By Mark Brooks
Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor
In August, the Chevy Volt racked up the highest sales since its launch, but you wouldn’t know it by some of the headlines in the press.
The Volt is perhaps the most award-winning, technologically advanced car ever developed and brought to market in North America. But the extent of its coverage in the U.S. press is out of all proportions to its originally intended role as GM’s answer to the Toyota Prius.
Somewhere along the way in, order to paint the current U.S. president’s alternative energy policies as a failure, it became fashionable for the president’s opponents to portray the new kid on the road, the Chevy volt, as a flop.
With the Volt continuing to build sales momentum month over month this has become an undeniable problem for those trying to bully the new kid into his place.
But since when have concrete facts like engineering and sales figures stopped a tabloid journalist? Enter the top-five Volt sales myths which are:
1) The Volt is a selling a fraction of what is required to make it a success.
2) The Pentagon and U.S. Government are buying most of the Volts
3) GM’s corporate buddies such General Electric are making the Volt look good with large fleet purchases.
4) The Volt is selling for $49,000 less than it costs to make and therefore its sales success is a bad thing that is costing GM money.
5) GM can only sell Volts with deep discounts.
Often cross citing each other and rarely providing real quotes or references, these myths are music to the ears of those trying to bully the Volt off our roads.
Each of these myths is also easily disproved with nothing more than a few Google searches. Here are these myths easily busted.
Myth 1: The Volt is a Sales flop, selling a fraction of what is required to make it a success.
Busted: The Volt is now selling three times the number needed to breakeven (see myth 4 for details). In fact in August the Volt was outselling 50 percent of all car models on the North American market and is now outselling every single hybrid model sold by BMW, Ford, Honda, and Volkswagen. The Volt is also well in front of the adoption curve of another “new kid” when they first arrived, the Toyota Prius.
But to some extent GM has to take some of the blame for downplaying its own success. Back in 2010 when it became clear the Volt was a solidly engineered contender bound to win multiple awards for its excellent qualities, a few GM executives got carried away and quoted sales goals equal to the production capacity of the updated Hamtramck assemble plant. This despite the well know adoption hurdles to the new technology. In 2012 GM reined in its cheerleading sales folks and in the words of Bob Lutz, GM’s former Vice Chairman, reminded them of that the Volt’s “ prime purpose was to introduce a new generation of technology.”
So let’s stack the Volt against cars in its own category – plug-in electric – the Volt is the runaway winner. In August, at 2,800 sold the Volt was on its way to tripling the Toyota Prius PHV’s 1,047 sales, which was followed by the Nissan Leaf’s 685 sales.
Next against the establish hybrids, as mentioned, the Volt is selling well. In fact the only ones it didn’t outsell were the Toyota Prius, Camry Hybrid, and the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid ( and its closing in on the Camry Hybrid fast).
But here is something really unexpected, the Volt is now outsell many conventional luxury sedans in its price range including both the BMW 7-Series and the Mercedes-Benz S Class, and even the mid-size Audi A6.
Myth 2: The Pentagon and U.S. Government is buying most of the Volts
Busted: The U.S. government has so far purchased only 130 Volts over the last year (source GM). This despite running a fleet of over 200,000 cars. Every attempt to purchase even a handful of Volts has been met by a firestorm of attention by local and national press that has created a barrier to sales.
Myth 3: General Electric and other corporations are making large fleet purchases.
Busted: Although in 2011 several large U.S. companies publicly announced that they would add a large number of Volts to their fleets, they have not yet done so. GE specifically announced that it would add as many as 12,000 Volts to its fleet over the next five years. So far GE has not followed through on this and has purchased only several hundred Volts. Because of the politics of the Volt sales in much of the U.S. press, GE and others are believed to be holding back so as not to be seen as taking sides in the November election. Fleet sales of all types only accounted for 100 to 200 Volts each month. Of the 2,800 volts sold in August in the U.S. only 100 went to fleets.
Myth 4: The Volt is selling for $49,000 less than it cost to make.
Busted, and busted again: This myth has been around for a while. The idea behind it is to present any Volts sales success as a bad thing that is costing GM big money.
