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Volt bailout 2012?

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Rodred

Mar 2, 12 13:05

Post #1 of 65 (1639 views)

Volt bailout 2012?	Quote \| Reply

General Motors has temporarily suspended production of its Volt electric car, the company announced Friday.

GM, which is based in Detroit, announced to employees at one of its facilities that it was halting production of the beleaguered electric car for five weeks and temporarily laying 1,300 employees.

A GM spokesman told The Hill Friday production of the Volt would resume on April 23.

"We needed to maintain proper inventory and make sure that we continued to meet market demand," GM spokesman Chris Lee said in a telephone interview.
Lee noted that sales of the Volt were higher in February than they were in March, and added that California recently decided to allow the electric car to qualify for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in the state.

"We see positive trends, but we needed to make this market adjustment," he said.

And in other news

In an unusual presidential endorsement of a specific automobile, President Obama told a UAW conference on Tuesday that he intends to buy a Chevrolet Volt when he leaves office.
The Obama administration shepherded Chevrolet parent General Motors through a federally led bankruptcy in 2009.

Obama referred to a 2010 visit to a GM factory in Hamtramck, Michigan, where the Volt is built.

"I got to get inside a brand-new Chevy Volt fresh off the line � even though Secret Service wouldn't let me drive it," he said, according to a transcript of his speech on the White House Web site. "But I liked sitting in it. It was nice. I'll bet it drives real good. And five years from now, when I'm not president any more, I'll buy one and drive it myself. Yes, that's right."

Doesn't the CEO/ Union Overlord usually get complimentary products from his companies?

~
�The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct acts sooner or later to eliminate the individual and thereby fails to show up in future generations.

Rodred

Mar 2, 12 13:07

Post #2 of 65 (1629 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [Rodred] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Maybe we can change the rules so you can purchase them with food stamps.

U.S. food-stamp use rose 0.5 percent to a record in December, the government said.

About 46.514 million Americans received aid, up from 46.286 million in November, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today in an e-mail. Participation was 5.5 percent higher than a year earlier.

~
�The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct acts sooner or later to eliminate the individual and thereby fails to show up in future generations.

rick_pcfl

Mar 2, 12 13:28

Post #3 of 65 (1611 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [Rodred] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

GM, which is based in Detroit, announced to employees at one of its facilities that it was halting production of the beleaguered electric car for five weeks and temporarily laying 1,300 employees.

So, what you're saying is that they're getting screwed?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rick Smith - Founder of Bus Bulletin
Parent notification software designed for pupil transportation ~ Providing information while it still matters.
http://www.BusBulletin.com

(This post was edited by rick_pcfl on Mar 2, 12 13:29)

japarker24

Mar 2, 12 13:32

Post #4 of 65 (1600 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [rick_pcfl] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

rick_pcfl wrote:

Awesome!!!!!!!!

------------------------------------------------------------
2x IM Finisher. Only 10 more to go!

chainpin

Mar 2, 12 14:29

Post #5 of 65 (1571 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [Rodred] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I'm shocked I tell you!!!

Again, everything Obama touches turns to shit.

"I really wish you would post more often. You always have some good stuff to say. I copied it below just in case someone missed it." BarryP to Chainpin on 10/21/06

MOP_Mike

Mar 2, 12 14:59

Post #6 of 65 (1554 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [Rodred] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Rodred wrote:

"I got to get inside a brand-new Chevy Volt fresh off the line � even though Secret Service wouldn't let me drive it," he said, according to a transcript of his speech on the White House Web site. "But I liked sitting in it. It was nice. I'll bet it drives real good. And a year from now, when I'm not president any more, I'll buy one and drive it myself. Yes, that's right."

He misspoke slightly. I fixed it for you.

"...Sometimes it's about getting the most speed out of the motor you have." -- Tom A.

(This post was edited by MOP_Mike on Mar 2, 12 16:08)

BarryP

Mar 2, 12 16:12

Post #7 of 65 (1519 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [rick_pcfl] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Quote:

So, what you're saying is that they're getting screwed?

MJuric

Mar 2, 12 18:09

Post #8 of 65 (1491 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [BarryP] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Probably not. I knew a lot of people who worked for Chrysler and GM and they actually liked being laid off because the union made sure they were pretty well taken care of. If this is anything like what they went through, they'll get a decent portion of their pay and have their jobs guaranteed when the 5 weeks is up.

Exactly, in fact monetarily there is very little gained by the car company. The union workers not only get a good portion of their pay but most have contracts for all the benies to continue to be paid as well.

In the end the savings by the company amounts to whatever they are saving by not having excess inventory sitting around and a smaller electric bill.

