Volt price drop

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Originally Posted By: Bluestream
That is the car of the future here today. They will sell all they can build...


Quote:
Leaf holds a slight sales edge from January to the end of May -- 2,184 vs. 2,167 for Volt. The figures so far are tiny, but both companies are promising they will pick up.

In May alone, the sales race wasn't much of a contest. Nissan, despite the Japanese earthquake and resulting parts shortages, sold 1,142 cars compared with Chevrolet Volt's 481. If Nissan can keep up that pace, this contest should be a rout.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/...17-cars-apart/1

2100 cars in 5 months. Yeah, hold back the mobs at the GM dealers.
shocked.gif
 
The real cost driver is the LI-ion battery, which is over $1k/kWh. As those prices drop, so can the car price, without effecting profit or anything.
 
"China’s Li-ion battery industry may see explosive growth in the next three to five years due to the factors like new energy vehicle strategy, environmental problems of lead-acid batteries, and the transfer of Japan’s Li-ion battery industry to China after March 11 earthquake."

http://www.chinacartimes.com/2011/06/08/driven-by-new-energy-vehicle-strategy-china%E2%80%99s-li-ion-battery-industry-may-see-explosive-growth/
 
car still is 10 grand too expensive. sorry, not spending 40k for a chevy no matter if it's fancy hybrid or not.
 
Wow. Does everything around here have to be so negative?

I have never owned a Chevy and frankly I think they were a pretty [censored] company thorough the 90s but why not give Chevy some credit for trying something FORWARD thinking.

Volt: Room for improvement??? Maybe, but no need to pounce on it because it doesn't fit your dream machine fantasy.



By the way, doesn't the price drop (over time) for all goods in regards to some basic economic laws?
 
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
So negative ?

Nope. Nothing wrong with being honest.




GM said before that there would be little to no profit on the Volt for a few years. The fact that they actually came out and said that means we should all be taking a wait-and-see attitude. Honestly, I doubt this is about the car- this is about everyone hating General Motors.
 
It's definitely too expensive currently.

However, it will drop as demand increases and the price of batteries drops.

Too early to call it a failure for sure. I drive Honda's and I would love this car to do well as it is unique and could drive change forever in the automotive industry. I grew up in GM cars before they made iffy products (early 1990's and on) and they were solid for years.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
So negative ?

Nope. Nothing wrong with being honest.




GM said before that there would be little to no profit on the Volt for a few years. The fact that they actually came out and said that means we should all be taking a wait-and-see attitude. Honestly, I doubt this is about the car- this is about everyone hating General Motors.



Absolutely. It's amazing the knee jerk reactions that come out with no real basis (or one that verges on politics but can't be said). Very little independent rational thought from many, but that is how it goes.

This doesn't mean the volt, leaf, etc is good, bad, etc. I'm not commenting on that as it is wait and see mode. LI-ion has cost and safety challenges, but that's just physics. At the same time I think the value of some level of electrification is proven on everything from cars to ships.

But a dump in a jar would be wonderful if the brainwashing side that one accepts said so, and vice-versa.
 
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
That is the car of the future here today. They will sell all they can build...


they had the technology years ago... but someone in the industry/government/oil business didn't like it. EV1 anyone?
 
Originally Posted By: kemo
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
That is the car of the future here today. They will sell all they can build...


they had the technology years ago... but someone in the industry/government/oil business didn't like it. EV1 anyone?



Excellent documentary called:

"Who Killed the electric car"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39K36Rw7LYc

I watched it a few years back and the thing I remember most were the owners of these cars crying as they were sent back and eventually crushed. It was like someone seeing their child get kidnapped (then crushed ).
 
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Gm is building these cars, and it costs a lot to build them. Dont get me wrong. I do not like GM all that much, and I am not making excuses. But new technology equals a high price tag.


Here is the issue. While a car company is first coming out with new tech and charging a major buck for it, NO ONE in their right mind would want to be the schmuck who pays top dollar for a new and limited technology.


GM: Sell the cars for COST. Get the technology worked out, then start making a profit. We do not want new tech. We want tried and true!!!!


Get it through your heads!!! Take a short term hit, then reap the rewards!
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
So negative ?

Nope. Nothing wrong with being honest.




GM said before that there would be little to no profit on the Volt for a few years. The fact that they actually came out and said that means we should all be taking a wait-and-see attitude. Honestly, I doubt this is about the car- this is about everyone hating General Motors.


Shouldn't a company that just went through a bankruptcy that cost us billions be working on selling cars that MAKE them money to pay their debts BACK rather than trying to appease the paltry 2100 greenies who were willing to pay the price for this vehicle?

I understand the "image" associated with the Volt. That's not the issue. GM's image is pretty bad at this point given what happened regardless, so the faster they make good on monies owed and get back into the black, the sooner people are going to forgive them. Saddling themselves with a vehicle that they don't make money on to appease a demographic that is apparently small enough to be insignificant (looking at the sales figures) or is larger than it appears but simply cannot afford the vehicle is moronic. If the car isn't moving, and its market is represented by the current sales trends then the car is an epic failure.

GM cannot afford to be selling cars that don't make money. And they cannot afford to be producing cars that they can't sell. This car appears to cover both bases well.

On that note, I'm sure there are more than 4,000 pro-electric people living in the United States and Canada. So those who pushed for a vehicle like the Volt. For those who pushed for a vehicle like the Leaf. For those who belittled and begrudged people driving more traditional cars and preached their pious sermons.... There sure seem to be a lot of you who haven't bought one.
 
Did the Dodge Viper make any money?! Remind me please-

Regardless, at the time it came out it certainly helped their image. -Which in turned sold a lot of Neons, Caravans etc etc.


I think the VOLT is in it's infancy -and its going to crawl before it walks. -have to start somewhere.
 
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