When the Chevy Volt was first unveiled there was a procession of so-called leaks of images. First grainy footage on the Transformers set, and then the bizarre set of photos with GM executives standing in front of the car just days before the official reveal.
The Opel Ampera is set to debut at the Geneva Auto Show on March 3rd. It is the European sister car to the Chevy Volt using the identical platform and extended-range electric car drivetrain. We’ve seen a teaser photo, and then some sketches from the European patent office.
Today the car has been snapped in full color by a spy photographer.
Yes it looks like the Volt, but at least we can see it in true white. The front and rear ends do differ though but the basic shape was retained.
Source (WorldCarFans)
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 7:57 pm and is filed under Images, Opel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Feb 19th, 2009 (8:03 pm)Nice…just wanted to be first. Others seem to get a kick out of it.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (8:04 pm)I think it looks better than the Chevy version. I’m sure it’s just the nose cone and tail cone as the rest of the metal looks the same. Use the Opal version for North America. Heck by the time the Volt/Ampera arrives we may be on the Euro for a currency anyway when the Dollar crashes.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (8:09 pm)I don’t see why they need two versions. GM is so in the red — it just doesn’t make sense. Two versions = more cost, right? Pick one, make it well, price it well, and the rest will take care of itself.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (8:11 pm)LOL. How on earth can people exclaim how this car is soooo much better looking than the Volt? It’s the same freaking car with cosmetic tweaks, people! They both look nice.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (8:15 pm)I must admit, I like the front end of the Ampera MUCH better. But I would still take his BLUE VOLT, He11 I would be happy with her gray one.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (8:35 pm)I have been reading the comments from the AuotCar review of this story. It seems to be very clear that it is getting an excellent review from (non-green) car buyers. It Seems like Volt/Ampera is the Icon Green car we need.
Change is-a-coming, and i like it….
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Feb 19th, 2009 (8:43 pm)This car looks like a winner! I will take 2 and see my banker in the morning.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (8:45 pm)So how many months until this car rolls into the dealer’s lot? 23 months like the Volt? “Debut at car show March 3″ does not mean available for sale.
There’s a reason I call myself The Grump. See that driveway? THERE’S NO VOLT IN IT !!! It’s been 2 years now, and GM is hell bent on dragging it’s feet on the Volt another 2 years, maybe more. I just went through the hell we call the Great Oil Price Spike of 2008. I needed a Volt then. All I got from Wagner was promises in early 2008, and his jet-set version of “Buddy, can you spare a dime (or ten billion dimes) in late 2008.
Wagner can take all these fancy-schmancy concept cars and cram them up his public-relations hole. How about one we can actually buy, you blithering idiot? 9 years of Prius sales later, and where is GM’s 40 MPG (city, not highway) Prius fighter? In Wagner’s I-M-A-G-I-N-A-T-I-O-N, that’s where.
I don’t really ever expect to see the Volt for sale – too many heartbreaks along the way, I guess. Has this “Ampera” met the Wind Tunnel yet – the same wind tunnel that destroyed the Volt Concept? That’s why I can’t afford to fall in love with the Ampera – it looks good now, but will the production model look like the production Volt, too? It may be just as doomed as the Volt Concept.
I’m buying a Honda Insight as soon as they hit the showroom floor. Looks great, priced right, and double the mileage of my Odyssey. I can’t wait for Wagner to pull his head out of whereever he stuck it for the past 9 years, while losing sales to the Prius every day. I just hope Obama can run GM better than Wagner, cos the government will probably end up owning it.
For a public service announcment gone horribly wrong, check out youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zULzbiGNTyI
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BTW, if you drink and drive this weekend, don’t do drugs
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Feb 19th, 2009 (8:48 pm)This is just a better looking car. Too bad Saturn won’t be around to sell it. Maybe it will get to the U.S. anyway.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (8:48 pm)Much better than the Volt.
The other computer shot from a prior thread looked dismal.
Dump the Volt body and build this one.
MUCH, MUCH better.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (8:48 pm)With gas/diesel prices so much higher in Europe, this type of vehicle is a much better fit there than here, no?
