Detroit’s strategy was to decontent and dequality the small car to save $1K and then turn around and sell it for $5K less than a comparable Japanese car.

Good show. Gonna make it up in volume?

The delusion here is just amazing. Not only did they never really try to make good small cars (except for the 1st gen Saturns, which I actually bought); they’ve usually failed to hide a deep and active loathing for the very existence of small car buyers the whole time.

Maybe Tesla will take over GM or even aptera… haha

Anyway… maybe the BYD will here before the VOLT.

The biggest import company here in the netherlands has already signed a contract with BYD for importing byd cars.

http://www.echo.nl/wf-ds/auto/lees/787924/autobinck.wordt.importeur.byd/
(it’s dutch but english is part of the german languages so you should get the point )

And it’s claimed that they already made there cars NCAP ready. But not sure.

I still don’t get it why chinese people can ride a plug in before we EVEN CAN BUY ONE =D seriously!!
Soon chinese will be the new amerika…. i think.

Real-World data takes years to gather… which means 2013 at the very minimum before anyone will have an constructive basis of comparison available.

At that point, how many of the newest model Prius will be on the road? Stop fighting the very vehicle helping to push technology in favor of vehicles like Volt.

Remember, GM’s restructuring plan just submitted to the government relies heavily on traditional (non-hybrid) vehicles.

Thousands of jobs and hundreds of companies are at risk, but the only thing that most people are seeing is the $100 billion loaned and think that it is all cost. The trade deficit is already at a negative and that’s with all of the weapons sales. The past decade has been the first and hardest part of the reconstruction of their business. We should not just give up now. The last depression wasn’t overcome until government spending was finally called to help.

The publicity of theses events aren’t helping GM. People are worried that their warranties won’t be validated. This is followed up by Hyundai (I purposefully pronounce their name wrong), who mainly use Korean labor (one of the cheapest labor in the world), for only a couple thousand less. Today’s quality might be better, but almost all of the people that I have known that have owned a Hyundai in the past have had transmission problems and a significant drop in gas mileage, so obviously the total cost isn’t factored in.

With Chevy winning the loyalty award for 2009, there should be something done to help. Oh, and to everyone that is complaining about the Volt’s price, compare it’s maintenance cost and features to the Prius. Not to mention that it will have an American battery. The benefit out weights the cost.

It’s been stated many times now that money won’t be flowing in the correct direction until the second generation. Volt depends on something else sustaining the business in the meantime.

In other words, bailout money will aid the struggle to deal with legacy costs but GM is still without competitive vehicles. What will they sell to compete with the Camry & Fusion hybrids? What about Prius & Insight?

Unless of course you count spring-ups like Tesla. They have been springing up for almost six years now. In that time, they have managed to hand-build a few hundred of only one model that costs $109,000.

I think if Detroit dies, Europe and Asia will own the auto business permanently. Or President Obama will make the big-three a nationalized Amkar to go along with Amtrak.

1) Complete reorganization.

2) Destruction of the UAW.

3) Write off of all legacy debt.

4) Sell off of any assets that do not fit the new plan perfectly.

5) Completely new companies. Otherwise the UAW will start a labor war. They may anyway. Those workers are not going to be happy to make fair wage. it’s like an average American worker moving to a 3rd world country and accepting those working conditions. Not without a fight.

6) Retool the new companies for the transportation needs of the next century – electrified transportation.

The above will happen. It has to happen. The current business model simply cannot work in this new environment we find ourselves in. It might take us a decade to make the needed changes but those changes are coming. If they don’t, The Big -3 will be more like the Little – 3 or perhaps the Tiny – 1.

How are you sure that you will see products on the street just because of the bailout? The automobile industry is in deep dive.
There is nothing which indicates that the “volt” is even viable.