Chevy Volt Costing Taxpayers Up to $250K Per Vehicle

[DNFXDLI]

That is the great beauty of a democracy..you can like what you like and I can like what I like.

 

[polarbear]

As far as the product goes I really have no personal experience with them in the past 20 years as I have not owned one since the early/mid eighties.
At that point I had no real problems with the ones I owned.
Please elaborate where you find this reliabilty in the real world.
I know for a fact (from seeing with my own two eyes) that in the oil, gas, mining etc. you see very few GM products (trucks) as they don't hold up.
Now, anyone can feel free to argue this....but until the person argueing comes out here and sees for themselves, they shouldn't comment.

Statistically, that statement would be incorrect. I posted the 2005 and 2011 dependability surveys for an interesting comparison. What the surveys really show is all brands (OK, there's Land Rover... and VW) have improved dramatically in the past six years.

Bottom line: the difference between 1.48 unscheduled service trips in three years vs. 1.56 (Ford vs. Chevy) is statistically of no consequence to the consumer. By the same token, it's getting pretty hard to buy a bad car, no matter what the manufacturer.

 

[DNFXDLI]

I'm simply telling you what I see with my own two eyes.
What part of my statement is incorrect?..the numbers you posted show slightly more repairs on the GM than Ford (unless I'm reading it wrong)
Personally I don't give a **** what people own or drive...I own and drive Ford's and will never own anything but...pretty damn cut and dry.

 

[polarbear]

I'm simply telling you what I see with my own two eyes.
What part of my statement is incorrect?..the numbers you posted show slightly more repairs on the GM than Ford (unless I'm reading it wrong)
Personally I don't give a **** what people own or drive...I own and drive Ford's and will never own anything but...pretty damn cut and dry.

Just saying it's statistically insignificant. In the case of a full size pickup, 300,000 or more miles is a reasonable expectation anymore, and it doesn't really matter what brand you chose.

As far as your personal observations, I think it's entirely believable. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we're Ford Country as far as truck sales are concerned. Go to the southern tier states or New England, and it's the reverse. I have no logical reason as to why that would be. In the Northwest, I can say price factors into the equation. Ford (and Dodge) have been much more aggressive in obtaining commercial business. Anyone who buys a GM pickup here really wants one, and pays a premium for it. GM targets their fleet (and retail) incentive $$$'s on their priority regions- we aren't one of them.

Nationally, Ford and GM sell roughly 3-4 million trucks a year. Between the two corporations, it's rare to see more than a 50,000 unit swing in favor of one or the other in any given year, which is another way of saying they really sell just about 1:1. Either outsells Dodge (Ram) by about 2:1, and Toyota is strictly an outside player, with 10-12% of the full size pickup market. Interestingly enough, that's quite a bit less than they had before the new Tundra hit the showrooms.

There's the real story. $2 billion later, Toyota has a lower market share of this segment than when they started. Who said they were infallible?

 

[Blue Goose]

Attn: Duncan

Eric Bolling test drives Chevy Volt *Video*



http://video.foxnews.com/v/1430236461001/

 

[DNFXDLI]

Doesn't work for me....maybe it's a sign...

 

[Beach66Bum]

I'm simply telling you what I see with my own two eyes.
What part of my statement is incorrect?..the numbers you posted show slightly more repairs on the GM than Ford (unless I'm reading it wrong)
Personally I don't give a **** what people own or drive...I own and drive Ford's and will never own anything but...pretty damn cut and dry.

Duncan, I've read this reply from you on more than one occasion... !!!!!!

 

[Blue Goose]

The link works now...

Attn: Duncan

Eric Bolling test drives Chevy Volt *Video*



http://video.foxnews.com/v/1430236461001/

 

[Beach66Bum]

Hahahaha, love the comment near the end when he says, "Stick with this stuff" and pulls out a gas nozzle!

 

[Blue Goose]

DOUBLE DOWN: Obama to increase Volt subsidies..

The White House intends to boost government subsidies for wealthy buyers of the Chevy Volt and other new-technology vehicles — to $10,000 per buyer.

That mammoth subsidy would cost taxpayers $100 million each year if it is approved by Congress, presuming only 10,000 new-technology autos are sold each year.

But the administration wants to get 1 million new-tech autos on the road by 2015. The subsidy cost of that goal could reach $10 billion.

 

[DNFXDLI]

Didn't I once say that this GM fiasco would be just like AmTrak?..what a crock of crap...I need a bat to wallop GM over the head...

 

[Blue Goose]

 

[DNFXDLI]

That is beyond comical and so very true...

 

[m78]

I like it !

 

[smokey]

that was good and so true.

 

[m78]

Disclaimer "GM reserves the right to take gobs of money"

 

[mrxlh]

So I guess electricity comes out of a wall, and batteries come from a store eh?

 

[Fellro]

Just like food comes from the store...

 

[DNFXDLI]

More success from the tax sucking shysters...

http://home.mytelus.com/telusen/por...ews/capfeed/business/17230818.xml&CatID=Money

DALLAS - General Motors Co. is suspending production of its Chevrolet Volt electric car for five weeks amid disappointing sales.

A GM spokesman said Friday that the company will shut down production of the Volt from March 19 until April 23, idling 1,300 workers at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.

The Volt was rolled out with great fanfare in late 2010 but has since hit bumps in the road. Sales have fallen short of expectations, and its reputation was bruised by an investigation into a possible fire risk.

It carries a high price tag — around $41,000 before a U.S. tax credit of up to $7,500. Rising gasoline prices should boost the Volt's appeal, but there are plenty of other less-expensive cars that also get good mileage.

GM sold 7,671 Volts last year, below its original goal of 10,000 cars. The company stopped publicly announcing sales targets last year. It sold 1,023 Volts in February and 603 in January.

"The fact that GM is now facing an oversupply of Volts suggests that consumer demand is just not that strong for these vehicles," said Lacey Plache, chief economist for auto information site Edmunds.com.

GM spokesman Chris Lee said the company was "taking a temporary shutdown" of the assembly line.

"We're doing it to maintain our proper inventory levels as we align production with demand," he said.

Lee said a decision to allow Volt drivers to use carpool lanes in California should help demand. "We're just looking to increase sales, and we see a positive trend going forward," he said.

Although the Volt has not been a big seller, the low-emission vehicle has improved GM's reputation for innovation. Like its closest competitor, the Nissan Leaf, the Volt is rated at more than 90 miles per gallon by the EPA. The Volt is powered by a 400-pound battery pack on which the car can travel about 35 miles before it needs recharging. After that, a gasoline-powered generator drives the electric motor.

Battery fires broke out in three Volts after safety crash-testing last year, but federal regulators determined that the car was no more risky than vehicles with conventional gasoline engines. GM and federal officials believe that the fires were caused by coolant leaking from damaged plastic casing around the batteries after side-impact test crashes. They say that they don't know of any such fires in regular use of the cars.

Alan L. Baum, an auto-industry researcher in West Bloomfield, Mich., agreed but said the perception of a safety risk has hurt sales.

"It is taking GM more time than they thought to reverse that sentiment," Baum said. The good news, he said, is that buyers of electric and hybrid cars are probably willing to listen to GM's side in the fire story.

Last year, GM offered to buy back Volts from any customers worried about safety. In January the automaker advised Volt owners to take the cars to a dealer for free repairs. Steel was added to plates that protect the batteries.

The investigation into the fires made the Volt a political lightning rod. Republicans accused federal safety regulators of going easy on the Volt because the government owns a stake in GM after giving it a $50 billion bailout.

The director of the highway safety agency denied giving GM favourable treatment.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

You beat Brad to it!!!

Ryan