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Feb 19th, 2009 (9:12 pm)It’s good to see Europe will get their shot at Volt ownership. The entire world needs E-REV technology. But, in a year or two there is going to be a lot of EV competition to pick through. And the value of all currency will have been diluted by the World TARP Agreement (WTA).
Have you seen the TV ads? “Send us your unwanted gold now, we’ll send you money in less than a week”. This suction system was being pushed hard when gold was trading at $780. Gold is now trading above $950.
the plan:
Reduce all 401k funds by 30%
Raise unemployment to 10%
Systematically withdraw gold from the weakened
Spend a trillion in January
Then another trillion in February
What does this smell of?
=D~
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Feb 19th, 2009 (9:13 pm)I want the Ampera here in USA.
Drop the Volt and replace it with the Ampera!
The grill on the Ampera is nicer, but I do hate it’s rims, lol. Put the Volt’s rims on it and that car will burn the competition!
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Feb 19th, 2009 (9:30 pm)Too bad they can’t (or won’t?) make it here and export it. One of the few American made cars that might be in high demand overseas.
Wouldn’t THAT be a 180—-an actual job creator. Could change GM’s name to Phoenix.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (9:32 pm)Looks good but…Why another version. We need cost reduction not additional tooling cost.
NPNS!
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Feb 19th, 2009 (9:33 pm)The big question – still unanswered – is if the shape of the side panels and doors are the same. In earlier photos, it appeared the Ampera had a wider shape around the doors.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (9:35 pm)Energy news:
Associated Press – Thu Feb 19, 6:07 pm ET
Energy secretary predicts higher demand for oil.
WASHINGTON – Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a champion of renewable energy and biofuels, has no delusions about the future of oil. Global demand for it will increase over the next two decades even with more efficiency and alternative fuels, he says, and prices will again go higher.
“…The department will process $32.7 billion in energy-related grants and has the authority to provide government backing for $130 billion in private loans… ”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/chu_energy
=D~
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Feb 19th, 2009 (9:50 pm)Chavez is coming to America as an illegal…
Democrats will make him US citizen …
then Chavez will run for President…
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Feb 19th, 2009 (10:21 pm)I do like the front end and it does look entirely different (I know, it’s virtually the same car). GM should focus on surviving and the positive (if possible)….
I heard an ad on the local radio station about helping America’s auto industry so “buy a new vehicle at low interest rate financing”… I wonder if more debt is really what we need…
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Feb 19th, 2009 (10:31 pm)Those are some odd-looking rims.
Anyway, the European auto market is likely to suffer at least as badly as in America. The gold bugs ranting about the hyperinflation of dollars in bank reserves have to realize that the euro will collapse and rip the EU to shreds before the dollar so much as hints at turning bearish against anything other than the yen and gold.
In fact, I’m fairly sure that the EU won’t exist by the end of 2010, and the dismantling process could start as early as this fall, with a formal restructuring plan in place by the end of the year.
With so much change (no pun intended) coming to the global economy, it’s borderline impossible for an international heavy industry corporation to operate with any confidence in strategic planning. There’s too much uncertainty.
If I were Wagoner, first I would adopt a steady regimen of drugs and alcohol, and then I would focus my limited resources on the American auto market. After all, if not for the future children of American taxpayers, GM would already be in bankruptcy court.
And finally, there is no better bet than the United States emerging from this financial catastrophe as the least-decimated consumer economy in the world. Nobody else can stand on their own without us.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (10:44 pm)I agree with Zach @13
Nice looking car, but the wheels have to go. They are horrible.
Come on people. Wheels (style and size) are WAY overlooked in new car design any more. Just a few extra bucks for some nicer wheels, the whole visual impact and look of the car changes.
Another thing, why is it that we can tolerate the same econobox-style sedan made by 6+ different companies, but GM puts forward two Voltec cars with distinctly different looks, but on the same platform, and people complain?
I just absolutely don’t understand the double standard. Maybe some people DON”T like what the Volt looks like but DO like the Ampera.
