GM CEO Drives a Chevy Volt to Washington...Sort Of

Did you even read GM's restructuring plan or is the future of the company dependent on the form of transportation the took to DC?

Congress told them not to come back on the corporate jet but to drive. So they drove. They came in multiple cars in order to fit the number of people that came. Did you expect the CEO's to come by themselves? No they brought support staff as expected. But instead of all jumping in the jet they jumped in cars and drove.

They did present a plan to bring themselves back to profitability.

 

That and the fact that the wait list was over 1,000 in July and the 'out the door' units is about 60 as of mid November. Could be a long wait.

 

I saw GM's chief financial officer on CSPAN this morning and he dutifully reported the CNW Marketing fronted "no one will buy a car from a bankrupt company." I was tempted to ask him if this was the same CNW Marketing that claimed the Hummer was greener than the Prius; the Hummer H1 that was shutdown four months later; and the Hummer that re-opened the production line in September 2008 in Louisiana?

But you know, they are pretty well in the hole now and nothing I've seen indicates they have changed many minds. It looks more like a 'hail Mary" pass by a quarter back who is beat and battered to receivers who are limping.

Bob Wilson

 

I watched the congressional hearings today and yesterday. (Yes, 11 hours of CSPAN) Everything I saw indicated that they will be getting the initial funding request needed to carry GM and Chrysler to March 1st. Congress is being recalled to vote on the issue Monday.

Beyond that, indications point to a restructuring process handled by a appointed board that will have the power to invalidate current contracts. Essentially bankruptcy without the name.

 

The Volt is a halo vehicle; its purpose is to lure people into showrooms to see it, and to get people interested in GM cars. Most important to GM, the Volt can help restore its prestige as a technological leader, in greenness and in an energy-efficient future.

Halo cars do not have to make money. Toyota Motor's hybrid Prius was a halo, created to show the world what Toyota could do technically--and it worked. Until recently, the Prius was not a profit center. The Dodge Viper was a halo for Chrysler, showing it was still in the car game and could excite people. The Pontiac Solstice is a halo, as are the "V" high performance models from Cadillac.

What the Volt must do is work. It must have an all-electric range of 40 miles every time. It must start every time. Its gasoline engine must work perfectly in running the generator. There is no "rebooting" for cars; it must recharge perfectly every night so it can do it all again the next morning. The Volt must turn out to be practical, which is no easy task with this new technology...

General Motors: Myths And Reality - Forbes.com

 

Wagoner will make the 525 mile trek to Washington, D.C. in a 2009 Chevy Malibu Hybrid. We’re here to give FOXNews.com readers a front-seat-passenger view of the trip, keeping an eye on pit stops, like how often the hybrid has to stop for gas and where Wagoner takes his pit stops.

FOXNews.com's wheels: a Toyota hybrid Prius. We stuck out like a sore thumb....

Power Tripping With General Motor’s CEO Rick Wagoner FOX Embeds FOXNews.com

 

Wouldn't it make for great news if they stopped at every tavern on the 525 mile trek!

 

Tavern?

I protest that nobody invited ME to go on that little road trip!

 

So Fox shadowed Wagoner all the way to DC? How very boring.

I agree that the Volt is a halo car that won't make money just as the Prius IS a halo car for Toyota. The Prius has been a huge marketing success for Toyota. It has allowing them to spend the majority of the 00's focusing on expanding their SUV and truck sales while still appearing to be the greenest car company on the planet.

If you ask 10 people which car company has the highest fleet fuel economy I bet 10 out of 10 will tell you Toyota. In reality, that would be Honda.

 

And Chrysler's Nardelli drove one of these:

http://blogs.motortrend.com/6346915...-friendly-and-trail-rated-co-exist/index.html

 

CSPAN is like CPAC up here.

The only way I could watch more than 5 minutes at a time, is if I had a full bottle of gin next to the remote control.

I'm pretty sure after 11 hours, the bottle would be bone dry

 

That's what they SAY it's going to do.

But it doesn't. Yet.

It may never.

 

And will Waggoner and Lutz et al still have their jobs at GM? If so....it's a waste of money. Nothing creative or innovative will happen. And it doesn't matter what the "rules" of the bailout are. They'll violate them and we'll never get our money back; once they have it that's it.

They can ship all the jobs out of the country and still pay themselves big salaries and bonuses and there is NOTHING that can be done about it. They'll still have the money.

stupidstupidstupid.

 

No. Actually, he drove in a Chrysler Aspen Hybrid. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/autos/0812/gallery.detroit_road_trip/5.html
BUT HERE'S THE IRONY: The Chrysler Aspen is being axed!!! Nardellli drove to Washington to ask for money for Chrysler's Future, and he drove in a hybrid that they are discontinuing !

The article you posted a link to asks "Can Eco-Friendly and Trail-Rated Co-Exist?"
The answer is "no."
When I was a kid, I owned several electric RC cars that I bought and assembled myself. My friends and I used to work on the cars all the time. I remember that when run on pavement, my cars had a good 15 to 20 minutes of [aggressive] driving battery life. If we drove our electric RC cars off road though, that run time was down to 4 or 5 minutes. Driving off road introduces a lot more rolling resistance and steric hindrance from uneven terrain, and a lot more power is needed to propel the vehicle and maintain speed. I can easily see electric being a viable option for on-road non-aggressive drivers. But I definitely don't see electric as a viable off road energy source.

*I wonder today, if I had driven my RC cars less aggressively, how long I could have draw out those battery packs. 45 minutes?

 

Thank you. I just noticed that it says on the door "Volt Technology Inside." So, it's NOT a Volt ; it's just "Volt Technology." So, this means that Rick Wagoner did NOT arrive in Washington in a Volt like the media have been saying. (the photo shows him walking away from this car). He arrived in "Volt Technology." But then again, since most of us on here are scientists and engineers, who believe in "function BEFORE fashion," then technically, he DID arrive in a Volt.

So, should we infer that the Volt they've been marketing doesn't actually run? Not necessarily, but it sure does make you wonder.
And, isn't he parked illegally? "Ford CEO quickly dispatched a courtesy Ford tow truck." Lol.

Carpocalypse Now: GM's Rick Wagoner Arrives At Capitol

 

Typical GM marketing crap. It would be funny if it weren't so sad and about to cost us taxpayers billion of dollars.

Ironic too that I need to go take back a 1 year old GM vehicle for the 3rd warranty fix for another thing that I never had to have fixed on a 4 year old Prius.

 

The difference is that we are uncertain about GM's commitment to actually produce the Volt, and to take it seriously. Toyota was serious when they produced the first Prius. No greenwash uncertainty. The vehicle was the real deal and a technological leader.

After driving into Washington D.C. in a "Volt," I think GM has pretty much just committed themselves to producing the Volt. If they don't, then Congress will never take them seriously again - think about that.

 

This is true. But GM was the spearheaded the fight.

Both Toyota and Ford crushed many of theirs as well. But stopped due to protests, as you say.

Yes they are, in my book. GM invited the fed to help them sue the state of CA to end the ZEV mandate. The other car makers piled on, or were happy about the outcome. But this was GM's baby.

 

Yup, I saw that article too. I never wrote that he drove the Jeep in all the way from Detroit.

Good thing they're axing the Aspen and Durango hybrids. I just hope they keep the Town & Country.

 

Serious means volume.

Most automakers can produce a token few vehicles. Just look at all the fuel-cell prototypes.

High enough quantity to actually make a difference is an entirely different matter.
.