GM suspends Chevy Volt production as sales tank...

Obama's favorite car is turning out to be a huge white elephant for GM. 

General Motors will stop making the Chevrolet Volt for four weeks in June and July due to slow sales and to deal with the change to an all-new version of the gas-electric hybrid car.
The company says the Detroit-Hamtramck plant that makes the Volt and four other cars will probably stay open through the summer despite plans for the Volt. The factory also is undergoing construction so it can build a new full-size Cadillac CT6 and the 2016 Volt starting late in the summer.
Sales of electric and hybrid cars have slowed this year, largely due to low gasoline prices. The national average for a gallon of regular gas was about $2.40 US on Thursday, 35 per cent lower than last year's peak of $3.70.
The cheap gas has really hurt Volt sales and caused inventory to build on dealer lots. Through March, GM sold only 1,874 Volts, down 48 per cent from a year ago. The company now has enough Volts to supply dealers for 210 days, according to Ward's Automotive. A 60-day supply is optimal.

Fire Sale: GM slashes Chevy Volt prices...

Reportedly, GM is already losing as much as $50 thousand on the Chevy Volt...

Via Detroit News:

General Motors Co. is slashing the price of its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt by $5,000, making it the latest automaker to lower prices of electric vehicles in the face of lagging consumer demand.
The Detroit-based automaker said it will cut the base price 12.5 percent, from $39,995 to $34,995. The price cut comes just weeks after the automaker announced a $5,000 give-back on the 2012 Volt and $4,000 on the 2013 model.
The first Volt, a 2010 model, cost $41,000.
GM put a positive face on its decision to lower the list price.
“The lower price and cost savings from driving on electricity provide Volt owners an unmatched balance of technology, capability and cost of ownership,” said Don Johnson, U.S. vice president, Chevrolet sales and service. “We have made great strides in reducing costs as we gain experience with electric vehicles and their components.”

Keep on reading…

Green Fail: GM Pins Another $4000 To Chevy Volts In Attempt To Get Anyone To Buy Them...

Let's add the incentives up: $4000 from GM, $7500 from federal taxpayers, $2000 from may states. That comes to about $14,000  per vehicle and GM reportedly is selling them for a large loss. 

General Motors has announced a $4,000 rebate (or $3,000 and a four year, zero interest loan from government-owned Ally Financial) on the slow-selling Chevy Volt. The company had a choice regarding how to deal with an excess supply of Volts that is growing faster than demand. GM could have, once again, temporarily halted production until inventory (currently at about a 6 month supply) came down to reasonable levels. It instead chooses to lose more millions of dollars by spending on incentives designed to manufacture demand that otherwise is practically nonexistent.

The much-hyped Chevy Volt was originally presented by GM as a green wonder-car that would be a savior for the company with sales expected in the 10,000 per month range by now. Almost three years after first hitting showrooms, the Volt now sees sales stabilizing at a dismal rate of approximately 1,500 per month. That's roughly one Volt every two months for each Chevy dealership.

Chevy Volt Sales Plummet

 It's the Obama green curse. He really knows how to pick green losers...

Via CSM:

Sales of plug-in electric cars fell slightly in November, with continued steady sales of the Nissan Leaf not enough to make up for a decline in Chevy Volt numbers.

This month's total may not quite equal last month's plug-in sales of 6,784. The big unknown, however, is deliveries of the Tesla Model S--which Tesla won't discuss.

With just a month left in the year, up to 50,000 electric cars are likely to find buyers during 2012--almost triple the 2011 total of about 17,500.

This year's sales leader, the Chevy Volt range-extended electric car, logged 1,519 sales.

That brings the Volt's total so far this year to 20,828, though the November number is barely more than half the October total of 2,961--a number helped by now-expired sales incentives.

GM should have campaigned for mitt Romney. Consumers will never forget they are also known as Government Motors while Obama is in office. 

Petagon propping up sales of failed Chevy Volt

The government buys cars from Government Motors...

Via WFB:

The Pentagon is buying Chevrolet Volts to help “green up” the military—while propping up sales of the bailed-out automaker’s most politicized car.

The Department of Defense began purchasing the struggling luxury electric car, which retails at $40,000, this summer as part of its goal to purchase 1,500 such green vehicles. The Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, Calif. purchased its first two Volts in July, and 18 more vehicles will come shortly to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where Air Force One is based, according to military magazine Stars and Stripes.

The Obama administration championed the production of the Volt. Along with the president’s pledge this year to “buy one and drive it myself … five years from now when I’m not president anymore,” the government offers a $7,500 tax break to encourage sales.