I would bet money if the Ampera was also sold in the US it would outsell the Volt. The visual impact is much sharper, less bland.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (10:52 pm)This is just a guess but I would say the reason for two cars is the one for overseas will not have all the safety requirements the American one will have to have. Therefore it will be cheaper.. or Chevy will make more money on it. I’m not stating a fact just an guess.. Maybe someone knows better?
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Feb 19th, 2009 (10:57 pm)18. galileo
Whatever you’re smoking is past its expiration date, you might wanna throw that out.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (11:15 pm)Nice to have the thread back to discussing the Volt. Last thread brought out the political wack-jobs.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (11:36 pm)/lesson not learned
This is everything that is wrong with GM.
Make a car, re-skin/re-badge the car. Repeat until the public screams in horror and confusion. Same car, couple new pieces of cheap plastic stuck on the front and rear. (At least with Pontiac being toast, we are spared from Lutz’ian ’side moldings’ being super-glued on and another model being labelled the G-7E)
They can’t even get the Volt built, so whats up with the cousin? It is totally redundant. On top of that, this is a mild re-skin at best, there is no added demographic being picked up here with this design.
The Volt is still years away, and when it does come, it will be produced in such thin numbers it is a virtual lock to be a sellout for more than a couple years…all they are doing is splitting up production already sold. This model/re-design is a just a exercise on wasting money.
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Side note: I’m getting tired of ’seeing’ new EVs. How many in development/concepts cars we got out there right now across the board? 30? My mind can barely even comprehend them anymore, it is like I am just looking through them.
Time to start producing. The next ’spy’ shot I want to see, is a spy shot of a assembly line…now that WOULD be an exciting picture.
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Feb 19th, 2009 (11:48 pm)IMO, the Amp is 100X better looking than the Volt.
The Volt’s front end looks like any other car on the road, but the Amp’s really stands out.
It’s not too late GM. Ditch the old design and sell everyone this far cooler one!
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Feb 20th, 2009 (12:13 am)I like the wheels but the cars gotta go, where’s the fins?
NO PLUG, NO SALE, JGTVWOTR, DBNGCMEMEV, (my house) =D~~~(my volt)————————-STOP THE BAILOUTS———————-oooops too late
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Feb 20th, 2009 (12:18 am)# 25 statik
Agree 100%. GM – don’t waste whatever precious is left with you on multiple variations of skins for the same internals. Keep It sSimple! (Kiss)! Rather focus on getting back on to the road to profitability!
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Feb 20th, 2009 (12:40 am)25. Statik
re: “(At least with Pontiac being toast, we are spared from Lutz’ian ’side moldings’ being super-glued on and another model being labelled the G-7E)
If you are being fair, Lutz did a lot to get rid of the Pontiac “side moldings” that were so prevalent before him. I’m sure there are enough bad things about Lutz that you don’t need to resort to blaming him for things he actually fixed!
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Feb 20th, 2009 (12:46 am)hi statik #25,
“Lutz’ian ’side moldings’”
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That’s “Lutzonian side moldings”.
NRLSMNS
No Rich Lutzonian Side Moldings, No Sale
=D~
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Feb 20th, 2009 (1:25 am)#25 statik
Side note: I’m getting tired of ’seeing’ new EVs. How many in development/concepts cars we got out there right now across the board? 30? My mind can barely even comprehend them anymore, it is like I am just looking through them.
Time to start producing. The next ’spy’ shot I want to see, is a spy shot of a assembly line…now that WOULD be an exciting picture.
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I agree completely, it is getting tiring. Enough of the concepts already!
Stew
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Feb 20th, 2009 (2:47 am)“The next ’spy’ shot I want to see, is a spy shot of a assembly line (producing the new EVs)…now that WOULD be an exciting picture.”
Absolutely well put !!
Back to yesterdays blog. Are the car makers learniing from the banks, $100 billion ? Now I know those fat assed bankers continually want more but the car makers are sounding just like them. If the car makers want money they have to show they can compete with Japan. That would mean canning the Union and about half of management and no automatic bonuses just for showing up to work.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (3:06 am)It’s looks better than the Volt.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (3:20 am)#25 statik says “Side note: I’m getting tired of ’seeing’ new EVs. How many in development/concepts cars we got out there right now across the board? 30?”
