Lone Ranger

Guess we struck a nerve with crafty, bigMOcats. Its not our fault that the company that has buttered his family's bread for generations is floundering on the edge of bankruptcy due to the folly of their corporate suits.

Import brands clearly have something the buying public wants, otherwise the domestics would not be forfeiting market share to them hand over fist. Poll a sample of consumers on who builds better quality, Toyota or GM. The market has spoken and is speaking and it favors import brands. How come Subaru posted a sales *increase* every month this summer when the domestics were sliding down a slippery slope trying to scratch their way forward with incentive after incentive yet consumers still chose more top tier import brands that offered little or no incentives? How come import branded vehicles built by US workers in US plants of the brands enjoy the same quality as the same brand's vehicles built offshore? Its because of the "culture of quality" mindset within the imports, that has evolved from C. Edwards Deming's total quality circle manufacturing concepts taught in post war Japan because they were bluntly rejected and mocked by the US auto industry at the time, and by "culture" that means the total quality concept is driven by the production floor and supported by the top-- a culture throughout the company.

I'll take the high road and not reciprocate the personal attack and "take your ball and go home" attitude, just because we disagree, however I really would have expected a more reasoned and moderated response by someone in your chosen field of endeavor.

As mentioned, GM has provided well for your family and you have an allegiance, I can understand that. But it doesn't change the present dire situation for GM and the other domestics, a situation they brought upon themselves by an historic inability to compete with the level of quality and efficiency consumers apparently found in top tier import brands.

Vrodder

Can't we all just get along?

hhrcrafty

Yes, you *have* struck a nerve because it's people like YOU who continually bad mouth these products and drive even more people away from these brands. It's people like you that are the reason why GM has cut health care benefits for ALL salaried employees after age 65 because you'd rather the government take care of them through higher taxes. Guess who gets to make up THAT difference? Yours truly!

No, the media has spoken and people's priorities have changed. The greater media and people like you hate American corporations and the products they produce. It is now so unfashionable to purchase anything American that our corporate base is going under. We'd rather pay higher taxes for universal health care than buy a product made by an American company.

I wasn't the first person to initiate ANY personal attacks. You have continually insisted in many posts that GM and its employees are utterly incapable of producing any of worth. That is a FACT. When people like you continue to run down the people and products from this company, I do take it as an insult because it's MY butter that's going to be on that bread in the end.

That last sentence is complete and utter nonsense. The Big Three have been able to compete tit-for-tat with ANY foreign branded vehicle for years now. I see just as many domestics on the road after ten years as I do foreign cars. Your previous example of foreign cars built in domestic factories speaks to that notion. The Big Three embraced the Deming efficiency models over 20 years ago and the quality difference is night and day. They are every bit as good, if not better, than ANY import I've ever driven.

My take on the whole situation is that people are basically sheep. They ask their neighbors, friends, and family what they're driving and they'll usually all go for the same brand or model. One person buys a Camry, 30 will follow. It's all about popularity and style. Nobody really cares if a car is going to last 10 years when the average length of ownership is 3.5. But if the media and bloggers keep this notion going that American cars suck and can't compete, what the hell else do you expect? Even Volkswagen's "german engineered" tagline exploits that notion, and they make the worst cars on the road!!

HillsdaleHHR

Enough bickering. Stay on topic: Chevy Volt

wxman

I wonder, do the service people have to be licensed electricians to work it?

I am really starting to warm to the idea of electric since I rarely drive more than 20 miles in a day. But, I'd rather have an SUV or pickup if I were to get one. Why stay with a small car if the "mileage" is the same?

Only problem is how the heck do I plug it in at my apartment?

Clevelandhhrss

LOL, yeah yeah, but bickering can be so fun. lol
I feel you 'crafty....I worked for them and only buy from them because they have what i want. Most people have no idea what goes on on the inside of a factory because the majority of the population never sets foot inside.

I am not one of those people.

The volt will be a hit. Hopefully it will actually MAKE MONEY for the company unlike the other hybrids. on the market now. So if it costs 40K, so be it. The buyers will come.

If you don't like the looks of the "production volt" then you dont like aerodynamics or efficiency. That is the point of this car. Not to be the sexiest hybrid, or the car for a youth "green" movement. Just next generation hybrid.

