Volt as a Halo Car? Maybe

[xcel]

If it brings customers into the Chevrolet showroom it is.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - May 26, 2012

2012 Chevrolet Volt - $39,995 to start, a 35 mile all-electric range and 37 mpgUS combined when on gasoline.

According to GM, the Volt is winning new customers to the brand from the competition with the Toyota Prius topping the list of most traded-in vehicle followed by the Toyota Camry, Honda Civic and BMW 3 Series.

The tail of the tape says otherwise as Prius family sales were 25,168 in April vs. the Volts 1,462.

Testimonials

Access to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, also known as carpool lanes, is a commuter perk in traffic-clogged California.

Steve Glenn of Santa Monica, CA and new Volt owner:

“I owned a Prius for six years and loved it. I was one of the first to sign-up for the plug-in (version). While I was waiting for it to ship, I learned that the Volt would qualify for the HOV stickers, so I did a test drive. I fell in love then. It’s faster, better appointed and gets far better gas mileage than the Prius (or the plug-in). I've driven it over 1,000 miles and I've only used five gallons of gas.”

Chevrolet Volt Marketing Manager Cristi Landy:

“Nearly seven in 10 Volt buyers are new to Chevrolet. With new customers coming to the brand because of the Volt, our dealers have a great opportunity to establish lasting relationships and introduce them to our entire Chevrolet product line up.”

According to GM, Volt owners have accumulated more than 10 million miles since the vehicle launched late last year and roughly two-thirds of those miles were on electricity. That is one of the best stats in the industry and while expensive, it is doing its part.

[300TTto545]

It might bring me into the showroom when I am ready but there isn't another Chevy I would even consider. If you are considering spending $40k for a car, you aren't going to look at a Cruze and you aren't looking at anything less than 40mpg.

It pretty much becomes Fusion Hybrid, Prius, Volt or Leaf and possible Camry Hybrid or Sonata Hybrid. I don't see that Chevy has anything else close enough to benefit from the "halo" effect.

Now the Prius helps sell some Camry hybrid's I'm sure.

[Carcus]

I'll believe GM is serious about efficiency when they seriously start cutting curb weight across the board.

Until then, ... it's all halos and bullshlt.

[herm]

Dont forget the $7500 of your money that Uncle Sam allows you to keep, if you pay that much in taxes.

[Carcus]

There was one guy interested in cutting weight at GM .... Tom Stephens. Unfortunately, he got promoted to the broom closet and subsequently retired.



How will GM compete against the new Altima, the Cx-5, all the Priuseseses?

I'm not so sure Akerson understands how to put GM on the right path.

CEO Akerson Shuffles Executives to Put Own Stamp on GM
http://www.autoobserver.com/2011/01/...amp-on-gm.html

The $30,000 Can of Coke
http://beldenblog.com/the-30000-can-of-coke/

[southerncannuck]

I believe that a lot of Volt bashing is over the top. To compare it to a base Cruze is disingenuous. The quality of the drive cannot be compared. My Fit is EPA rated at 31 mpg combined (I think) which makes the Volt's 37 MPG look pretty good given the increased comfort and safety. "More than 10 million miles since the vehicle launched late last year and roughly two-thirds of those miles were on electricity" and clean mpg members are negative?

It's a heck of a car with incredible technology for a take home price less than a BMW that's made in the USA. At least that's my take on it.

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Originally Posted by Carcus

There was one guy interested in cutting weight at GM .... Tom Stephens. Unfortunately, he got promoted to the broom closet and subsequently retired.



How will GM compete against the new Altima, the Cx-5, all the Priuseseses?

They'll keep working on improving their cars, I guess.

Remember that the "Lutz" philosophy is to build cars that people like and try to improve the mileage and not the other way round.

You can aim for the best mileage, but unless you're the best, compromises made to improve mileage can hurt sales and margins as the cars leapfrog each other with a new release. Right now at least, GM's strategy, to make up for inefficiency is to use Eco trims. It doesn't mean that they aren't trying to lighten the vehicles, but they have a lot of weight to lose.

I'm not so sure Akerson understands how to put GM on the right path.

CEO Akerson Shuffles Executives to Put Own Stamp on GM
http://www.autoobserver.com/2011/01/...amp-on-gm.html

The $30,000 Can of Coke
http://beldenblog.com/the-30000-can-of-coke/

I don't know either, but Akerson's at least partially right on the Coke can. As noted in "Who Killed The Electric Car?" executives repeatedly failed to listen to consumers who said they wanted efficient vehicles, and instead tried to chase the high margin segments when gas was cheap. The first article at least suggests he's trying to use the global engineering assets to get cars to market faster.

[Carcus]

Akerson : “It’s a consumer product,” he said. “GM has to start acting like a consumer-driven, not engineering-driven, company. We sell a consumer product – our can just costs $30,000.”
________________

Akerson is more than willing to embrace "image advertising" while at the same time kick the engineering brains to the curb.

To me, the whole concept of cutting weight would be a massive undertaking. Involving all the engineering across the board and an assload of communication/planning inside and between engineering departments. The cheapest, easiest way to a solid, quiet ride is to add weight. Go the opposite way and cut weight, now you've got serious challenges -- I would think someone like Stephens full well understands this.

I don't think Akerson gets it. He appears to be the wrong guy at the wrong time. In an era where "efficiency is king", you've got to embrace the engineering, not step over it.

Seems to me Akerson is primarily focused on the immediate goal of keeping GM at the top of the volume sales heap -- trying to reap the rewards without doing the time. I would think consolidation, cost cutting, some downsizing, regrouping and an emphasis on engineering to produce a technically improved product to beat the competition (volume sales, not halo) is the proper way forward.

[EdwinTheMagnificent]

I saw a Volt on my bike ride yesterday ! We don't see them too often around here , except at Chevy dealerships. It was sitting in some rich dude's driveway , being charged.
Nice.

[herm]

Originally Posted by Carcus

The cheapest, easiest way to a solid, quiet ride is to add weight. Go the opposite way and cut weight, now you've got serious challenges -- I would think someone like Stephens full well understands this.

Look at the Honda Civic, its light but reviewers complain of high road noise and a hard dash.. perhaps GM should stop reading reviews.