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Powered by a lithium-ion battery pack, the Volt will be capable of traveling up to 40 miles on purely electric power once it's been fully charged. For driving beyond 40 miles -- total range is expected to be around 340 miles -- the Volt will have a four-cylinder gasoline engine that will generate electricity to power the wheels.
Nissan is also expected begin selling its own electric vehicle, the Leaf, around the same time on a national basis. The Leaf will be a purely electric car capable of driving up to 100 miles on a single charge, but it will need to be recharged before driving further.
Ford is expected to begin selling a fully electric car, the Focus BEV, next year.
To publicize the Volt's advantage in total range, GM employees were to depart from Austin on Thursday driving a Volt, expecting to arrive in New York on July 4, Whitacre announced at the presentation. That's a total distance of 1,776 miles in three days, Whitacre said.
"The Volt can handle everything from city commuting to cross-country trips," he said.
GM plans to produce 10,000 Volts by the end of 2011 and another 30,000 the following year, the automaker said in an announcement. The car will be available in all 50 states in a year to 18 months after the initial limited roll out
I'd have to say that they were not beaten to the punch by anyone. The Volt is the only car of it's kind. The Leaf would need much longer to go 1776 miles and the arranging of charging would be 5 times as hard (would need 17 charges). Ford is a year or so late to the game.
IMHO it is going to be very difficult for them to survive even at their now diminished size. Toyota's biggest hope is a strong, quick rebound in the US economy.
Regards,
OW
Regards,
OW
I'd be happy if all of GM and its culture were washed away - fired; and the same plants and factories were run by a new group of people. They could lower their prices about 15% too.
Retail sales up 143% NOT FLEET!
GM hasnt learned its lesson......what are they trying to sell us? SUV's!! Buick, Chevy, Caddy...........sure big profit for em, but everyone wants a vehicle that gets good mileage. SUV's dont.........and as of today guess what? You cant buy a Volt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They have come a long ways, but drive one. I don't know, but something seems missing to me?
We are in a jobless recovery if you could call it a recovery at all.
I would like to see unemployment decrease a mere 11%. Then let's see what happens to car sales.
Maybe the federal gov is doing most of the hiring these days. Maybe some of the positions come with a free vehicle. Maybe since the gov owns $51 Billion worth of GM, they should buy GM vehicles if they have to buy vehicles. No suprise that fleet sales are up.
I wonder if the fabulous growth in Asian car sales is producing so many jobs that we need not worry about the gov not having the money to purchase all those new vehicles with. The Asian car sales and manufacturing jobs in the US are generating so much tax base for the US.
I wish my last raise was a 'mere' 11% year over year.
Did I find the bad news in the good news yet?
Corporate-Speak Translator reads:
"GM's U.S. sales drop to below China's levels."
GM needs to learn some lesson but their vehicles are right up there at the top in gas mileage. What lesson? Malibu gets 33 hwy with the 6 speed.
Priced 15% too high? Why not get a GM world mastercard and rack up $500 a year towards a new car with spending on groceries. It got me 18% off on my last GM purchase and I never paid any interest in racking up the $3500 reward. Then I saved a bunch of interest by having about a year less of payments on the new car.
1. People's Republic of China 1,338,420,000 July 3, 2010, 19.59% of world
2 India 1,182,909,000 July 3, 2010 17.32%
3 United States 309,643,000 July 3, 2010 4.53%
4 Indonesia 234,181,400 July 2010 3.43%
5 Brazil 193,165,000 July 3, 2010 2.83%
6 Pakistan 169,911,500 July 3, 2010 2.49%
7 Bangladesh 162,221,000 2.37%
8 Nigeria 154,729,000 2.27%
9 Russia 141,927,297 January 1, 2010 2.08%
10 Japan 127,360,000 May 1, 2010 1.86% (less than 2% of the world)
11 Mexico 107,550,697 July 1, 2009 1.57%
12 Philippines 92,226,600 Mid-2009 1.35%
13 Vietnam 85,789,573 April 1, 2009 1.26%
14 Germany 81,757,600 January 1, 2010 1.2%
source: wickipedia.org
I think the Japanese murdered millions of Chinese men, women, and children around 1940, so they problably won't fill the vacuum for cars there. Chinese relations with N. Korea might slow the sales of S. Korean cars in China.
Your headline is only true if GM sales fell. I think they rose. Huge China sales are inevitable unless GM sits around doing nothing.
I know a car isnt a SUV, GM needs to try harder to be better than the competition, but then again, why......uncle sam wont let em fail, they'll get more of our tax money for free.
And I can afford the Volt............I choose NOT to support the American failure known as GM.
Maybe...Maybe not.
The Japanes also attacked Pearl Harbor and killed 1000's of Americans, the Germans killed 1000's (over 400,000 total between the 2), yet it hasn't stopped sales in the US of Japanese or German cars.
China might be different. After all, their culture is radically different than ours. Fortunately for the Japanese, most of the folks remembering the killing in China are gone now.
