Prius versus Volt: Geeks versus spendthrifts
At least the Prius makes more cost-effective sense.
Geeky is smart as spendthrifty is foolish?
So, General Motors Co. CEO Daniel Akerson thinks the Toyota Prius is geeky. Should anyone be surprised? Bob Lutz practically made a career of attacking the Prius while at GM, so when I heard that GM’s new CEO called the Prius “geeky” I wasn’t surprised. He’s a perfect fit.
Besides the Prius is a bit futuristic looking, and some might call that geeky, but at least the Prius makes far more economic sense than the Chevy Volt.
Again, why should anyone be surprised? When the founder of the Volt – Lutz – regularly admitted that the Volt was more about marketing than sales, it’s obvious that perception, not cost-effectiveness, was the key in its development. That’s why the Volt costs more than $40,000, almost twice as much as the Prius, while averaging just 10 mpg more than the Prius.
$20,000 extra for an extra 10 mpgs? What kind of geeky rocket scientist wouldn’t jump at those kind of economics?
Anyway, others such as the Scobleizer, are calling for Akerson’s head, and since he’s a taxpayer, I guess he has a right since the government still owns a majority share of GM. Yet, maybe he has a real point.
Auto industry forecasters have suggested that Prius buyers could be the largest group of plug-in early adopters. Apparently, Akerson isn’t interested in luring Prius buyers into the Volt, or attracting the biggest plug-in favorable segment toward GM.
Then again, geeky Prius buyers are probably too smart to waste so much money on the Volt, despite its plug-in credentials.
