Since last year Fox News pundit Neil Cavuto has seemingly made it his mission to kill the Volt in the cradle, but recently he contrived an attempt to give a Volt owner a fair audience.
Of course “fair” is a qualified term these days. As you can see in the video, Cavuto asks whether the Volt has a floor or you push it with your feet like Fred Flintstone. He asks whether back seat passengers are like Gumby in order to be contorted to limited space.
He admits he is only teasing, but he unashamedly uses his platform to push his unique biases and we have to wonder how anyone in his position can be so one-sided.
Volt owner Eric Rotbard does a good job of answering, and we credit him for keeping his cool as Cavuto makes snarky remarks while suppressing smiles at his self-perceived cleverness.
Rotbard does his best to answer in a more straightforward manner. He mentions he gets over 200 mpg routinely, and in response to Cavuto’s asking why he did not buy a hybrid, Rotbard says on a 160 mile trip his Volt made a Prius-beating 60-plus mpg.
Cavuto says Rotbard looks like someone who has lots of bucks implicitly suggesting he is part of the socioeconomic upper percentile – though certainly Cavuto is not likely impoverished either.
At the end, without having convinced Cavuto, Rotbard says it was “an honor” to be on the show. Some might say this is being too kind and humble, but it does not matter because his testimonial speaks for itself in defense of the Volt to a known hater.
Cavuto has said that the Volt is “a piece of crap” and other poison-laden statements that go so far beyond the pale of what a journalist is supposed to do.
Actually, Cavuto needs someone to refute him more assertively with more facts.
These would include facts like what Kiplinger demonstrated: In five years the total cost to own a Volt was only $1,600 more than an economical Chevrolet Cruze which cost $19,000 less.
Or facts like a Volt can get many hundreds of miles per gallon to over 1,000 mpg, all while using domestically produced energy that costs and pollutes far less than the often-times imported petroleum other vehicles require.
Or facts like GM has over engineered its powertrain, and while it has yet to be proven because it’s still brand new, the Volt may be able to go 600,000 miles before needing an overhaul.
Or facts like the purported Flintstone-mobile has 10 million lines of computer code, and is one of the most sophisticated vehicles ever produced.
Or facts like the Volt represents emerging “disruptive” technology that was deliberately rolled out in just seven states in limited numbers, so of course sales have not been high yet.
Many people do not even know General Motors makes an electric car, and it is well documented that consumer understanding and tastes do not change overnight.
But Cavuto routinely attempts to trip the Volt out of the gate. He says the Volt will be popular with people in the White House thus using the Volt as a whipping boy to make sarcastic criticism of the political issues that obviously drive him.
At other times he has said he cannot abide by any vehicle “with a plug,” and objects to the federal government’s various initiatives to help subsidize, save or augment the automotive industry, American market, and more.
His points are understood, but regarding his Volt reporting tactics, we are calling Cavuto a “pundit,” which in our estimation is a downgrade from being respected as a legitimate journalist.
On behalf of journalists with higher integrity still trying to do honorable work, I apologize for what is being passed off by Cavuto as reporting.
I know many people do not know what to think listening to those whose job it is to inform. I often hear criticism of the media, and sad to say, there is truth to it, but this unnecessary phenomenon is really only a symptom of those who are ethically challenged.
When I got my BA in journalism, my professors had thoroughly ground into me that while absolute objectivity is impossible, there are time-proven methods to do a very good job at presenting a story.
Americans have been given a nearly sacred trust by the First Amendment to be free to share views. While what one defines as “acceptable” is wide open to debate, for those in the business of disseminating information to the public, the intellectually honest high road has been well mapped out.
Despite Fox News tipping its hat to this basic teaching and saying it is “Fair & Balanced,” Cavuto’s treatment of the Volt is a mockery to the profession. Being fair and balanced should mean one stays neutral and does not work from preconceived feelings attempting to shape the story to prove one’s points.
In contrast, Cavuto uses sarcasm, passive aggression, emotionally laden comments, and his personal charisma (as seen by his supporters) to sway viewers to his very well documented personal perspective.
What he is doing is actually part of a broader trend in the media, a departure into unknown territory where objectivity and truth may or may not be adhered to, and personal bias is accepted as good.
Unfortunately there are audiences for such tactics. The responsibility does not rest only on the media which would not do it unless it was enabled by information consumers.
Some info consumers can be just as biased as those turning out the diatribes and news of questionable objectivity. These are the ones who gravitate to the pundits, screed artists, etc., who can churn out a subjective blend of information viewed as true or compelling.
In my view it is part of a problematic state of affairs in an increasingly divisive society in which various ideological camps are so at odds with others that they have jumped onto a slippery slope whereby they believe the ends justify the means.
Such people fail to understand that “two wrongs do not make a right,” and apparently do not realize these kinds of attitudes may well be precursors to more divisiveness and failure in a nation where it has been said, “united we stand, divided we fall.”
But this is what we have: An info market created by people who either make their living by, or enjoy having their ears tickled by the decrying of other peoples’ perceived lack of accountability, while really being no more than “the pot calling the kettle black.”
This said, Cavuto has a right to say what he does about the Volt. He has the right to be wrong.
This entry was posted on Monday, October 31st, 2011 at 5:55 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.
+20
Oct 31st, 2011 (6:14 am)I would not say he has a right to be wrong, just a right to be stupid and a puppet to his employers.
Fortunately we have a slew of awards, an abundance of real motor critics, and word of mouth all saying each and every Volt buyer is very much validated in making their purchase.
I’ll be one of the first in line when the Volt hits Australian shores!!!
+17
Oct 31st, 2011 (6:27 am)At least Cavuto took his time to listen to a Volt owner but still he’s an oxymoron for Pete sakes who in the world is this guy? He’s gotta have the mind of a pea if you know what I mean by? Plus in my opinion he’s gotta be a poor, rich, greedy, loser I can see money written all over his face what a jerk!
+7
Oct 31st, 2011 (6:36 am)Very good interview. I have heard Neil bash the Volt a few times. It’s clear that Neil is unclear on the real specs on the car. Statements like, “You’ll need a long extension cord after 40 miles”. And, “Look, noone wants this car”. Come from a lack of specs and deaf ears to honest feedback.
I believe Neil is getting very close to being a believer.
No Plug, No Sale!
+8
Oct 31st, 2011 (6:45 am)They even had a sign displayed throughout the interview stating “only 4495 Volts since launching”. Unfortunately when Cauvto asks why they are not selling, Rotbard does not respond with “production limited” but goes into consumer ignorance. Its hard to remember everything when being interviewed like this.
I expect this month will double that figure, I believe the pipeline is now filled, that is most dealers have their demo Volts, and now new cars are going to customers. We will have the figures in a few days.
