Given the recent commercial push ("Volt at a gas station?? I thought they didn't need gas.") and the product placement in shows I watch (The Mentalist, for one), I'd say we need the Fail Boat .jpg in the thread about now:
Posted on 10/03/2011 10:24:27 AM PDT by tcrlaf
General Motors has repeatedly claimed a sales target for 2011 of 10,000 units for the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt sedan. But, nine months into the year, they've only shipped 3,895 off the lot.
In fact, in September sales numbers, released an hour ago, GM sold only 723 Volts. Will GM fail to meet its own sales predictions?
(SNIP)
To give you an idea of how few vehicles that is, here are just a few of the GM vehicles that sold better than the Chevy Volt this month:
Cadillac Escalade - 1,527 Chevrolet Colorado Pickup - 2,171 Chevrolet Avalanche - 1,861 Chevrolet Suburban - 5,246 Buick Lucerne - 1,068
That last car, the Buick Lucerne, is even more ironic considering it's made on the very same assembly line as the Chevy Volt — yet the Buick-for-blue-hairs still managed to sell almost 50% more units this past month.
Compare those sales with the vehicle most pundits position as a direct competitor — the Nissan Leaf all-electric car. Nissan sold 1,362 Leafs during the month of August and 1,031 during the month of September. Year to date, they've sold 7,199 — twice the number of Volts GM has shipped off dealer lots.
(Excerpt) Read more at jalopnik.com ...
"Last week, General Motors CEO Dan Akerson stated that he intends to sell 25,000 Volts this year, followed by 120,000 units in 2012. The optimistic figure for next year is double the original 60,000 units forecast, while the 2011 increase looks astronomical compared to the original expectation of 10,000 cars."
...from a January 26, 2011 article at www.autoevolution.com.
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/chevy-volt-sales-expectations-might-be-optimistic-30238.html
So, apparently, not even GM knows how many units they expect to sell...
I get a charge out of electrical humor.
THAT’S what’s missing from the Volt!
It doesn’t come with a gun rack...
I was yakking online with an engineer some time ago (2009? -ish.) He worked at the supplier for the Volt's powerpack.
He was worried that he was going to lose his job. GM had contracted for 50K (60K? don't remember) units, and had only wound up ordering 10,000 of them.
The Volt being a colossal flop, is only a surprise to a handful of marketing execs, and a double-handful of hope n' change libs.
Yes, I watched that episode. Bot the Citroen and Nissan battery cars were an epic fail.
“Last week, General Motors CEO Dan Akerson stated that he intends to sell 25,000 Volts this year”
WHAT?
THE MARKETS ARE SPEAKING? HOW DARE THEY!
Don’t they understand THE GLORY OF OBAMA?
Only 21,700 to go!
Given the recent commercial push ("Volt at a gas station?? I thought they didn't need gas.") and the product placement in shows I watch (The Mentalist, for one), I'd say we need the Fail Boat .jpg in the thread about now:
If it was rear-drive, could hit sixty in around 5 seconds, they’d outsell the camaro :)
Americans long ago embraced 4-doors.
As a previous Z28 owner, I loved my ‘02 with the LS1 V8. That motor was pure silk and pure music when you were dipping into the throttle heavy.
But I can embrace the future, if I don’t have to give up performance or predictability concerning energy reserves on board.
I suspect a lot of people think the same.
Case in point... the Ford T-Bird 4-banger turbo during the 80’s was a hit, at least where I lived. It got good gas mileage, and for the time, was a rocket ship. People gave up V8 lust to get that car -— it was good looking, fast, and fuel efficient.
Not to mention all the front drive Pentastar turbos that were pretty quick and fuel efficient as well...
People are the same now -— but when they have to live unpredictable battery times, which fluctuate wildly due to environmental controls in the car needing more or less energy, and to the outdoor temperature directly impacting battery chemistry, and add in mediocre performance on the street, it’s no surprise they aren’t flying off the shelves.
Though as a later posted noted ... the sales are increasing, so I actually hope they make their numbers.
It will at least invite GM to produce more performance oriented cars based on the research they get out of the Volt.
Now THAT does not surprise me in the least! ;-)
Nope. He continues to be Gun Salesman of the Year!
I saw that show too and they mentioned you shouldn’t discharge the battery all the way down (they did), but only half way. That means only half the distance on a charge.
Good point. The Edsel was a “sales flop” and it sold 64,000 units in its first year.
IMO they never have.
Better off watching Top Gear (the British version).
well, good point, but I still don’t want one [
The gun rack would be wider than the car, but come to think of it, the Volt would be PERFECT for some paintball weaponry.I think it could accommodate one of those rifles I sometimes see on the internet that cost about $25.
They haven’t had credibility for at least a quarter century.
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