This started back in December 2011 when a Fox news commentator “suggested” that the Volt cost $250,000 each to make. This creative accounting wrote off six years of the research and development costs ($1.2 billion in R&D) of the Voltec drivetrain into the number of Volts then sold. This August a Reuters article used this same weird math to recalculate the cost as $89,000 by using just U.S. Volt sales numbers to date.
This number will continue to decrease as the Volt sales volume builds and other, higher-margin GM cars, like the Cadillac ELR, piggy-back off of the Volt’s initial investment.
According to GM and its former head of the volt program, Bob Lutz , the Volt is actually on the cusp of break even at this sales pace. What this means is, excluding R&D costs GM is making money with each Volt sold, possible to the tune of $10,000 or more.
If you use industry standards, such as amortizing the Volts R&D over the next 10 years of its product cycle, the only way to conceivable come up with the Volt losing serious money is if the Volt and related product sales remained at or below 1,000 a month for all models (120,000 over the next decade). In short, assuming you ignore the irrational demands of a few pundits to write off the R&D over the first 18 months instead of the usual decade, each Volt sold is making GM money!
Myth 5: GM can only sell Volts with deep discounts.
False: End of year discounts on last year’s model is not normally headline news, unless of course you are talking about the Chevy Volt. In August, as the 2012 Volt was phasing out in favor of the 2013 model year, GM provided incentives, as it usually does with other models to clear out old stock. This included great lease deals, buyer incentives and dealer bonuses for making sales targets.
Before these offers the volt sales were growing steadily and the August numbers simply built on that success with typical end of year clearance events that still left GM room for profit (see previous myth 4).
Even though repeatedly disproved by multiple credible news organization and real journalist the Myths continue to thrive in the hands of what can only be called cyber bullies.
So what’s the new kid to do when confronted by cyber bullies? I think we all already know the answer.
Twice more before the election, when the Volt’s Septembers and October sales figures are released, these myths will once again resurface. Make sure to give the myth repeaters the intellectual respect all cyber bullies deserve.
Mark Brooks owns a 2012 Volt, #2012-00926. He teaches commercial pilots in Toronto, Canada.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2012 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.
+30
Sep 25th, 2012 (6:38 am)Still love my VOLT! Looking to replace a Kia Rio with a used Volt. That way the wife and I will not argue over who is going to drive the Volt that day. As the article states, hopefully after the election all this hype will die down. No matter what your political preference it’s a great car.
+16
Sep 25th, 2012 (6:57 am)“it became fashionable for the president’s opponents to portray the new kid on the road, the Chevy volt, as a flop.”
I suspect we will be humbly accepting apologies in the very near future
+13
Sep 25th, 2012 (7:20 am)This article is a good way to debunk the questionable ‘facts’ by some. If we point out specific source, it can escalate. By presenting the true facts without attacking specific authors we can avoid any escalation.
Also a good strategy for trolls. “Just the facts, ma’am.”
+14
Sep 25th, 2012 (7:22 am)Can Chevy buy ad-time during the Presidential debates and dispel some of the rumors? Using the same owners from prior ads, but now each one spits out a fact to counter a falsehood?
+22
Sep 25th, 2012 (7:45 am)Great article Mark!
“If we point out specific source, it can escalate. By presenting the true facts without attacking specific authors we can avoid any escalation.”
I disagree. People need to be held accountable for their misdeeds and lies on the spot. Anything less is interpreted as weakness, and invites further bad behavior.
+18
Sep 25th, 2012 (7:56 am)Good idea and have James Woolsey, George Bush I, Bob Lutz, et al explain why they developed, bought, or drive a Volt. Perhaps that will remind some folks why reducing oil consumption is good for all Americans, national security, and the environment. I wonder what Volt sales would be if every one saw it in this positive win, win, win light. The detactors are shooting this country in the foot with misdirection, half truths, and lies. It is past old and should not be accepted or condoned by any rational citizen.
+10
Sep 25th, 2012 (8:10 am)And you left out the biggest of all the volt bursts into flames!!!
This MUST be in the list with the truth.
Tom
+18
Sep 25th, 2012 (8:37 am)Other rumors.
