Once again GM shows its right hand doesn't know what the Lutz hand is doing. Last week, Car Czar to the Stars Bob Lutz spoke about their plans for the Volt's eventual introduction: "In the first year… 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." But Reuters reported yesterday that GM's VP for global program management has a different idea. Jon Lauckner told a forum at the Competitive Enterprise Institute that GM's planning a "healthy roll-out" for their plug-in electric – gas hybrid In fact, Lauckner said "we're talking about large numbers — in the tens of thousands." However, Lauckner didn't seem to share Lutz' confidence that the Volt would be a smash hit; he urged Congress to "approve tax incentives to help spark demand." Your tax money hard at work.
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It’s amazing how you people complain about chevrolet not making any hybrids-now that they are you all complain about them and pick out everything that is wrong. Toyota got incentives too for their failing prius. They aren’t even selling as much as they projected, they’re trying to give them away now. The company ya’ll religously bash is still number 1, remember? Sounds like some people are scared chevy might do better….
Dear lord – where to begin? “failing”? They sold 180K last year. “Give them away”? They have modest incentives on them – nothing like even the better ‘domestic’ cars.
The fear here is that like every other time before, GM is just FUDing us with the Volt. Remember the Hy-Wire?
jmack91z28 :
you all complain about them and pick out everything that is wrong.
Pointing out two VP’s are contradicting each other within a week’s time isn’t exactly being picky. If GM wants to be taken seriously in this game, they need to get their act together and tell one story instead of several. If this was the first time this had happened, it could be overlooked, but it isn’t. Why, one of their executives even contradicts himself almost every time he opens his mouth. And it seems to be getting worse — not exactly the best way to inspire confidence in a company’s leadership.
They aren’t even selling as much as they projected, they’re trying to give them away now.
Hmmmm…… really? The numbers tell a different. Last year Toyota sold more Prius cars than Buick or Mercury sold cars and trucks. As pointed out previously, Prius outsold Chevrolet Tahoe, the Toyota Tacoma, the Honda Odyssey, every Jeep, every Chrysler model, every Dodge model (except Ram) and every Ford model but the F-series. And that’s just with one 4-door hatchback. They’d better watch out if Toyota follows through on their threat to expand it to a full line of cars. (By the way, the tax credit on Prius has expired and it’s still selling.)
Technically, would 10,000 units be “in the tens of thousands?”
how can you compare the hybrid prius which consumers get an average of 5000 dollars back on tax rebates against the tahoe? Two completly different consumer markets- AKA apples and oranges. I’m talking about hybrid cars. and yes last time i checked 10,000 is classified as tens of thousands- which goes back to you saying the gm vp’s always contradict one another. and modest incentives are still incentives correct?? so M1EK is just reinforcing what I said, correct??
What’s the lot-time for a Prius now, 21 days? Not exactly where you’d feel a need to give them away, I think. :-)
To the first poster – you’re right, chevrolet is trying to do something good and right. But the fact that the VPs are all over the place with their messages, on the same topic and within the timespan of a week, is not confidence bolstering.
He-he. Still smiling, though. Toyota Prius failing. Funny.
It’s amazing how you people complain about chevrolet not making any hybrids-now that they are you all complain about them and pick out everything that is wrong.
The thing is they’re not actually making the Volt – yet.
The Hybrids offered by GM: The Vue, The Aura, The Malibu, The GMT900 trucks. All of these are quite mild hybrids. The Aura Hybrid’s gas mileage is not even significantly better than the base Aura!
So how is pointing any of this out being picky? It’s all truth. Truth has no concern for your feelings or Bob Lutz’s.
Is Maximum Bob blogging TTAC under a pseudonym?
As with most readers, I refuse to believe anything coming out of the RenCen until there is hardware on the showroom floor.
Samir Syed:
GMT900 p/u truck mild hybrid was discontinued for MY2008, so scratch one Chevy hybrid.
the hybrid prius which consumers get an average of 5000 dollars back on tax rebates
Until September 30, 2006 the full credit was $3150, then it went down to $1575. On April 1, 2007 it went down to $787.50 and now, as of October 1, 2007, it’s completely gone.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/tax_hybrid.shtml
Toyota has a hybrid on the road that delivers mileage well above the average and it sells very, very well. I will give GM mad props if they sell one Volt before Chelsea Clinton runs for President.
