004 election, if that tells you anything…)”
It tells me…you have a much less pasty white complexion than I do.
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:22 am)I get my light exposure from the glow of an LCD screen.
Gives me a pale blue complexion.
Kind of see through…
What’s a “TV”?
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:22 am)Glad to oblige, Lyle! And my comment to Federated Media was……
“www.gm-volt.com is an incredible web site and blogging site which could serve as an excellent model for other webmasters/bloggers!”
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:28 am)Now we know why the automakers weren’t screaming over the CAFE rules
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/04/28/now-we-know-why-the-automakers-werent-screaming-over-the-cafe-r/#comments
The new, more complex rules would allow them to sell more trucks & SUVs. It’s NOT what they say; it is what they DON’T say and what they DO. In other words, a quiet nod with an evil smile means more than a loud scream.
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:30 am)Survey Completed…
I hope you get $12.00 for every completed survey..
Then you can throw a big bash for all of us someday. :O)
Paul
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:41 am)Done. Anxious to see our demographics!
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:44 am)Lyle:
Do how does this help this site?
Apr 29th, 2008 (9:07 am)@ #20: Ads will be targeted and they will bring more $$ per page view.
Apr 29th, 2008 (9:19 am)Filled out, hope it helps. Thanks again for the awesome site!
Apr 29th, 2008 (9:32 am)Deutsche Bank: Electric Cars Could Wipe Gas Cars off the Map
http://solveclimate.com/blog/20080409/deutsche-bank-electric-cars-could-wipe-gas-cars-map
“How do they know?
Because Deutsche Bank crunched the numbers and found this. It will cost no more than seven cents to drive one mile under the Project Better Place scheme, including battery and electricity costs. Compare that with 24 cents per mile in Europe in a gas-powered car, and 15 to 20 cents per mile in America.”
Apr 29th, 2008 (9:33 am)Survey done… Is this the first one from Canada?
We need lots of Volts up here to.. and probably with now help from the government.
Apr 29th, 2008 (9:34 am)I meant to say NO help from the government.. (sticky keys)
Apr 29th, 2008 (9:34 am)Survey completed. Good Luck, Lyle.
Anything to spread the word.
Apr 29th, 2008 (9:48 am)Anything to help this site and promotion of GM Volt.
Great job, Lyle.
Apr 29th, 2008 (9:51 am)Survey completed. Hope this new relationship will have a positive effect.
Apr 29th, 2008 (10:02 am)The over-populated, smog filled, tiny state of Montana do our part.
We had a state-wide vote at the rodeo last night. I was elected the state representative to GM. LOL.
Apr 29th, 2008 (10:05 am)Tim # 23, Thanks for the link. I still don’t see it working in the USA though.
“A typical contract mentioned in the bank’s report would cover a year or more, and would cost $550 per month. For that price, customers would get 18,000 miles annually, the battery, electricity for each recharge, and the car.”
I travel about 2,200 miles a month and at $4.00 a gallon, that cost is approx $283. My work commute is 101 miles 5 days a week. I think that is high and most people are way less than that. So they are spending less on gas than I am. This is why I think $550 per month is high and won’t work in the USA.
I’m curious to hear your opinion?
Apr 29th, 2008 (10:07 am)Eric E. You live in Montana. You are so lucky. That state is beautiful.
Glacier National Park is my favorite National Park. Trust me. I have been in a bunch of National Parks.
Apr 29th, 2008 (10:08 am)#30
I agree. It will not work in the USA. Cars are not cell phones.
Apr 29th, 2008 (10:14 am)Lyle,
Advertising attention is a measure of presence in the marketplace of ideas. It is a measure of your impact (which is large and growing). Do not apologize! Embrace it!
Apr 29th, 2008 (10:40 am)Done with pleasure
Apr 29th, 2008 (10:42 am)Tim #23
PBP came up once before on this site and as has been stated, most people agree that this is not going to work. It might work in socialistic countries like Sweeden etc. but not in the US. The reason Deutsche Bank is bullish is that they’ve got a stake in it.
