GM Willing to Lose Money on Volt

Of course they won't bring a profit. It's hard to make a profit on something you don't sell.

 

The introductiopn of the EV1 was as when the Ford Model T first came onto the market. Lutz' ignorance didn't stop him from crushing them. Geologists knew fuel would go scarce ever since the 70's ... and it began happening right on scheduel, but the auto industry chose to ignore the tidal wave, for quick SUV profits. Why they haven't fired this guy is baffling.

 

Camry is the top-seller here, topping 473,000 last year.

How could beating it, along with all the other competing vehicles, be accomplished?

What about spreading the technology to other vehicles?

Isn't betting the farm on just one choice, especially it being compact sized, rather risky?

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if they play this game out right, the volt will be very efficient and quite fast. I'm sure people will fall in love with the delivery of the electric motors hp and torque.

they'll get a couple thousand sales a year...

 

Godiva beat me to it, but I'll say it anyway: GM will lose money, not on the Volt itself, which they're never going to build, but on all the publicity they've been purchasing to convince people that they're really trying to do something good. Remember that thing they showed, which did not have the Volt body, and did not have the Volt innards, but which drove very noisily on electric power around the block at 4 or 5 miles per hour, and which they called a Volt? I bet they spent a few thousand dollars building that thing.

On the other hand, aren't they losing money on all their cars right now?

 

They aren't losing money on their cars. They're losing money for other commitments and bad business decisions.

Lutz isn't going to sell 500,000 Volts because there aren't going to be 500,000 Volts.

As for selling them at a "loss" for the first few years, raise your hand if you'd buy a GM car the first few years of a new design, especially something as new for GM as the Volt. (500,000 hands? I rest my case.)

 

You are right. If the Volt is sold and successful it will take years for it to reach 200,000 yet alone 500,000. The first year is 10,000 and the second could not be any more then 50,000. It would be impossible for GM to pull off any more then that.

I would buy one if they make it as they have discussed so far, less then $40,000, 40 miles of electric range, 50mpg on gas. As many people have pointed out, GM has a poor record of coming through on this type of thing.

 

*raises hand!*

500,000 is a ridiculous number. (Why do so many PCers spell it "rediculous"???) But if the Volt does what they claim it will (big IF) and if it's the first on the market to do that (big IF) then I will buy one.

I've never heard of a dissatisfied EV-1 leasee. And it would be a step up in comfort and safety from my Xebra, while still allowing me to drive 100% electric for all the trips I now take in my Xebra.

OTOH, if someone comes out with a "real" electric car that suits my needs, I'll buy that, and keep the Prius for road trips (mainly summer hiking trips to Canada). A Tesla and a Prius would be a really nice combination: The Tesla for all driving 10 months of the year, and the Prius for Canada. If they ever get the waiting time down below about 6 months!

 

I think the Prius opened alot of eyes, conversations, and doors. We love our Prius....but would love a plug in for around town. We live in a small town where our trips are much less than 5 miles...most speed limits are from 15 (in the sub-division) to 25 (downtown) to 45mph,Krogers/Wal-mart ..so ...elect. would be great around our small town.

I remember,waaaaaaay back in '74 or '75, a local tire shop (HIlltop) sold total elect cars...he only sold about 10 of them...I think they were 3k for the 2 seater and 4-5k for the 4 seater...would do about 50mph...looked like a bigger golf cart...but fully enclosed...I think he bought them in Sebring (?) Fl. ...sure would like to find one now...

 

During the Nixon Kitchen Debate in Moscow,there was a funny scene (caught in color on video) when Kruschev says something to the order of that the USSR will pass the USA and when they do they'll wave to them. Looks like Japan passed the USA instead and not the USSR. Look at 00:50--

GM was too busy building SUVs to look at what the rest of the world was doing.I just hope that GM managements' short-sightedness does not end up hurting the people who work for them. It is not their fault after all. I can only hope that the GM Volt will be better, cooler and bolder than anything the Japanese can come up with, but what is the likelihood of that?

Who is it that said that in business the rear-view mirror is always clearer than the windshield?

 

big deal, they're losing $ on their vehicles anyhow

When I saw the news story... I was thinking, big deal, they're losing $ on average across all their vehicles now anyways. Forget about the fact that the Volt is so radically different and no doubt requires way more R&D costs than probably all their other vehicles.

I don't know if they're losing $ on every model right now, but per Harbour: Toyota Most Productive -- By a Hair - AutoObserver "GM improved its profit per vehicle by 43% but still was in a loss position at $1,436 lost per vehicle." From GM reports $38.7-billion loss in '07 - Los Angeles Times, they lost $1.1 billion last quarter on North American operations.

 

Does General Motors own a power station which pumps out electricity at 500,000 volts?

I think he means they can sell that power. 500,000 cars than primarily run on electricity? give me a break. They couldn't keep up with demand for the EV1 and they didn't managed to make 2500 of those.

 

Are you saying that the Volt has already been redesigned from the original concept?

Isn't that re-Volting

~buttster

 

After all the dough I lost in 1972 on my Vega (just one year later, in '73), GM's $$$ loss is what I call "Carma"

 

When Toyota started marketing the Gen I Prii in USA, GM's Bob Lutz said,
Toyota is "crazy" why would I want to sell the gimmicky teeny Hybrid vehicle and lose money in every car sold?

This Hybrid concept won't fly, the American people wants Big cars, this Toyota Prius is just a momentary novelty, Prius will eventually be pushed back ashore where it came from, Blah, Blah..

Now he is willing to lose "money" in every Volts? when is the Volt will come out? Really, I want to know and its promissed 40 miles driving range per charge...

 

Well, Lutz just 'proved' he could keep his "by Easter" battery delivery promise, by displaying a secret box that he said has the batteries in it. Maybe that's how the car will be delivered ... in a super duper secret box, so the competition won't steel their secrets. :suspicious:

 

Explain to me why that jackass still has a job? Especially why he still has the gold-plated salary, options, benefits, and future severence package - at a time GM is trying to deep six as many line workers as possible.

In my line of work, performance is everything. If I were to as royally screw up as Lutz, I'd be homeless. Must be nice to not have your job actually tied to any meaningful performance measures

 

i sent you a PM...

there are several excellent EV options, you simply have to move somewhere where gas is not priced ridiculously cheap.

REVA

 

it sure seems to me that there is a conspiracy here, that is conspiracy of the current scum; politicians, oil man and all others whose buttholes are enlarged now because they are serving them, for a few oiled bucks.

i think that they know that time is coming (very soon) when it will be "politically incorrect" to drive big oil guzzlers, as all world is going towards "green".
so, that is why the abovementioned scum, the criminals in power has decided to make one last dash to sucker idiots into buying big gas guzzlers by giving them tax incentives and various exempts. well, because good part of the people do want to keep up with Jones's next door -- they will buy a bigger SUV, 4 x 4 or even monstous vehicles like hummer.

So, that is why those same oil man who enticed those idits to buy abovementioned gas guzzlers have increased the price of fuel gradually and now they are ripping off the proffits.

I knew in early 2000 that Bush oil cabal was up to something in this domain and my suspicions have turned out to be right. because, this is exactly what they are doing.

and, what is most amazing is that people are still trying to keepup with the Jones' by still keeping their own gas guzzler
that they cannot afford to drive in first place.

i think that time is coming when oversized gas guzzlers will be worth as much as a rusted out scrap metal on junk yard.


i cannot even sell my 1990 MB 300 E that makes 19 MPG on freeway and 15 in the city, not even for a reasonable price, (no one even called me/emailed me) so how will people sell their hummer/escalade/expedition that has even worse fuel economy when SHTF?