Volt production has started, public sale moved forward to October

sounds like something has to change. i saw an article not even 2 days ago that says they are still working on the powertrain for the Volt. the essentially finished Leaf has been touring the country the PAST 6 months. sounds like GM is currently throwing the Volt together at the last second. hope they get it together in time

 

"Spinning" is what politicians call it when they lie. Lawyers are usually more careful to lie in such a way that they can claim to be telling the truth while intentionally misleading. The arguments from your article, which you seemed to be endorsing by quoting it and then defending it, are more lawyer-like than politician-like.

As for the government selling its shares in GM for a profit, I consider that even less likely than that GM will build the Volt to resemble the promises.

So GM is pulling a Microsoft: Getting so far behind its own deadline that it finally has to cobble together something to sell and the result is garbage.

 

If you look at it, they would have been better off just restarting up the EV1 production line based on the 1997 EV1, at least they would have had an EV out by now. I know, there never "was" and EV1 production line, they where mostly made by hand, but they could have designed something based on that design.

 

Regarding the spin, just ask your friends an neighbors who read that headline how many of them now believe that GM is now all in the black with the government. In other words all paid up. That is what was misleading about the headline and needed to be unspun.

 

What exactly is your post based on other than a loathing of GM? How about a little proof?

 

GM has finally figured out how to do pr? If you want to talk about spin how many of you think toyota builds more vehicles in the US than GM or Ford? Many folks believe that, because toyota has had a PR campaign to spread that for two decades. At least that bunch of BS seems to have been incinerated along with so many other toyota 'urban legends' in this currrent toyota mess.

 

From someone who just admitted he doesn't follow Volt news - we should probably take the above with a grain of salt.

I'll say it again - we know NOTHING about Leaf development. GM has been very open with Volt development.

It is standard practice for refinements to the vehicle to be applied up to and even after production has started. EVERYONE does it. With the accelerated development schedules that manufacturers must follow to make money, it is impossible not to - if you wait until the car is 100% perfect before selling it, you will never sell.

 

if the Volt is in production now, why do we have to wait over 6 months for delivery??

is the delay for retooling? last minute adjustments?? (not a bad thing. Toyota championed the process of continuous improvement)

so, i guess we can safely say that the Volt is NOT in production right now.

 

It depends on what type of production. In my line of business we do pre-pilot builds, pilot builds, and then full production available to external customers. All of these are done on the production line to flush out any problems, verify processes, and fulfill internal orders (marketing, service depots, inventory, etc). For an assembly as complex as an automobile I can see this easily taking 6 months or longer.

 

ok fine, i can accept that. its simply a question of what "in production" means. it apparently means different things to different people.

all i can say is when the 2010 Prius was built. it started production in April (i think it was like a month earlier for Japanese versions) and we started receiving it 5 weeks later. now granted, i got mine earlier than the masses, but only by a month or so.

now, i do know that their have been Volts out on the street for several months now, but that does not signify production. pilots, test vehicles, prototypes or what have you, is simply just that.

just as i have questioned the Leaf's 100 mile range; i also question the Volts claim of 50 mpg, but just dont care as much is all.

 

About the loan being paid back. The actual loan (like you go into a bank and request a loan) has been paid back to the US and Canadian governments. What is still outstanding is the stock buyout. This means the article is correct in stating that all loans are paid in full.

This is a step in the right direction for the company and will lead to more confidence in the product, which will lead to more of the stock being bought back.

On March 31, 2010 the first factory-built Volt was produced at the Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Plant in order to test the [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_line"]production line[/ame] and for quality control purposes, both of the tooling and the pre-production vehicles that will be produced before regular production begins.

It seems by the statement in the article, that the tooling and pre-production phases are over and full blown production is starting. We should see the cars in showrooms by October.

Half of the complaints in the other Volt threads were along the lines of "if it ever gets produced". Now your arguments are invalid. Now if we can get our hands on one to test the 50mpg claims, most of the other complaints will be either validated or dismissed. The general distain for GM quality will never be taken care of, but hopefully we have some open minded people here that can realize this is a brand new car that is completely unlike anything else on the road, and unlike anything GM has ever built before, and base their issues with this car on rational, real world issues.

Oh, I must be dreaming.

 

what GM did in the past will quickly become a distant memory if they provide a top quality vehicle at a competitive price. its happened over and over again. every major car manufacturer has produced a dud. no matter how much negativity GM has earned in the past, it will all be wiped away if the Volt does what its advertised to do if sold at reasonable prices.

do we know what the Volt is selling for? is there a pre-order list?

 

I will gladly call the Volt vaporware until "We will do this" becomes "We did this"; however even I have to admit the powertrain is the one thing they DO have finished, and it seems to be their pride and joy.

 

Thats a shame, I work in the transportation industry and I realize that getting personal gas driven cars off the road is a priority, but I hoped that one day in the near future we could do the same with big trucks.

Electric motors seem to be perfect for the job of hauling goods around due to the large amount of torque, but the batteries needed for 12 hours of use, then 12 hours of charge in the industry seems to be further and further off as they study the technology. When you can move 80,000lbs 600 miles on a charge, I foresee the shipping industry to go through a major change, causing the new trucks to be built, and fuel prices to drop to near nothing... but until then we are stuck shipping every item you purchase a combined 15,000 miles on average using up oil in the process.

 

As long as the government exercises absolutely no control over the company it now owns with its 61% of the shares, and the company pays no dividends, the bailout is effectively an interest-free loan. As I said before, in a very lawyer-like manner, the company is touting its payback of the "loan" as if the interest-free loan called a "bailout" did not exist.

Unless the "loan" was paid back with money from the "bailout." In that case, the stock is worth even less than before because the total asset value of the company is less.

 

Daniel, the point is that GM is beginning to "roll". GM will post profits in the first qtr of 2010,is gaining market share and is rolling out highly-acclaimed products. The current GM cannot change what happened 10, 20, 30 or 70 years ago, it can only keep moving forward which in turn will create US jobs and get the US economy moving forward in a meaningful way. Wow what a novel idea, creating real US jobs and real US wealth without a 'bubble' involved.

 

A couple of thoughts:

First ... what GM repaid was called TARP .... separate from the bailout.

Second ... GM market share has increased from all reports ... at the expense of Toyota. Did the media trashing Toyota have anything to do with that? Isn't it wonderful how Toyota solved all the problems so quickly ... the media mentions it no more.

I personally hope GM does well enough to return to the taxpayers the bailout money ... I do not forsee when I will be in the market for another new vehicle ... but I would not be interested in a GM product until Consumer Reports shows their products with red circles rather than black, and they are removed from the "Worst" list.

 

It is wonderful to see GM turning it around. I do hope that they can continue to do so.
Once the Volt is actually in customer's hands, we should be able to see if they are/were serious about alternative vehicles or not.
I am still guessing not, but I will be more than happy to be proven wrong