Wow! That's fast! Faster than GM fastest Corvette, the ZR1, which looks like it's going to be a really fast car. Of course, it's not what you might call true: the Tesla Roadster can't even make its long-promised sub-four second zero to sixty sprint, never mind hitting the ton in that time. But expecting GM's Car Czar to have a handle on motorized minutia is like expecting Bill Gates to go on Safari. To wit, Bob told Autonet.ca how he's ironing-out some of the plug-in electric – gas hybrid Volt's "issues." “In the first year, we’re not going to be in super-mass production," Bob revealed. "We’ll do about 10,000 units, and keep them fairly close to home so we can deal with any issues before we really crank up for high volumes." What exactly does that mean? That Chevrolet will only sell Volts in the mid-west– perhaps to GM employees– until they can work out the kinks? Does that make any sense? Do we believe it? Does Bob Lutz believe it? What about statements like “We’re finally breaking out of this thing where we’re selling only to our owners.” Hang on; if GM's market share is declining AND they're gaining conquest sales, does that mean they're losing loyal customers at the same time? Here's a more important question: why are so many journalists following Lutz' seemingly endless trips down the rabbit-hole? Don't they know Wonderland when they see it?
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I want some of Bob’s happy juice. It would make my Mondays so much more palatable.
Since the Volt represents a radical change in vehicle technology, limiting sales for the first year or two sounds reasonable provided GM makes a conscious effort to fix problems and learn from mistakes.
If they would have kept the EV-1 program going, the Volt would be in my driveway by now.
Of course, it took peak oil and CO2 to drive GM into this corner; too bad it’s a bit late.
Mom is 85 now and she is getting to be like that. The good thing is that the new medicine calms her down a lot.
crackers-It’s not the worst idea ever but I think I have a better one.
What if they quit dreaming about the possibility of delivering a consumer ready vehicle in 2010 and establish a reasonable development period with rigourous testing and deliver an excellent vehicle that will not destroy their reputaion further.
Say, 2013-2015.
Oh, and have some on the dealer lots when they are advertised so we can’t “ignore” them.
The Prius was ready.
Just a thought.
Take care.
Bunter
Here’s a more important question: why are so many journalists following Lutz’ seemingly endless trips down the rabbit-hole? Don’t they know Wonderland when they see it?
Now there’s a SAD comment on the state of journalism. Unfortunately it is also TRUE.