Interesting question. In discussing the new tax credits for EVs in the stimulus bill Plug In America said that they expected EVs from 8 manufacturers. Probably any number of other cars but eight seems like a decent number for what we can expect by the end of 2010 or 2011.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (3:59 am)“a spy shot of a assembly line ”
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Nissan had a blingy display at last years L.A. Auto Show. After having just taken 30 photos of the Volt and the Dodge EV’s, I walked up to the Nissan circular information desk. They had 2 attractive ladies waiting to answer questions. I asked, “Do you have any electric cars here?” They responded, “no”.
What is it with the secrecy surrounding EV’s? We all know they are going to look like an Accord or like the illegitimate baby of a Volkswagen and golf cart.
=D~
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Feb 20th, 2009 (4:05 am)IT”S OFFICIAL!!!
Lyle! Time to make a pole:
Which model do you prefer:
1) Volt
2) Ampera
3) Volt, but if they only sell Ampera, I would still buy it.
4) Ampera, but if they don’t sell it, I’ll still buy the Volt.
5) I don’t want either the Volt or Ampera.
6) I’m too boring to have my own opinion.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (4:26 am)#25 statik – Well put, well put indeed.
Enough about these fancy-schmancy concept cars – how about an article about something actually being produced? Someone please shake Wagner so he wakes up, and puts the Volt in dealer lots in months, not years. Or replace him with someone who knows how to run a car company – Please !
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Feb 20th, 2009 (5:11 am)Another thing, why is it that we can tolerate the same econobox-style sedan made by 6+ different companies, but GM puts forward two Voltec cars with distinctly different looks, but on the same platform, and people complain?
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Ironically, that is the very problem GM stated about itself: too many models!
And there’s a profound difference between concept and actual production. Get the vehicle out first, then expand. After all, a different body style is more likely to increase sales anyway.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (5:54 am)AP ~ Friday February 20, 5:48 am ET
STOCKHOLM (AP) — General Motors Corp.’s Swedish-based subsidiary Saab filed for bankruptcy protection Friday so it can be spun off or sold by its struggling U.S. parent, officials said.
GM said it needed about $6 billion in support from the governments of Canada, Germany, Britain, Sweden and Thailand to provide liquidity for its overseas operations in those countries.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090220/eu_sweden_saab.html
=D~
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Feb 20th, 2009 (6:26 am)I’m waiting for Nasaman to check in with a comment about the Ampera grill…
Longtime readers of this blog know what I’m referring to….
Earth to Nasaman: do you read me?
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Feb 20th, 2009 (6:37 am)# 37 Grump: Someone please shake Wagner so he wakes up, and puts the Volt in dealer lots in months, not years.
Whoa, boy, take a reality pill! I’m no fan of Wagner, but I can’t take seriously anything from commenters who ignore the reality of what it takes to put a car like the Volt, intended for the mass market, on the road. Look at all the travails that Tesla has endured, and it’s just serving a tiny niche in the market.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (7:27 am)FME III @40
Form with Function, it does look good. nasaman has previously said he likes the Ampera as well.
Just produce the Volt globally, already. Keep the Ampera for Version two.
LJGTVWOTR
NO Plug, NO Sale.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (8:38 am)Statik, if you continue to bash GM like this, you will get a test drive of the Volt before Lyle
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Feb 20th, 2009 (8:53 am)Car looks sharp – no harm in different skins – mebbe you’ll be able to select a skin on the internet – after all there is an abundance of expertise here.
A multitude of (X)EVs is a great sign that something may actually happen this time to get off foreign oil. It’s all about the batteries so why worry about the cars so much until you have the battery production up and running?
It’s so easy to pontificate and stomp your feet like petulant children and lash out with ad hominem attacks on the people who are seriously engaged in trying to make something happen while their ships are sinking.
GM may have been short sighted in trying to sell big profit vehicles for too long but who was prepared for the disaster caused by the USA real estate bubble? Labor screws ‘em, government helps labor screw them and now the world economic collapse is screwing them and some folks cannot displace their schadenfreude. Smacks of unnatural attraction.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (8:58 am)O.K., I’ll try to keep this positive.
