Posted on 12/04/2008 2:30:45 PM PST by Daffynition
Everyone seems to be paying attention to what the CEOs of America's automakers are driving this morning. General Motors noticed this, and sensed an opportunity. GM CEO Rick Wagoner will reportedly arrive at Congressional hearings today in a 2010 Chevy Volt.
Or rather, in the closest thing he could find.
Autoblog explains, "As it seems every press outlet will be covering the roadtrip adventures of the three Detroit leaders as they travel via wheeled transportation to the capitol to beg for billions (remember, no corporate jets this time), Wagoner has wisely dumped the ho-hum hybrid Chevrolet Malibu in favor of a Chevy Volt mule in a Chevy Cruze body during at least the last few highly-visible miles of his journey" Wagoner will still make most of the journey in a 2009 Chevy Malibu Hybrid...but not all of it. "To take full advantage of the public display, GM will also bring a show version of the highly-anticipated 2011 Chevy Volt to the capitol and put it on display when Wagoner arrives at the Russell Senate Building around 9:30 AM."
According to Detroit Free Press, the Volt used for this portion of the trip will be "a prototype Volt wearing the sheet metal of the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze."
The Volt, a plug-in hybrid vehicle designed to drive up to 40 miles at highway speed on battery power alone, is planned for the 2010 or 2011 model year. The Volt's body has been shown to the press, and its drivetrain has been tested inside the bodies of other cars (known in the industry as "mules"), but the two have never been shown together - and the press has never been allowed close enough to inspect the car's propulsion system. Battery technology is the limiting factor in every hybrid's development - we don't yet know whether the Volt's batteries can do everything GM claims the car will do. It isn't clear that the Volt testing mules can reach highway speed under battery power, or how long their batteries last.
According to Jalopnik, Wagoner will drive the Volt mule from his Washington hotel to "a 9:30 AM rally at the corner of Delaware Ave. and C street just outside the Russell Senate Building."
That's a distance of just a few miles, probably at speeds below 25 mph - so it still won't come close to showing us how close the Volt prototypes may be to finished products. The fact that Wagoner didn't drive one from Detroit, but apparently had it shipped to Washington in order to drive the last few miles, may be an indication that the Volt program has a long was to go to keep its promises.
Wired, however, comments, "Rolling up to the hearing in a Volt clearly is a PR move, and a shameless one at that. But we're still glad to see the Volt appearing in public because the public needs to see it. Not only is the Volt the most important car any of the Big Three automakers are working on right now, it is GM's best shot at turning things around."
While the bailout debate goes on, automakers are trying to sell cars as fast as possible with deep discounts.
OK, how much did it cost to ship the Chevy Volt mule out to DC? I bet more than the $20K private jet trip cost!
Their PR guy putting out his resume on MonsterJobs as we speak. ;)
The Volt supposedly has a range of 40 miles, but that’s prolly if you don’t use the radio and definitely don’t use the heater or A/C. It would be funny if his Volt ran out of juice a coupla blocks from the dodo brain prima donnas waiting for him on Capitol Hill.
No Chevy can go the distance from Detroit without breaking down ... what on earth were they going to do?
There should be a spoof movie made of their road trip to D.C., it would be hilarious. Picture these guys trying to figure out the drive through window at McD’s
"I say, Niles, do I usually get my happy meal with cheese. And do I get onion rings or fries?"
The article is pretty dumb. The Volt is not scheduled for production until late 2010, of course it's not ready to be driven from Detroit to Washington today. It's well understood that the battery technology is still being developed.
Are they parking in a handicap spot??
He can’t even stand up straight. He looks crippled!
I used to drive small uncomfortable cars like that. Glad I don’t anymore.
Stop the bailout! stop the bailout! The best shot is the Volt??? Holy carp. A car that can only handle a 20 mile commute (heaven forbid there's any traffic congestion) and your boss who cuts HIS budget by NOT letting you plug in your car at work to recharge on HIS dime? Can you imagine the traffic nightmares in LA if even 0.5% suffer a power fail (500 out of every 100k cars, pro'ly failure to charge and / or battery fail)? Actually, your safety distance would be 15 miles out, then 15 miles back home since you couldn't count on getting a charge while at work plus you would have to leave a safety margin.
Look, if Congress wants to flush money down the toilet I'd be glad to take my share and put it to better use than GM seems prepared to do.
“Post 4”
Bunch of whipped puppies, got rapped on the nose with a newspaper, and now they are ready to grovel.
I don’t think this man would have behaved so cravenly.
“One of the things the government can’t do is run anything. The only things our government runs are the post office and the railroads, and both of them are bankrupt”
Lee Iacocca
They had it shipped? How much money did that waste?
These guys just can’t win for losing.
These guys really blew it.
If they had called themselves bankers and financiers, they woulda been in the pink.......
$3000? that is the usual r/t rate for Reliable Carriers, their preferred show car vendor.
[/sarc]
Hell the guy is in WASHINGTON D.C. He did not want the congress to steal them.
It’s ok for Pelosi to jet around on her private jet, just not business execs.
Easily over $20K when you consider the two backup Volt mules they had to ship to be sure one of the three would work!
They should have Toonces the driving cat as chaffeur.
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