+10
Oct 31st, 2011 (7:02 am)I thought that was a very good interview and brought some very good points to the surface to be hashed. I think Neil was surprised by some of the answers Eric gave. The cost debate sounded much like GM-Volt a couple of years ago. Too bad it couldn’t have been mentioned that the 2600 Volts on lots are demo cars and can’t be sold. We need more people like Neil to go and take demo rides, now that they are available almost everywhere. As soon as electrified vehicles start out-performing gas only cars in 0 to 60 mph times, you won’t be able to stop people from buying them.
+23
Oct 31st, 2011 (7:06 am)Neil Cavuto needs a petroleum enema to clear his head!
Raymond
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (7:13 am)They also open with a statement about Republicans calling for an investigation into Fisker. I understand that this is election posturing, but would they really waste taxpayer money on an “investigation” when all the facts are well known? Maybe, I spent part of yesterday watching Congresses Science Committee on NASA’s Commercial Crew Development Program. There appeared to be a large variation in the representatives, some asking very astute questions and others vague questions that had already been thoroughly covered in the testimonies. One Congressman from Detroit area was clearly concerned about the possibility of the space companies doing business in his area, and not concerned about good value for the taxpayer. The fact that they needed to have an investigation at all surprised me as most of the points presented are well known, and they never compared the commercial costs vs traditional cost-plus contracts but only to the Russian cost of sending astronauts to the space station.
+13
Oct 31st, 2011 (8:05 am)Cavuto is owned by the oil companies and it’s a shame many journalists can not be honest. I lose respect for a person like Cavuto.
+5
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:00 am)The real reason Cavuto disdains the Volt is because he is fat and he thinks he couldn’t get into one.
He is not a journalist, he agitates guests deliberately, he will often prompt guests with leading questions that are diametrically opposed to his own point of view. His job is news making not news reporting.
One of you Voltiacs should challenge him to take a ride; maybe let him drive. That would add some balance and fairness.
+3
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:11 am)Cavuto is using the scare tactic. I think he mentioned something about divorces because someone forgot to plug in the car. You will never convince Cavuto about the Volt. He will find the most insignificant flaw and make it a major flaw. When someone perceives something as a threat when it really isn’t, they will make up crap. Example – The death panels in the ‘liberal’ health care reform.
-17
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:25 am)(click to show comment)
+13
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:44 am)Using his logic as a template, he supports terrorism.
His gas guzzlers forces oil imports. Some oil exports come from countries with ties to terrorists. Ergo, he supports terrorism.
Yes, this is an intentionally inciteful statement, but these pundits do the same every day and pass it off as news rather than opinion. You cannot argue with people that don’t want to change.
+11
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:46 am)In a way, Cavuto is actually helping the Volt’s visibility – by being using such whacky terms like Flintstone Car and inciting divorces, people (well those with a brain) can see through that as punditry.
Some people are swayed by him and Limbaugh, one is my mother who is 92 and conservative to a point of isolation from society. I don’t talk cars with her but I bet if I mentioned the Volt, she’d repeat things heard on those shows.
I think we need someone like Statik to go up against Cavuto.
+8
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:59 am)The Chevy Volt is a high-market, high-quality vehicle, and as such costs more. The Malibu and Cruze are more a middle-market vehicle and both sell extremely well. The Corolla and Camry are now low class, and Toyota gets away selling Camrys as Lexus, taking more American money from foolish buyers who pay more while getting less.
You don’t need to lower prices to sell a higher quality vehicle like the Volt, the Camaro, or the Corvette. Besides, there aren’t sufficient Vols to go around (I haven’t seen one yet), so it will not hit mainstream volume for a long while, but Chevy will sell every one.
Now, I have seen the Toyota Prius plug-in close up, and it will not sell well. The price increase will not attract new buyers, except foolish Toyota Prius fans. And we all know that the smart Prius owners have traded their cars for Volts, since they post here in this forum.
American car buyers are wiser!
Raymond
+6
Oct 31st, 2011 (10:03 am)Cavuto needs a name change to Cavolt.
No matter what Fox says, I’ll enjoy driving my CA Volt in California.
+18
Oct 31st, 2011 (10:11 am)I have only one Question for Cavuto ….. Is he willing to take a small paycheck that is signed by the U.S. military and go to Iraq so we all can keep driving our huge SUV’s.
+11
Oct 31st, 2011 (10:12 am)I just think Cavuto is intellectually Lazy. Even O’Reilly disses the Volt and stuff saying things like ‘the technology is just not there’. But it doesn’t matter what anyone says because the ‘technology is here’.
Though I do think more people really need to be educated on the value of using electricity instead of oil, it really seems people only think its about GREEN/No pollution. Everybody needs to understand that electricity to power cars means the money to fuel the cars stays in our economy creates jobs and eventually will mean our armies won’t have to protect the flow of oil from the middle east. Few people understand this as they should.
The only thing slowing down EV adoption is the stupid way the credits were structured. Companies need to maximize their profits. They have to get the most they can from each sale.
Once the credits run out in a few years, there will be many products that will be great options for anyone with a garage and an outlet.
For a typical middle class American who currently buys a $24,000 Sedan that gets 35mpg, that same Sedan at $30,000 vith Voltec is a no brainer. The Volt is currently at $40,000 but in a few years the cost of the battery pack and other components will drop in price enough to price the car around $30,000. The fuel savings and cost of operation and the durabiity of the car will be well documented.
It isn’t really relevant what Cavuto says now, only what GM provides in the next few years. They need to get the costs down and keep the quality up. I also think they will need to start dropping the price of the car every year.
2012 38k
2013 36k
2014 34k (credit starts phasing out)
2015 32k
2016 30k
and of course come out with other products in the mean time (bigger/smaller models, SUVs BEVs).
Lots of people have garages and outlets.
+16
Oct 31st, 2011 (10:32 am)If I go on Fox I’d definitely call anti-plugin people “terrorist sympathisers”. Afterall they promote sending more & more money to middle east – some of which definitely goes to support terrorism.
+9
Oct 31st, 2011 (10:42 am)Some of it goes directly to support terrorism.
But ALL of it goes to people who are ANTI-AMERICAN.
This should be the number one no brainer issue that unites all americans but it has not been effectively explained to Americans, mostly becuase everyone has their own agenda.
We still need OIL, we just need to drill more of it ourselves. But we also need to use new technolgies that don’t use oil. We need more nuclear as well.
The reason we can’t as a nation get 100% behind EV’s and not importing oil is because everyone has their own agenda.
Lefties can’t get behind more nuclear and more domestic Oil drilling.
Righties associate EV’s with GREENies who are against needed domestic Oil expansion and more nuclear.
We need a leader to educate and FOCUS america that its all the same thing, saving our economy and our national security.
+3
Oct 31st, 2011 (10:56 am)Cavuto is a VP at Fox news. Is it any wonder he takes news-worthy products like Volt and tries to cash in on the buzz?
He probably doesn’t care one way or the other about Volt. He certainly cares about making money with his network.