* Volt can only go 40 miles and will strand you in the Lincoln Tunnel
* Volts are silent and are dangerous to blind people
* All Volt sales are actually leases, which don’t count as sales
* The batteries will have to be replaced in 8 years for $10,000.
* The Volt was created by Obama’s administration
+11
Sep 25th, 2012 (8:47 am)Thanks for the facts Mark. It is amazing that the best car in the world can continually be lied about so long after its release. Just another sad example of the radical divisiveness that plagues the country. I don’t see that changing anytime soon unfortunately.
+14
Sep 25th, 2012 (9:02 am)I love this article, well written in a fashion even the brain washed can understand.
One question.
How can we get this article in the Wall Street Journal or other major publications?
NPNS!
Volt#671
+8
Sep 25th, 2012 (9:13 am)I am considering a Volt and stopped by yesterday to take a look. I have been reading here about competitive lease prices, so I thought i would inquire.
I had the worst salesman approach me. I said I had been reading about competitive leases and he quickly said: “It isn’t as cheap as you’ve been reading.” I stated that I knew there was misinformation out there about a price drop, but was aware of good lease prices. All he said was: “It’s a great car, but way too expensive.” He said they were leasing around $2500 down, $380 per month plus tax.
The ariticle above is great, , especiallly if the truth can get out. Unfortunately even my sales guy assumed I was uninformed.
+3
Sep 25th, 2012 (9:22 am)The Volt is not the only thing suffering from myths. This article touched on some of them.
+5
Sep 25th, 2012 (9:38 am)Picky details.
GM spokes people never said the sales goal was equal to production. What they announced was that they were prepared to sell that many Volts.
GE never said they were going to purchase 12k Volts, this was mis-stated by several journalists. GE said they were going to purchase 12k EVs and EREVs over the next few years.
+18
Sep 25th, 2012 (9:43 am)If you do not punch the bully in the nose, you will continue to be bullied. Writers who bully the Volt and/or G.M. should get the Figure-Four Leglock, and then be tossed over the ropes.
+5
Sep 25th, 2012 (9:55 am)If we are expecting apologies from Romney, we will not get them because he will not win. I see Barack Obama re-elected and he is a supporter who promised to buy a Volt (maybe two) when he leaves office in 2017.
Raymond
+13
Sep 25th, 2012 (10:29 am)I linked this as I comment on the Detroit news..they ran that stupid article about the Volt losing money on everysale..a Detroit papar? blind no fact checking..and the readership…Constantly amazes me how much Americans hate American stuff…do you guys have an inferiority complex? no insult, but I am a Canadian, and am proud of the Made in Canada stuff, but soo many Americans bash American made sooo much I wonder?
Great article, but I am surprised you stopped at 5….
+2
Sep 25th, 2012 (10:31 am)Dick The Bruiser,
missed you from WLLZ Dick…
+14
Sep 25th, 2012 (10:42 am)Frank,
Same for me Frank, my wife stole my Ampera this morning, she says that she wins approval everywhere she goes with my car. Perhaps this is a good advertising for the Ampera/Volt but then I have to drive our old Opel Astra SW.
Used Amperas are not common here, but the first one I find at a good price, I’ll buy it for her.
Best regards,
JC NPNS
+3
Sep 25th, 2012 (10:58 am)Eventually, they will come around. I’m actually hoping after the eleciton, when there really is no more reason to pick on Obama since he will never run again, they may finally focus on the foreign oil, anti-terrorism argument. Of course, that assumes they are not in the pockets of the oil industry.
+3
Sep 25th, 2012 (10:58 am)Roy H., you beat me to it. GE never said all the plug in cars they would add to their fleet would be Volts, just that they hoped to buy cars with plugs, whether they were Volts, Leafs or any other plug in car.
+14
Sep 25th, 2012 (10:59 am)Folks, I do have to say, this is truly an amazing creation. I never sensed that from only a test drive. It was OWNING the car, and experiencing those 1,000 small things that propel the car into world class status. This car is truly a marvel. AND at 90 MPG from someone who drives 22,000 miles a year is pretty amazing.