People everywhere tend to have short memories.
That's good to hear.
I heard recently that 25% of the population does not know which country we declared our independence from. Probably at least that percentage think the Japanese were our allies in WW2.
Yes there is an underlying racial hatred of the Japanese by the Chinese because of the atrocities done to them in the past. That will be hard to overcome.
My last experience with a GM car was terrible. Brown coolant clogging the radiator and heater core. This was a wide spread problem that was not handeld well at all. I think it lost GM alot of customers for life. I hope GM has turned that corner completely.
I wish GM well with the new small car launch.
Yes there is an underlying racial hatred of the Japanese by the Chinese because of the atrocities done to them in the past. That will be hard to overcome.
Again, maybe...or, maybe not. Certainly, it isn't insurmountable. After all, no Japanese auto company is attempting to sell the "Tojo Hideki" special limited edition model in China.
It seems that as economies move forward and modernize, most consumers make purchases based on price and perceived value, rather than notions of loyalty. I doubt China is any different, at least, in the long run.
As I said earlier, China may be different....In a little, medium or a lot of ways.
In the end, I'll put my money on them buying what they perceive as the best product for the price, with national origin coming into play only as a secondary factor. They will buy just like we buy.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I think in some cases, the MSRP's seem a little high, but who pays MSRP? For example, at the GM show in Carlisle, we test drove a new Malibu that stickered for around $29,000. I think it was an LTZ model, but not sure. It was a nice car, but at that price still just had a 4-cyl engine and no Nav. I have a feeling that an Accord with a V-6 and Nav wouldn't MSRP for much more than $30-31K.
In contrast though, the LaCrosse that we drove was pretty impressive. I think it stickered for around $39K. I can't remember if it was a CXS or CXL, but it had the 3.0 V-6, IIRC, sunroof, Nav, HUD, et al. It definitely seemed like a lot of car for the money...even if these things are still a hot enough item that the dealers can get MSRP or close to it for them.
$6800 above base Malibu LS price and no V6, before negoiating? Are you trying to get screwed? Nav is on all Malibu models, just not the same nav that gets outdated on other makes. Since when is it safe to read a map on a screen by the radio while driving? Onstar gived you audible instructions that are safe, just like my $129 add on does, except it pauses the radio too.
I bumped up roughly $2000 from the base LS to 24,400 msrp for Malibu 1LT with some options. For that, I got bluetooth, 6 spd auto with paddle shifters, power driver's seat, chrome dressing on exterior, painted outside mirrors, added interior trimmings, ipod port, remote start, custom embroidered floor and trunk mats, actual spare tire, optional premium paint color, and steering wheel controls for radio and synced phones.
I could have had a sunroof but no remote start/floormat upgrade/ power seat equipped vehicle for about $24,700. Either leather or a V6 would have been about $1500-2000 more each. There was a V6 model sitting a few cars down from the one I picked for about $2800 more than the one I picked, but it had leather also.
When I walked in and asked for their best deal on the 24,400 price, their first comeback was 19,400. Subrtact the GM card earnings and I was at 15,900. If anyone thinks that they are looking at $13,000 more than that without a GM card and still without a V6 means that they don't have a good car buying plan. $13,000 more???
You see the Accord as $2k more than a 4 cyl Malibu and you get a V6, leather, and screen map nav. I see that Accord as nearly twice what I paid. A V6 is nice. I already have 4 of them and a V8. An extra $15k for it? Nah.
Can you imagine Japan entering into a deal where they have to teach the Chinese how to design and manufacture cars in order to have access to the market there? The risk of a flood of cars being exported from a massive competitor a few hundred miles from Japan?
I can't see Japan willing to take that risk. Japan was a pioneer in the 'you can't sell to us unless you let us eventually make it and gain your technology' way of doing business. I was designing F-15 and F-16 engines in the 80's, when Japan wanted to buy some, and those were the terms of the sale.
Accord EX-L sedan V-6 with Nav, $31,815 with freight, no options available,other than color choice.
Malibu LTZ sedan, V-6, $30,790with freight. The base price of the LTZis actually $27,715, but I threw on these options to make it as expensive as possible:
3.6 V-6 Engine Package $1,595
Power Glass Sunroof w/Express Open and Tilt-Slide $850
White Diamond Tricoat $495
Compact Spare Tire $100
Engine Block Heater $75
Edmunds lists a TMV of $28,071 for the Accord, and $26,464 for the Malibu. That includes a $3,000 cash back incentive for the Malibu, and nothing back for the Accord.
So, fully-loaded, it boils down to about a $1600 difference, in favor of the Malibu. But with the Malibu you lose Nav, and also lose about one size class difference in interior room. The Accord is technically a full-sized car according to the EPA's measurements, although I've heard that with the sunroof, it cuts down interior room enough that it falls back into the midsized class. The Malibu, while a midsized car, is just barely a midsized car, with 95 cubic feet of interior, 16 cubic feet of trunk, for 111 cubic feet combined. The Accord has 106 interior, 14 trunk, for 120 combined. The EPA defines a midsized car as 110-119.9 cubic feet combined and a full-sized car as 120 cubic feet combined or greater.