Think about it, is GM supposed to halt production of the Volt and it’s design characteristics so this company can standardize a battery for all manufacturers and not allow them to compete? Not the American way, and with current technology you would be switching batteries every 40-60 miles. Like H2, think of the infrastructure that would have to be built. This company is telling car manufacturers that THEY will be the center of battery production and you just make a car to fit our batteries….rrrrright!
Absolutely will NOT work.
Apr 29th, 2008 (10:46 am)#2 Texas:
You make a very good point. I have done a fair amount of work on the issue of toxic diesel pollution from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. One of the most effective people in that effort is John Miller, MD of San Pedro, CA. The number of premature deaths due to air pollution every year in the US is staggering. Southern California, and the area around the ports in particular, are terrible hot spots.
Dr. Miller has testified to many public hearings that he has decided that he can save many more lives by trying to lessen air pollution than her ever can in his emergency room. Many lives would also be saved by widespread adoption of technologies such as the Volt.
This is the true definition of a physician, IMHO.
Apr 29th, 2008 (10:52 am)BTW, survey submitted.
11 Statik:
Overestimate ourselves?????? Naaaaahh.
#13 Luke:
Re the TV, I hear you. After watching about 5 minutes of the talking heads on Larry King Live last night ranting about Reverend Wright, I had to leave the room. My TV is about to follow yours. If not for Speed Channel, it would have done so already.
Apr 29th, 2008 (10:52 am)Done!
Apr 29th, 2008 (11:09 am)Done! Way to go Lyle. I hope this offsets some of you expense. Hope it doesn’t take long (once they come out) for them to get to Tennessee!
Apr 29th, 2008 (11:12 am)Done, hope this helps!
Apr 29th, 2008 (11:13 am)Chicagoland reporting in.
Apr 29th, 2008 (11:27 am)Lyle, no doubt you need resources to keep this site developing.
Survey done from Belgium, no doubts I have some favorite sites which are not the same as the majority of other people except the first one : gm-vol.tcom
Apr 29th, 2008 (11:35 am)Rashiid Amul (#30)
I believe that electric cars will dominate in time, however Americans will not accept the project Better Place model because they want to OWN, not RENT.
Why will Americans buy electric cars in huge numbers? According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Omnibus Household Survey:
78% of us drive less than 40 miles each day and 92% of all One-Way trips are less than 40 miles (with a plug at each end of the trip) but we NEED highway speeds to commute.
http://www.gm-volt.com/2007/12/06/how-did-gm-determine-that-78-of-commuters-drive-less-than-40-miles-per-day/
The transition to electric cars will happen VERY quickly once REAL highway capable electric cars become available and are PROPERLY & seriously marketed. Most people will also be afraid of the change (human nature) so they will keep one of their old ICE “smokers” as a lifeline for those occasional long trips. That is until they realize that it’s foolish to pay property tax, insurance and maintenance on an ICE car that they almost never drive and that it is far cheaper to just rent an ICE car or a “hybrid” or take public transportation for those occasional trips to see grandma and rent an electric car at their destination.
GM realizes NOW that killing the EV-1 was a terrible PR mistake and that the future of the car is electric due to high gas prices and the “green” movement! They also know that E-Flex is there ONLY to help people overcome range anxiety. I believe that for many, the Volt will be a one generation car with the next being a longer range (90% battery usage) BEV version. Other manufacturers are already following or will follow GM’s lead.
The higher the oil price, the faster the change that is as long as people can afford new cars. Only time will tell…
Apr 29th, 2008 (11:49 am)Tim #42. I agree with most of what you said. I personally would not have a problem paying for PBP if I thought it would work. So far, the range is too short, batteries are not standardized (as Grizzly pointed out above), and $550 is way too expensive. The latter being the most important, I think. For me, gas would have to reach $7.80 a gallon for me to pay $553 a month for it. For those 78%, gas would have to be much much higher per gallon.