As far as 0-60 times, I actually agree with john1701a on this one. People buying Impalas (I’m one) don’t really care if the wife can get there in 11seconds or 8seconds. It’s adequate for the task. Buyers go to the dealership and drool over Camaro, but, end up with something practical.
Of course everyone that has been here a while knows I drive a HEMI. (0-60 in 6seconds). I would not go for a car that has less performance and capability than the one I have now without a serious change in my lifestyle, or, ability/budget to have both. When the time comes, the HEMI stays and the Impala get traded for a Volt (or ELR).
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:01 am)I couldn’t agree more on these statements!
+8
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:03 am)I think Eric Rotbard did an OUTSTANDING job in this interview. He joked along with Cavuto, and answered every question and every jab with a thoughtful, well spoken response. The world needs more people like Eric.
As far as Cavuto, well, you aren’t going to convince everyone all of the time. That’s just life. We should present our arguments as thoughtfully and respectfully as possible, and live our convictions. I think Eric Rotbard provides a great template for us to follow.
+3
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:09 am)As I linked twice in this article –
http://gm-volt.com/2011/09/05/chevy-volt-is-attracting-new-faces-in-the-face-of-old-critics/
Can anyone prove this guy has been bought off by someone? If so, please email me any verifiable evidence if possible.
Thanks,
Jeff
+10
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:20 am)Eric did an outstanding job under trying circumstances.
By the way, GM has offered Cavuto a Volt to take a test drive in. So far, he has refused. He also judges books he has not read, movies he has not seen, food he has not tasted. Actually knowing what he is talking about would get in the way of his judgement.
+10
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:21 am)Yes, Eric did very well in this 6 minutes of fame. This interview was pretty much a spur of the moment thing, so he didn’t have much time to plan (not to mention he has a day job
). He also mentioned, on the forum, that he had to look straight into the camera and couldn’t really see the monitor, so he didn’t see the “Volt sales vs on lot numbers” during the interview.
It should be pointed out that Eric was one of the original Consumer Advisory Board Members, so he knows more about the Volt than a new owner or a man on the street.
Most of the people commenting on this on the forum felt Eric did a good job, and that you “catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” Neil was less abusive than before and may have actually softened as the result of the interview. IMHO, and several others, calm friendly debate helps our cause more than getting out more facts in a combative manner. We come out looking like the good guy.
After all, more than Neil Cavuto, it’s the public we want to convince.
+3
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:23 am)Here’s what I’d say on Cavuto’s show if I were a guest, “and you go to a gas station to refuel, Neil? That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard”, lol.
+5
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:26 am)On the Volt issue, Cavuto is disconnected from what the average individual thinks about this car and his stance will bite him in the *ss. His remarks are idiotic and he made it plain for everyone to see. He obviously needs a reality check fast.
Every time I drive my Volt, I see people expressing their enthusiasm about the car. Thumbs-ups, jaw dropping and waves is becoming norm.
THE PUBLIC LOVES THIS CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+6
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:37 am)This is probably a bad example of Cavuto and the Volt because this is actually an OK interview. (FYI Eric did a great job!). He does go over the line in a few cases but he shouldn’t be doing a softball interview. Then again maybe the expectations are so low it’s not hard to meet them.
Personally I believe that Cavuto had become a liability to Fox Business. Cavuto is the the lead face on Fox Business. That’s OK but he’s way too political. The political bent is expected for Fox News. In fact Fox News has made its mark by selling outrage and a pre-conceived political narrative as entertainment. It’s been very successful doing that, especially to the demographic that still watches TV.
But the whole “political talking points as news” approach hasn’t worked for Fox Business. People who watch a business channel want actual business news, not some idiotic talking head spouting nonsense. As a consequence Fox Business has lagged in the ratings and is something of a failure. Cavuto is part of the reason, which is sad because he was very good when he was at CNBC where he had to keep a lid on it.
+3
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:38 am)Jeff Cobb,
It amazes me at how stupid Cavuto is. He says he would never buy a car that has to be plugged in. What does he think he’s doing when he fills his car with gasoline?
If I were his employer, I would have a serious talk with him, because it’s obvious to most people he does not make sense.
+3
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:38 am)Not combative, “assertive.” What’s more, my main issue was not just being offended for the Volt’s sake but that this is a man who should know better.
I hold him to a higher standard than a disgruntled disenfranchised car dealer like Mark Modica.
Facts are what the public needs to fully know as well. I agree no one should jump in Cavuto’s face in a combative manner (though some have already said they may want to … ).
My point is you can be assertive and dignified all at the same time. This can include being “calm and friendly.”
In a calm and friendly manner he needs to be publicly refuted – which Eric did a good job getting started.
We need clear information and this is a trust given to those whose job it is to share it.
Indicators are people still need a good bit more straightforward info about advanced-tech vehicles, as GM has said, and other independent sources like this survey I reported-
http://gm-volt.com/2011/03/14/study-shows-more-education-needed-for-evs-and-hybrids-to-sell/
+6
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:45 am)I agree with all these points. For those who haven’t ever been interviewed like this, it’s a whole lot more difficult than it looks. The fact is you can’t really fairly debate someone who is on their own turf, who controls the dialog and the format, and who does interviews for a living. On balance I thought Eric put a human face on the Volt and conveyed why so many of us like the car so much.
+6
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:51 am)I don’t watch Fox and I never heard of this guy Cavuto. He sounds like a troll on a blog, LOL. PDNFTT! Ignore him long enough and he’ll go away on his own. Or just play to his closed loop right wing viewer base. Same thing IMHO. Who cares what he says?
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (11:54 am)Fox News bias against plug in vehicles (from the beginning) is well known and well documented – they’re very bad with the other plug-ins as well. Cavuto, of course, is one of the worst and appears to take great delight in doing so.
From a conservative standpoint, reducing the trade deficit, not sending money to Chavez and Saudi Arabia and reducing our dependence on foreign oil should be a slam dunk for a conservative leaning media outlet – if it viewed getting off of foreign oil as a good thing.
That said, the consistency and replication of the message trashing plug-in vehicles on News Corp’s media outlets (print and TV) is obvious and hints at direction from management – what is causing that can only be surmised. Remember the largest shareholder in News Corp behind Rupert Murdoch is a Saudi Arabian fellow (might be a prince) who takes great pride is saying he affects coverage. The propaganda definitely dovetails with fossil fuel and in particular oil interests as they want plug-ins dead and this is the last chance they’ll get – I’m sure they’d pay lots of extra advertising revenue for that – the oil industry in particular is one that has always known how to play dirty to achieve its goals. Whatever the reason the bias is there, real and openly flaunted.
It makes it tough when one of the major news avenues to the nation is obviously compromised on this subject and begs the question of what other facts they twist to suit the message they want to give?
JMHO of course….
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:01 pm)joe,
I hear you.
