

The Voltec platform gets some fancy clothing




Source: GM

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By Mint on 1/14/2013 6:44:22 PM , Rating: 4
There isn't a car on the market that will give you the features and ride quality of the stock Volt for only $20k.

You're wrong about strategy, too. Entry level luxury is where GM will earn the largest margins. It's downright stupid for GM to leave that to Tesla uncontested, particularly when they'll be the only PHEV (i.e. unlimited range on gas when needed) in that price range.

By Mint on 1/14/2013 8:22:08 PM , Rating: 2
Almost none? They have 13,000 reservations. There are plenty of $50-100k cars are on the market with lower sales volume.

GM sold 15,000 Volts in the second half of the year, and they're on an upward trajectory. Once again, there are plenty of models on the market with lower sales volume. They're building this market faster than Toyota built the hybrid market. Have some patience.

By Nfarce on 1/14/2013 9:03:28 PM , Rating: 3
Have some patience.

Well John & Jane Q. Taxpayer are getting fed up with their tax dollars going to "green" technology promises that haven't panned out and/or met the sales and return on investment expectations. And don't get them going on still being on the hook for GM's stock.

The Volt has yet to even come in the ball park of meeting sales forecasts. And the taxpayers also wonder if the Volt would be selling as well is it is if there wasn't up to a $7,500 tax deduction for buying one (yet another subsidy on that car).

If the government (ie: taxpayers) weren't behind the Volt, and instead it relied on profitability as traditional vehicles have to do, it would have already been killed.

By Keeir on 1/14/2013 9:36:40 PM , Rating: 2

Mostly because people don't understand what the sales projects are/were.

GM's original projection stated in 2012 they believed they could move 60,000 Volts/Ampera's worldwide if gasoline remained at 4.00 dollars a gallon or above.

In 2012, GM moved ~30,000 Volts/Ampera's worldwide with average gasoline price of 3.62 dollars a gallon.

No matter how "green" some people pretend to be, there is a noticable market reaction to Hybrid/etc technologies based on availablity of "perks" like Carpool lane access and price of gasoline. Not surprizing given that less pollution/etc is a cost not directly felt by the consumer.

A. The economy
B. The price of gasoline
C. The price of the Volt
D. Negative Press on Volt/Hybrids/GM

I'd say GM is doing -okay- on Volt sales. Its exceeding the initial sales of the Toyota Prius, but it should given the greater level of public subsidy. (You know, that Prius that sells 150,000 units a year now? It took -4- years of US availablity AND one major redesign to match the the US sales of the Volt in 2012)

By FishTankX on 1/14/2013 10:56:36 PM , Rating: 3
I think most of the 25% americans would like to be green. And according to the 2009 figures, the top 25% contributed to ~85%+ of the income tax load.

Thus it's fitting that the people who can afford the cars and drive them are the ones shelling out most of the taxes to subsidize them. I don't think it's a bad proposition at all, especially since the volt's battery pack probably accounts for about 1/4 of it's production cost, so if anyone's going to get a break for going green, it should be the people making that subsidy possible, the upper level tax payers.

