Chevy Volt, Perfect Car for the One Percent, Suspends Production

Townhall.com ^ | March 3, 2012 | John Ransom

[Kaslin]

General Motors reached another Obama milestone when they announced late on a Friday afternoon that they were suspending production of the Obama-inspired Chevy Volt for five weeks due to lack of demand.

Presumably the Volt was an attempt by GM to help Obama with his pledge to put 1 million electric cars on the road in return for the tens of billions of dollars in forgivable “loans” that the company got from the Obama administration from the TARP bailout.

The hybrid gas-electric vehicle gets 25 miles on a full, overnight charge and costs around $40,000. To date, GM has sold around 10,000 vehicles. To put it in perspective, the Chevy Corvette has a sticker price of $49,600.

If the Volt’s not in the federal witness protection program, it ought to be.

“Sales also took a hit last fall when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe into why two Volts burst into flames days or weeks after severe NHTSA crash testing,” reports USA Today. Leaks from the cooling system were caused by shortages in the electrical system that prompted the fires. But the discovery came only after weeks of bad press for GM. Eventually the car company offered to buy back every single Volt for any consumer who was unhappy.

[jveritas]

Going against Physics and Economics is always a loser. The fools never learn.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

I actually saw one of these in Atlanta the other day.

[Rennes Templar]

Let’s see, a Volt for 40 grand, or a Corvette for 9 grand more. Tough decision.

[jveritas]

You mean the Chevy Volt or the fool driving it?

[garjog]

Central Planning for the Masses! Progress for All!

An unbreakable union of free republics, Great Russia has welded forever to stand! Created in struggle by the will-of-the-people, The united, the mighty Soviet Union. CHORUS: Be glorified, our fatherland, united and free! Bulwark of people, in brotherhood strong! Party of Lenin, the strength of the people, It leads us to the triumph of Communism. Through tempests the sun of freedom shone to us, And the great Lenin lighted us the way. He raised peoples to the righteous cause, Inspired us to labour and to acts of heroism. CHORUS In the victory of the immortal ideas of Communism We see the future of our country, And to the Red banner of our glorious Fatherland We shall always be selflessly true. CHORUS

[Zhang Fei]

What are the odds that GM is paying those workers their full salaries for the duration of the furlough, thanks to the usual UAW contracts?

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

Or a used Corvette for the same 40 grand.

As for a new Vette, to hell with that; I will NOT give my money to Government Motors. The new car that makes me weak in the knees now is the Boss 302.

[Kansas58]

The Georgetown Slut didn’t like the Volt.
Back seat was not big enough!

[jveritas]

We are a free people and there is no way under the sun that the socialists and the communists in our politics can take our freedom away no matter how much they try, and they know it...

[Joe 6-pack]

"The Georgetown Slut didn’t like the Volt. Back seat was not big enough!"

I figured her primary objection would have been the short battery life...

[Vendome]

Unexpectedly

[optiguy]

Funny you two should mention the Georgetown slut. I heard she has switched to the republican party. She said democrats had left a bad taste in her mouth.

[Secret Agent Man]

I thought they claimed it got 30 miles on a charge. Now it’s 25? I’d still rather have the equivalent 8 pounds of gas and then be able to haul 560 pounds of people and equipment, or be 560-some pounds lighter and get better mileage, thanks.

[apoliticalone]

Hope this doesn’t offend anyone but I need too understand something. Why are we bad mouthing the USA nation, just because of politics? We need to bad mouth the pols not the country or what it produces (except for Wall Street scams), and not look for reasons to tear it down. Politicians that push this should be deported.

The Volt was on the GM drawing board long before Obama. It was intended to show the world that the USA could develop leading edge technology ahead of the Japanese and their Prius. Timing is everything and the bursting of the real estate bubble caused by financiers was not perfect timing for new auto innovations.

I recollect people getting angry at politicians, but I don’t ever remember Americans trying to make political hay out of trashing American innovation and the USA labor force before. Are we living in the wrong country, and one that was hijacked by Japan or China that benefits because other Americans are made to believe they shouldn’t buy made and designed in USA products such as the Volt?

If we Americans refuse to support other red-blooded working Americans because they think it might give political points to Obama, we might as well break up this country now and shred the Constitution, because we no longer have a country. Get pxssed at Obama, he deserves it, but not at working Americans and American industry that are the backbone of the USA, and hopefully can make it great again, before the scum sucking politicians from both Parties tear it down.

[Secret Agent Man]

Corvettes are over-rated. Not to mention the whole tire issue with them.