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:01 pm)I don’t assume conspiracy theories first. As I posted above I believe this is just simply the lefty vs righty neither side has an open mind. Righty’s just think EVs are part of the Green agenda so they don’t see the difference between giving half a billion to Solyndra executives who kick back money to democrats, and the fact that PLUG-Ins are more about NOT IMPORTING OIL than they are about the rest of the democratic platform (supporting Unions and other causes that in turn give them money and insure votes).
Fact is both political parties are leading our country down the road to misery. Technology tries it’s hardest to make up for bad govenrment. Information and Communicaiton revolutions have helped, hopefully EVs will be the next thing to save our economy by eliminating imported oil, creating jobs, leading to cheap domestic produced energy etc.
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:03 pm)It was clear to me that Neil Cavuto already had his opinion/agenda and was “shown-up” IMO by Eric Rotbards’ calm informative answers. No; I don’t think Cavuto will change his mind about the Volt. When I listened to Neil Cavutos opinion; it gave me the same gut sickening feeling when I hear John Boehner or Mitch McConnell speak their opinion. Unfortunately I think some people on the Right have made vehicles like the Volt a political football. For now tax credits are necessary to help our country create more jobs in EV manufacturing. If we are not aggressive enough, we will fall behind and may even lose a lot of business; if China ever dumps EVs on the market eventually; like they have with PV solar JMO. God I hate politics!
+3
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:12 pm)Jeff,
Thank you for your frank discussion on your views as a journalist, regarding obvious bias. As I was growing up, I got used to the term ‘alleged’ being used to describe a criminal we saw in the news. Unfortunately, I think that the expansion of ‘news’ outlets is a real source of trouble. When we only heard from three networks, the viewer was presented facts and allowed to draw his own conclusions. When cable became the norm, polarized viewpoints started being presented and I think the audienced dumbed down. They no longer had to judge the facts and draw a conclusion.
While I love Stephen Colbert, his show requires intelligence to find comedy and discernment to become educated while being entertained. Colbert re-introduces us to the lost art of satire. His new presentations, while biased in appearence, re-engage our brains to actually look at both sides of an issue to come to a conclusion. Cavuto is at the other end of the intellectual spectrum from Colbert- an idiot who caters to idiots.
The saddest part of all this is the devo-lution of American judgment. We used to have to think to draw our conclusions. Now, celebrities give us all the ‘tweets’ we need to stay informed. Yuch!
+3
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:16 pm)Bit of an overstatement considering a lot of it goes to Canada.
True – before the plug-ins got released – it was thought, here was one issue that both right & left can get behind. Not so – rightwing is still wedded to “drill baby drill” and the left is confused because of the “electricity from coal makes EVs dirtier than ICE”. Forget left & right – apparently we can’t even get Volt fans to support Leaf & Leaf fans to support Volt !
Well, we can’t get out of this peak oil problem by drilling more. We simply don’t have enough oil to satisfy our demand for decades to come.
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:17 pm)Seems like GM may need to have their Lawyers review smear and slander laws as it pertains to a company’s products and image. Maybe the Volt isn’t selling as well as it should because of the rants of Neil Cavuto, even if in jest.
NPNS!
Volt#671
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:18 pm)Wow.
I just posted a comment that was critical of both the left and the right – and it was removed as SPAM. I simply was saying I didn’t think Fox was guilty of anything more than blind ideology no different than the left is guilty of blind ideology. Will this post all be removed as SPAM.
Just curious who is the communist that is controlling this website and removes a middle of the road independent’s opinion?
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:19 pm)Too bad a technological breakthrough – the EREV or EVER according to Fisker – has become a political issue, using it to tarnish the accomplishments of the administration so the President is not reelected.
In the meantime, governments all over the world, be it Japanese, Korean or Chinese, are helping their companies generously so they can be more competitive.
I wonder if the political opposition, in these countries, are using the government subsidies as a mean to discredit their president or prime minister ?
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:24 pm)Tom, based on my experience, when a comment is flagged as SPAM, it is a technical glitch. Somehow it thinks you posted it more than once. It has happened to several of us, and Jeff usually just gets it released.
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:25 pm)Who says it doesn’t ? As soon as people will understand the savings in TCO that we get with this car, they will sell like hot cakes.
If they can offer the car at a more competitive price, they will sell like crazy.
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:25 pm)This guy was star-struck! I saw this live ( yes, I watch FOX Business ) and I was dumbfounded. Cavuto gave this guy the actual airtime, and space to defend Volt and he fell flat on his face!
Cavuto gave him the opportunity to be tough, and say “hey look Neil, you say “what if you forget to plug it in”, but it has a GENERATOR that keeps you going another 300 miles!”. Cavuto lead with the hybrid question: You’d think ANY Volt owner would say, “Hey, many people faulted Volt because it sometimes CAN use it’s gas motor when it needs to”, yet that makes it more efficient than ANY HYBRID on the market today, and yet you can go 40-50 miles per day GAS FREE for months!”
Look, Eric Rotbard, if you come to this site – hey, I know people get star-struck, it happens. But hey, I don’t know if anyone else will ever get the chance to duke it out with Cavuto on Volt, and man, you dropped the ball. I would have said, “Hey Neil, I’m a Republican, and I LOVE MY VOLT!” – AND I CHALLENGE YOU TO DRIVE MY CAR ANYTIME, ANYPLACE and you yourself can firsthand see what all the excitement is about!”. Also, why the hell did this guy NOT tell Cavuto THAT THE CAR HAS ONLY BEEN SOLD IN 7 STATES?!!!!! It’s the biggest flub this guy did! I’M SICK AND TIRED OF MEDIA FOPS TRYING TO NAIL VOLT ON SALES NUMBERS! SHEESH! CAN SOMEBODY SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT?!!!!
OK, I’m too hot over this – I’m done. Everybody have a fantastic day, I’ll TTYL.
VOLT. IT’S MORE FREEDOM THAN ELECTRIC! .
James
P.S. : I do blame GM PR dept. for this – why with all their power, money and influence could they not call in a Volt owner who can debate and give him possible lines/tactics Cavuto may try to dupe a person who is not accustomed to being on TV? GM could have planned/arranged this meeting at FOX studios to “be fair and balanced and give a Volt owner a chance to set the record straight with Neil re: Volt”. Instead, we get this half-assed joke where Neil comes away looking inscathed in his idiocy. It’s true you don’t want some guy who is emotional and looks adversarial, but this guy didn’t hit on ANY of Neil’s misinformation – and even made him look substantiated in his attacks of the car.
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:30 pm)Don’t. How many spills are needed for this frame of mind to change ?
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:30 pm)Jeff I understand your point and your Journalism ethics issue. Several on the forum also wished Eric had been more “assertive.” But my point remains that Eric is the first that I know of that could really represent us well and kept the debate very calm. Maybe because of this there will be a next time, JMHO.
Some may want to read the entire forum thread, including Eric’s comments later in the thread.