I wish PBP luck. I hope it works for them. We absolutely need to get off of oil. But I just don’t see a mass exodus away from it before the costs come down significantly.
You have me on the need for EVs, just not on PBP in the USA.
Apr 29th, 2008 (12:03 pm)I read an article about how there is no physical shortage of oil currently. That a large part of the current price of oil is speculation and the future potential of shortages effecting futures markets if more capacity does not come on-line in the near term. I think a risk to electrification of automobiles is another plunge in the oil price in the short-term. If that happens, let’s hope that GM doesn’t lose their nerve to continue to fully develop these technologies…
Apr 29th, 2008 (12:38 pm)I have done the survey as you asked. One day, my family will call upon your family for a favor…
Apr 29th, 2008 (12:50 pm)Since you asked so nicely, I’ll gladly fill out your survey.
I was feeling like a smartass on one questions though: Name your 5 favorite sites…. I put in #4: “Your mama’s pr0n site. (Just seeing if you were paying attention. Laugh or something!)”
The rest of it I filled out pretty seriously.
*grin*
Apr 29th, 2008 (12:50 pm)Bob (#44) – Electric cars are about domestic energy vs imported energy.
Electricity can be 100% domestic and imported EVERYTHING will continue to increase in cost as long as the US $Dollar plunges in value due to the Fed’s printing more (debasing the fiat currency) so Congress (ignoring their oaths to support the US Constitution) wastes it on military and “entitlement” spending while they pander for votes from the ignorant, greedy and non-productive by putting our children’s children in debt and threatening our very rights and freedoms.
Apr 29th, 2008 (12:53 pm)#44
Two comments:
One– Even if oil prices drop a lot and we end up with $2.00 /gal gasoline, I believe we all have enough sense now to understand that it will come right back up. It would just be a tactic by the producers and distributors to keep us locked in.
Two– We have to remember to not trade the oil producers and distributors for another price gouger in the form of the electrical companies. Most of these companies have very tight relationships with our state governments and can get the state agencies to pass rate increases almost anytime they desire. So, we have to ready to stop that when it comes up. Rate increase are ok as long as they are based on actual need and not on strictly a profit motive.
Apr 29th, 2008 (12:56 pm)Tim (#46)
I agree that electric cars are about domestic energy vs imported energy. That is a strategic position. As long as the price of oil is high and climbing there will be more and more alignment around that strategic position. My concern, however, is that the strategic alignment can be altered if the price of oil plunges to a much lower level (and this can happen for various reasons).
Apr 29th, 2008 (1:01 pm)#46 & #48
As oil consumptions declines, assuming wide adoption of electrical vehicles in most major cities of the world, price will fall because supply will greatly exceed demand. The oil producers may try to prop up the price by reducing production and therefor try to match production to demand thereby keeping prices higher.
Apr 29th, 2008 (1:44 pm)Bob (#48) – Domestic electric also means distributed renewable local and personal.
I’m been watching the almost daily solar & wind technology announcements. In the next 2-3 years or so, we will be able to install thin film printable PV solar on our rooftops for less than $1.00/watt amortized in 2-3 years or less. The electric car + rooftop solar PV will make sense even if oil drops to $35/bbl and NOBODY thinks that will happen.
PUSH THE PLUG!
Apr 29th, 2008 (1:47 pm)Rashiid #43
Batteries are not standardized, and we don’t want them to be. We want companies like GM, Ford, and Toyota competing against each other on range, recharge time etc. This is what reduces costs and fosters development and innovation.
The problem with PBP is that it’s almost like communism where you have no choice, and there is no innovation etc. Additionally it requires an infrastructure to be built. Their assumption is that w/o it we won’t have electric cars, which is wrong. E-flex will do more to proliferate electric cars in the US than PBP ever could.