+8
Sep 25th, 2012 (11:17 am)Who uses true data, facts and unbiased analysis when trying to rip down an opposing political party?
Especially some parties that don’t even like science or the scientific principle.
+14
Sep 25th, 2012 (11:19 am)So if they can’t get their facts straight on something this simple, how many other news stories are more fiction than fact?
+5
Sep 25th, 2012 (11:44 am)First thanks to Jeff for fixing those typos and to everyone for both the Kind words and the always welcome Critical thinking of this community.
About the GE fleet purchase being delayed, I doubled check my sources, but it still looks like I got it right. I was using the original announcement by GE and the Wall street journal piece from 2010 when GE First made the announcement.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703848204575608323321329514.html
You will note that they stated that they would purchase 25,000 electric vehicles, of which 12,000 would be volts. They did restate this at several points since then but have purchased only a fraction of this and have gone silent since the Volt sales Bullying kicked into overdrive. It would be good to hear an update directly from GE, but I don’t believe that is going to happen until after the election.
As to the original max ceiling to volt production becoming its sales target, I do want to say that it is easy to see how the production capacity that limited sales in 2011 soon turned into the sales goals of 2012.
Our sound bite based media doesn’t help either.
After listening to GMs CEO Dan Akerson say as late as june “ that GM’s initial target – building 60,000 Volts this year, with 15,000 going to exports”. Its easy to replace the word building with selling and ignore the follow on “We’re going to match production with demand,”
So its even hard for GMs CEO to separate max production from sales targets.
But normally they are two completely different concepts.
All Comments / ideas welcome!
+2
Sep 25th, 2012 (11:46 am)All of it? Two people watching an event unfold typically give two different accounts. How factual can we believe news is in its entirety? Today, News is Entertainment. Pure and simple. The fact that Fox is taking it to WWE status is just as meant to whip up the fans in a frenzy as a WWE Live Raw smackdown is.
Mark – I remember that article when it came out. Lyle linked to it here on this site’s blog back then. The numbers were easy to remember – 25K and something like 12K Volts – they committed to the Volts after seeing them hit the road. I think they were much like GM’s statement of 45,000 per year sold, however. I don’t see GE buying the units they promised to buy. Not until 2020 is here will they buy 25K EVs and EREVs.
+11
Sep 25th, 2012 (12:00 pm)It’s called YELLOW JOURNALISM … say anything that gets a reaction.. it does not have to be true.
in fact journalists today prefer to acentuate the negative misinformation to get a reaction… problem is the public is so dumbed down they believe these people.
+11
Sep 25th, 2012 (12:07 pm)Somehow all of this stuff reminds me of some of the advice of my mother when similar garbage would arise:
“Consider the source”
“Ignore them and they will eventually go away on their own”
“Don’t dignify it with a response”
Gas prices will eventually determine the outcome. When the tipping point arrives, GM will hold the whip hand with this superior technology. I only hope that they can figure out how to extend it across more of their product range and lower the entry level price soon.
Sep 25th, 2012 (12:37 pm)Too true.
Rick Santorum at Values Voter Summit: “Conservatives Will Never Have the Elite, Smart People on Our Side”
http://hinterlandgazette.com/tag/rick-santorum-gives-up-on-smart-people
Colbert’s humorous take on it:
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/419131/september-17-2012/9-17-12-in–60-seconds
+6
Sep 25th, 2012 (2:04 pm)Who got the very first Volt ?
That one cost $1.2 billion to make, according to Myth 4.
+1
Sep 25th, 2012 (2:12 pm)Don’t kid yourself.
If Romney wins in November, all tax credits supporting li-ion plug-in cars disappear, the adoption rate plummets, and China once again zooms off into the future as America gets tripped by their ideological Luddites.
Government of the people, by the people, for the people, is IMPORTANT.
Sep 25th, 2012 (2:47 pm)Xiaowei1,
You can’t be serious. Wingnuts are incapable of admitting they are wrong.
