Biggest Chevy Volt threat: GM stock. Time for fans to buy?
Don't call the Chevy Volt a conceptSpend any time around GM's top Volt engineers and one thing is clear: this vehicle will happen. Sure there are still questions about production capabilities and costs. Technology, however, will not prevent the Chevy Volt from becoming a reality.
Thus, while Volt sales in and of themselves can't save GM, the Volt is GM's icon for change. Proof that GM can compete, even beat, any other automaker. Proof that GM's engineering, quality, and reliability are just as good as any other automaker.
Unfortunately, despite loans, Wall Street credit bailouts, and huge plug-in tax incentives for the Volt, those in the stock market are starting to believe that the Volt can't come quick enough to save GM. Hence, GM's stock price has touched lows not seen in several decades.
The other day I read a GM-Volt post that finished with: Long live the US, GM and the Volt. Well, if you believe that then isn't it time to put your money where you mouth is and buy GM stock?
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, plug-in hybrid vehicles
posted by Dahcredyns at
12:05 PM
17 Comments:
Not a bad Idea. As horrific as the bailout and decision making has been at GM, it appears our Tax dollars are going to ensure the success of that company. So, you might as well get in on this Government Insured stock at rock bottom prices!
well, some might ask, are we at the bottom? likewise, there is no guarantee the bailout will work.
still, if you are a hardcore Volt fan, a hardcore GM fan, then i'm saying stand up for what you believe in and buy GM stock now.
Frankly whether the Volt makes it or not won't change the course of automotive development.
There are already companies out there that have done more in less time and less money than GM could ever dream of.
After watching Bob Lutz talk on a 60 minutes episode, I couldn't care less about GM or his success. As far as I'm concerned, he's one big douchebag and a complete asshole.
He's an anti-environmentalist and he's part of an environmentally concious development for GM? WTF is GM thinking?
What a stupid, stupid company.
As I said, the Volt is nothing more than a show piece for gullible supporters of GM while in behind their backs it keeps selling junk.
Lutz doesn't support the Volt for environmental reasons, but he does support the Volt for foreign oil dependency issues.
While I don't agree with his environmental position, I think Lutz can still be a huge Volt advocate based on his belief that foreign oil dependency isn't sustainable.
Still, my point is focused on those that believe in GM. Those that believe in the Volt. Those that believe in only buying American.
This is their time to act. Volt success would be huge for GM. If the Volt is wildly successful, it could really help turn things around for GM. That would be good for the buy American crowd.
I say its time for them to put their money where their mouth is. Stop blaming japanese car buyers. Stop blaming currency issues or whatever, and help save GM.
It is sad that technology like this is going to struggle because of where our country is right now. It would be nice to see the promises that have been made regarding alternative sources and production of more friendly vehicles etc actually come to fruition.
couldn't agree more.
Don't worry twocents, as soon as they launch another war, they'll find the money for THAT for sure.
we can't get outta the war we're already in.
We can...we just don't want to since that isn't our objective to leave.
It never was.
I don't really trust GM, not after what it did to the EV1. I don't think GM wants electric vehicles to catch on, it will change their entire service industry, this seems like more of a green ploy to me. Will the Volt be released? Probably. Don't expect much market penetration with a car that runs for $40k after government rebates. We need more cars like the upcoming 2nd gen Insight and 3rd gen Prius, far cheaper cars that will quickly capture market share. If GM could get it's act together, bring one of its Asian or European compact/mid sized sedans here and then use this E-Flex powertrain on it, then we're talking. But a $40k sports car running on unqualified batteries, I'll pass. GM is racing to finish their battery evaluation which might not bode well since GM past has not always been keen on quality...
However, a total GM collapse would be disasterous. Stop being stupid and start selling your foreign cars in the US!!! Redesign them for safety and emissions instead of bleeding billions of $ a quarter...
i think GM totally believes in the Volt, but I think they realize its not a high impact vehicle for almost 10 years.
i also agree that a prius contender is the most important thing GM could do today, and it bothers me greatly that they are not taking up the task.
i think the volt is a good idea, it's just not economically implementable at this point in a manner that would enable rapid adoption. The main issue here is battery technology has been lagging for many years. You can't hold a gun to the battery industry's head and say "make me a Li-on battery for an EV-only automotive application;" it's something that needs to be gradually developed. The slow speed of adoption of hybrids in general has contributed to that slow process. Reliability is something that can only really come from thorough research and design, not a rush-to-market solution; we're talking at least several years.