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?9680-Cavuto-appearance&highlight=ERicR
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:31 pm)Conventional drilling yes. But there will be plenty of offshore and tight oil.
The reasons for not relying on oil for transportation are more subtle and more faceted than a simple “we can’t get enough”. Not that I disagree with the conclusion.
Are you sure you didn’t include a web site or something?
+5
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:32 pm)#35
Amen. +1
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:34 pm)#39
Oops, blew your cover there didn’t you, LOL.
+6
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:35 pm)Looks like you made it!
I just found your comment and posted it.
The programming was not done by me. As far as I know the spam filters were set up by the previous owner.
Otherwise I wrote the article and it is neither party line “conservative” nor “liberal.”
Are you suggesting I am a “communist?”
If you have a problem here, please give the benefit of the doubt before calling names.
Thanks.
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:36 pm)I think Noel and Don C just negged my post because I said I was a Republican.
Note: Grow up guys.
I know you guys own Volts. Re-read my post #44 – I don’t see how ANY Volt owner regardless of political partisanship can disagree with what I said. If you agree, +1 it please, since our voices need to be heard. GM folks sometimes read this site, and especially the green.
I think this kind of blank partisan stuff is just what’s wrong with our nation. Gridlock in Washington D.C. because people are pig-headed over ideology more than what’s best to move our country upwards and onwards. It goes both ways and I’m sick and tired of it. I feel like that guy in the movie Network when he hangs his head out the window and cries: ” I’M MAD AS HELL AND I’M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!”
Thank you,
RECHARGE! ,
James
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:44 pm)OT, but I just happened to glace at an article in Autoweek about the 2012 Toyota Le Mans race car. The final sentence reads:
“It is believed that the LMP1 machine, which is being developed in Germany at Toyota Motorsport, will use the supercapacitor-based hybrid system that the company has been developing since at least 2007.”
I wonder if they are working with EeStor on this, LOL?
+4
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:49 pm)Yep, you are right, its back now. I was afraid this site had been taken over by someone with an agenda (other than in support of the Volt of course).
Apologies to Jeff.
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:56 pm)We need Oil until we have things in place to mostly displace the need. For now we need it.
The planet will survive a few oil more oil spills (please go to youtube and listen to George Carlin’s bit about the saving the planet, the planet is fine, we’re screwed -for good laugh and lighten up on the subject).
I’m all for continued development of renewables for electricity (now 14% lets go for 50% in 25 years), Nuclear (lets go for 50% in 20 years, there are new technologies WAY MORE SAFER AND Cleaner than those in place that need to be developed). And lets go with EREV/BEVs with 10-200 miles in range, something for everyone.
But in the mean time we should be drilling like crazy in the arctic and Gulf because its more important to save America, the Planet will be fine.
It’s amazing how people can’t see the benefit of nuclear and renewables for power generation, because in both cases the up from costs are so high. But once you build it you don’t have to pay for fuel like EVER. So in twenty years you end up way ahead, but people are so short sighed on their ROI. Same with electric cars. Thats why EVs and Renewable energies are tied together because they are investments in the FUTURE.
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (12:58 pm)No worries Michael. Eric did do a very good job. I hope I did not sound overly defensive at all. I just wanted to clarify. I am not advocating “more of the same” vitriol which Eric did well to avoid by laughing off all of Cavuto’s comments. I believe there is a high road, and we all need to know it, and at least attempt to take it.
Regards,
Jeff
+4
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:07 pm)#51
Well I hadn’t actually, but after reading this I went back and corrected the oversight, LOL.
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:09 pm)Big huge enthusiastic +1!
Well said!
Being a conservative “righty”, I am very dismayed at my seeming choices for 2012 presidential race. Herman Cain has my eye, and possibly my support, yet he is just mum on oil and sustainables. On the other hand, the “rightys” seem completely bought-out by Big Oil as during their debates they repeatedly champion “energy independence” which is their term for “DRILL BABY DRILL” and clutter up our coastlines with near-shore oil platforms. They laud AK and MO drilling yet any educated person knows that even when this proposed exploration and drilling occurs it won’t match 10% of TODAY’S current domestic needs! And, as Tom says, on the other hand the White Housead and “leftys” are all about promoting and increasing government influence, unions and their powers along with taxing those that employ those union members and everyone else! Both sides push this insane immovable agenda and to me, it only emphasizes why this country dearly needs a solid third party – to end the gridlock. Maybe if we can loosen this deadlock of elected officials, then we could move on to correct our 4 year presidential term wherein the sitting Commander-In-Chief spends half of his first term running for his second.
RECHARGE! ,
James
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:11 pm)GO VOLT! , eh Noel?
Thanks for adding more substance to my point.
RECHARGE! ,
James
+4
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:12 pm)#45
An infinite number it would appear. See #54, LOL. Or cry – I can’t decide which.
I mean, so we oil up a few shrimp, birds and “swamps”? There’s plenty more where they came from, right?
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:17 pm)Jeff,
I already aplogogized above. When I got the message that my post was removed as spam, I figured some webmaster (I didn’t assume it was you or anyone in particular) didn’t like my opinion. It didn’t occur that it would have been a glitch.
Sorry again.
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:17 pm)#54
Nuclear fuel is not free. Neither is its disposal, assuming that we ever figure out how to do it. Go take a look at the Navajo reservation if you want to see the costs of uranium mining. And can anyone still say Fukushima? Gee, do they have those things up and running again? How much do you thing that’s gonna cost in the end?
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:18 pm)Tom W,
No problem. Sorry the machine filtered your post. Don’t know what the trigger was.
You can always email if problems occur –
Though fyi I’ll be offline much of today.
J
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:26 pm)Again, no worries Tom.
Not everyone knows. Basically I write and edit everything here unless stated otherwise on occasion.
There is an Akismet spam filter set up. It was tuned through trial and error in the past and I don’t think anyone at VerticalScope has adjusted it.
I’ll be offline soon, but thanks again for your comments. You are getting a lot of plus votes for posts #17 and #19.
J
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:29 pm)I agree that we must displace oil, but it would be economic suicide not to do it in an intelligent way over 25 to 50 years. In the meantime we need to produce as much domestic oil as we can. Until the 1960′s we produced all we needed and the planet survived. We started importing because it was cheaper to do so. It is not longer CHEAP IMPORTED ENERGY it is EXPENSIVE engergy whose cost and wars are destroying our country. We need to produce as much of this EXPENSIVE comodity as we can on our own while at the same time working to displace it. The planet will survive another 50 years of drilling while I hope we work to displace the need for it.
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:38 pm)I completely agree. +1 Well said!
