Posted on 03/08/2014 5:27:27 AM PST by Kaslin
Here’s the good news about the ObamaCar known as the Chevy Volt: There haven’t been any reported fires connected with the ObamaCar since the company recalled 8,000 of the electric vehicles—that’s one in six vehicles.
That is no fires, if you don’t count the people who’ve been “fired” from the Volt production line as sales continue to make Obama’s “one million” electric car promise just another broken dream in a crooked scheme.
Obama promised that by the time he finished as president, he’d put a million electric cars on the road.
Thankfully, he won’t quite make it.
No telling how much it would cost to put a million on the road after calculating the costs of putting 60,000 on the road.
So far the GM has manufactured only about 62,000 cars, if you count sales of the European model the Ampera.
“Sales of the Volt meanwhile fell 25.6 percent from February 2013 to 1,210 units last month,” says the GM Authority blog. “And while the Volt still holds on to the overall sales lead over the Leaf, Volt sales appear to be slowing in 2014. In January, Chevrolet moved 918 units of the Volt, down from 1,140 in January 2013 and 2,392 in December 2013.”
And despite slashing the price by $5,000, 2013 saw fewer Volt sales than 2012.
“The Volt saw a boost upwards from a November slump and sold 2,392 units in December,” says AutoblogGreen. “That puts the plug-in hybrid's annual total at 23,094, just down from the 23,461 sold in 2012.”
If Ralph Nader contended that the Corvair was “unsafe at any speed,” then I contend that the ObamaCar demand has reached it’s apex and is “unwanted at any price.”
That might be because no one can actually tell buyers what it might cost to replace the batteries in the car.
Continues the AutoblogGreen:
We called up Keyes Chevrolet in Los Angeles and were quoted a broad price range of between $3,400 and $34,000 to replace a "drive motor replacement battery" in a 2012 Volt. Tellingly, perhaps, the dealer we spoke with was not sure what replacing a 'drive motor replacement battery' (and the 'Grade B' version, at that) entails, and told us we'd have to bring a Volt in to see what's wrong with the pack to get a real estimate. We got the same confusion and numbers to replace the battery from Berger Chevrolet in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We asked GM to clarify what this $34,000 charge includes, but that information was not forthcoming.
GM’s hilarious official response to this was a non denial denial: "The high end of what you provided is not consistent with what we would expect the customer to pay," says Kevin Kelly, manager of electrification technology communications for General Motors.
And that’s the ObamaCar problem.
GM actually has manager responsible for “electrification technology communications”?
So THAT’s where the $11 billion…and more… went in the auto bailout that taxpayers got stuck for.
Divide by two, carry the one and… for only $215,696 per battery taxpayers could provide FREE batteries to every Chevy Volt owner.
That is if they could rely on a plant to manufacture the things.
Because here’s where it gets really silly.
GM expected sales of the Chevy Volt to be so robust that they got the government to “invest” $150 million in a third party manufacturing plant owned by Korean company LG Chem that can produce 50,000 to 600,000 batteries per year.
For a car that’s selling only 25,000 per year? And supposedly has batteries that last 8 years or 100,000 miles?
And still they can’t quite nail down how much it will cost to replace the batteries in the Chevy Volt.
And that’s the great telltale: We know, despite denials from the White House and GM, that the Chevy Volt really is an ObamaCarm designed by the softest minds in the federal hierarchy.
And its problem isn’t its power source.
No.
Its problem is the same that all great, signature ObamaProducts have.
Its problem is simple math.
It doesn’t add up.
Same here and I can’t remember seeing any but I don’t get to town much these days.
I just wonder how many have been destroyed by the cold. I’m assuming they need a regular charge whether they’re driven or not.
“unwanted at any price.” indeed Obama or the Volt.
It's also six foot long. GM, IIRC, also billed every Volt dealer another $5000 for specialized battery de-powering tooling over and above previous five grand tooling as part of GM's effort to re-distribute costs to the dealer. Previously the dealer sent the entire six foot 435lb behemoth to the factory for servicing. Now GM wants the dealer to break down the assembly on site. Numerous small Volt dealers have dropped the Volt line as the first tooling charge had yet to pay for itself.
Cut away top view
Chassis view
I've been wondering how the battery was installed initially and after long searching haven't been able to find facts or photos showing the process. Very telling however are the PR photos of just the battery itself. Lab photos show a special built dumb cart as opposed to the "SmartKart" on the factory floor. That job has hydraulic lifters, multigauge control instrument module and other unidentifiable gizmos.
What is clear is that removal and re-installation is done from below and involves removal and replacement of the corrective reinforcing plates that solved the first problem. That means that the single post hydraulic car lift can't be used as it's in the way. Also, it's clearly at least a two man job to position the assembly for re-install. That's one guy not working on another car for a time And rubber mallets and crow bars aren't in that tool kit. Around here most shops have center post lifts, so there you go.
By the time the full parts and labor bill is tallied I guarantee labor alone is over a grand.
The next short coming is the lack of current or future second party sources for these batteries. Sears and Pep Boys won't be available for savings as there is only the one LG plant in Michigan making these things, and they're already underutilized. No one in their right mind is going to tool up to make a custom battery that size and with such a tiny market.
So $34000. for a dud! Oy vey...taxpayer dollars at work.
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