[Secret Agent Man]

If I have my way I’ll never drive another car again. Trucks or SUVs the rest of my life.

[jveritas]

No one is bad mouthing our USA nation not by any shape or form. However what it is very clear is that the Engineering/Technology and the Economics make the electric car such Chevy Volt non competitive and hence a loser, it is that simple.

[HiTech RedNeck]

When you add in the cost of the battery depreciation, you get a calculation of about 14.3 cents per mile for the Volt. As the tech site notes: “A compact car getting 35 mpg would cost 10 cents per mile using $3.50-a-gallon gasoline.”

I'd like to know one thing though. Are they talking city or highway miles in either case. One theoretical boon of the electric car is that it can do regenerative braking in the city. Much of the energy which is wasted in all-gasoline cars that frequently come to a stop is recaptured to the battery of an electric car or hybrid. If this is compared to a gas car getting only 20 mpg city then the Volt looks a little more competitive. But again does this involve a subsidy on the battery too?

It is a nice idea in many ways, but the country is not ready for widespread electric car use yet. And I'd like to see electric pickup trucks.

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The political situation in which the Volt was brewed up was a veritable recipe for half-arsed engineering.

I haven’t heard too much kvetching about the Nissan Leaf in the meantime. Maybe those folks were under more pressure to produce a competitive product?

[musicman]

[HiTech RedNeck]

I like pickup trucks and vans, but not all are suitable for all purposes. Pickup trucks stink in the snow, while a light car with front or all wheel drive can skitter over the white stuff.

[jveritas]

I doubt that the Nissan Leaf would fare better in the market place than the Chevy Volt. There is no efficient technology in the electric car and as importantly there is no efficient cost in the electric car to make it efficient.

People are not going to pay 20% to 30% more for a less efficient, a less reliable, and a less convenient car so they can finally have a return on their investment after 5 to 6 years from purchasing an electric car due to savings on gas. Only fools and liberals with a lot of money to waste would buy such a car.

May be in the future we would have the effective technology and the efficient cost to make the electric car competitive and acceptable to the general public but we are many years away from that.

[denydenydeny]

Not to worry, everyone. Gasoline will soon be up to Secretary Chu’s goal price of $10 a gallon, and then the Volt will be economical. Problem solved.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

When I told my wife that they were stopping production of the Chevy Volt, she said: “Oh that’s a shocking surprise.”

[A $40,000 shocking surprise]].

[mykroar]

Now where the hell am I going to get my overpriced go cart that doesn’t go far enough?!?

[C210N]

If we Americans refuse to support other red-blooded working Americans because they think it might give political points to Obama, we might as well break up this country now and shred the Constitution...

Um, I have some news for you. The action you describe is NOT what's shredding the Constitution. It's the TARP to bailout GM that's shredding it. It's the Gov't that stole GM ownership from bond holders and just redistributed it to Unions and itself that shredded it. It's the gov't getting into a business nowhere mentioned in Art 1 Section 8 that's shredding it. It's most of the 10,000 in Volt sales being bought by the federal gov't itself, and other moonbat state and local governments that's shredding it.

Real Americans NOT buying Volts sends a STRONG MESSAGE to the government that Real Americans WANT TO RETAIN the Constitution.

[raisetheroof]

The hybrid gas-electric vehicle gets 25 miles on a full, overnight charge

Piffle. There was already an electric car developed, called the Riker, that got 40-50 miles to a charge. That was back in 1896, long before the Volt came out 116 years and multi-billions of $$ later.

[Publius6961]

Presumably the Volt was an attempt by GM to help Obama with his pledge to put 1 million electric cars on the road in return for the tens of billions of dollars in forgivable “loans” that the company UAW got from the Obama administration from the TARP bailout.

So many threads to fix...
So little time...

[Roccus]

Pickup trucks stink in the snow...

How odd then that my 4WD Ranger has had zero problems with snow here in the hills of WV for the last 10 years. I must have gotten a "Wednesday" truck.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Front wheel helps. Pickups when empty, or even with a bedful of snow, have rear traction that sux.

[Roccus]

It’s better than my 20 year old, front wheel drive Lumina 4 dr. sedan by a long shot.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Mountainous roads add another dimension. I’m speaking of Illinois flat.

[Roccus]

Whatever

[Gene Eric]

We must all be too damn stupid to appreciate its value especially after “bailing” it out.

[trebb]

I actually saw one of these in Atlanta the other day.

Yard decoration?

[DH]

We are a free people and there is no way under the sun that the socialists and the communists in our politics can take our freedom away no matter how much they try, and they know it..

