Not many of you are buying a Chevy Volt

[cairns]

...but we're all paying for it...what happened to all the Volt lovers among you?

......moderators please move to parf if this is too political.....

The Chevy Volt has only sold about 3,200 units thus far, which is not only pathetic, but not even good enough to outsell the Nissan Leaf’s 4500 units. Nevertheless, Government Motors is ramping up for more Volt production. According to Yahoo Auto news, GM is forecasting “sales of around 16,000 for the year as a whole, with 40,000 sold by 2012.

Wait a second. 16,000 units for which year? Calendar year 2011? That means they think sales are going to increase 500% in the next four months? Even if they’re referring to a later fiscal ending date, or even next year, a 500% sales increase is downright delusional.

In fact, Yahoo News thinks a massive sales decline is on the horizon:

A new study by CNW marketing raises a red flag, finding that the potential buyers GM is most counting on are rapidly losing interest in the Volt. In March, 21% of so-called Early Adapters said they were “very likely” to consider buying a Volt, while 38.1% said they were “likely” to do the same. That slipped to 14.6% saying “very likely” in July, and 31.1% “likely.” Among EV Enthusiasts, reports the CNW study, the number of those likely or very likely to consider Volt fell from a combined 71% to 51% during the same four-month period.

“It’s way too early to tell, but the signs aren’t encouraging,” said CNW’s chief analyst Art Spinella. When it comes to mainstream consumers Volt has all but slipped off the radar screen, with only about 3% of new car buyers likely to consider the Chevrolet Volt, the analyst added.

The problem is said to be the price of the Volt, which is a massive understatement, because everyone buying a Volt is understating the price. No one purchasing a Volt has the faintest clue what it really costs, because of all the taxpayer subsidies plowed into production, and hefty rebates offered at the point of sale. $400 million in federal subsidies were extracted from the taxpayer to fund Volt production, and buyers have enjoyed a $7500 federal tax credit.

That means each of the 3200 Volts sold thus far has rolled out of the lot with $132,500 in taxpayer subsidies stuffed in the glove compartment. They sticker at $41,000, so that means each Volt sold thus far actually costs $173,500, with only $33,500 paid by the actual purchaser.

What if GM’s rosy sales predictions come true? Assuming the $7500 tax credit says in place, that would bring the total subsidies paid for Volt production and sales up to $700 million. Divided by 40,000 automobiles, that works out to $17,500 in subsidies apiece. The Volt is about to have a price drop to $39,995, so by 2012 the true price of each car would be a mere $47,495.

On the other hand, if sales hold steady or decline as the CNW study predicts, we’d see about 7000 Volts sold through 2012 at best. That would work out to total taxpayer subsidies of $64,642 per vehicle, for a total per-unit price of roughly $104,000.

from Human Events

[widgeon13]

I'd have to have my nads hooked up to a 220 line before I'd think of buying a Volt!

OUCH!

[Rick V]

I am not one to do as I am supposed to, no Volt for me (nor anything else from Government Motors)

[kach22i]

I thought they were on backorder?

I went to an electric car club meeting a few weeks ago, several Volt owners were there. I have some interesting information about ownership if anyone is interested.

EDI found this on the sales topic:
http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech-mainmenu-30/environment/8450-chevy-volt-sales-plummet-as-the-electric-car-market-slumps

GM spokeswoman Michelle Bunker attributed the fallback to "supply constraints," alleging that GM was "virtually sold out" and supply was down nationwide. But Mark Modica, associate fellow at the National Legal and Policy Center, confirmed Bunker’s assertion was false, as he wrote

..................................Modica later clarified his findings with GM’s Direct of Communications, Greg Martin, who attested that there are 116 new Chevy Volts currently available nationwide, plus demo units offered with a hefty discount.

Yep, 116 Chevy Volts available, such a surplus, a real glut.

[Dana Norris]

OH Bama is planing to give them away to campaign contributors, $25,000.00 here have a Volt.

[Brando]

Why would anyone want a volt when you could get a Nissan Leaf for less, or a Tesla for fun?

