Featured Tesla loses the race for mainstream EVs to GM

Certainly, and that is another element of the deception from the article this thread is based on. The most “affordable” Bolt price is a lot closer to that of the entry level Model 3 than has been suggested.

Still there remains an important difference in the market adjustments between the dealerships and Tesla. With Tesla, the (high) price you see advertised is what you pay.

We’ve had too much experience over the years with dealers, most recently ~3 months ago, to know this is almost never the case there. Go in to pay the advertised price then get “oh we have this (costs us $5) paint protector thing and other doodad we have to put on all cars…$800 more…” or some similar nonsense. Then get stuck there haggling for hours, "...let me go talk to my boss..."

 

In today's world, the Spark EV still appears to be popular.
Used Chevrolet Spark EV For Sale Online | Carvana

 

In the US, if you want one, better get it now. The Spark is made in the erstwhile Daewoo factory acquired by GM years, ago.

The new bill, just signed today by President Biden, narrows the incentives to US made domestic EV's.

 

I bought mine 4 years ago for $10,000. I can't believe what they're going for now.

 

Sure it is. In small markets the dealers can scalp whatever they want. This money will never go into making more cars, as the manufacturer gets none of it. The dealers thrive but the company gets worse and worse.

Tesla on the other hand is plowing some of that excess profits into R&D and manufacturing expansion. These things will eventually reduce costs and increase supply. Corrupt systems counter the invisible hand. If you buy a tesla made in austin in austin, tesla has to truck it out of state to legally deliver it to you, instead of having someone just driving it to your house or office. Why? Two billionaire car dealers have used their companies to lobby the state senate to keep it illegal. They really don't want manufacturers to cut them out of the graft.

 

The EV version was cancelled a while ago. The used EV incentive of the bill might apply to their sales. If not, it won't be because of domestic content.

The ICE Spark is still in production.

Not defending dealers, but how is it different to the buyer who is increasing the price?

 

In the short term it makes no difference to the buy although I always walked away when the mark up was as obscene as it is on some of these cars.

In the medium term, on plug-ins it is bad for buyers. That is because instead of the manufacturer getting a demand signal to produce more and eventually reduce the price, they get a signal to keep production low but raise the price. Bad buyer experience and corruption of market signals is not good. Ford on the F150 knows that there is demand and is ramping production as fast as they can, but people that got screwed out of money will be asking why in 2 years when the price drops. They may not stay with the f150 ev once there is more competition and ford knows this. The bz4x fiasco where Toyota is offering to buy them back is now in dispute because up to now they aren't willing to pay for the dealer mark up.

 

Will be interesting to see how much actual prices recede on BEVs in the next couple years. We’re very unlikely going back all the way to historical low nominal prices due to irreversible wage inflation. But with luck, receding commodity prices, unsnarling supply chains, advancing automation, and further economies of scale will provide some substantial relief.

 

The Best Car-Buying Services in 2022 (clark.com)

Is a Car Buying Service Right for You? | USAA

More car buying clout
When shopping for a new vehicle on your own, you represent a single potential sale. A salesperson also may not be able to tell if you're serious about buying.

When you work with a car buying service, you change those dynamics. Some services work with thousands of dealerships nationwide. So, dealers are encouraged to offer competitive pricing to the services to keep business flowing their way.

Using a service signals that you're not what car dealers refer to as a "lookie-loo," a person not interested in buying. That means dealerships will be motivated to avoid losing you to a competitor.

A car buying service may be the right choice if you want to save money and time as well as reduce your anxiety.

 

My only concern with discontinued car that was one of limited production is the availability of replacement parts, the cost of replacements or the availability of salvage parts.

Salvaged parts for high production number cars, like the Prius, are inexpensive because they are durable and not likely to break.

 

The Spark EV shares many parts with the Spark, which is still production. You could run into issues if something goes wrong with the motor or battery. With the newest Spark EV being 6 years old, such problems are likely as life ending to the car as an engine or transmission issue.

 

i think savvy tesla buyers see the money they are putting into charging infrastructure and perhaps elsewhere advantageous to owners, whereas, some feel that dealers are keeping all the extra money, and also see that some manufacturers are asking their dealers not to charge above msrp

 

True. The other side is that if you don't want to pay the dealer more, you can try finding a dealer sticking to MSRP.

 

With many vehicles they are out of state. It is a poor system.

 

gm-to-reinstate-quarterly-dividend-ups-share-buybacks-to-5-billion.html

won't get fooled again, oh no

watch

meet the new boss, same as the old boss

 

The Inflation Reduction Act signed a few days into law, among many things, has a new nondeductible 1% excise tax on certain share repurchases (so-called "stock buybacks"), taxed to the corporation. Not sure if/how this will affect GM as apparently there are some exclusions such as if share repurchase is taxed as a dividend.

Not sure what my point is but that is all.

 

i sold both ford and gm when they dropped the dividend, luckily broke about even.

if i reinvest in any car company, it will likely be tesla, but i should have done years ago, so i probably won't.

 

Well, shares are about to get 67% cheaper ;-)

 

I thought it would 1/3d, 33% of the current price:

• assume $1,000 / share on the split day
• 1 share -> 3 shares for $1,000 value
• $333.33 / share for 3 shares is ~$1,000.

Bob Wilson