Apr 29th, 2008 (1:51 pm)#42 Tim,
I think you’re right on average, but cars are available for lease in the US and people do enter into leases. It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense for individuals who drive a lot of miles, or for people who’s mileage is unpredictable — but it is a deal that some Americans enter into willingly for whatever reason[0]. Leasing is not a good option for me, since I drive a lot of miles and it’s hard to predict how many miles I’ll drive in a given year.
Given the history of the EV1, though, it’s unlikely that the EV-aware public will accept leases on any sort of electric-ish vehicle from GM…
[0] I can see a lease being a cheap option for regular people who want a new car in their driveway, but don’t plan to drive it regularly. And then there’s a fellow I used to know really just liked exotic cars — he wanted to drive a Viper for a few months, and then a giant Mercedes for a few months, and then move on to something else. Leasing made sense for him. I’d rather do other things with my money, personally, but it was his money.
Apr 29th, 2008 (1:53 pm)Ok, I’ve skewed the results from Silicon Valley.
Apr 29th, 2008 (1:55 pm)#51
I agree.
#50
Solar power generated at home, office or shopping malls will be the best way to keep electric cost down for electric car owners. Let’s hope that home production of electricity will come about closely on the heels of electric cars.
Apr 29th, 2008 (2:03 pm)Done
Apr 29th, 2008 (2:11 pm)why would any survey need your full birth date! year of birth is one thing… but full date of birth is very senstitive piece of info that can be used by identify theifs
Apr 29th, 2008 (2:40 pm)Survey done.
The one thing I do not understand is why are the oil companies are NOT out getting oil leases. In 74 I had three oil companies wanting me to lease my oil rights. I signed with one of them as did most of my
neighbors. That lease ran for 5 years. This time nobody has even been around asking. In the 1930s one of the largest oil finds was in
this area. Just 50 miles north of me.
Take Care
Arch
Apr 29th, 2008 (3:05 pm)#57
Do you know what it cost to put in a new well? Not only in money but in the environmental hoops they have to jump through. Plus, nobody wants an oil well in sight of where they live. The oil companies are fought tooth and nail by many groups plus by the state and federal governments. It is the same for building power plants (nuclear or non-nuclear) and oil refineries. We all want cheap power, cheap gasoline and cheap whatever, but are unwilling to have it in our “backyards”.
Apr 29th, 2008 (3:06 pm)Sorry #57 that should have been addressed to #59
Apr 29th, 2008 (3:17 pm)Is one of the questions: “Will this car ever happen?”
ou :ɹǝʍsuɐ
Apr 29th, 2008 (3:21 pm)#62
“Oh ye of little faith”….
Apr 29th, 2008 (3:28 pm)GM has invested a lot of money and even more of their reputation in this car. If they do not produce the Volt as advertised, it will be because they produce one better. The “hand writing is on the wall” for our conventional vehicles. America can ill afford to continue down the path we have been traveling.
It is past time to make a change that will shake up the whole world. GM may not be the first to market, may not produce as many EV or PHEV cars as other manufacturers, but they have changed us once and for all. We will no longer abide what we have in the past. We will stand up for a new, better future for ourselves as well as for our children and our children’s children.
GM is in it or they are out of the game completely. I don’t think GM wants out of the game.
Apr 29th, 2008 (4:08 pm)I tell you what … if GM somehow moved heaven and earth and got a high quality Volt that is capable of getting good reviews from the automotive press on the road by late 2009 instead of late 2010, they’d be selling them left and right. People would be fighting to get one. People are already FED UP with the high gas prices. Imagine how it’ll be by late 2010. GM better hope Toyota doesn’t come out with a series hybrid similar to the Volt in 2009 or GM could lose a bunch of sales. People might not be able to wait because of these gas prices.