The beauty of Toyota's HSD and Honda's IMA technologies is that they are compromises between the extremes of the spectrum and thus are compromises on cost and reliance on cutting-edge battery technology; the convention gas engine on one side, and the Volt's drivetrain on the other. While those technologies are battery-dependent, it's not a do-or-die scenario that depends on battery performance as much as the Volt.
I think GM would have been wise to use existing NiMH technology and reduce their electric only range so that they can first get a working, reliable product to market and show people they mean business, rather than relying on batteries that no one has qualified to nearly the same degree as NiMH batteries for automotive use.
I really hope this works for GM. If they have to push out the release date, so be it. They can't afford any more damage. It would be sad if GM collapsed, imagine how many jobs would be lost. I doubt another car company would jump in to help it out, especially the domestic makers, who are already really hurting right now.
"I really hope this works for GM. If they have to push out the release date, so be it. They can't afford any more damage. It would be sad if GM collapsed, imagine how many jobs would be lost. I doubt another car company would jump in to help it out, especially the domestic makers, who are already really hurting right now."
Yeah, I don't think any other US automaker could absorb GM. Perhaps, GM could to some extent absorb Chrysler. Still, that would result in a massive job loss nonetheless.
Unfortunately, I just don't think the US economy can afford three automakers that specialize in only producing gas guzzlers in the US.
I think it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
screw it. I say Dodge, Chrysler, Ford, and GM lease Toyota's HSD or Honda's IMA technology for the time being. Just to get the ball rolling. It would probably accelerate Toyota and Honda's development of new technologies. Nissan has been doing that for some time and now they are working on their own EV technology internally.
I see the most application in Honda's IMA. It's not as radically different as Toyota's HSD in comparison to existing gasoline drivetrains. It's basically a electric boost motor combined with a CVT. That seems doable to me. Ford and Chevy could implement that into their Focus and Cobalt respectively with little effort I would think...
it seems batteries are still a big issue. i think gm and ford could roll out more NiMH hybrids, but they aren't committed to developing strong NiMH supply chains.
this is something Toyota has invested a vast amount of money into, and Honda is now willing to do.
most other automakers don't seem to think their is a NiMH payoff with lithium so close.
of course, if for some reason lithium fails as an automotive application, or takes too long, these automakers might be completely screwed.
It's going to take at least a generation of vehicles to sort out any issues with lithium. Nothing is ever a first-time success. NiMH had a lot of development time going into the current hybrid trend. Perhaps GM should offer a substitute NiMH battery for an "entry-level" volt? The Li-ion could be for the sport edition or something.
Yes, the battery supply chain is vital. Toyota invested heavily with Panasonic on this regard. The battery market is already saturated with demand, supply is having a hard time keeping up. I remember reading an article that was talking about how Panasonic/Toyota can barely keep up (or are lagging) in NiMH output to keep up with the Prius demand (which is only being manufactured in one plant in Japan, which puts things in perspective). With lithium ion, it might be worse since they all use a standard cell size battery unit to assemble the larger battery packs as a whole. With new technology especially, you don't want to just open the faucet wide, you need to be able to reliably perform quality assurance proportional to your product volume (ie if you're shipping 50 million battery cells a year, you need to have the internal ability to thoroughly QA check a % sample, depending on what your internal metrics are). NiMH is "tried and true" and thus doesn't require as much production monitoring although from what I hear, Toyota and Panasonic are very vigilant when it comes to QA work.
the QA on lithium is the vital issue, and its why GM told Congress that there wouldn't be more than 200,000 Volts on US roads by 2015 - even that number might be an overly rosy forecast.
Thus, I'm also a big fan of the let's make a Volt, even a non-plug NiMH Volt today.
I think the E Flex Volt is absolutely worth pursuing, but not at the expense of a direct Prius-challenger.
I absolutely believe such a vehicle would bring a lot of consumers into GM dealers and it would help hype the plug-in Volt even more.
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