Hopefully the execution will be as good as the hype. GM is not going anywhwere people. Get used to it. They will be around long after everyone on this forum. Just as they have for the LAST 100 years.

All car companies bring/brought something to the table that we all can benefit from. Lets hope they keep beating each other to a pulp, the cars only get better. But anyone that thinks GM is going to get knocked out IS A FOOL.

c2vette

OK, I'll have to admit that after my first negative reaction to the Volt departing so far from the concept in appearance, I will likely be a buyer, and I think I understand their marketing strategy. Personally I am a die-hard GM fan, and will always stick with them. 67,68,72,96 Camaros; 64 StingRay; 73,79,89,96,97(electric),04 trucks; 84,96 Blazer; 76 Cosworth Vega, 08 HHR SS (all save the StingRay and ET bought new); hey, I am on a roll.

c2vette

BTW, it is pretty obvious that the same designer(s) did the new Chevy Traverse. Front end and hood are very similar.

Yonash

i really think it looks fantastic, especially the headlights and...uhh...what exactly are those little lights further down the front end? fog lights? parking lights? whatever they are, they look cool lol. does it have the amazing looks of an R8 or Gallardo or F430? no. does it have the power of those cars? no. but that's not what this car is about. sure those cars are aerodynamic, but that extravagant of styling would make for one VERY expensive car, for the market this is trying to hit. that's what the Tesla is for. is it as cheap as a Prius? no, but IMO this is a better approach to the electric/hybrid idea, and i think it has a great chance at selling quite well. it will be a bit pricey, sure. but it has the opportunity to drop in price as the technology becomes cheaper for GM to use and make, and is also rumored to be span out across not just Chevy, but i believe it was Cadillac and Pontiac who will likely be getting Volt variants.

we all knew a lot of what the concept had, wouldn't make it to production. i mean, come on, did anyone really expect those shouldered side windows to make it through? how are they really supposed to make that work out on a production vehicle? do you WANT to roll the window down? yes, you say? then how are you going to have the shouldered window? explain how you expect that to work. then tell me how you expect it to be of any viable cost to make. on concept cars, they can afford to do edgy, different stuff, that will have to be toned down for mass-production. because paying for a single one-off custom panel of glass or bodywork is much cheaper than thousands upon thousands. sure, i thought the concept looked really cool. and yes, this looks much different than the concept, but you can still see many styling cues from the concept in it. edgy things are not practical for mass production, that's a big part of why all the wicked crazy supercars and stuff, aren't made in huge numbers like most normal, run of the mills cars.

Desert Coyote

In a different thread I mentioned my wife had the opportunity to attend a Q&A session with Troy Clarke, a GM vice president. She happened to ask him a question in regards to the Volt, and got a surprising and interesting answer about its serviceability.

Apparently, when you buy the Volt, it will be serviced less like an automobile and more like a Windows-based computer. (no offense to Mac users, please don't get scared off.) In short, as the technology improves and GM R&D comes up with new ways to maximize the performance, battery life and efficiency of the car, they will send out "service packets" to reprogram the car's PCM. At the current time they're pondering how to send these packets to individual owners: one option is to have them installed by the dealers at scheduled maintenance intervals; the other is to update them automatically via OnStar. If the OnStar option is chosen, the dashboard (a neat-sounding computer screen) will alert the driver that a service packet is available and offer options for when to download and install the packet (i.e. on shutdown, when the car is plugged in, immediately, etc.).

Currently they are researching better battery technology to make the charge last longer. Looks more and more like they're leaning toward lithium-ion batteries for the Volt, which have less environmental impact than nickel-cadmium batteries.

There is a fan site already up which GM is montoring to judge consumer interest in the Volt (http://gm-volt.com), which also includes a "Wait List." According to Mr. Clarke, when the Volt is ready for pre-production, they will likely choose 1000 names off of the "Wait List" to receive pilot Volts for consumer testing.

Also, there are THREE Volts on the road in preliminary elements testing right now. These cars have the Volt electric powertrain and generator system aboard them, but the chassis are Malibu Maxxes. If you happen to see a weird-looking or weird-sounding Malibu Maxx, it's likely that it might be one of these test vehicles.