All that said … I want GM to MAKE SURE they don’t just throw the Volt together to get it on the market fast. I want it to be very well thought out and highly polished by the time they arrive in show rooms. I want “professional grade” quality …. like those old GMC commercials. I want Consumer Reports, Motor Trend, JD Power and those guys to give the Volt high grades for reliability, quality, good interior/exterior, electronics, etc. It’s time that GM matched the Japanese cars in quality and try to exceed them.
Apr 29th, 2008 (4:11 pm)N Riley, #60, says “The oil companies are fought tooth and nail by many groups plus by the state and federal governments. It is the same for building power plants (nuclear or non-nuclear) and oil refineries.”
You sure said that right. And this is the supposed dirty stuff.
The environmentalists and neighbors in Cape Code, MA fought against wind mills out in the ocean. Give me a break. We want clean energy but again, not in our backyard. Personally, I like wind mills and would not have a problem being near them. I wonder when we plaster our roofs with nanosolar, are our neighbors going to whine about the glare? It’s always something, isn’t it.
Apr 29th, 2008 (4:16 pm)Grizzly, #53. I agree with you. Standards tend to lock companies into a certain model and stifle innovation. The IT world today innovates first and standardizes last (at least for the most part). Innovation needs to be the rule.
Apr 29th, 2008 (4:41 pm)Duvall, Washington has finished the survey…
Apr 29th, 2008 (4:52 pm)Lyle, Thanks for the great site and all your efforts.
Any chance you will show us the break down stats of the poll in a bar graph. I would like to see how they play out as to what advertisers come aboard from the data.
Thank you.
Apr 29th, 2008 (5:03 pm)Rashid,
Speaking of noise I visited our local 50 Megawatt wind farm recently and found there is a sound reminiscent of a jet aircraft in the distance.
I would get to hate it if I lived nearby. The countryside these wind farms are in have in have traditionally been silent apart from the birds.
Apr 29th, 2008 (5:49 pm)NOTHING CAN STOP THE ELECTRIFICATION OF THE AUTOMOBILE!
It doesn’t matter what happens with oil. Li-batteries (or anything that comes out better) can be made cheaply once mass produced by a number of competing companies. That hasn’t happened yet but is just a matter of time.
So lets suppose gasoline drops to $.10 per gallon. Why would you drop a volt like automobile that can be made as cheaply as a gasoline vehicle or maybe even cheaper? Electric ultimantly is cheaper to build that todays ICE powered vehicles!!! And at even 10 cents a gallon would be cheaper to drive by not plugging in at home and instead just using the onboard ICE!
It would get better mpg than an ICE vehicle so it still would beat out any ICE powered car in its class.
Oh and gas isn’t likely to drop in price and if it does it won’t be down significantly due to rising demand throughout the world.
Apr 29th, 2008 (5:56 pm)#51 N Riley:
I personally don’t think that the oil producers have too much to worry about. I heard a report on NPR this morning that the number of cars in China is predicted to increase by an order of magnitude in the next 10-15 years. I can’t remember the numbers exactly, but I think it was roughly from 12 million to 112 million. Did anyone with a better memory hear the numbers? Anyway, it sounds pretty credible to me. If India and other developing countries do likewise, I’m pretty confident that prices will go nowhere but up.
Plus, as someone said the other day, airplanes are not likely to become battery powered. Ditto for ships. Heavy duty trucks and construction equipment seem like pretty unlikely candidates in the near future. Developing countries will demand more and more of these as well. Railroad locomotives are pretty good candidates for electrification, but the cost of the infrastructure is in the billions, and the railroads are not too interested at the moment.
The car fleet is not going to turn over to electric all that fast in any case, so high gasoline consumption is going to be with us for quite a few years on the downside of the oil curve as well.
OPEC, et al, will be just fine.
Apr 29th, 2008 (6:02 pm)Just posted!
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1589/69/
Take Care
Arch
Apr 29th, 2008 (6:05 pm)>>>>Done<<<<<
Apr 29th, 2008 (6:07 pm)Done.