That of course leads to the reality that things really have to be sucking for a model in order for a company to do this as there is really very little gained by the company.

I've seen this happen a couple times locally for a few models. In one case the model was ended and I think in the other they were on the end of a fairly good run and the new version was coming out.

In any case it's an indication that sales numbers are way below expectations.

~Matt

tigerpaws

Mar 2, 12 18:14

Post #9 of 65 (1486 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [Rodred] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Geez shocking.

dave_w

Mar 2, 12 18:20

Post #10 of 65 (1486 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [MJuric] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Sales have been woeful for most of the year, even before the problems became public, I read that there was 90 days of inventory, which is some kind foreboding number in the industry. Disappointing, given the amount of subsidies taxpayers have contributed, (and that govt has bought quite a few) but not necessarily a death knell.

AlanShearer

Mar 2, 12 20:21

Post #11 of 65 (1446 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [Rodred] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Lee noted that sales of the Volt were higher in February than they were in March,

How is this possible, considering it's only March 2. Could you post a link to the article that you quoted, do I can figure this out?

BarryP

Mar 2, 12 20:34

Post #12 of 65 (1440 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [dave_w] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Quote:

I know this will likely be a point that the lefties and righties will disagree on, but I consider it at worst a lost battle in a war that will be won.
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485

Halvard

Mar 2, 12 21:26

Post #13 of 65 (1425 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [chainpin] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

You wrote:
I'm shocked I tell you!!!

Again, everything Obama touches turns to shit.

First of all I am sure you know the history of the Volt. If you do not remember let me refresh it.

Bob Lutz: The Man Who Revived the Electric Car
Dec 22, 2007 6:56 AM EST
[/url]When General Motors was fingered as the prime suspect in the 2006 documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" Bob Lutz's inbox filled with hate mail. "I hope you rot in hell," read one missive to the GM vice chairman, known for his love of gas-guzzling sports cars. But now the movie's director wants Lutz to star in a possible sequel, "Who Saved the Electric Car?" "Now that they've done their mea culpa, I'm bullish on GM," says director Chris Paine. "I'd like to include Lutz in my next film."

So in 2006, Lutz formed a skunkworks team of engineers and designers to quickly cobble together the Chevy Volt concept car, which became the star of the 2007 Detroit Auto Show. And then he persuaded the brass to greenlight the Volt for production by arguing that they must try to seize the green high ground from Toyota, which is battling GM for the title of the world's No. 1 automaker. "We saw Toyota getting highly beneficial rub-off from their Prius success, which permitted them to cloak themselves in the mantle of total greenness," says Lutz. "This was starting to hurt because it was one reason for a sudden surge in Toyota's market share."

Now Lutz envisions selling hundreds of thousands of Volts a year, probably priced below $30,000. Detroit's horsepower jockey insists the Volt will be his crowning achievement�and his swan song. "This is like JFK's call for the moon shot," he says. "I want to stick around to see the Volt come to market. Then I'll pack it in around 80." And ride off into the sunset on electric power.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/12/22/bob-lutz-the-man-who-revived-the-electric-car.html

This was written in 2007. Who was president in 2007? Had GM been bailed out? Was Lutz a tree hugging Marxist?
Congratulation, good work as always.

My Norseman Blog

mojozenmaster

Mar 2, 12 21:38

Post #14 of 65 (1425 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [BarryP] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I consider it at worst a lost battle in a war that will be won.

The fact that you use the word "war" as it pertains to this matter, pretty much explains why you and people who think like you are the people i think are assholes.

Intolerant assholes to be precise......

**All of these words finding themselves together were greatly astonished and delighted for assuredly, they had never met before**

Rodred

Mar 3, 12 0:15

Post #15 of 65 (1398 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [AlanShearer] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

AlanShearer wrote:

I wondered about that also. If I get a chance ill grab a link once I get some sleep

~
�The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct acts sooner or later to eliminate the individual and thereby fails to show up in future generations.

mojozenmaster

Mar 3, 12 1:22

Post #16 of 65 (1394 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [Rodred] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

When Super Tuesday rolls around The Great Sancho knows already that every broadcast network will call the vote for Santorum across the board.....even with only 1% of districts reporting. Mark my words. Even Sancho knows Obama is a fraidy cat when it comes to dealing with Mitt Romney.

Santorum is unelectable because he scares even me and I think he is an asshole who is hding something......