I LOVE the look of the Ampera! I personally think it’s better than the Volt because the front end treatment says “hey, look at me! I really AM different.”
The bottom line is that we’re in tough times that will most likely get MUCH worse before it gets better.
If economy of scale increases efficiency and lowers cost then producing 2 versions of the “Volt” with different skins is asinine. That’s the same type of CRAP thinking that got GM in to this situation. Different divisions competing with each other with the same product is DUMB. Why divide and conquer yourself?
Perhaps GM would not be able to afford this extravagance of 2 “Volts” if the corrupt politicians weren’t forcing the gullible taxpayers to foot the bill.
Anyway, GM it’s time to come in from Lala Land and make some sense. FOCUS! Build the Volt or the Ampera (I don’t care which). Make MANY copies and sell them at a reasonable price. You’re playing with MY money now so quit screwing around with multiple versions of the very same car and stop this old, tired game!
Build ONE Voltec version for each market segment: ONE 4-door sedan, ONE coupe, ONE light pickup, ONE crossover and maybe ONE minivan. THAT’S IT! It would be nice to have 4X4 available on the crossover and light pickup.
I’ love to learn so would somebody please explain to me why GM wants BOTH the Volt and Ampera and why that makes economic sense for GM, I’d LOVE to hear it.
(Is GM embarrassed to use the Chevy brand in Europe?)
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Feb 20th, 2009 (9:02 am)We need a new Spielberg movie:
“Raiders of the lost Treasuries”
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Feb 20th, 2009 (9:11 am)It’s no wonder people don’t fish for carp.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (9:20 am)#11 “With gas/diesel prices so much higher in Europe, this type of vehicle is a much better fit there than here, no?”
In a word — NO. It seems you miss the point of the Volt/Ampera, which is to move away from fossil fuels as a whole. The US is the largest consumer of oil at this point.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (9:36 am)GM is pursuing a “transnational product strategy.” Small tweaks for different markets are a good thing if they buy you additional demand. But the tweaks need to be kept minor so that as much commonality can be maintained. It appears GM is striking a nice balance here.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (9:54 am)I like the Volt looks better.
The difference in the Ampera is that the steering wheel will be on the other side, and the speedometer will read KM/H
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Feb 20th, 2009 (10:31 am)#50 k-dawg
The difference in the Ampera is that the steering wheel will be on the other side, and the speedometer will read KM/H
KM/H Yes — Steering wheel on the wrong side will be on Reskin 3 the Vauxhall.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (10:37 am)#48
The point of the Volt/Ampera is to help GM earn an adequate ROE. Since the producer, GM, and increasingly the consumer, are in, shall we say, difficult financial straights, the economics of the purchase are especially important now. And the economics of purchasing a Volt/Ampera are terrible, at least without large government subsidies. So if I’m GM, with my extremely limited resources, if I’m going to actually develop and sell an unproven, high-cost, super high-mileage car I try to sell it where the initial purchasers don’t care much about the economics (which, judging from this board, includes the US, and therefore probably Europe) and/or where the competitive economics are the most favorable. Which may be Europe, with its very high petrol prices and hopefully for GM, high government subsidies. Heck, they should shop for the best government deal and locate the long-term production there.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (10:45 am)#52
Of course, Volt/Ampera is just part of the Big Picture (lol). If they work as large enough subsidy generators for the company as a whole, aka bailout $, then from GM’s perspective anything more that they get from them is gravy.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (10:48 am)#43 frankyb said:
“Statik, if you continue to bash GM like this, you will get a test drive of the Volt before Lyle ”
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I make no secrets about it…my silence can be bought, lol.
(insert pithy retorts below)
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Feb 20th, 2009 (11:16 am)For you early adopters chomping at the bit:
http://www.schwinnelectricbikes.com/News/News.aspx
Just weld two together, velcro a corvette fiberglass body over the top, and call it a “Dolt.” hehe
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Feb 20th, 2009 (11:31 am)john1701a @ 38:
I am sure I am in the minority based on all the enlightened opinions here, but I don’t agree that GM necessarily had too many models.