+8
Sep 25th, 2012 (2:56 pm)Took my Volt in to have a crease taken out of the passenger fender (some jerk slammed his door into it). The “paintless dent” guy works out of a local garage that services Mercedes and BMW. Of course, I made sure to leave the dash set to my mileage screen. After picking up the car, I called him to tell him how good the job was, he told me my Volt got a LOT of attention from the mechanics and one said he had to get a Volt after seeing (and likely sitting in) mine. The Volt in person just wows people, even those who work on high end luxury cars. Naysayers then look silly.
Sep 25th, 2012 (3:08 pm)#30
If Romney wins in November, that’s going to be the least of our problems.
That said, the tax credits are the law of the land. So no President can repeal them by fiat. He has to get it through both houses of Congress. If the Republicans get control of both houses, God help us all. But even then the Dems can turn the filibuster tool back on them. So getting rid of the tax credits wouldn’t be that easy.
But the tax credits will run out eventually anyway. At that point the car price/gas price equation will rule. So by them God send that GM will be able to leverage the technology into products that can stand on their own without same.
+3
Sep 25th, 2012 (3:18 pm)Probably my wife….she’ll buy anything if it’s a deal!
+3
Sep 25th, 2012 (3:18 pm)I got that reaction a couple times where people said “I didn’t know they looked this good in person”.
Sep 25th, 2012 (3:40 pm)I’m no expert on the quirky rules of the U.S. Congress, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a hypothetical President Romney used some slick maneuver to remove the tax credits in an omnibus spending bill that can bypass Senate filibusters, claiming there is a National Emergency to slash spending – while also cutting taxes for his cronies and sons.
That said, yes the technology is improving, the prices are coming down, and in a few years they will get a chance to snowball into a viable, growing market segment.
But removing even two years of tax credits would probably slow down the adoption rate dramatically – look what happens every time Congress considers cutting windpower subsidies, or cuts them. Without the US Military picking “winners and losers” – like integrated circuits – new technologies can wither and grow stunted in the US.
Of course, Asia has no problem with governments picking winners.
Sep 25th, 2012 (4:03 pm)OT: Tesla down ~10% today
Tesla Motors Inc. cut its revenue target for 2012, warning that it has fallen behind on its production goals for its Model S sedan. Shares tumbled as the auto maker also predicted third quarter revenue well below Wall Street expectations and said it would offer roughly 4 million shares in a secondary offering.
+4
Sep 25th, 2012 (4:19 pm)the only reason there are not big sales of the volt, is the price. the car is excellent. just too costly compared to hybrids and internal combustion engine cars. I wish i could buy one. but the price of the volt dose not allow me to.
+6
Sep 25th, 2012 (4:34 pm)Agreed kdawg. I have been somewhat amazed by how many say the car looks nice when they see it in person.
Funny, I’ve never had that comment about our Prius though.
Hi John!!
+6
Sep 25th, 2012 (4:41 pm)I think the “high” cost of the Volt is also a myth (I don’t mean to have an opinion on your personal finances) since I was able to get a 2013 Volt in August for $26,000 ($40,000 MSRP – $4,000 dealer discount – $7,500 Fed tax credit – $1,500 CARB rebate – $1,000 GM credit card rebate). I think it’s more within reach than most people realize but they’re just scared away by the $40,000 MSRP. JMO.
Sep 25th, 2012 (4:50 pm)Frank,
Lease?
+3
Sep 25th, 2012 (5:04 pm)Don’t worry about the price. Not everyone can buy a BMW, a Mercedes-Benz or a Ferrari for the same reason.
Worry about the price of fuel going up. Then those luxury car owners will have the most expensive metal boxes sitting in their garages, while Volts are on the roads.
In other words, plan to buy a Chevy Volt for your future. A big expense now is worth more than twice the expenses later.
Raymond
+1
Sep 25th, 2012 (5:18 pm)I can’t wait to see the creative spin when sales increase to 50,000 per year….. or the reversal of support once they realize the masses actually want these cars due to high gas prices…
MrEnergyCzar
Sep 25th, 2012 (5:54 pm)Yeah I don’t get those right nut wings not you guys but the ones who don’t like the Volt at all.
