Why I might buy GM stock
Cuz you have to believe in somethingIn the past I bought a hybrid car when it really didn't make financial sense. I just don't drive enough. I've spent the last several years building my life around LA's public transportation system.
You see, after 9/11, I decided my life could never be the same. I had to end my foreign oil footprint. Plus, ending foreign oil dependency would have a huge impact on global warming.
Still, I needed a new car. So, I bought a hybrid. Not to gloat. Not because of global warming. Because I believe only technology will end foreign oil dependency.
Today, I'm thinking about buying stock in GM, even though it also might not make financial sense.
Why? Have I lost my mind? FINISH: Why I might buy GM stock
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, plug-in hybrid vehicles
posted by Dahcredyns at
7:39 AM
15 Comments:
Sure. Take a chance on a company that dominated world auto production with shoddy products and a lack of foresight. Great prospects for a financial return.
otto-
i think i made it pretty clear that such a buy wasn't based on "prospects for a financial return".
not everything in the world always boils down to money, at least not in my world.
More hybrids ARE coming fron GM. Production of the the new Saturn Vue Hybrid begins later this year. It will be the most fuel effecient gasoline V6 vehicle on the market. It will provide lots of utility and still have better city fuel economy than most compact vehicles.
An don't forget the importance of more conventional technology. With the addition of 6-speed automatic transmision, the Saturn Aura now get 33 mpg on the highway -- better than any other midsize sedan, including the Camry and Accord.
-Mike Morrissey,
Saturn Communications - Detroit
Hold on to your panties for a while until we see what happens to GM/Chrysler's possible merge.
Mr. Morrissey,
Highway mileage achievements are not a big deal...try impressing us with stop and go mileage...where pollution is more, consumption is more, wear and tear is more.
Don't exclude that information next time.
dah
I assume, then, that your purchase of GM stock would be pure charity...a goodwill gesture to a down-and-out company in need. If "not everything boils down to money, at least in (your) world," I suggest a bicycle, a Hummer with an empty tank, a rick-shaw pulled by Donald Trump, or a Yugo fixerupper. I have some interest in money, enough, however, not to waste it on Dorothy's balloon back to Liberal, Kansas.
otto -
stocks up 32 percent right now. still, that wasn't the point.
part of the article and buying stock was to advocate for a NiMH volt, or at least a non-in plug-in Volt to directly challenge the prius right now.
mike, noz-
and along those lines, Mike, the Cruze is supposed to be 40 miles on the highway if i recall correctly.
still, while highway fuel economy is important, i concur with noz that the future is about city fuel economy. that's what hybridcarblog is hoping to see lots more from GM.
and the saturn vue dual mode hybrid is a good example of that. i think it could be the best hybrid SUV, period, including 4 cylinder versions. however, that will come down to price.
nonetheless, i think the one missing piece of gm's product portfolio is a non-plug-in full hybrid. a GM hybrid to compete directly with the prius and the insight.
a $20,000 Saturn hybrid that could challenge the prius in city fuel economy would have a significant impact on the way non-GM auto consumers view GM in my opinion, and it would be a perfect complement to the Volt.
GE is a buy at this price, will be a hard 2009, but then we will see good results again
I assume you mean GM.
If GM can survive until 2010, things should pick up. Surviving 2009 will be very tough, which is why I suggested buying stock. It's not about making money at this time. It's a vote of confidence for the future, especially at prices this low.
why are we forgetting that GM had produced the ev-1 electric car...why was this car removed from civilization...oh thats right...it didnt suport the oilmen...time to forget oil and get back the ev-1
I think you're putting far too much credit into the EV-1.
Yeah it was an interesting car...that carried two people and was a deathtrap...but other than that it was great.
You guys make it sound like the EV1 would have changed things drastically. Just like the Honda Insight did right???
Come on...get over the EV-1...it was a stunt.
higher oil prices might have made the EV1 a bit more appealing, but even if gas were $4.00 I don't think many consumers would have bought an EV1 that probably would have cost at least $50 - $60,000 if sold at production costs.
oil is significantly more expensive in europe, yet even in europe EVs didn't take off.
from the polling i've done, most americans aren't interested in the Volt or any other EV if it costs more than $30,000.
Don't get me wrong.
I'm all for EV's...and I think Americans are extremely stupid to shun them based solely on price alone. People in this country are willing to pay $500, $600, $1000 a moth for a car and well over $30K for crap.
So for Americans to not want an electric car because it can't take them to Vegas and back ONCE a year but can do everything else they need to all year long is absolute stupidity on their part.
But the EV-1 was not the Holy Grail of EV's as everyone thinks it was. It could have emerged as a better car IF GM concentrated more on stuff like that instead of the junk they made before and after the EV-1...but they didn't.
I have no doubt that the oil firms AND the auto industry had huge involvement in destroying any EV progress...but as dumb as the general public is...does it come as a surprise that they got away with it?
Look at the current situation. There's no regard for the environment even now...the only talk is how we can get the auto industry back to the ludicrous overcapacity rate of production of what it was before....how is that better in any way, shape, or form?
I mean seriously...WTF are we doing? And thinking?
well, i think that's part of the reason that obama didn't just give GM and Chrysler the money. still, i think that's a really important issue you bring up.
nonetheless, while many americans will spend more than $30,000 for a car, i don't think the majority of americans do.
ultimately, i think we have to figure out how to make the car less important, and not such a status symbol.
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