Right now I am a Subaru owner and have been for a long time. However this Volt is good enough to make me switch and that’s really saying something!

I saw that too but then read the linked article. The “last 33 of” wording was an inaccurate paraphrase by Lyle. Laukner wrote the “last of the 33…”, so Statik is accurate. But does it matter to the point of them being on schedule or not. Perhaps so perhaps not. I don’t agree with a lot of the griping about missed deadlines, changed plans, and other changes in the design process. Certainly GM and Lutz were misleading or incompetent in the early comfortably under $30K comments. Anybody familiar with the technology involved could predict that was bogus. But stirring those misrepresentions in the same pot with every single adjustment during the design process is absurd. It is impossible to be as transparent as GM has in this design process and not encounter changes. IMO it is perfectly reasonable to hold their feet to the fire for changes that indicate a shift in their commitment to this project and its fundamental goal of producing a commercially viable EREV in a timely manner. It’s also understandable to call them out if one believes they are being deceitful. The change in mule count from 50 to 33, if this is indeed the case, is most obviously a result of their cash problems and could certainly be a sacrificed they chose to make while not directly affecting their timeline to production. Of course it would increase risk but not necessarily the development timeline. That said, I would be very surprised if the timeline ends up being unaffected by their financial woes. I do agree with Statik and others in the overall opinion that end of 2010 looks increasingly less likely to be the first production date.

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You read that wrong. Its not “last of the 33″, its “the last 33 of”. Totally different meaing. That would make me belive its the last 33 of 50, so they have 17 complete already.

“A hatchback offers a far more practical interior than a sedan.”

That too. It’s probably number 2 or 3 on the list, above the unique look of the skin.

“…and the 1st gen Prius was a Japan only release based on the echo. Didn’t take off till it got it’s own unique sheet metal.”

This is a very popular view but I believe it was more coincidental. Didn’t the Prius also get is revamped HSD with the new design. Oil prices also started their upswing in ‘04. While I’m sure some people bought for the skin, I don’t think that has been the main driver especially since the skin ain’t so lovely.

Toyota was smart to keep the numbers low early in the learning curve. If there was a larger market, selling more would allay the criticism at the time that it was only produced for “green publicity”. They would have lost a lot more trying to tool up too soon before learning how to make money selling the Prius including giving a unique skin for the Gen II model.

…Great idea for GM. Then they’ll return the favor to us trashing enough suppliers to immediately wipe out Chrysler. Then with it’s supply chain looking like Swiss cheese, Ford will shut down for ten months, if not for good, to re-certify new suppliers. Asian and German automakers, mainly in the southeast will shut in order to down to source, contract and certify new suppliers after Ford shuts their lines down. Thousands of landscapers, housekeepers, waitstaff, builders, store clerks, small business owners, coaches, physicians, car dealers, lenders, insurers, your supervisor, his cousin, your youngest sister and everyone who depended on them will be out of work or at best underemployed if they can move fast and scheme even faster. A Swiss cheese economy with a trillion dollar hole in the center, until the new all-overseas-based auto industry sets up it’s supply chain. When the German and Asian automakers do start up again, with vastly more foreign parts suppliers than now, they will begin to feast on exporting billions of dollars overseas with no incentive to look out for US interests or even pay US taxes.

The last two months have already been deflationary and the government is on the hook for 2 trillion of deficit spending. All 50 states have deficits and will not be paying their private contractors who will continue to lay off workers. The fit has yet to hit the shan with regard to necessary layoffs. The world economy is essentially hoping for the US economy and consumer demand to pull it back up. Do you really figure it’s time for GM to add momentum to get that ball rolling downhill?

Echo came afterward. Production dates clearly confirm that.

Toyota created a less expensive body, detuned the engine (for more power, rather than efficiency) and replaced the hybrid components with a traditonal transmission. Echo was a way of recouping costs from the aggressive development of Prius.

As for the “didn’t take off“, do you really want the same to be claimed for Volt? You’ll insist sale numbers were low due to a production quota limitation… just like it was for Prius… but all others will see in the number itself.

Toyota kept the numbers low, since there was no reason to push back then. Why? With the next generation model so close, it wouldn’t have made any sense to increase volume for the older hybrid system or battery-pack. Think about the timing. Think about the dealer & mechanic training. Think about the SUV market back then. Think about how little people cared about oil dependency or climate change….