+1
Sep 25th, 2012 (6:07 pm)Rick is correct. Smart people will not vote for him. I posted before that my Dad has voted Republican since 1952 (he liked Ike!) and this is the first time in 60 years that he will not vote for the Republican candidates. He is smart!
Raymond
+2
Sep 25th, 2012 (6:23 pm)Also look at the BBC station I can’t say if all there news is positive but unlike American news it doesn’t get in your way of life like American news does.
Once you see the way people broadcast news over in England you’ll be wishing that we had news like them.
Plus I wouldn’t be surprised if they gave out more hard based facts than those American news stations just my own opinion.
Note) The Only state in the country I’ve ever seen extremely positive news with hardly any negativity in it would be Hawaii.
If your vacationing in Hawaii look at there news and you’ll see what I mean by.
-3
Sep 25th, 2012 (6:31 pm)Since Volt is available in triple the number of states, that statement is clearly not constructive.
How about this: TMC expects global sales of its hybrid vehicles to well surpass 1 million units in 2012. With its plan to launch 21 new hybrid models between now and the end of 2015, TMC expects to maintain this level of sales, forecasting global sales of its hybrid vehicles to be at least 1 million units a year from 2013 to 2015.
What are the plans for Volt?
The mixed messages we are getting from GM leaves us wondering what to expect. There’s no competitive hybrid, just eAssist and diesel. Two-Mode appears to be discontinued. And the volume for Volt is far short of mainstream minimum. What will middle-market be purchasing in high-volume?
Sep 25th, 2012 (7:54 pm)I had a similar experience. Some jacka$$ at Maita Elk Grove Chevrolet.
I walked up with some of my notes after test driving a LEAF. Asked a few questions he couldn’t answer then asked for a test drive because I was comparing it against the LEAF. The jacka$$ asked if I was going to buy the car today and I said “no, I am doing comparisons”, and he said “no free rides”.
/punka$$
+2
Sep 25th, 2012 (7:56 pm)Now THAT guy, regardless of what he paid, got a helluva deal!
+7
Sep 25th, 2012 (8:14 pm)I’m a conservative and I’m SHOCKED at the anti-Volt comments made by the nay-sayers. Like any car, let it stand or fall on its own merits. Saturn, Pontiac, Hummer and others are now dead, without any coaxing by the columnists. I believe that the pundits have become blinded by their ideology and can’t see the car for what it is.
My Volt has been EXTREMELY reliable, comfortable, sporty, quiet and stylish over the past two years. I thought that eventually, the process of plugging in would get to be tedious and a chore. I’ve found just the opposite!! It’s still a thrill to know that I can go another week without burning gas. Only, over the next two weeks, I have a couple of road trips where I’ll have to burn some.
I just wish GM’s marketing folks would listen to some of us Volt owners. The Chevy Volt. Electric when you want it, gas when you need it.
Volt 63
+2
Sep 25th, 2012 (9:01 pm)TMC sells cars in the US at a advantage over our GM and FORD… they are not paying US taxes which gives them a more than $2,000 per car advantage alone. Add that to the fact that they keep GM and FORD OUT OF JAPAN with huge tariffs… as does every major auto market in the rigged “Global” economy. The only way the Volt will prosper is if we level the playing field. Put just half the tax on every Toyota sold in the US that they put on our cars.. just half .. that would be about $10,000 per car … then see how many cars they sell…and I’m just talking HALF of what they put on our cars.
+1
Sep 25th, 2012 (9:16 pm)Ah yes… they also put a $40,000 tariff on the Volt… nice…equal to $79,000US in England.
Not many Volts sold in England… we should do the same for anything brought here from England.
Are they telling this in the news .. in England.
+2
Sep 25th, 2012 (10:34 pm)Wow! Really? That is un-friggin-believable. Some of the poor dealer stories are mind boggling.
+4
Sep 25th, 2012 (11:03 pm)Frank,
There are a lot of cars in the Volt’s price range. Many models are available that are much higher in price. None of them (in my opinion) offer as much value as the Volt. It is unfair to compare the price of the Volt to that of an econobox. There is no economy in buying any new car. If you want to save money, buy a good used one.