[sammyg2]

Maybe the gubmint should offer to give volt buyers $14k of our tax money instead of just $7.5k, on top of the $132,500 we paid GM to make each one of those piles O'crap.

How pathetic must a POS be if you can't pay people to but it?
That's allot of money just to make some enviro-tards FEEL good.

[Zeke]

When they build electric PU's, I'll venture out to gander.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by kach22i

I thought they were on backorder?

I went to an electric car club meeting a few weeks ago, several Volt owners were there. I have some interesting information about ownership if anyone is interested.

EDI found this on the sales topic:
Chevy Volt Sales Plummet as the Electric Car Market Slumps


Yep, 116 Chevy Volts available, such a surplus, a real glut.

if cairns told the truth, he couldn't make a political post out of it

[Por_sha911]

I'm shocked. Way overpriced, extremely limited availability for recharging, minuscule range. What's not to love?

[strupgolf]

Does anyone remember the Edsel? This has Edsel written all over it.

[Scott R]

Buy a GM or ride the bus? Definitely the bus.

[dan88911]

Perhaps it will be a collectors item.

[cairns]

So much for the claims of backorder.....I won't bother to post the many articles on GM's share price- at an all time low- or the fact they're not honoring the warranties of cars sold under the "old" GM. The facts are obvious- we taxpayers have paid a fortune for a POS no one wants to buy.

GM Confirms Slow Chevy Volt Sales
Submitted by Mark Modica on Tue, 08/02/2011 - 14:02

Sales of the much-hyped Chevy Volt fell to new lows as did GM share price as July auto sales figures came in. Only 125 Volts were sold during the month of July. Recent reports attributed the slump to supply constraints as GM spokeswoman, Michelle Bunker, was quoted as saying that the Volt was "virtually sold out" and only a "few" were available nationwide. I have confirmed that this statement is not entirely truthful and have gotten clarification from GM through Director of Communications, Greg Martin.

A search of cars.com site showed nearly 500 Chevy Volts listed for sale. I had originally assumed that GM dealers were advertising vehicles that were not actually available for sale, since GM has stated that there were only a "few" Volts available. I decided to call a few dealers within 75 miles of my location to determine what the true situation was. I stopped my research after finding that five of the first six dealers I called had Volts in inventory available for immediate sale. Two of the five dealers even had two each in stock. I can now safely assume that GM is, once again, not being entirely honest with its facts. The demand for the Chevy Volt is not as strong as GM would have us believe.

Martin confirmed that there are Volts available at dealerships. According to Martin, there are 116 new Chevy Volts available for sale to the public at dealerships, plus demo units that can be sold.

While I was discussing the situation, I also questioned recent comments from GM CEO, Dan Akerson, who stated on a CNN interview that GM had 35 to 40 billion dollars of cash on its balance sheets. The latest SEC reports listed current cash and cash equivalents at about 20 billion. Martin suggested waiting until Thursday's GM quarterly earnings report to see what the number looks like. I find it hard to believe that 15 to 20 billion dollars has materialized since the last earnings report. It is more likely that Mr. Akerson is either being dishonest regarding the true figure or totally uninformed about the financials of the company he manages. Judging from GM's modus operandi, I would guess that he is not being totally truthful.

Another question that arises is why the media is so gullible when it comes to reporting statements made by GM. The Chevy Volt comments are very easy to verify. It was not hard to get to the truth about the number of Volts available, why does the media spread the unfounded hype for the Chevy Volt? Why would the comment by GM on balance sheet cash go unchecked?

The Chevy Volt will not be a big seller for GM; the car just doesn't offer enough value to get a large part of the population to purchase one. The few consumers that choose to purchase seem to be satisfied with their decision, that's great. That doesn't mean that sales are going to take off just because GM will build them at a faster pace. I have to believe that GM knows this. I just can't figure out why they continue to play out the hoax that the Volt is going to be a blockbuster for the company. Perhaps they will sell a bunch to the Obama Administration (at a cost to taxpayers) and to GE (headed by Obama crony Jeff Immelt), but beyond that there will not be huge demand.