---

I think that you have been asleep for the past 3 years.

WAKE UP!

[Caipirabob]

You can only push socialist re-engineering of people's behavior so far in a free society. Unless the "iron man" puts down his fist and creates artificial demand for the vehicle by mandating it's purchase, it's economically non-feasible.

Obama's attempting to use high gas prices to drive consumer behavior but the economy he destroyed is so terrible it's compelling people to buy gas power economy vehicles since there's no viable alternative available within the average household budget.

Anyway, this is just half time for his regime. If romney's the candidate and when obama wins against him, we'll see those purchases made mandatory by law.

Who knows...since romney's in favor of mandates by the government we may see this anyways if he manages to overcome his massive losing streak in elections and win office.

[strider44]

Are you serious? It is absolutely our obligation to trash union-controlled enterprises as the cancer that they are. I will NEVER buy a car from GM. Yes, I blame Obama AND the unions. Those employees are in the UAW.

I’m all for American innovation. I used to work for Rrocter and Gamble. A great company that still manufactures tons of products in the US (yes, like other big companies, they have outsourced some production to Mexico and other countries). No unions.

I live in Massachusetts. I know how bad the unions are. I’m in the center of that hell. yest I will resist.

[mo]

Gee.....a car with a one gallon electrical fuel tank.

http://www.redstate.com/brookhaven/2012/02/19/one-gallon-–-the-achilles-heel-of-electric-cars/

What could go wrong?!!!!

[jveritas]

Oh please stop the stupid drama. Which freedom did you lose in the last 3 years?

[Nowhere Man]

The one good thing about the USSR I can say in comparison to Obama’s Communism is at least the USSR didn’t let the greenies stand in their way. Yeah, their system sucked as we all know but at least they did not cave into these things like we do.

[DH]

Which freedom did you lose in the last 3 years?

---

If you have to ask you are beyond help.

I’ll give you a test. It will start you on the road to recovery and the ability to accept the truth:

Send your child to school with a sack lunch not approved by the food police. It’s a little test but there are a lot more tests in order to correct your affliction.

[LastDayz]

I see your Piffle and raise you a Double Phfttt...

This http://www.keelynet.com/energy/teslafe1.htm is where we could have been 50+ years ago; Tesla’s Black Box.

Imagine where we would be now as a society if this as well as his other inventions had come to pass.

Wake up America.

[jveritas]

Again the drama. It was few incidents by some left wing luntics playing food police and you are trying to make it as if every child is now subject to search for his/her lunch bag in school. It is really idiotic that when I asked what freedom you lost you brought the school lunch incidents... When you lose your freedom you would not be able to be conversing on this forum...

[garjog]

“in comparison to Obama’s Communism is at least the USSR didn’t let the greenies stand in their way”

OK, so in that case Obamuism is worse than Communism.

Other than the gulags, 100,000 dead people thing that is.

However, maybe the Obama administration is just getting started?

[garjog]

“demand for the vehicle by mandating it’s purchase,”

Politicians have mandated that a certain number of cars in California must be electric.

This is similar to the Fed government mandating that you must buy health insurance or go to prison.

Just like the Soviets. Nice going Democrats!

Thanks for putting a Marxist dweeb like Obama into power. We have a president who has never run a company, produced a product, created innovated technology or knows anything about private business — except that it uses “dirty” energy like oil and must be taxed so that the suffering of the marginalized might be eased.

[apoliticalone]

Interesting article how the Volt rebate has been gamed by dealers. There have been a combination of problems; bad timing with the economy, over hyping it and not having it available, too costly, bad press on battery fire, and dealers scamming the system per the article.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/31/are-chevy-dealers-gaming-the-system-to-keep-volts-7-500-consum/

I have no intention of trading my Silverado or DTS on a Volt so I can save some gas. If you don’t drive lots of miles it is hard to justify paying to save gas.

[Nowhere Man]

OK, so in that case Obamuism is worse than Communism.

Other than the gulags, 100,000 dead people thing that is.

However, maybe the Obama administration is just getting started?

Well, I think it would be his and his mentors' wet dream to do that. Remember what William Ayers said where they would have to kill 25 or 30 million people, maybe more since we've grown in population since 1971. Stalin did that as well.

I think the point I was trying to make is that if the greenies tried that in the USSR, they'd get told to "stuff it" if lucky, sanctioned if not and the worst luck, get sent to the gulags. Still with some of the crap Obama wants, it will make the USSR of the Brezhnev era look like a free place once they are done with it. B-( Naturally, I'd would not want to live in either place.