The Accord also gets better economy, 19/29, versus the Malibu's 17/26. I dunno how they perform, though. I'm sure either one is quick enough to get you in plenty of trouble with Jonny Law!
I'm guessing the typical out-the-door price of a fully-loaded Malibu is still considerably less than $26,464? Otherwise, I just don't see the case for it, versus an Accord. And, if you don't care about Nav, well the Accord EX-L V-6, no-Nav, has a TMV of $26,259.
I totally agree!
And you know the majority of the population doesn't have in-door plumbing, so they don't have buying a new vehicle on their list. And if the Chinese middle-class does continue to grow and their poor people do do better, you do know that their demand for oil and gasoline will mean less for the U.S.
There are only so many slices to the "gasoline pie", and I certainly do not see more people in China, india or anywhere else in the world becoming drivers - as something to encourage or look forward to. I'd be happy if we ever sold another vehicle in China, and China continued to be happy with bicycles, oxen and mules.
One thing that is particularly scary is the danger of driving (something tells me it's a lot of their overall highway and road system) their roads now that so many of them want ICE and electrically-driven transportation and they are just learning to drive. I've read of atrocious accidentals going on over there.
We could compare it to the U.S. back about, oh, I don't know, 1901 or so. These things turn like...this? And you pour water in that hole. A horn...that's potentially loud and obnoxious as can be? Wow! Cool.
A lof of them, as in India, would love even better pedal bikes and/or motorcycles to get them around. But there are so many Chinese automotive companies building cars now you'd be surprised. The quality is definitely lagging but they'll eventually get much better.
Hence the enormous opportunity for GM and Ford and the like to develop build partnerships with the Chinese. It's the Chinese automotive trade rule...you have to build your imported cars with our carmakers in a joint build partnership or you can't come over here and do it at all.
They're going great gangbusters with those partnerships, yes they are! MB, even MG's are being produced in China. And in Great Britain (or that's the Chinese builder's plan right now) they're building MG's again. With Chinese build money.
Throw Saab in, too, and well...you get my drift.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Isn't that pretty much the way things work in China, with the state-regulated automotive ventures? And as a region with no grasp of intellectual property rights (not to mention social or environmental justice), they will take the technology, or a shoddily built facade of such, whether they are allowed or not. Who is going to stop them? We were sold out to get the self-destructive lie of globalization running.
(I did see a few old Chevy trucks in a local parade today).
Hey, that's GM news. Old news, but news nonetheless. :shades:
I saw a GM dark ages product today...bustleback Seville, white with white carriage top, and a fake Rolls grille. Gee, I wonder why luxo-buyers flocked en masse to products made by the old Axis powers? :shades:
Most navs don't charge you a monthly fee to use them. OnStar is a poor substitute.
If you use a credit card to lower the price, that's miles or other points you WONT get. So it's not really a fair comparison. I could use a cash rebate card and get a discount on ANY car, not just GM. Or I could buy a TV or something else.
Say what you will about the bustleback, but a Seville never left the Cadillac plant with a carriage top or fake Rolls grille. Both added later.
As they started getting a few years and miles on them though, and started acting up, I'd imagine many people got fed up and jumped ship to the imports. Some of the more traditional buyers probably went to Lincoln or Chrysler.
Once the shrunken 1986 models came out though, that probably sent people to the imports in droves. And those who were happy with their 1980-85 Sevilles either held onto them for as long as they could, putting off the purchase of a new car. And when the car finally died a "natural" death, such as an accident or simply old age (rather than premature death do to poor quality), by that time Cadillac was nothing like the owners remembered, so they looked elsewhere, and often to an import.
Y'know one thing that just dawned on me. I've seen Cadillacs with fake Rolls Royce grilles, but never seen a Benz, Audi, or BMW with one!
Also, those shrunken cars were designed for a dystopian future, one that never came to be. In 1982-83, as work was being done on them, a future was envisioned with overcrowding, mass starvation, the oceans drying up, things like strawberry jam being a luxury, and they would begin breeding the poor like cattle, to be used as food. Gasoline would be a rarity, scarce and expensive, and with CAFE bearing down, the automakers would have to try and squeeze out every MPG that they could.
Thankfully, things took a turn, the fuel started flowing again and got cheap, and the gov't relaxed the CAFE requirements. The oceans didn't die, strawberry jam is fairly cheap if you get the generic brand, and we didn't have to resort to eating the poor. And people went back to buying big cars in droves. And when they couldn't get them, they bought trucks and SUVs. And objects like the shrunken '86 Seville became a bit of a curiosity, and growing proof that GM was starting to lose its magic in predicting, or even manipulating, what the auto buying masses wanted.
As for the Brougham, how many potential buyers saw a car as sophisticated as a '62 Cadillac and just decided to buy that instead of a new tarted-up Oldsmobile?