But thats my point about the volt not being sold yet. you say its a waste of tax dollars for the incentives, but the car hasn’t been released yet, so how do you know its a waste of money? why should toyota get incentives when they are a japanese company but an american company not get incentives in their own country? how is that a waste? and to talk about sales incentives- toyota had to give more incentives last year in order to boost sales, they couldn’t sell quite as well without it. and samir you just took something i said and twisted it around till you sounded right, and stop using bob lutz as a crutch, i know hes an idiot, stop beating the dead horse. i know they haven’t made the volt yet, i know you can’t drive it, but they are working on it, it is a commitment for gm now.
jmack91z28 : and to talk about sales incentives- toyota had to give more incentives last year in order to boost sales, they couldn’t sell quite as well without it. Yes Toyota offered sales incentives – cash and reduced interest – last year. But so did the Detroit automakers (after they had all said they were going to abandon the practice). In fact, according to Automotive News' Data Center, at no time did Toyota's incentives ever equal or exceed a competitors' on a comparable model. The biggest incentive was on the Tundra, and even then it was $1,000 lower than what Chevy was offering on the Silverado. And as far as the Prius is concerned, the ONLY incentive Toyota offered on Prius during the year was reduced rates on very short term financing. And that was only offered for about a four 4-week period early in the year.
why should toyota get incentives when they are a japanese company but an american company not get incentives in their own country?
The incentive is/was for the technology not the company. The tax rebates were meant to help hybrids in general get off the ground, not just Toyotas and Hondas. GM hybrid buyers don’t get the same incentives because GM’s hybrids don’t offer significantly better mpg than the non-hybrid models in their class. GM’s not having hybrids with significantly higher mpg is whose fault? GM didn’t see a market for hybrids in the long term. They may still be right. But they are hot for them in the short term and I’m skeptical they will be able to catch up with Toyota and Honda. They haven’t even been able to top Ford’s hybrid system.
why should toyota get incentives when they are a japanese company but an american company not get incentives in their own country?
The buyer got the incentive (tax break), not Toyota. It didn’t matter who made the hybrid, but how much the hybrid improved mpg over the gas-only model that determined the amount of rebate.
In contrast, Honda is leasing out 500 new FCX hydrogen fuel cell cars in CA, in 2008. I remember GM was all about fuel cell cars when Toyota started the hybrid campaign. Where is GM now?
Yeah, I know, many car makers do have fuel cell test programs. But what different with Honda FCX? You can refuel at home. All you need is to connect your gas line to an equipment provided by Honda that will generate electricity and hydrogen at the expense of natural gas.
Look out, folks! Fuel cell cars are not so distant in the future any more.
wsn:
1) only 100 FCX’s will be available
2) leasers must live a relatively short distance from a hydrogen fueling station, and the home filling station will not be immediately available
GM’s problem is they are not alone in making cars, so they don’t get to dictate the market for electric cars. They have to compete or die. Everyday the volt remains unattainable means a loss for GM through R&D, market share, and ordinary cash burn for the engineers. People don’t change cars every year , they sign up for years and don’t cash out because of the resale hit. Once your into a Hybrid the race is on to at least break even on it, treehugging props not withstanding.
By the time RenCen puts a FEW of the Volts into a FEW dealerships ( like the malibu debacle) Honda and Toyota are going to be full hybrid makers with alternative power sources on tap. Hydrogen, plug in, solar, windmill, squirrels, you name it. And who is going to trust these brand new vehicles first year they are out? The big 2.8 have trouble making decent transmissions , would you drop 30 large on a Volt and feel confident that your not going to get screwed? People trusted Toyota and Honda to bring something like hybrid technology out, they look like they know what they are doing. Your not going to get the warm fuzzy feeling from the domestics on something this complicated no matter how badly you want them to succeed.
Frank said: “And as far as the Prius is concerned, the ONLY incentive Toyota offered on Prius during the year was reduced rates on very short term financing.”
Sorry Frank, but I think you are mistaken on that one. Toyota also offered discounts on certain options packages in mid 2007, discounts which had not previously been available on those options packages. That is what I found when we considered buying one last year. You can read the press release detailing those deals here:
” Toyota Announces ‘ECO-nomic Savings Bonus’ Incentives Up to $2,000
TORRANCE, Calif., April 4 /PRNewswire/ — Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced new “ECO-nomic savings bonus” incentives on 2007
Toyota Prius resulting in savings of as much as $2,000 on certain options packages.”
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-04-2007/0004559399&EDATE=
jhorner: Toyota also offered discounts on certain options packages in mid 2007, discounts which had not previously been available on those options packages. Offering discounts on " certain options packages" where you have to buy the car with specific equipment or at a specific (higher priced) trim level to qualify isn't the same as offering rebates or reduced financing/lease deals across the entire model line (which most people think of when you say "sales incentives") . Perhaps I should clarify my statement to read "the only incentive offered across the entire Prius model line was…" to differentiate from those package deals where you have to buy a lot of stuff you normally wouldn't, just to get a slightly reduced price.