In 1990, the ideal customer for a top-of-the-line PC was probably somebody like Sergey Brin. But he was priced out of the market and so had to make do a much inferior product. He somehow helped found Google anyway. Most new technologies sold to early adopters tend to be stupidly overpriced luxury items that miss the less wealthy market that could really benefit from it. The proof of whether the Volt (and/or other plugins) are worth it will be 5-10 years from now when it scales up enough.
The problem with the Volt vs. the Prius and the Leaf is that they're early adopting with our money. If GM were not held by the government I wouldn't care, but the Volt is a political product.
I agree. But arguing over the initial decision is kind of moot at this point. It is what it is. I liked the move, you hated it, but there's nothing that's going to change about something that happened a couple years ago. More relevant: Do you think they should take the $11b hit and sell now and let us recoup 80% or so of our investment? Or hang on to it for another few years to see if we can get it all back (and maybe then some)? I don't think there's a clear-cut answer to that based on libertarian or conservative or progressive ideology. My guess is Obama would like to sell it soon to get it off the map during the re-election. I'm personally willing to sell just to de-politicize future moves by GM. But there's a good argument for just holding on to a rising investment. Why should tax payers lose money on this if they don't have to?
What makes you think GM is a "rising investment"? There have been some massaging of profits by GM, but once again it's a political tactic, not a business one. The Federal Government is not, nor should it ever be, in an equity position with a US company that doesn't comprise a national interest (e.g., a defense contractor that makes a critical component for our defense). We should dump the company at the earliest possible moment without regard for what happens to it. The longer we hold the investment, the more money we lose.
The government has no reason to own a single share of a publicly traded company. Period. Maxie beat me to it. The govt. Shouldn't be influencing private markets at all. Period.
Yet it was unveiled in 2007 & in development well before that... Much earlier than any sort of bailout... The same could be said of you, unless you want to show us the pictures of your new Chevy Volt. I am sure large conglomerates can be trusted much more than the evil Gubermint!
And the question is given the demand for the product, what would its role be in a non-government controlled enterprise? My guess is much smaller than it currently is, because politics rather than profit is the primary driver of GM. You can trust large conglomerates more because their motivations are much more transparent. They care about profit. And in their amorality you can easily predict how they will behave.
So the Nissan Leaf, Toyota Prius, Honda Insight/Civic Hybrid were also introduced for political reasons? Spend millions/billions on sweet sweet misleading advertising & a nice PR spin machine. Then hide behind layers of subsidiaries so that if the shit hits the fan it only tarnishes one of your corporate tentacles. Also since the Government shouldn't involve themselves in anything, say whatever you want in your advertisements & do whatever you want to your employees & the surrounding communities because no one is going to police you on it. Maybe "the people" will sue, but that's why you have high priced lawyers/goons on retainer that can beat down any significant threat by intimidation or legal wrangling.
GM was one of the largest manufacturers of ethanol vehicles. Seems like "investing" the corporation's money on green ventures was a path to bankruptcy.
GM sold more cars in China than they did in the USA last year. I know that exporting things made in this country isn't very American anymore but I still believe bailing out GM and preventing the Chinese from buying it was the correct move.
Those products are not the focus of Nissan, Toyota or Honda. The Volt is being produced as the future of GM. If GM weren't government controlled, the Volt would be a sideline. You missed the point. Try again.
Why? Was it un-American to allow Chrysler to be sold to the Italians? All these car companies own each other anyway. If China wishes to purchase a company that's a money loser, then it's a financial benefit to us, just like selling Rockefeller Center to the Japanese.
Ah, but I said that I would be interested in buying a hybrid if they were more affordable. I think it's pertinent to discuss the price of the Volt. All barfo is adding that "I dont' have to buy one" and "he doesn't have any plans to buy one". Thanks for those gems.
...and you don't have one & you don't plan to buy one either(due to cost). So... Barfo's opinions are just as valid as yours & what you're quoting isn't all that barfo's said in this thread...
Do you know what GM is selling in China? SUVs, and SUV sales in China are up 54% over last year through mid-April. It's a bit ironic.
Oh, you're so right, that must be why GM has discontinued all their other product lines & is solely focusing on the Volt which will be their only product from now on. But perhaps reality suggests something different, that the volt is a new product line that will probably make up a minority of GM sales for the next couple of years. As far as it's viability, go look at how much the base price on a Lexus costs, they start at 33K for a base model. Hybrids are not for econo-boxes yet, but hybrid tech or electric tech is something a lot of car manufactures are banking on, not just GM. http://www.toyota.com/about/environment/hybrids/
Fwiw, the environmentally friendly cars, like the Prius, aren't so friendly when you factor in the life of the car and the dirty energy used in manufacturing.
Once again, you're missing the point. Those companies are using their electric motor programs as a current sideline to augment future production and demand. GM was following the same strategy when they weren't government controlled. After they were taken over by the government and the UAW they were turned into an instrument of government policy rather than financial reality. That means the Volt went from a sideshow and technological proving ground to a subsidized cornerstone of the new Government Motors. As I said before, if GM weren't in the hands of the Federal Government, it's unlikely they'd be ramping up production for the Volt when profits are higher on other vehicle lines.
According to GM's April figures, of the 232,538 vehicles delivered, 493 were Chevrolet Volts. Even if they ramp up to 60K a year, that's only 5,000 per month, approximately 2% of GM's deliverables - if they hit those targets. I am still not seeing how the White House has decided to put the Volt front & center crowding out GM's other product lines. In your mind does 1 - 2% equal a majority? http://www.toyota.com/about/news/corporate/2011/05/03-1-ReportsSales.html So possibly around 195,000+ sales yearly means hybrid tech is merely on the sidelines for Toyota?