Apr 29th, 2008 (6:15 pm)#70, Bruce G, I will concede your point. They only wind farm I was in happened completely by accident. My girlfriend (now my wife) and I were out west in California driving along on some road between Sacramento and San Francisco (I think) when we drove over a ridge and we were suddenly surrounded by 100′s of windmills. This was back in 1991, I think. We were in such awe, we parked the car, got out, and just stared. I will never forget the sight, but I do forget the noise. I remember them being silent, but that could just be my memory. I truly thought they were beautiful, especially after realizing what they were for.
But Bruce, there really wasn’t a good reason to not put up a wind farm out in the ocean in Cape Cod. The only way to see it was with a pair of binoculars. As a society, we either have to get serious about clean energy and getting off of oil, or perish economically and environmentally.
Apr 29th, 2008 (6:36 pm)Rashid,
Yes, They are quite beautiful, and after a while a local will simply forget the sound exists.
I guess it is better than drowning valleys for hydroelectric, though the two power sources are complementary.
Either are better than a 300ft smoke stack pouring pollution into the windstream.
Apr 29th, 2008 (7:02 pm)I am from Louisiana and believe it are not this is what I see through my eyes when I look offshore. While in Florida you see nothing but open ocean… too me it looks like a virtual desert. When I look out over the ocean (gulf) in Louisiana I see oil rigs all over. To me they are beautiful. The are where everyone here wants to fish. The marine life prosper the rigs are just like coral reefs and in bluewater they do have corals growing on them. The evil oil companies actually make the gulf better for fishing. Louisiana has some of the best if not the best saltwater fishing in the world.
The enviromental concerns about windmills and marine wildlife are rediculous. They would be an improvement to the ecosystem. Japan actually pays money to put these same type of oil rig style reefs off their cost. And other states have purchased old oil rigs from our waters and had them deposited in their own.
Apr 29th, 2008 (7:25 pm)Checking in from SE WA. survey done.
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:11 pm)Thanks to all of you for doing this. Your support is greatly appreciated and motivational. It should actually be very interesting to see the profile of the typical visitor to this site.
From what I understand we have over 500 responses so far. When the survey is shut down (I’m not sure exactly in how long, but a few days or so), they will give me the data.
You can bet I’ll post it up for all to see.
Apr 29th, 2008 (8:29 pm)#13 Luke said:
“Webpages should sit on my desktop until *I* am ready to read them, and shouldn’t attempt to attract my attention with anything other than quality information — no flash, no music, no animated gifs, nothing. Once advertisers stop that obnoxious crap, then they can display their ads to me.”
I say “Amen Brother!”
Lyle – Ads are OK with me, but *please* don’t put anything that *moves* on my favorite website! Also, I filled out the survey, but I can’t access anything else but this post.
GSP
Apr 29th, 2008 (9:14 pm)Relatively painless survey. Done.
PS I love when they list “countiry” with the USA at the top and not alphabetically.
Apr 29th, 2008 (9:58 pm)Done…thanks for keeping us up-to-date on the Volt.
Apr 29th, 2008 (10:48 pm)Done out of my appreciation for this particularly enjoyable website. I block ads anyway. I’m perfectly capable of seeking out a wide range of web resources on my own when considering my purchases. I don’t see the point of push marketing on a pull medium.
I wonder why “lease” is a four-letter word for many Americans. In my view of microeconomics, a wage-earner should rent their primary home and/or vehicle and only buy assets that can be sold or rented to others. The idea of depending on my two largest investments for my standard of living seems markedly unwise.
Look at all of those renters that got suckered into buying a home and now face rising payments and falling values. They decided to live in their investment, and their investment tanked. I guess, by extension, their life tanked.
I know it’s all macho and stuff to take risks, but most Americans are stretched so thin that a stiff breeze could force them into bankruptcy. Renting and leasing costs more, but you assume less risk, and therefore it’s the smarter choice for those who don’t own much in the way of income-generating assets to fall back on.