Keep on reading…

GM to idle Chevy Volt factory for second time this year

This is the car that was supposed to save GM...

(Reuters) - General Motors Co will idle the Michigan assembly plant that makes the Chevrolet Volt for four weeks from the middle of September to the middle of October, plant suppliers and union sources said on Monday.

It will be the second time this year that the plant, which straddles the border of Detroit and the city of Hamtramck, has stopped making Volts.

GM confirmed the plant idling, saying it will continue to "match supply with demand" for both the Volt and the Chevrolet Malibu sedan that is also made at the plant. The automaker declined to specify how long the plant will be closed.

GM amd government provide 100 Chevy Volts and $15,000 rebates for test smart community. Only 55 residents take advantage...

You can't sell a Chevy Volt to environmental activists with a $15,000 rebate? Oh, my!

Via Edmunds: 

GM calls it the greatest concentration of Chevrolet Volts in the world.

"This partnership provides us with a unique opportunity to observe charging details with many real customers in a concentrated setting," said Nick Pudar, an OnStar vice president, in a statement.

OnStar and General Motors have become official partners of Pecan Street Inc., the country's first nonprofit research and development consortia, where residents agreed to be part of a clean-energy smart grid test for sustainable living. The Mueller community, 3 miles outside Austin, provides a real-life lab for the automaker to observe charging patterns and how consumers and clean-energy technologies interact and support electric-vehicle charging. The project runs for five years.

While Chevrolet made 100 Volts available, only 55 of the community residents took advantage of the various tax credits, including a $7,500 federal tax credit and a $7,500 rebate from Pecan Street on their Volt purchases. Those leasing a Volt for three or more years received a $3,000 rebate.

"We're gathering information from families' vehicles throughout this community to find out the direct impact the Volt has on the grid and how to get drivers the lowest possible charging rates," said Pudar. "This project will also help us develop future capabilities of the Volt and other plug-in electric vehicles."

Pecan Street is funded by a $10.4 million grant from the Energy Department and more than $14 million in matching funds from project partners. Although Pecan Street oversees the consortia, it also includes researchers from the University of Texas, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Environmental Defense Fund. It's housed in the University of Texas at Austin.

Milton Wolf’s video op-ed takes on the Chevy Volt. Lutz!

Too true and too funny.

Good News: You Can Break Even On A Chevy Volt In Only 27 Years

You will likely have to spend $10,000 to replace the batteries around the ten year mark.

(Nashville Business Journal) — If you’re thinking about buying a fuel-efficient hybrid, electric or otherwise eco-friendly vehicle as a way to save money over time, do your homework — or be prepared to wait.

Buyers who choose Nissan’s all-electric Leaf ($28,421) over its approximate gas-powered equivalent, Nissan’s Versa ($18,640), will likely wait nearly 9 years until they break even, according to a new report by The New York Times that examines the cost of fuel efficiency.

For drivers of the Chevrolet Volt ($31,767), the wait is even longer — 26.6 years.

A few vehicles begin paying off relatively soon after leaving the dealership. Two hybrids — Toyota’s Prius ($23,537) and Lincoln’s MKZ ($33,887) — as well as Volkswagen’s diesel-powered Jetta TDI ($25,242) all take less than two years before they start saving their owners money.

Hilarious Video: Chevy Volt and Fed Gov success story

This is hilarious. Enjoy!

 Chevy Volt and Fed Gov success story

GM Volt-$40,000, Government Subsidy- $7500, Recharging Power Cord So Cheap It Melts- Priceless.

GM Volt owners who use the 120 volt charger have reported their cords melt. GM claims this isn't a safety problem, but is replacing the cords.

(USA Today) — Volt owners are getting another lesson in what it means to be on the cutting edge of auto mobility — many will need to bring their cars in for a beefier extension cord.

General Motors has announced it is replacing the cord and charging device that lets owners charge the car from a 120-volt household outlet, according to a report by Reuters.

GM spokesman Randal Fox told Reuters that the replacement for the charger that comes with the $40,000 car has a beefier cable and will “offer a more consistent charging experience,” though it won’t make it charge faster. The program covers all 2011 Volts and some 2012s — the 120-volt cords, 240-volt cords are not affected.

“It’s not a safety recall,” Fox said. “It’s more of a customer-satisfaction program.”

According to Consumer Reports, some Volt owners have complained that their 120-volt charger “overheats during use and have even documented online videos of melted 120-volt chargers.” CR said it has not had the problem in its testing of the car, which is on its “recommended” list.

Unbelievable: The Chevrolet Volt has been named European Car of the Year

GM just suspended production for several week because of lack of sales.

