GM tries to unplug Volt hype

Is anyone at all surprised? Anyone at all?

This is the sentence that pisses me off the most:

I can't wait to see how malorn spins this...

 

and DC pissing away millions in partnership with Ballard the great money pit.
Fuel Cell I'm guessing....... never.

 

The reason that Toyota hasn't moved in to plug-ins is that the battery technology isn't there. GM came out with the Volt and didn't bother to mention that the battery technology isn't there. I hope that they succeed with the Volt, I really do, but until it's on the dealer's lot, it's just a fantasy, unfortunately.

http://priuschat.com/Toyota-doesn-t-see-pl...oon-t28254.html

 

And so it starts...

until they deliver something like the volt or a cutting edge hybrid to the market they have lost our family's money. We're looking to buy a new car in 2-4 years. Right now it looks like another toyota... :-(

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Mar 23 2007, 07:08 AM) [snapback]410767[/snapback]</div>

Just to give the "Devil his Due", GM has stated from the Get-Go that the battery technology wasn't there yet.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(syclone @ Mar 23 2007, 08:34 AM) [snapback]410797[/snapback]</div>

Yes, but the difference is that they went very close to promising to deliver it. I still hope a123 systems can solve the battery technology. This would be revolutionary car!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Mar 23 2007, 09:13 AM) [snapback]410814[/snapback]</div>

Fortunately, some of us remember that history.

I was especially moved by this statement in the article: "In 2000, Ford promised to raise the fuel economy of its SUV fleet by 25 percent over five years, but abandoned that commitment three years later." Because when the 5 years had finally passed, their SUV fleet efficiency went down. That step backward made the hybrid promise even more frustrating. Then at year 6, they stated the hybrid program would be scaled back.

Promises are just words. Vehicles like Camry-Hybrid are the result of many years of action. Don't fall for the hype of concept vehicles. Far too often, they end up getting the label of vaporware.

 

::tear::

We need a breaking heart emoticon.


Part of me wants to believe that they are calming things down in order to make the competition complacent, and will still come out with the car on time and at expectations. Yet, with automakers, their strategy almost always seems to be the other way around. Can anyone cite a time when a company has under-promised and over-delivered?

Good thing they're still doing the Camaro though <_<

now some of these

and one of these :angry: for you rick wagoner

 

GM: "Lithium battery technology just isn't there yet."

That's not what Toyota think. The president Watanabe himself has told the world that the next Prius (late next year) will be Lithium-ion, and the head of hybrid development has also said that it will have a 9-mile electric range.

GM will look pretty silly if they're still saying all this next year when the new Prius is in the showrooms.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clett @ Mar 23 2007, 12:30 PM) [snapback]410926[/snapback]</div>

Except didn't Toyota say less than 3 months ago that lithium-ion batteries aren't ready for plug-in hybrids?

http://info.detnews.com/newsblog/index.cfm?category=Toyota
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE("article")</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Mar 23 2007, 03:11 AM) [snapback]410748[/snapback]</div>

Speaking of the Devil (who said he'd deliver this steaming pile of vaporware to me personally), I don't have to wait for malorn's spin. I have an 'ignore' list of ONE.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Mar 23 2007, 07:08 AM) [snapback]410767[/snapback]</div>

Wait! ... don't forget ~ GM's OWN HEAD Engineer contradicted the Head GM/Liar ... stating YES, the battery technology IS already here. (He's since been sent to outer most Siberia, most likely :lol: )

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Mar 23 2007, 01:31 PM) [snapback]410964[/snapback]</div>

I don't remember GM emphasizing that the battery technology wasn't there yet. If they did, they didn't say it very loudly and drowned it out with their booming announcements of plans for having the Volt in dealer showrooms in two years. The words that they whispered didn't align with their showy displays and glowing promises.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Mar 23 2007, 10:47 AM) [snapback]410976[/snapback]</div>

Like most Priuschat members have always said.... GM wants us to believe the next GREAT thing is around the corner, and then to tell us to buy their SUV gas hogs. And when people take on their marketing hype and tell GM to sell it, they come out and say it is not YET ready... buy more of our SUVs.

:lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Mar 23 2007, 01:47 PM) [snapback]410976[/snapback]</div>

Then you weren't paying attention.

I did a google search of articles from January 7th when the Volt was first shown:

MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16503845/
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE("MSNBC")</div>

Edmunds.com: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Featu...rticleId=119088
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE("Edmunds")</div>

AutoblogGreen: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/01/07/de...is-the-chevy-v/
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE("AutoblogGreen")</div>

CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/01/07/detroi...cept/index.html
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE("CNN")</div>

 

Here is the interview where Watanabe says next Prius will be lithium-ion:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/conte...10/b4024075.htm

And here is where Shinichi Abe, head of Toyota's hybrid division, states 9-miles without using petrol or diesel for the next Prius:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,,1743808,00.html

It is a common Japanese company principle to keep new things very hush-hush and then announce them only very shortly before release. This is done partly to keep the competition guessing, but also because they do not like hype as much as companies in some other countries.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Mar 23 2007, 01:17 PM) [snapback]411006[/snapback]</div>

I guess I wasn't paying attention to those small paragraphs when the other 98% of the articles' space was all about the promises of the vehicle. I don't really care about it though - I guess I never really liked the ultra sportiness of the prototype anyways, too small dcksh of a design. What they need to do to win my money is make a sort of cobalt - sized hybrid with 80 mpg; then I will consider GM for my next car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Mar 23 2007, 02:17 PM) [snapback]411006[/snapback]</div>

Oh gee, I guess I wasn't. Oh well. Guess I won't be buying one of their cars either. Oh well.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MarkMN @ Mar 23 2007, 02:44 PM) [snapback]411037[/snapback]</div>

Ah but JackDodge's point was the he believed GM hid the fact that the battery technology for the Volt doesn't exist yet or buried the message under all the hype. However, the fact is that just about every article you find from the Detroit Auto Show that is more than 2 paragraphs long, devotes at least a paragraph to the fact that the car isn't ready ready for production because the batteries don't exist yet. I would say that's a pretty good sign that GM put that message out for all to hear.