Apr 29th, 2008 (11:09 pm)Butters #84
I’d hate to see your grade in any economics class. If I had rented my house 6 years ago, I would not be sitting on top of 160K in equity. Instead I’d have paid roughly $98,000 in rent for which I’d have nothing to show.
Have you ever leased a vehicle? You end up paying about what you’d have paid had you bought it, but you also get a little surprise.
When you turn the vehicle in, you get charged for all sorts of things like chips and dents that are hardly even recognizable, your tire tread depth gets measured etc. And when all is said and done, you get yet another large charge for everything you never bothered to read in small print. And SURPRISE, you end up paying more than if you’d bought it, you just don’t have wheels because you don’t own the vehicle.
That is why “lease” may often be referred to as a four-letter.
BTW, I’m starting a fuel-cell multi level marketing business, and I get get you in with a real deal. Interested?
Apr 29th, 2008 (11:27 pm)My experience with the economics of renting vs owning is the same as Grizzly’s. Granted, we moved into our house in the 70″s with the belief that this is where we’ll die (which is still our plan). The Volt will be our very first new car purchase. None to date due to other priorities (neither daughter has any college debts and our folks lived with us for many years during their journey to “transition”. We may not be able to afford V 1.0 Volt, but maintain hope of getting a V 1.5 Volt. I seriously doubt that there will BE any “used” Volts on the market for many years.
God Bless
Apr 29th, 2008 (11:56 pm)I will never lease again! I rented a house for a year. At the end of the year the value had gone up $50,000. I was moving out feeling as though something was missing. Sadly enough I had the option to buy but didnt take advantage of it while it was valid.
Same goes for the 95 Geo Prizm I leased. I should have taken the option to buy it. Instead I choose to turn it in. There was no simple handing over the keys! It was please wait in this secured office and drink lots of coffee while we completely turn your car inside out. The Fees were painful and the salesmen trying to get me into a new chevy barreta as I was making my escape. All horribily painful, I think i lost my left arm and a son back there but his sacrifice lives on in the fact that we have never bought another GM product since!!!
Apr 30th, 2008 (5:06 am)Done… GM get those cars to Florida the sooner the better. (BEV). The offer still there for putting miles on your mule in Florida with reports daily. 239 410-8826
Apr 30th, 2008 (6:51 am)Completed the survey
Apr 30th, 2008 (7:31 am)I think I know where #84 Butters is coming from…to some degree.
Perhaps it should have read, if you can only afford 5 percent down, or zero, you should be renting, because reality is knocking now.
When you start giving out 95%-110% mortgages at 3% per year, your in for a world of pain when that rate starts to tick up.
The rule of thumb for ‘smart’ real estate investing is you at minimum you get ‘conventional’ financing…at least 25% down.
What has been lost on Americans (until recently) is If you make 60K a year…that doesn’t mean you get a $500,000 house, you get a $225,000 house.
Mortgage X 8% (the historical interest rate, plus small yearly payoff) Now times that by 3. That is how much your family income should be to afford your house. <—I understand how people can get carried away figiting with this ‘ancient’ math, but I didn’t think banks would get so dellusional as well.
Apr 30th, 2008 (9:23 am)Complete
Apr 30th, 2008 (10:55 am)#90 Statik:
Sorry to repeat myself, as I already cited this on the thread above, but Kevin Phillips explains the “delusional” behavior of the “banks” in painful detail in his latest effort “Bad Money”.
It probably wasn’t delusional at all. They thought that they had dumped most of the risk off onto the punters who bought their “mortgage backed” bonds. They were also pretty confident that the Fed, et al, would bail them out, which seems to be true. Can anyone say “Bear Stearns”?
He lists the total compensation of the CEOs of some of these outfits.
Crazy like a fox.
He also talks about how manufacturing industries fall into all of this. Not very encouraging for GM, et al.
Apr 30th, 2008 (11:36 am)#90 Statik
But who really pays those formulas any attention when we are buying houses, cars or other luxury items?