GENEVA (AP) — The Opel Ampera, which sells in the United States as the Chevrolet Volt, has been named European Car of the Year by automotive journalists from 23 countries.

The Opel Ampera, which premiered at the Geneva Motor Show in 2009, is an electric car with an extended range of 500 kilometers (300 miles).

It won with 330 votes out of a total 1475 cast, ahead of the Volkswagen Up! with 281 votes and the Ford Focus with 256.

The prestigious award made Monday on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show is considered one of the most important in Europe and aims to indicate to consumers the car of the future.
The other finalists were the Range Rover Evoque, the Fiat Panda, the Citroen DS5, and the Toyota Yaris.

Green Fail: GM halts Volt production due to low sales

By "align our production with demand," they mean the Volt isn't selling. How can you not sell a car with $7500 $10,000 taped to the hood? Besides the reduced range and high price, Volt owners have to worry about what they will do after 100,000 miles when the battery gives out. The replacement cost is estimated to be $10,000. Even if you trade early, that has to hurt the resale value. GM was originally planning to warranty the Volt battery for 10 years and 150,000. The cost of a replacement battery was allegedly to be figured into the Volt's high price! I wonder if GM discovered the battery was good for at least 100,000 miles and decided to keep the $10,000 battery replacement cost in their pocket?

(Freep)- General Motors has told 1,300 employees at its Detroit Hamtramck that they will be temporarily laid off for five weeks as the company halts production of the Chevrolet Volt and its European counterpart, the Opel Ampera.

“Even with sales up in February over January, we are still seeking to align our production with demand,” said GM spokesman Chris Lee.

Lee said employees were told Thursday that production would put on hold from March 19 to April 23.
The Chevrolet Volt, an extended-range electric car, is both a political lightning rod and a symbol of the company’s technological capability.

Chevrolet sold 1,023 Volts in the U.S. in February and has sold 1,626 so far this year. Keep on reading...

 Liberals are blaming Rush Limbaugh for the Volt's failure.

Since the Volt isn't selling, GE is going to buy them all

Since the Volt isn't selling, GM is going to buy them all . GE is ordering all employees to drive a Volt.

(Gas2)- General Motors and General Electric are two companies that have been in the political crosshairs lately. GM stands accused of “crony capitalism,” while GE is under fire for paying no Federal income taxes in 2010. The two companies share more than that though, with GE placing an order for 12,000 Chevy Volts and other hybrid vehicles.

A memo leaked to Green Car Reports lays out GE’s plans for their new fleet of Volts, and as expected, it has some people crying foul.

The memo, sent to employees of GE Healthcare Americas team explains that all sedan, crossover, and minivan purchases in 2012 will be replaced by the Chevy Volt. Only field engineers are excepted from having to drive a company Volt.

GE will offer estimates for installation Level 2 Charging Stations, though all-gas use will be allowed when there is no electric option. Any employees who opt out of the Volt program will not be compensated for their expenses. Those who do choose to drive the Volt will be reimbursed for public charging and home charging costs, in addition to gas uses.

While some people are probably put off by having to drive a Volt, GE claims to have crunched the numbers and believes that in the long term, this will save the multi-national company big bucks. More than that though, GE is positioning itself as a big player in the EV charging market. Getting employees into Volts also means getting charging stations into homes.

Keep on reading…

Rasmussen: Only 29% support Obama's $10,000 Volt subsidy

29% is about the percent of left-wing environ-whackos in this country.

Via Rasmussen:

President Obama in his latest budget has proposed $10,000 subsidies to encourage the purchase of electric cars with his goal of having one million of the vehicles on the road by 2015. But voters by a two-to-one margin oppose taxpayer-funded subsidies for this purpose.

Just 29% of Likely U.S. Voters favor $10,000 government subsidies to encourage the purchase of electric cars, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fifty-eight percent (58%) are opposed to such subsidies. Thirteen percent (13%) are undecided.

The people who do get the $10,000 subsidy would be wise to increase their fire insurance.

Obama wants to prop up Volt sales by taping $10,000 to the hood

GM only sold a total of 603 Volts in January.

Via Daily Caller:

The White House intends to boost government subsidies for wealthy buyers of the Chevy Volt and other new-technology vehicles — to $10,000 per buyer.

That mammoth subsidy would cost taxpayers $100 million each year if it is approved by Congress, presuming only 10,000 new-technology autos are sold each year.

But the administration wants to get 1 million new-tech autos on the road by 2015. The subsidy cost of that goal could reach $10 billion.

The planned giveaway will likely prompt populist protests from GOP legislators, but it will likely also will be welcomed by auto-industry workers in the critical swing state of Michigan.

