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GM highlighted their Detroit experience with the production exterior Volt, B-class sized Spark and the Cadillac Converj_PHEV concept. (cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=181658)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Cadillac_Converj_Concept.jpgWayne Gerdes – CleanMPG (cleanmpg.com) – Jan. 20, 2009

Converj -- The best looking concept that will surely never be built...

Detroit – During 2008, the automobile marketplace declined faster on a total sales basis then any period in American history other then during the military ramp up for WWII. GM saw its sales fall an incredible 23% and most of this sales decline occurred within an 8-month window between May and December of last year.

We all know the story yet we are still expecting exciting new automobiles that deliver fuel economy to meet the needs of the everyday consumer not just for today but well into the next decade. That second part is where GM appears to be faltering with everything but the Volt.

The 2009 North American International Auto Show provided GM with a pulpit to change hearts and minds and with the glitzy presentation, they did. For what would be best described as an instant.


Electrified Luxury

If there was a star of the show, it had to be the magnificently sculpted Cadillac Converj. This concept car includes a host of driver oriented advanced interactive technologies and eco-friendly, renewable materials throughout. Underneath, it uses a Volt platform which promises the same 40 mile all-electric range (AER) before a small engine would take over the duties of propelling the vehicle.

Volt

The Volt is still the ultimate game changer today just as it was last year when first announced. The final exterior was shown, the battery cell supplier was announced, and production set for late 2010 is still intact. With the New Year and pricing still rumored to be close to $40,000, a level that literally destroys any chance of the vehicle becoming a viable entry into the compact market place or saving any significant amount of fuel as promised. The numbers simply do not add up for the average consumer no matter what the phantom tax credit turns out to be.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2011_Chevrolet_Spark.jpgThe Beat is now a Spark

Chevrolet Spark with the Orlando in the background.

Chevrolet announced it will produce the 40 plus mpg highway rated Spark four-door mini car for the worldwide market including the US. The production version of the Spark will be unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show in March. Sales of Spark will begin in early 2010 in Europe and arrive in US showrooms in 2011.

Unfortunately for GM, the Ford Fiesta is larger and much more attractive. Given recent Ford releases, the Fiesta will probably be far more fuel efficient as well?

New or improved

The 2010 Chevrolet Equinox when equipped with GM’s all-new 2.4L four-cylinder direct injection engine is expected to lead the small SUV segment in highway fuel economy at 21/30 mpgUS city/highway on the 08 EPA and have a driving range of over 500 miles. It is the 21 mpgUS city that will hurt this one if fuel costs rise back to levels we saw last summer.

2011 Chevrolet Cruze in North America will be powered by an optional new 1.4L Turbocharged engine that is expected to deliver better fuel economy than the current leader in this segment, the 37 mpgUS highway capable Chevrolet Cobalt XFE. Missing from the vehicle will be the fuel saving and emissions reducing direct injection.

And then the same old same old...

GM still believes that 20 models that achieve a greater than 30 mpg highway rating (the city mpg is where the problem lies) is the way to fix sales. While they have been advertising this multiple-models-off-the-same-platform highway FE for years, GM’s market share has continued to decline. The Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac SRX, and CTS Sport wagon and the oversized but none too attractive 7-passenger Orlando are not game changers let alone future segment leaders. These automobiles appear to be filling a GM product void rather than grabbing various segment leads.

All said, I do not see how these offerings are going to bring GM back to profitability with the possibility of gasoline rising back to the $4.00 + range let alone any earth shattering new releases. Other than the Volt which is still scheduled for a late 2010 release if GM survives until then?

Pretty accurate analysis but it seems that everyone here is setting unrealistic expections with the Volt. It cannot and will not help GM's revenues for a very long time. It's a loss leader.

The 2 seat EV-1 went for $43,000 on nickel batteries (and people wonder why it was scrapped after 5 years, 99 cent gasoline, and the 'postponement' of California's zero emission requirements that started the whole fandango).

No EV from anyone is very likely to make money for a long time w/o subsidy and credit and perhaps specific area emission regulations/incentives (e.g. London's).

I'd disagree about the Converj, too, not that it's important. They'll be able to stuff a Volt powertrain into a CTS and call it done. It's a typical marketing strategy to make the most from expensive R&D by introducing with your expensive top 'dream' cars. (But the CTS is weak on the 'dream car' front, even though it's technically a pretty good car.) They need to bury the costs.

'Green luxury' is an awkward message everyone is trying to get across in EV.

I wouldn't knock the Cruze too hard either. The Cobalt can, at least on paper, embarass the Honda Civic by exceeding it's combo FE with crude changes like gearing and tires. The Cruze seems to be a more competitive chassis. Certainly this is 'benefit of the doubt' territory since GM's history is producing boiled eggs, but there is something there.

Pretty accurate analysis but it seems that everyone here is setting unrealistic expections with the Volt. Don't think anyone here was saying the Volt "is not a hybrid" - that's GM. They have been telling the public it will go 40 miles with no gas, and suggesting it will be the first 100mpg production car.

CleanMPG did not set those expectations.

I don't think anyone is questioning their performance expectations; they're plausible.

The question is what are the sales expectations? The Volt will have marketing value, but will be a drag the bottom line.