**All of these words finding themselves together were greatly astonished and delighted for assuredly, they had never met before**

chainpin

Mar 3, 12 4:59

Post #17 of 65 (1367 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [Halvard] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Sorry, but the Volt is a failure on Obama's watch and will be added to his list of "green-turned-to-shit" renewable energy (now that phrase is a laugh!) projects.

Nothing you write here in the LR will change that fact, deal with it, and accept the suck.

But, let's for a minute take your post and erase the Volt disaster from our collective memories, then we are left with the following list of FAIL:

Evergreen Solar
SpectraWatt
Solyndra (received $535 million)
Beacon Power (received $43 million)
AES� subsidiary Eastern Energy
Nevada Geothermal (received $98.5 million)
SunPower (received $1.5 billion)
First Solar (received $3 billion)
Babcock & Brown (an Australian company which received $178 million)
Ener1 (subsidiary EnerDel received $118.5 million)
Amonix (received 5.9 million)
The National Renewable Energy Lab
Fisker Automotive
Abound Solar (received $400 million)

Sorry, but moonbats need to know the truth.

"I really wish you would post more often. You always have some good stuff to say. I copied it below just in case someone missed it." BarryP to Chainpin on 10/21/06

undrh20

Mar 3, 12 5:19

Post #18 of 65 (1361 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [Sancho] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Sancho wrote:

The fact that you use the word "war" as it pertains to this matter, pretty much explains why you and people who think like you are the people i think are assholes.
Intolerant assholes to be precise......

Resorting to abusive epithets for what you consider an inappropriate use of the term "war" is not exactly representative of tolerance.

Hybrids and electric vehicles are going to be an expanding part of the automotive mix well into the future. There will be issues to work out, but new technologies always have growing pains. Its not a war in the sense that this development is being forced upon consumers against their will. It is just indicative of the fact that both manufacturers and consumers are reacting to market forces as well they should.

Ranting against the trend will have no effect. It just shows intolerance and its obvious what you think about people displaying that trait.

chainpin

Mar 3, 12 5:47

Post #19 of 65 (1352 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [undrh20] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

undrh20 wrote:

Sancho wrote:

Not to mention the majority of Volts sold were bought by...wait for it, you guessed it...OBAMA!!!

In the meantime, the Volt is fucking dead and let this be a lesson to the moonbats about basic economics and why Obama should stay the fuck out of business, period.

I already predicted this would happen, and the response from the Obama ballwashers is jus as predictable.

Just look at the list of failing/bankrupt "green" companies that Obama funded because one of his cronies was on the board and gives him lot's of money--you moonbats don't want to talk about that do you?

I didn't think so.

"I really wish you would post more often. You always have some good stuff to say. I copied it below just in case someone missed it." BarryP to Chainpin on 10/21/06

dave_w

Mar 3, 12 7:10

Post #20 of 65 (1336 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [chainpin] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

chainpin wrote:

Just look at the list of failing/bankrupt "green" companies that Obama funded because one of his cronies was on the board and gives him lot's of money--you moonbats don't want to talk about that do you?

I didn't think so.

This. The billions in taxpayer money that went to big Obama donors is startling enough, but then to have this "investment" fail is galling. As is often the case, I'm not sure how much of this malfeasance is due to misplaced hope and desire for success in the green energy realm, or how much is simply incompetence or quid pro quo payoffs to supporters. At any rate, given the amount this admin has directed to the cause, I'd expect something to hit, and some big development(s). If that happens, as Barry suggested, it will be a big win, and the wasted billions will be forgotten...okay, already ignored/forgotten by lefties, and will never be forgotten by righties, but some in the middle and the more ignorant (non news-hounds) multitudes will see only the success.

undrh20

Mar 3, 12 8:39

Post #21 of 65 (1320 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [chainpin] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

chainpin wrote:

Not to mention the majority of Volts sold were bought by...wait for it, you guessed it...OBAMA!!!
In the meantime, the Volt is fucking dead and let this be a lesson to the moonbats about basic economics and why Obama should stay the fuck out of business, period. I already predicted this would happen, and the response from the Obama ballwashers is jus as predictable. Just look at the list of failing/bankrupt "green" companies that Obama funded because one of his cronies was on the board and gives him lot's of money--you moonbats don't want to talk about that do you? I didn't think so.

Now that you've gone off on your little Obama tirade, you need to review the history of government intervention
as it relates to the development of electric vehicles in this country.

Although Obama has been promoting Hybrids and EV's, he can not take credit for turning the concept onto reality.

From time to time, we moonbats need to give more credit to the wingnuts.