The new subsidy level represents a 33 percent jump from the current $7,500 government payout for each Volt buyer, even though the Volt’s buyers are already among the wealthiest Americans. It will be offered to buyers of any new-technology autos, including battery-powered autos and cars powered by natural gas, said a White House official.

Keep on reading…

Volt demand so low, dealers are refusing delivery from GM

Every time the government tries to interfere in the free market system, things go poorly. If you can't sell a car with $7500 taped to the hood, it is a flop. Unfortunately, taxpayers will pay.

DETROIT — Some Chevrolet dealers are turning down Volts that General Motors wants to ship to them, a potential stumbling block as GM looks to accelerate sales of the plug-in hybrid.
For example, consider the New York City market. Last month, GM allocated 104 Volts to 14 dealerships in the area, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Dealers took just 31 of them, the lowest take rate for any Chevy model in that market last month. That group of dealers ordered more than 90 percent of the other vehicles they were eligible to take, the source said.

In Clovis, Calif., meanwhile, Brett Hedrick, dealer principal at Hedrick’s Chevrolet, sold 10 Volts last year. But in December and January he turned down all six Volts allocated to him under GM’s “turn-and-earn” system, which distributes vehicles based on past sales volumes and inventory levels.

GM’s “thinking we need six more Volts is just crazy,” Hedrick says. “We’ve never sold more than two in a month.” Hedrick says he usually takes just about every vehicle that GM allocates to him.

GM spokesman Rob Peterson confirmed that “dealer ordering is down” for the Volt. He said many dealers have been waiting for resolution of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s investigation into the risk of fires in the car’s battery pack. Last year three packs caught fire in the days or weeks following government test crashes. Read more here...

Outrage: GM considering moving Volt production to China?

Will the U.S. taxpayer still have to subsidize the Volt at $250,000 a vehicle if they are made in China?

(USA Today) — General Motors agreed in Shanghai today to develop an electric vehicle platform with longtime Chinese partner SAIC. It effectively moves GM’s future electric vehicle development to China. Unclear is whether this would also lead to assembly of future EVs for the U.S. market in China.

The deal came as the Chinese government is pushing foreign automakers to give Chinese companies EV technology they lack, according to an Associated Press report. U.S. lawmakers have complained that China is “shaking down” GM to get Volt secrets. Electric vehicle development in the U.S. has been developed with extensive U.S. taxpayer funding.
Details of the plan were not provided, and GM has denied it will involve handing over intellectual property underlying the Volt.

GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky, in a conference call from Shanghai, said that neither SAIC nor the Chinese government have demanded Volt technology. Any future EV would, of course, draw on GM’s Volt experience and technology. Under the deal, SAIC and GM will equally share the cost of developing a new all-electric vehicle, Girsky said.

GM plans to start exporting Michigan-made Volts to China by year’s end, but isn’t likely to sell many. The Chinese government is pushing electrics with a subsidy that amounts to about $19,000 per car — but only if the car is made in China. No imports allowed. There also are tariffs on cars imported to China, which lawmakers argue are unfair and may violateworld trade rules.

Girsky hinted that the Volt could eventually be built in China. “If we localize, eventually it won’t have a tariff and it will get the subsidy. We have made no decision on if, when or where we build Volt in the future.”

Keep reading…

Audi Chief: Volt Buyers Are Idiots. Bonus Pic of Chief Idiot Behind the Wheel.

I have to agree with Audi America President Johan de Nysschen. The Volt doesn't make sense.


Via Gas2:

Bring on the war of words. In a frank conversation with MSN writer Lawrence Ulrich, Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen has said that the Chevy Volt will fail and that anybody who buys the car is an idiot. Not only that, de Nysschen has lumped proponents of any type of electric car into a category of “intellectual elite who want to show what enlightened souls they are.”

From Gas 2.0 (share this quote)

Our idiot government is purchasing Volts.

GM was hoping the Chevy Volt would catch on fire, but this isn't what they meant

A formal investigation into Volt fires is being opened by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

(Reuters) - U.S. auto safety regulators are opening a formal investigation into fire risks in General Motors' Volt vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Friday it was taking the step after efforts to recreate a May crash test saw fires result from two out of three crash tests performed this month.

"While it is too soon to tell whether the investigation will lead to a recall of any vehicles or parts, if NHTSA identifies an unreasonable risk to safety, the agency will take immediate action to notify consumers and ensure that GM communicates with current vehicle owners," the agency said.

Earlier this month, NHTSA disclosed that it was probing the safety of batteries used to power electric vehicles after fire broke out in a Volt battery pack three weeks after a side-impact crash test.