They have too many factories. They have too many workers. They have too many dealerships. And none of the above are as flexible as they need to be.
I hate to rain on the convoy here…….. but people all don’t like the same thing! I know its hard for some of you to wrap your heads around, but we are not all programmed to think the same about vehicles (not that some companies haven’t tried, of course).
This is not Logan’s Run. We are still allowed to have a chioce, although some of you are working hard to chop that tree down too. I peronally like the looks of the Ampera better! I don’t have to explain why. I just do.
Considering the amount of effort being put into the Voltec platform, and the miniscual amount of effort it CAN take to produce a few other approaches to allow consumers with other preferences to differentiate themselves, these complaints are ridiculous.
Just imagine if all of you had to use the same cellphone. Horrors! There would be riots in the streets!
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Feb 20th, 2009 (11:40 am)Cautious Fan @ 49: You are spot on.
At last! Someone who can see thru the blizzard on this board.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (11:40 am)We are still allowed to have a chioce
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Diluting the debut of EREV by dividing attention among multiple vehicles is costly on many levels.
Choice would be to get whether or not to buy a EREV. If yes, you are stuck with only a single body type & size.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (11:59 am)Just imagine if all of you had to use the same cellphone. Horrors! There would be riots in the streets!
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11 years after Prius and 3 years after Camry-Hybrid, GM still doesn’t offer any direct competition for either… nor does it have plans to… despite market need. That’s horror.
And by the way, back in 1996 you were pretty much stuck with the same cellphone. But that was a non-issue. It was way better than being tied to a landline.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (12:14 pm)Sataik@54 said:
“I make no secrets about it…my silence can be bought, lol.”
(insert pithy retorts below)
I’m was thinking that an Ebay auction might be your best bet, but then given the value, maybe Waddington’s in Toronto?
Be well,
Tag
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Feb 20th, 2009 (12:21 pm)john1701a @58,59
You say “Diluting the debut of EREV by dividing attention among multiple vehicles is costly on many levels.”
Are you serious? Diluting? dividing attention? Considering the overall cost of the Voltec platfrom, what does “costly on many levels” mean?
As far as Prius, apparently it is still not clear if Toyota has ever made any money on these cars. I think that would have translated into more losses for GM than they already have.
But, I guess they would have earned their “green cred”. Priority #1
BTW: I am not of the opinion that having a phone stuck in your pocket is necessarily better than not having one. It’s just another example of the impatient nature of society anymore. I’m not suprised that so many here have their undies tied in a knot waiting for the Volt.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (12:48 pm)Two things today:
1) IMO they took a bland and kind of homely car and made it strange and even worse with the Ampera. Although I do like the back end.
2) Statik #25-
“The Volt is still years away, and when it does come, it will be produced in such thin numbers it is a virtual lock to be a sellout for more than a couple years…all they are doing is splitting up production already sold.”
WTF?! Where did all this optimism come from in you?? You are clearly implying that the Volt will come to the consumer in the next couple of years and that means that GM would still have to be in business. Is there something we should know? Did you get new meds or a girlfriend or something?
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Feb 20th, 2009 (1:01 pm)Regarding the extra models, there is a balance to strike between opening up new markets and redundancy. The Ampera allows GM to reach new markets and build another brand, Opel, without competing with the Chevy. There will be many localities with Opel dealerships, but not Chevy dealerships. In addition, I’m sure you also have many communities that would buy from Opel but not consider Chevy.
In my opinion, this is a nice balancing job. The Ampera looks very different, while it shares almost everything but the few front/rear panels. Also, Opel and Chevy have a lot of non-overlapping domain.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (1:25 pm)As far as Prius, apparently it is still not clear if Toyota has ever made any money on these cars. I think that would have translated into more losses for GM than they already have.
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TWO-MODE is that GM loss. BAS is too.
Neither are returning profit yet, which explains why next generation models are referred to in the restructuring plan just submitted. Why are so few enthusiasts aware of this?