It’s a tough place to be, this USA these days. On one side is a White House and Senate that is sold out to increasing the span and influence of labor unions at any cost, and greatly increasing the scope and power of government over the individual. On the other is a party sold out to Big Oil. It’s a hard time to be a conservative independent because the choices are so slim. I’m looking at Herman Cain, because so far, he’s been quite about sustainables and what his rivals call “energy independence”. To them, this term means DRILL BABY DRILL and it makes me sick. Any educated person ( seems less and less these days ) should know that if we domestically drill near shore and ruin our environment and seaside vistas, go into our national parks in AK and Montana and explore and drill ’til we puke, we could only hope to see 10% or less of OUR CURRENT OIL NEEDS met! It seems every politician is sold out – Unions on one side, vs. oilmen on the other!
This supports my cry for a third party. Opponents say – “a third party can never win an election”, but they’ve been known to sway the results ( Remember Ross Perot? ) because they tend to force politicians to refine their sense of compromise for the public good. If we can end gridlock and stubbornness based upon who gets lobbied and payed the most, perhaps we can attack another huge flaw in our current system – the one wherein a current president spends HALF his 1st term running to win his 2nd.
RECHARGE! ,
James
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:42 pm)Jeff I had two posts go to oblivion. I tried to do it over, and again the same result – just didn’t post.
I thought it had to do with my computer currently running it’s Hp monthly diagnostic scheduled maint. but that’s over with now – so it just disappeared.
James
+4
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:44 pm)It is also 7-billion world population day today. Oil import to the USA is one thing but what about the knowledge that we have doubled population in the last 50 years. That is 1960 to present. I know it’s not forcast to double-again but the current doubling, due to the cheap availability of oil and pharmaceuticals, could at least lead to one iteration to 10.5 billion. In order to maintain economic growth, exploitation of the current oil production will continue until a critical tipping point where there will be no way to supply enough oil to meet demands. At that time, world economic failure will occur and with 7-8 billion people affected, we have a very large concern for the young generations who will have to endure it. We already ship food thousands of miles. Food will just stop being shipped at any sort of affordable cost.
Today is a numerically significant day. I remember when we hit 4-billion and it was news.
Fox Business and other news stations continue to put the spotlight on economic growth and not economic “sustainability”. It’s never about 5 or 10 years out, it’s about today’s stock market trends.
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:47 pm)Newer Nuclear technologies are much safer and have much less waste.
So your position is we shouldn’t use oil or Nuclear or Coal, but RENEWABLES ONLY.
I think we can have an equal balance of renewables and nuclear safely, but this is why NOTHING GETS DONE in our country.
Half the people focus on FOSSIL FUELS ONLY. Half the people FOCUS on anything but FOSSIL and/or Nuclear. So nothing gets accomplished except attacking the other side.
A balanced 25 year plan to generate all electricity with renewables + Nuclear while phasing out fossil fuels using mostly Electricity to power autos and homes (while in the meantime drilling like crazy to get our own oil and save our economy) just makes sense. It is a balanced approach, yet lefties and righties cannot find this obvious middle/best approach, and George Carlin is correct, the planet is fine, we are screwed.
+3
Oct 31st, 2011 (1:53 pm)No doubt a Toyota commercial ran right after that segment. Cavuto can’t be seen as supportive of better technology than his sponsor’s.
+3
Oct 31st, 2011 (2:41 pm)#65
Yup. +1
-1
Oct 31st, 2011 (2:46 pm)#66
We hear a lot about them, but I don’t see any being built anywhere. And I don’t expect to any time soon. What do you suppose is the time horizon for these “newer nuclear technologies” to arrive in any commercial application? Not in my lifetime IMHO.
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (2:47 pm)Never argue with an idiot. Obviously this can be applied to “journalists” occasionally.
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (2:57 pm)Even in Japan we heard the plants that had the disaster were schedule to be replaced with newer safer plants. But in our country we don’t move forward because of the paralysis of our left vs right ‘un’Civil war.
Our country is lost in social warfare – until a leader comes along that will drag us into a better future.
-5
Oct 31st, 2011 (3:25 pm)So, when are you thinking that needs to be… next year… the year after… not until the next generation? I’d think right away, since other plug-in offerings will quickly confuse consumers… hence asking who. And of course, what targets would the price & volume be?
Keeping purpose in mind is important. Even though PIP offers electric-only driving, consumers will see the plug as simple way to significantly boost MPG. So impact of EV range will be thought of diffferently than with Volt, especially in the winter.
+5
Oct 31st, 2011 (3:51 pm)Heard this recently:
“Act like you are building an inheritance for your great-grandchildren”
Meaning – you will have family members that you may never meet but you are responsible for the world that they will be inheriting from your actions.
+1
Oct 31st, 2011 (3:56 pm)There may be a silver lining to Cavuto and Fox’s anti-Volt position.
Many hard core greenies who are anti-Volt, also are anti-Fox — perhaps their anti-Volt stance will soften once they realize how ridiculous it looks to be stupid and dense about the car.
I’ve always figured on resistance with the Volt, just as there was resistance to the motor car in its early days – then, motorists broken down on the side of a road would often hear “Get a horse!” from people passing by.
I’ve also figured time is on the Volt’s side, and it’s here to stay.
Oct 31st, 2011 (5:06 pm)“The news is completely manipulated”. Hack Boy in Die Hard IV.
+10
Oct 31st, 2011 (5:08 pm)How ’bout fighting the “Cavuto fire” with a little hotter backfire?
Advertising Age just published an article today updating a REAL car guy’s experience with his
Chevy Volt since he took delivery of it in December 2010. Jay Leno, who’s a better known media personality than Neil Cavuto and who owns over 100 vehicles, hasn’t needed to get gas for his Volt since last December after logging 10,000 miles on it —although he drives it to work every day.*
Jay loves his Camaro, but
his Volt is his daily driver
/Maybe Jay should invite Cavuto to be a guest on his show and have him drive his Volt while there!
* http://adage.com/article/special-report-chevy-100/jay-leno-roots-team-detroit/230687/
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (5:49 pm)I think you were kidding but you’ve mentioned the negatives a couple of times so I’ll give you my take. I’m a Republican so I wouldn’t as a reflex give someone a negative for that alone. I also generally don’t give any post a negative vote, though I do sometimes make an exception for John (I’m thinking all of us may do this from time to time — Ha ha –but not today). Actually I have given a few posts a negative vote but I generally reserve that for posts which are both stupid AND irritating. Lots of times I give a positive vote to thoughtful comments even if I don’t agree with them, and if I see a reasonable post that someone has given a negative I’ll just hit it with a positive to balance it out. My guess is that I give 10 postitives for every negative.
I do think you’re too sensitive about the voting. I think some people just give a negative now and again just to annoy. Your posts are always interesting. If they get negatives just think of it as having a post that has gotten through the clutter.
Oct 31st, 2011 (5:55 pm)The real problem with nuclear is that (1) people are afraid of it; and (2) it never proves economically viable. On the latter point, it seems like every nuclear plant comes in way over budget and way behind schedule. Then they seem to always be gong off-line so they don’t seem very reliable.
When the first plant comes in on time and on budget I’ll be a believer. Until then I’m not.