Some critics think the electric-car subsidies in place today belong to the current White House, but those line items actually are the product of Bush's second term, and they're the root of the real electric cars you can see, buy, drive and recharge today. Before Obama raised CAFE requirements, Bush did it. And if you're looking for the stroke of the pen that created the burgeoning world of EVs around us, that stroke came from Bush's pen. With an investment of $7.5 billion, Bush and Congress underwrote $25 billion in loans that's translated directly into the Leaf, the Volt, Ford's electric Focus, the Think City, and Tesla and Fisker's leap from paper to plant. Now, almost five years later, we have mass-market electric cars. It's anathema for some progressives (moonbats) to give Bush credit for anything--just as it's anathema for more strident conservatives (wingnuts) to see any good coming from any social engineering. Agnostic of party affiliation, the electric-car mandates were and are political inventions for the right reasons. We wouldn't be at this place in automotive history without President Bush. To not see that or admit it, you have to be a part of the dense thicket of hater propaganda.

Mr. Tibbs

Mar 3, 12 22:36

Post #22 of 65 (1276 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [chainpin] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

"Again, everything Obama touches turns to shit."

You mean by GM developing a bad car before Obama took office?
customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

mrpenguin

Mar 4, 12 8:04

Post #23 of 65 (1257 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [chainpin] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

chainpin wrote:

Evergreen Solar
SpectraWatt
Solyndra (received $535 million)
Beacon Power (received $43 million)
AES� subsidiary Eastern Energy
Nevada Geothermal (received $98.5 million)
SunPower (received $1.5 billion)
First Solar (received $3 billion)
Babcock & Brown (an Australian company which received $178 million)
Ener1 (subsidiary EnerDel received $118.5 million)
Amonix (received 5.9 million)
The National Renewable Energy Lab
Fisker Automotive
Abound Solar (received $400 million)

Sorry, but moonbats need to know the truth.

and if you add all of those up, you end up with a little bit more than the amount of tax-payer money given to oil companies with record profits due to the subsidies created under Bush and a republican Congress EVERY YEAR.

snoots

Mar 4, 12 8:39

Post #24 of 65 (1249 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [undrh20] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

undrh20 wrote:

Sancho wrote:

Resorting to abusive epithets for what you consider an inappropriate use of the term "war" is not exactly representative of tolerance.

Hybrids and electric vehicles are going to be an expanding part of the automotive mix well into the future. There will be issues to work out, but new technologies always have growing pains. Its not a war in the sense that this development is being forced upon consumers against their will. It is just indicative of the fact that both manufacturers and consumers are reacting to market forces as well they should.

Ranting against the trend will have no effect. It just shows intolerance and its obvious what you think about people displaying that trait.

Perhaps in the distant future, but for now it is an inconsequential percentage of the overall mix, and is an unsustainable retail business model without government subsidies - both in the form of infrastructure and consumer incentives. A case in point is here in Quebec, the gov't has decided that there should be 400 electric vehicles on the road in the next 2 years. That's right, 400... Ford alone sells ~34,000 in Quebec alone as the #1 OEM.

To push this agenda, the gov't is investing in charging stations at local restaurants and big box home improvement stores, along with setting up shcrging stations w/ dedicated parking at the regional transport-run commuter train stations. The electric cars can be charged - regardless of time it takes (in the case of Volt, 6-8hrs...in the case of a Focus electric, about 3-4hrs) for $2.50... not enough to recover the cost of the infrasturcture. The gov't is also subsidizing the purchase of the vehicle, to the tunbe of $8,000 each, plus an additional bennie of up to $1,000 for the installation of a home charging stations. Even then, after the 8-grand, the price of a Focus electric is going to $33,600, plus 14% sales tax here in the great state of Quebecistan. I don't know about you, but there's a hell of alot of car that I can acquire for $33,000+...

Unsustainable on it's own, and frankly I resent the millions of tax $$$ going towards it, even if in the grand scheme it's only a drop in the bucket...

dave_w

Mar 4, 12 8:59

Post #25 of 65 (1243 views)

Re: Volt bailout 2012? [snoots] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

This goes to the over-reach that defines this admin in so many areas. Choosing winners, in their minds, means ensuring that everything else is a loser. They are trying to skip right past mega-milage diesel and hybrid to electric; oil, natural gas and nuclear, for wind and solar; took recently tightened CAFE and ozone regs from GWB and ratcheted them up to economy stifling levels (had to back off the ozone for now), etc, etc. This admin reminds me of egoists with a heavy drive to get ahead in life, who often expend energy to not only make themselves look better, but equally, to make others look bad, in their quest to get what they want. It's unhealthy, and anti-productive at an individual level; risky and expensive for the country at the level they're playing. All good though because it's part of "fundamentally transforming" America.

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