Volt set to charge GM's IPO
Time to put the past to rest?Will next year provide a big boost in auto sales? The kind of boost that can turn losses into profits for much of the US auto industry? The kind of sales that could make a GM IPO at the end of 2010 enticing to investors?
Probably not according to a forecast from Fitch Ratings. While there should be a small bump upwards in US sales - around 11.1 million total unit sales - it probably won't be big enough to result in the cash flow needed to fix GM's balance sheet.
But, could the Chevy Volt be a wild card in that forecast?
What better way to head into an IPO than with positive buzz, especially the kind of green and foreign-oil fighting buzz that only the official release of the Chevy Volt can provide? It's unique. It's next gen technology. It's green and it's ready to launch 'at the end of 2010'.
Finish: Chevy Volt set to charge GM's IPO
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, plug-in hybrid vehicles
posted by Dahcredyns at
1:44 PM
6 Comments:
Indigo Incarnates
The Volt won't change anything. It's a $40k car that gets 28 MPG after the first 40 miles on battery. It's a joke. The taxpayers have paid billions so that a handful of rich, aging yuppies can pretend they're helping the environment.
The only real mystery is how big GM's next bailout check will be.
Indigo, who is giving you those numbers, Toyota?
The same motor that runs the generator also runs the Chevy Cruze, which gets over 40MPG, on the Volt you will see a substatinal increase up to 50MPG.
Add to that 40 miles of zero emission, gas free driving and you have one of the most advanced vehicles in the world.
Pricing has not been announced yet, but the only thing we do know is that it will be receiving a $7,500 tax credit regardless of its price. So even if it is $40k which I doubt,you will end up at $32,500.
A fully loaded Prius cost $30k so I think the Volt's pricing is just fine.
Indigo-
It's all about perception. GM has many die hard fans. Moreover, there are many American auto consumers that want to believe in GM.
The Volt gives them something in which to believe. Nothing else will really matter, unless one of the first Volts explodes or something.
Even if the Volt ends up being very under-whelming, or terribly cost-ineffective, for instance, it will still be a success in the short term via marketing and publicity simply because GM was first to market with such a vehicle.
Besides, it's going to take a few years, minimally, to bring Volt production up to any noteworthy numbers. In the short term, it's all about the hype the Volt can generate.
That, I'd bet, will offer a huge lift to GM's IPO prospects, as market psychology can often trump market reality.
Why would anyone believe anything GM says anymore? They've been "promising" the Volt for five years now, they haven't even begun re-tooling their factories from the gas-guzzlers they continue to sell, and all their shilling seems just like a wall street ploy - "Hey, buy some shares! Give us a bunch of money and then we'll think about delivering on our promises!"
Just another round of crap from these yahoos...
anon-
you can certainly make that argument. you could also make the argument that the Volt is just the beginning of the new GM. only time will tell.
if gas jumps to $4.00 per gallon in the next few years, for instance, the Volt will do little to help GM survive another collapse in sales.
for now the Volt is purely about hype, but that should be good enough in the short term for GM. but hype can only last so long.
if GM becomes complacent with a little success - if they don't parlay Volt success into real leadership on fuel economy, i'd cash in my stock rather quickly.
Indigo Incarnates
When Bob Lutz stated that the Volt would have a cruising range of 300 miles, I got the 28 MPG figure by assuming a 12 gallon gas tank. I suppose the Volt's gas mileage could be as high as 30 MPG if it's configured with a ten gallon tank.
You could buy almost TWO Honda Insights for the price of one Volt, and the Insight is rated at 41 MPG.
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