-6
Oct 31st, 2011 (6:00 pm)All you who negative vote but don’t bother to reply, remember that sales results for the month of October are coming. Voices like Fox will be sounding off their thoughts, whether you do or not. Not providing anything beforehand leaves them wide open for spin. Don’t you want to prevent that?
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (7:13 pm)Just another shock jock ho (shojoho, lol). Put him on Ignore.
+4
Oct 31st, 2011 (7:28 pm)I have been antagonized by disinformation from Fox and Cavuto. After the next election, we should go after Cavuto’s advertising sponsors with a windfall profits tax, and for no other reason than to give these scuds the back of our hand.
Oct 31st, 2011 (7:44 pm)I know quite a few “greenies” that would be willing to see some expansion of nuclear power. But there would have to be some quid-pro-quo, like the end of oil subsidies, a carbon tax, or some serious support for solar and wind power at the homeowner level. No way they’ll get that deal.
Oct 31st, 2011 (7:47 pm)It’s only expensive by comparison when fossil fuel pricing doesn’t include all the social costs. Tax carbon and a lot of things will magically happen.
Oct 31st, 2011 (7:55 pm)#80
Right. +1
Oct 31st, 2011 (8:03 pm)Which reminds me… I was banned by WopOnTour from the forum for posting facts, so I’ll have to post this here, the announcement for the upcoming GM Sales and Production conference call. Last month, I was surprised at the number of questions about the Volt, analysts and press do not typically focus on the low-volume vehicles, as they do not make a big difference to the bottom line. There may be Volt questions this, month, too, so it might be worth a listen.
From GM:
—
Back
October 2011 U.S. Vehicle Sales Conference Call
11/01/2011
General Motors will be holding a conference call to review and discuss its U.S. sales results. The conference call will start at approximately 11:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, November 1, 2011. The call will begin with a brief review of U.S. sales results followed by a question and answer session for securities analysts and media, respectively. The conference call is expected to last approximately 60 minutes.
Prior to the call, the U.S. Sales news release and supporting material will be posted on this website http://investor.gm.com in the Sales and Production section.
To access the conference call, please dial 1-800-755-1805 (or +1-212-231-2920 for international access) 10 minutes prior to the start time and ask to be connected to the General Motors conference call.
A taped replay of this call will be made available from 1:00 p.m. ET, November 1, 2011 until 1:00 p.m. ET, November 3, 2011. Please dial 1-800-633-8284 (or +1-402-977-9140 for international access) and enter reservation number 21488788 to access the replay.
—
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:05 pm)This is better advertizing than GM could ever pay for. How many people watch Neil Cavuto, and don’t end up knowing that the Volt is a car that you to plug in. Plug it in? It’s a car, why do you have to plug it in? Maybe I should go check this thing out.
+2
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:28 pm)For the last f-ing time, Chevy is selling every Volt it makes or sending it out as a dealer demo!!!!! Cavuto is manipulating the 4,500 sales number to argue against this car, and it’s completely disingenuous. Reporters should objectively seek the truth, and this joker prefers to spew his own “truth,” accuracy not required.
+6
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:30 pm)I was surprised that Cavuto let Eric tell his story and promote the Volt. Cavuto really wants to use the Volt as a way to bash the Obama administration, but I feel he may be softning.
By the way if we’re talking politics, I am a Republican, think global warming is a ploy by polar bears to get governmen funding (ligten up, it’s a joke) and have purchased not just one but two Volts. My sister in law just purchased one and she is very right wing conservative.
Political leanings don’t determine whether the Volt is good or bad. It will prove itself to all groups.
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:37 pm)GM can easily take care of this by purchasing significant quantities of ad time on Fox News Channel. Murdoch is a money grubber in every sense of the word, and I guarantee the Volt bashing would subside.
-3
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:41 pm)550 were delivered to dealers for use as demo models and 2,870 sold through July. 2,395 were produced and 302 sold in August. 2,367 were produced and 723 sold in September. That brought the total sales for the year to 3,895.
What is the sales expectation for October?
+3
Oct 31st, 2011 (9:52 pm)Canada had 143 Volts sold in September. http://media.gm.ca/content/media/ca/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/ca/en/2011/Oct/1003_Sales_September
I predict 2000+ US and 200+ Canada for October. We’ll see tomorrow.
9000 for model year 2012 have been produced since mid-July.
+2
Nov 1st, 2011 (12:06 am)Thanks for the info but how many screen names do you post under?
-4
Nov 1st, 2011 (12:29 am)Why? Is there some limit?
-1
Nov 1st, 2011 (12:32 am)Didn’t you forecast 2K for September? Or am I thinking of someone else?
I’m going with 1100 for October.
+3
Nov 1st, 2011 (2:34 am)Please don’t take it out on Eric anymore. Some think he did a good job, others think he did well considering the circumstances and I think he did a hell of a job. Speaking honestly, I think you may have temporarily lost your mind. But that’s just my opinion.
I’m not hot about it, angry, or feeling there was an opportunity lost. I’m not blaming you for losing it and don’t feel that I will hold it over your head and have it tarnish the way I think of you. I don’t feel let down or that you’re doing something that personally affected me in a negative way. I simply feel you lost it for a moment and you’ve blamed Eric. End of story.
+2
Nov 1st, 2011 (2:36 am)Slightly less than all that were delivered to dealers.
Nov 1st, 2011 (8:52 am)Charlie H,
I forcast 1350 for Sept. I was over by about 450 but it turns out they only built 2367 in September and many of them ended up stuck in shipment and many were destined as DEMOs and unsellable. October, they produced nearly 4500 and shipments hit dealers easier in October.
Nov 1st, 2011 (9:29 am)I see that. The 2K that I remember came from “Gieso,” in the same thread.
Last month, I recall GM said that transit took about 2 weeks. I had been presumin a half month’s worth stuck in the pipe, anyway, whenever I tried to figure out Volts available.
+2
Nov 1st, 2011 (10:09 am)Charlie – good call. Are you an insider?
Nov 1st, 2011 (10:21 am)Bonaire,
No, not an insider. Don’t place bets based on information you get from me!
Nov 1st, 2011 (10:29 am)2000 is needed to be on track for the first year sales goal.
Nov 1st, 2011 (10:39 am)1108 reported (not including Canada). Scratching my head in terms of where the 9000 units produced are sitting. Only 3555 on cars.com and 2500 are Demos.
+2
Nov 1st, 2011 (2:47 pm)I disagree. Stop subsidizing Oil companies and subsidize alternative means of transportation (e.g. electric cars, EREV and the likes) like crazy and the problem will almost solve itself.
Once you destroy an ecosystem, it’s gone for decades, maybe centuries. The planet will be fine, I agree with you. We – the human race – might cease to exist.
+1
Nov 1st, 2011 (2:50 pm)We may not have the luxury of that kind of time. The clock is already ticking. We just don’t know when the time bomb will explode.