+1
Sep 26th, 2012 (12:10 am)Fox is a propaganda channel. Nothing more and coming up with lies, biased reporting is the hallmark of its operation. In any other country, Fox will end up in court battling lies, bs stories but in US it is blessed and protected by the Gop as an alternate point of view. When citizens begin to accept lies, bs stories and hypocracy on the scale that Fox puts out on TV, nation will suffer.
We have seen signs of that in the past 12 years.
+3
Sep 26th, 2012 (12:25 am)The plan for the Volt is the same as it’s always been — to kick the crap out of the Prius. Isn’t that why you’re here? LOL
Sep 26th, 2012 (12:26 am)Get in touch with a Volt advisor. They’ll fix it for you.
+1
Sep 26th, 2012 (6:55 am)Fred, you must forgive my naivety, I’m from Australia. Down under if the majority of these things came out of main stream media, they would simply be considered misleading, deceptive, and malicious in nature. the result would be ridicule, back flips on what was said, and inevitable apologies from whoever made them. I realise in the US, this may not apply… however, the Volt powertrain will become a success, and everyone will be praising it in the end.
+1
Sep 26th, 2012 (10:09 am)maight I also add that John is comparing all TMC hybrids vs 1 new model from Chev
Sep 26th, 2012 (1:04 pm)Then I’ll add that Ive been someone for years pushing for a second model… the current as a technology showcase and another that’s actually affordable and sold in high-volume.
The point is make “Volt” mainstream. So, what are the plans for 2013, 2014, and 2015 ?
Sep 26th, 2012 (4:17 pm)What are the plans for the GM EREV family in 2013, 2014, and 2015 ? That is a question you can ask GMs CEO, but dont expect an answer until after the election. I think we can safely say is that the Volt itself will remain in production and that GM will add to the Voltec drive train family with new models ( the Cadi is out next year ) As the Prius is the prime target, I think you know the rest of the story…
+1
Sep 26th, 2012 (4:46 pm)It’s really unfortunate that supporters of Volt still don’t take a proactive stance.
Waiting to see what GM executives decide is how we got into this mess in the first place.
Demand comes from demanding.
Sep 27th, 2012 (12:39 am)Its not just the election, it is the oil companies who are doing everything in their power to block sales of products that would eat into their market.
They have done the same thing in trying to stop the conversion of diesel trucks over to natural gas which is cheaper, cleaner, more reliable operation and less CO2. They have successfully lobbied to block the Natural Gas Act for three years in a row. Just when Chesapeake Energy was going to promote natural gas by building LNG filling stations for trucks, they sent over their PI’s to find some dirt on Chesapeake’s CEO.
Look for the oil companies to try to take away the Volt’s $7500 rebate.
Sep 28th, 2012 (12:49 pm)Reply to “Bob Says
Sep 25th, 2012 (9:13 am)
The ariticle above is great, , especiallly if the truth can get out. Unfortunately even my sales guy assumed I was uninformed.”
Look for local deals online. This is where I found my deal on a 2012 Volt.
Sep 28th, 2012 (10:40 pm)Frank, the only reason it doesn’t sell well is the price. No $heit sherlock. Same thing could be said for Porsche, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce. Don’t see Rolls Royce doing “year end deals” to sell their cars, and does anyone remember the last RR recall???
Oct 2nd, 2012 (7:26 am)Bob,
Bob,
In shopping for our two Volts, I found widely varying lease payments. Fortunately, the nearest Chevy dealer to our home is aggressively marketing the Volt. They have a wide selection in stock and the monthly payment was about $100 less than other dealers were offering. Visiting those other dealers showed their lack of commitment in their very small inventories. Some only had one or two on their lot! My salesperson told me that when other dealers, looking for a specific non-Volt model for a potential customer, call looking to make a trade, his dealership usually asks for a Volt in return.
It’s unfortunate, but you have to shop around to find the dealers that really want to build long-term relationships with their customers by offering the best technology available.
If you’re anywhere in North Texas, I highly recommend Classic Chevrolet in Grapevine, Texas (near the Dallas / Fort Worth airport). Ask for Kevin Reese and tell him Buzz sent you!