Sales in the toilet? Market share down? Cash burning? Thank God for Maximum Bob. Post Black Tuesday, GM Car Czar Bob Lutz demonstrated GM's commitment to a better tomorrow by not flying a Harrier jump jet to the recent Volt mule demo. According to ever-faithful Detroit News, "Bob Lutz has upped his personal commitment to battery-powered transportation with the purchase of an electric scooter." If that doesn't make you think longingly about someday maybe having the opportunity to possibly order an actual Chevrolet Volt, then this: "Lutz already has four electric Segways at home, including a pair of X2 off-road models." Four? Segway soccer? Anyway, Autoblog's Sam Abuelsamid trades his Bob props for some scuttlebutt. In terms of potential Volt battery suppliers, GM has "a lower risk with one company than the other." Since the Guardian recently ran a story naming potential supplier LG Chem/Compact Power as the provider of the Volt mule's powerpack, Abuelsamid's colleagues at AutoblogGreen assumed that LG Chem/CP was Lutz's preferred company. Twice. AutoblogGreen must've missed the International Herald Tribune story "Compact Power plans to make Volt batteries at a factory on Seoul's outskirts that will make paperback-sized cells for a coming Hyundai hybrid." In other words the real headline should be "GM Volt To Use Hyundai Batteries."
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I wonder what useful projects GM could have funded with the money wasted on the Volt.
Step one: bring in two suppliers.
Step two: make them fight it out to the death on price.
Step three: profit!
Both suppliers are Korean, so it’s not too surprising.
I wonder what useful projects GM could have funded with the money wasted on the Volt.
You mean more executive bonuses or more SUV’s and trucks. What they should have done is worked hard to be sucessful at what they haven’t been able to do for more than 30 years, a world class subcompact and compact that they can make a profit on.
Four Segways?!
I wonder what useful projects GM could have funded with the money wasted on the Volt.
You mean more executive bonuses or more SUV’s and trucks. What they should have done is worked hard to be sucessful at what they haven’t been able to do for more than 30 years, a world class subcompact and compact that they can make a profit on.
Edit doesn’t seem to be working.
I don’t fault GM for trying to build the Volt. GM needs a genuine game changer and a hefty dose of green cred. Its the marketing money being spent to hype up a vehicle that does not exist and to advertise a release date that can not be met that is worse than wasted.
GM should have worked on this behind the scenes, let the spies capture it charging and some classified documents about a secret hybrid vehicle program leak, then shocked everyone in 2013 with an efficient, affordable, stylish hybrid that ate the Prius’ lunch.
One possible flaw in that plan is GM being anywhere in sight in 2013.
Also the Pruis isn’t standing still, the next gen will probably be more efficient than the Volt, be a plug in AND COST LESS. Game changer in deed, it will be game over for GM.
If GM didn’t kill the EV they wouldn’t be scrambling to build the Volt right now. Instead they took the easy road and focused on SUVs because they could make tons more money selling these tarted-up trucks. They favored a quick buck over the big picture. I have no sympathy for GM, they deserve to die. The Volt will never see the light of day, it’s a classic case of “too little too late”.
The Volt was quite obviously originally a half-serious and half-FUD project (the FUD being “don’t buy hybrids! Look! We have something better in progress!” while they still thought they could sell SUVs and big cars.
Now that it needs to be all-serious, it’s probably too late.
Hey, I think 6 segways may actually make for a good soccer match. Get a little attachment to make ball handling a little easier, use a larger ball. I can see it.
Yes! Four Segways. Have you not seen his house? He needs one for the north wing, one each for the west and east wings, and one for the grounds.