Posted on 07/30/2010 12:56:20 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Chevrolet Volt may be wearing out its welcome. General Motors has been hyping the gasoline-electric car ever since the company showed it off to the public 1,300 days ago. The company has let countless reporters into its battery labs and given interviews with its engineers, all in a very credible attempt to show that GM has smart people with good ideas. And it has worked. GM has picked up some technological credibility and fostered goodwill with the environmental crowd.
Now that GM is finally, after three and a half years, getting close to selling one, the commentariat is taking shots at the Volt. In an editorial in the New York Times today, Truth About Cars Editor Edward Niedermeyer panned the car as “GM’s Electric Lemon.” He criticized the car for, among other things, having bland styling and because it will likely lose GM money. Before that, “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, a well-known car buff, also took a shot at the Volt’s styling, telling the Detroit news that, “if you didn’t know, you might think it’s a Cobalt or a Camry.”
What gives? It could be a case of Volt fatigue. Sure, documenting the tale of the car’s development gave GM a great story to tell. But in the past few months the company has amped up the noise on a car that has been hyped for years. I count 14 press releases on the Volt since June, including an announcement today that GM will boost 2012 production from 30,000 to 45,000. Some of those releases were absolutely necessary, like vital information on pricing, warranty and ordering options.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
Big government awesomeness!
Updating 60s Soviet chic with a distinctly 80s feel.
From what I understand, you have to install a 220 V line to charge it. 110 won't work.
$40,000 for a volt?.....FUBO!....I can buy a classic car with a new engine and drive train for less!
Except, IIRC, it doesn't recharge the batteries. It merely generates enough electricity to power the traction motors.
Given that it still costs twice as much as a Cruze (same car, conventional powertrain) and more than a Prius even after the tax credit, I predict the Volt will be a flop.
Are you talking about the car or 0bama?
hyperbole and overstatement is a hallowed FR tradition.
The Volts wagon. The REvolt. The Bolt. The Dolt. The ...
I read an article yesterday that said it takes about 8 hours to charge at 110 V; or 5 hours at 220.
It is reVOLTing what Obama did in GM’s bankruptcy, basically stealing from bondholders in favor of his union chiefs buddies.
BOYCOTT CHEVROLET!
RE: $40,000 for a volt?.....FUBO!....
The actual price is $41,000, but you don’t have to pay that much -— You get a government rebate for $7,500 just for purchasing their car.
Yeah, what IS the deal with the heater on this thing, when there’s no heat of combustion available to warm the cabin? Does anyone know how it works?
Don’t tell me that the heater in this thing is an energy-hogging electric.
You could be right.
“It is reVOLTing what Obama did in GM’s bankruptcy, basically stealing from bondholders in favor of his union chiefs buddies.”
Thank me very much.
For many reasons, not the least of which is plenty of heat in seconds on a cold winter day!
I can’t wait to laugh at friends and family that fall for the voltswagen.
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