GM shares are trading at a new low today. This is indicative of the fact that the smart money on Wall Street is not buying into the GM hype. What bothers me most about the misleading media and analysts' coverage of GM is that the people who will get hurt the most are, once again, the little guys who have no one to look out for their interests. Institutional money managers know better than to buy on the GM hype. At the time of GM's IPO, some TV networks started a campaign to get all taxpayers to buy into the IPO so that they "could benefit." The implication was that GM had no where to go but up. Shares from that time are down about 20% and lagging the broader S&P by about 25%. I really have to wonder if there will be some liability for those who have hyped the GM story without proper disclosure that investors should seek advice from an investment adviser before making investment decisions. Particularly if that hype was in any way influenced by GM ad dollars.

Thursday's earnings report for GM will be closely watched. Analysts should be vigilant for any accounting shenanigans given the history of GM not being entirely truthful with the facts. And if GM shares continue to fall, some hard criticism should be leveled against the Treasury's decision to continue to risk taxpayer money on its GM gamble. Congress has much to consider investigating as the GM story unfolds.

[HardDrive]

Did anyone happen to notice that there is another car, the Toyota Prius, that has the same capabilities? The Prius is now a third generation automobile. My sister has one. Its refined. The interior is very well thought out for commuters, and the huge hatchback is great for families. My sisters husband drives a previous generation Prius, because he likes the old one better. But both have been flawless from a quality standpoint. Its now part of the families automobile DNA.

The Volt, was an 'also ran' the moment it rolled off the production line. Its a decade to late. And it looks like a......Chevy. The styling looks dated.

I like Fords. I drive a Ford truck, and I've had multiple Ford cars and Trucks over the years. All were great. Ford has had an excellent Hybrid product out there since 2004. Instead of arrogantly ****** around for a decade, Ford wisely went to the leader in the field, and got off the shelf technology so they could hit the ground running. The Escape Hybrid was the first production Hybrid SUV in America, a title Ford will always hold.

From the wiki:
"The Escape Hybrid uses technology similar to that used in the Toyota Prius. Ford engineers realized their technology may conflict with patents held by Toyota, which led to a 2004 patent-sharing accord between the companies, licensing Ford's use of some of Toyota's hybrid technology[21] in exchange for Toyota's use of some of Ford's diesel and direct-injection engine technology."

My point? GM blows.

[Normy]

I actually saw the first one I've seen about two weeks ago in Fort Lauderdale. The car looks the same in person as it does in pictures, which is unusual. The interior looks a bit plastic, I must say.

Overall, a fascinating ride. I suspect, however, that the costs of operating this thing are going to be little different from traditional heat-engined cars. Think about it- have you been to Home Depot lately and looked at water heaters? They have natural gas, propane, and electric units of the same size, all for about the same price. But the yellow energy sticker on the units are NOT the same; If I remember correctly, an NG unit costs about $120 per year to operate, while a propane model will run about twice that. Electric? Hold your wallet- try about $450 per year on average! Electrical energy is way more expensive than petroleum-based energy! I suspect the Volt...while fascinating, won't be that cheap to operate in the end.

It is moving in the correct direction in any case. Electric motors will be a HUGE boon to sports cars, what with 100% torque from zero revs!

N

[Normy]

Originally Posted by RWebb

if cairns told the truth, he couldn't make a political post out of it

+1

The guy has a few points from time to time though. There's a lot not to like about gm. In my opinion, they got themselves into trouble because they were a corporation trying to make a profit by building a car rather than be like Porsche, which builds a car in order to make a profit. The subtle difference between the two companies lies in direction, and that says something about how different Americans and Germans are.

[Sure hope I didn't get too political there, or something~]

We couldn't let them go out of business- it would have put too many people who DO do their job diligently out of work.

gm [I still refuse to capitalize this name] has probably the best engineering staff in the world. If they ever decide to use it, the cars could be scary good-

N