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Posted on 02/22/2012 11:04:13 PM PST by Lmo56
General Motors and General Electric are two companies that have been in the political crosshairs lately. GM stands accused of “crony capitalism,” while GE is under fire for paying no Federal income taxes in 2010. The two companies share more than that though, with GE placing an order for 12,000 Chevy Volts and other hybrid vehicles.
A memo leaked to Green Car Reports lays out GE’s plans for their new fleet of Volts, and as expected, it has some people crying foul.
The memo, sent to employees of GE Healthcare Americas team explains that all sedan, crossover, and minivan purchases in 2012 will be replaced by the Chevy Volt. Only field engineers are excepted from having to drive a company Volt.
GE will offer estimates for installation Level 2 Charging Stations, though all-gas use will be allowed when there is no electric option. Any employees who opt out of the Volt program will not be compensated for their expenses. Those who do choose to drive the Volt will be reimbursed for public charging and home charging costs, in addition to gas uses.
While some people are probably put off by having to drive a Volt, GE claims to have crunched the numbers and believes that in the long term, this will save the multi-national company big bucks. More than that though, GE is positioning itself as a big player in the EV charging market. Getting employees into Volts also means getting charging stations into homes.
It’s a bold move to be sure, and it will hopefully prove to be a boon to the Volt’s flagging sales numbers. GM had hopped to sell as many as 60,000 Volts in 2012, before dropping that number to 45,000. Will they even make that number though? Hard to tell, though GE’s business will go a long way towards giving the Volt some sales momentum.
60,000 ??? 40,000 ??? They BARELY sold 10,000 in 2011 - AND MOST OF THAT WAS GUB'MENT SALES !!!
If they sold 5,000 to private owners in 2011, they are looking for a 1200% increase ]@60,000] or an 850% increase [@ 45,000] for 2012 ???
What kind of good drugz are they doin' ??? The 1960's must have been very, very good to them ...
PETA must’ve convinced them it was cruel to use real Guinea pigs in this “safety experiment”.
AND, I have heard [but cannot confirm] that the Chevy Volt REQIURES premium gas ...
Must own stock in the coal industry...
At what point will The One decree that everyone must buy the Volt? No other vehicle will be allowed on the roadways.
I would take one if my company gave me one free.
I guess hope and change means hoping through hoops.
I guess hope and change means hop(p)ing through hoops.
Our Harleys get premium.
The truck and car take whatever they can get....LOL
Most new cars “need” premium, so I’ve been told.
They were built to run on it and something dreadful happens if they’re deprived.
I dunno because ours are old...;D
Isn't that interesting! I wonder why? Could it be because a field engineer needs to get where he's going when he needs to get where he is going?
The Volt will take you where you want any time you want and go as long as you want it to.
Once the battery is discharged it just fires up the gas engine to run the electric motor and charge the battery.
For the field guys it’s more.. Where do we put our tools, ladders and stock of spare parts? Volts do not offer the space for this.
keyboard spew alert
I imagine that's the way most of them will be used. I'm no physicist or chemist, but it seems to me that there's got to be entropy involved in going from gasoline to battery power, when a conventional car goes straight from gasoline. The whole concept sounds rather pointless. Even if you're going straight battery, the electricity has to be generated from something, and at present, that something is fossil fuel. So you're not saving any fuel, you're getting less efficiency from your fuel by turning it into electricity, you're not doing anything for the environment, and you're paying two to three times as much for the vehicle. I wish I were as smart as a GE executive; then I'd understand how this is all supposed to work.
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“Most new cars “need” premium, so I’ve been told.
They were built to run on it and something dreadful happens if they’re deprived.”
Yes, it is dreadful. Their front ends jump up and stamp their tires. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP! Just like the spoiled brats raised by liberals.
Hey, they “volted” for it and they got it. I’m getting a bicycle.
It is called crony Communism.
“Row” it’s such a simple word.
"Ve vill call it za "People's Car", mein Furher!"
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