+1
Nov 1st, 2011 (9:15 pm)Eric Rotbard,
Thank you for doing that interview. I noticed that Mr. Cavuto said at the end of interview that you were a good sport. By saying you were a good sport Neil was admitting that he was intentionally being unfair. I think Mr. Cavuto’s ignorance, however, might be unintentional. When you said you were charging the car from a 240V outlet Neil said something like, “Wow, you must be wealthy!” At that point I was LMAO. Um, virtually EVERY residential home and apartment in North America has 240V. And Mr. Cavuto still does not seem to understand the Volt is a PHEV. (or EREV if you prefer that term)
Having said that, I don’t worry too much about negative publicity about the Volt because, as they say in show business, “All publicity is good publicity.” The negative publicity will surely backfire. In a few short months Volts will be gaining visibility. A year from now most people will at least know someone who owns a Volt. Imagine the reaction of Cavuto fans when they figure out that you can drive a Volt on electricity every day for about 4 cents per mile then, anytime you want to, you can drive across the entire continent on gasoline at about 40 MPG. Neil is going to end up looking like an idiot to ANYONE with a functioning brain.
+3
Nov 1st, 2011 (11:02 pm)BREAKING NEWS: Neil Cavuto’s wife files for divorce after he forgets to plug in her cell phone
+3
Nov 1st, 2011 (11:16 pm)Greetings all!
I have not commented here for a long time but have been keeping up with things. I am currently working on a new video about my Volt experience and hope to have that out soon.
I have had my Volt since February 2011 (#900) and it has performed in an exemplary manner. This is my first domestic car and I would easily stack it up against any comparably priced import.
I currently get 136 MPG for my Volt.
I was amazed that Mr Cavuto even agreed to talk about this on TV and was even more shocked that his guest was not the most flaming liberal his staff could find that happened to own a Volt.
It is a wonder to think that Mr. Cavuto has his own segment on Fox until I recall that this is Fox we are talking about. Mr Cavuto has a long history of hating on the Volt (thank you Jeff at #23 for the link). What I am really impressed with is his willingness to hear positive information about something he dislikes and somehow get it to bypass the soft, squishy area between his ears.
I am really glad that I was not the person being interviewed because I would have stopped being polite after the second snarky comment. After Mr Cavuto stated that the interior was tiny and you would need to be gumby to fit in it I would have smiled and said that “…oh no Neil…even someone with YOUR ample girth would be very comfortable in the Volt”. I think that alone would have ended the interview. Is ‘snarky’ a new kind of doughnut? Because Neil needs to cut back.
So, why drive a Volt? Mr Cavuto says it’s a lot of money for not so much. Compared to what, I wonder? Lets use the BMW, like Eric suggest in the interview. BMW’s are rather expensive and take up a small market share. You buy a BMW to say something about yourself. You also pay a HUGE price in repairs, just ask anyone who has ever owned one. Electric cars are mechanically simpler and even in the volts case, the ICE is rarely on so you don’t clock the same kind of hours on it. So in fuel and repair costs alone, the Volt is a winner. But it wins on the fun of driving too. And yes, I have owned a BMW.
I like that the primary power source of my car is US electricity. We cannot afford to continue to send US troops to protect the oil of dictators, and multinational oil companies (who are making record profits). The only benefit to the US consumer is that we get to buy it from them at over $100 bb. We need local power for local people. I want to see a day when our homes use less energy and power is literally generated by the people. Each home should have some power generation capability. The days of major power plants being the only players in town needs to end. Each home should be a link in the smart grid. This is like giving people a Vote that they currently don’t have in an election that seriously affects them and the future of their family. Those in government who seek to block this future are in the pocket of the established energy players who stand to lose in the clean, electric economy.
The second major reason I am proud to drive the Volt is that it is cleaner than just about any car on the road right now. I am doing my part and leading the charge. I think the other electric cars out there are great and will work for other people. The Volt works for me for what I need and want today and where I want to go tomorrow.
Power to the people… recharge… re-Volt!
Harrier
Nov 2nd, 2011 (8:01 pm)The people in the market for a Volt aren’t looking for a Cruze or a Corolla. These are people who appreciate high tech, American fuel powered, Economical long term. Prestigeous vehicles. They are the ones who literally want the best car money can buy. It doesn’t have to appeal to middle market buyers. It just has to appeal to the $40,000.00 huge SUV owners who are tired of feeding their last choice hundreds of dollars a month in gasoline costs.
This car is equal in costs to a Cruze in 51/2 years. In 10 years it will pay for itself.
Take Care, TED
Nov 3rd, 2011 (12:58 pm)I don’t believe this guy even believes himself. The folks at Fox only say the things they say to create ratings. He probably goes home every night and tells his wife, “You wouldn’t believe what those Fox-watching sheep will believe!” (as he laughs himself and Fox all the way to the bank)
Nov 4th, 2011 (5:22 pm)I appreciate the support, and I would have posted in this topic more timely had I had power to do so (I was hit hard by the snow storm in the NE). Isn’t there an attachment to have the Volt power the house? I really could have used it this past week.
Regarding the issue of number of Volts on dealer lots and sales figures, As MichaelH pointed out, I could not see what was being aired. I only heard him through an ear piece, and I was looking straight at a camera. Had I seen that figure, I would hope I would have had the presence of mind to comment on it. Particularly, I don’t think dealer inventory on any particular day is, by itself, a good measure of consumer demand. Rather, I would like to know how long an average Volt (other than dealer demos) sits on a lot before being sold. This is an important statistic in the auto industry. But I don’t know the answer, and I might be opening myself up so maybe it is for the best that I did not know.
James, I was not called in by GM. I don’t work for GM, and if I think that if I were to go head to head on matters that I have no authoritative knowledge of, I would have been dismissed as being a shill for GM. I was called in as a Volt owner to give -my- experiences with the Volt. I wanted to put a human face on Volt owners (the consumer), not defend GM. Of course there are things that looking back I would have liked to have said, but I feel I generally made the points I wanted to make in a manner that I felt would not turn off the audience.
Jim1961 (#107), you touch upon my biggest “Monday morning quarterback” moment. Looking back, I should have simply said that you don’t need a special 240 volt outlet, you can simply plug it in any outlet, and that it would just take longer to charge.
I think it is critically important for the public to understand the Volt, and I am not sure that they do. Unless I am talking with a car guy/gal, I am constantly surprising people when I tell them how I am getting over 200mpg overall, and that I have not been to a gas station in over a month.
I had a lot of fun at the interview, and hope that I get another chance to talk Volt.
Nov 5th, 2011 (1:34 pm)I have no respect for this asshole and anyone associated with News Corp.
Nov 7th, 2011 (4:49 am)I will right away seize your rss as I can not in finding your e-mail subscription hyperlink or newsletter service. Do you have any? Kindly let me recognize so that I may subscribe. Thanks.