As for Toyota, they have already moved to the next generation models and their profit approach for hybrids hasn’t required heavy advertisement budget. So, the raising doubt is just something that will come back to haunt Volt later.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (2:31 pm)Yes! Electric cars don’t have to be ugly! I really like the Ampera and Volt styling…although I would definitely be OK with everything looking like a Converj…
Although, you can still certainly see Prius-like aerodynamics. As I’ve said before, imitation is the best form of compliment an engineer can receive. I’m sure the Aero guys at Toyota are patting themselves on the back, since they must have nailed it with Cd (without having to do weird things like GM did on the EV-1). I have a feeling in a couple years Toyota is gonna have to imitate Voltec though, since their HSD is now the way of the past.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (4:33 pm)I must admit it does look better than the sketches we saw a couple of days ago. Still doesn’t look as good as the Saturn Concept that had the same front GM showed last year. Seems a long time ago. But I guess a part of the Saturn Concept will live on with the Opel Ampera. I wish them luck.
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Feb 20th, 2009 (6:13 pm)less talk,more building&selling volts NOW please volts .
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Feb 20th, 2009 (8:19 pm)Um, you guys realize that this is not a concept, right? A concept is built purely to draw attention, not to be neccesarily to be practical. This would be considered a preproduction model, which as been throughly researched and carefully designed. There’s a big difference.
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Feb 21st, 2009 (1:27 am)Most seem to think the Ampera looks better than the Volt. Probably because the designers weren’t restrained to a design that had to resemble the original Volt concept. I would be happy with either.
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Feb 21st, 2009 (1:44 am)#8 Grump
“There’s a reason I call myself The Grump. See that driveway? THERE’S NO VOLT IN IT !!! It’s been 2 years now, and GM is hell bent on dragging it’s feet on the Volt another 2 years, maybe more. I just went through the hell we call the Great Oil Price Spike of 2008. I needed a Volt then.”
When was the last time you designed a product as complicated as a new automobile? Not just a new model, but one with a completely new and unique drive train and power plant. Then there’s the electric system, again unlike any car before. Not to mention an entire assembly plant, supply line, parts venders, repair, customer service, and support centers. And there’s the batteries, batteries that just a couple of years ago were used primarily only in small elec. devices like cell phones and laptops, batteries that had to be developed in much larger format nearly from scrap.
The very fact that the Volt and cars like them are being developed in as few years as they are is quite an accomplishment.
So unless you have spent the last 20 years of your live putting together mega manufacturing operations like the Volt, then your opinion is based on inaccurate information and is therefore not relevant.
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Feb 21st, 2009 (5:57 am)Damn why has it to be an opel… sigh*
The car looks nice though. But there aren’t much people who buy opels here anymore. And they never came with something special something they stood out off the crowd.
IF it was branded as a ford It would sell alot better in europe!!
Ford is still making profit in europe? ( hehe what about american ford?? =) )
It also fits ford new good looking european style.
If you look at the models: http://www.fordeurope.net/
We have an opel.. my uncle has the new ford mondeo it is damn nice. But not friendly for the enviorment. So is our 2.2 gasoline opel… sigh*
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Feb 23rd, 2009 (12:32 am)Open is a very well-known and respected brand in Europe, with more Opels than Chevys (virtually every Chevy has an Opel counterpart).
The differences are plastic bits and window dressing just like almost every difference between Opel and Chevy today. Tooling costs are minimal, and Euros have very different tastes in cars.
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Feb 23rd, 2009 (6:32 pm)Wow, the Volt will look amazing in white.
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Feb 26th, 2009 (6:42 pm)This version blows the volt away …. GM are you listening???? Make the Volt look like the Opel when it goes on sale in the USA and it will be even more of a winner …. The front end treatment looks so much better (more futuristic) than the current volt to be released and it gives the car a “standout factor” much like the Prius has. Be Bold and sell this version instead!!….Following the same old dull routine is what mostly got you in this gigantic mess to begin with…..Love the Ampera’s looks ……….
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Dec 23rd, 2009 (5:30 pm)I love your blog and will keep on reading
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