Something Is Finally NOT Bush's Fault! GM Halts Volt Production, 1300 Laid Off

[twyacht]

GM blames the,.........

MEDIA!!!!

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2012/03/02/gm-suspends-production-volt-blames-media

GM Suspends Production of Volt, Blames Media

By Tom Blumer | March 02, 2012 | 19:58
Tom Blumer's picture

Well, I guess when you think you're going to sell 45,000 cars and you're on track to achieve about 25% of that, something's gotta give.

Something gave today, as Government/General Motors announced a temporary suspension of production of the company's centerpiece of environmental correctness, the Chevy Volt, and the layoff of 1,300 employees. Oh, and as readers will see in the Examiner.com excerpt, it's the (cough, cough) media's fault:

    GM laying off 1300 due to low Volt sales

    General Motors Co. announced the temporary suspension of Chevrolet Volt production and the layoffs of 1300 employees, as the company is cutting Volt manufacturing to meet lower-than-expected demand for the electric cars.

    "Even with sales up in February over January, we are still seeking to align our production with demand," GM spokesman Chris Lee said. The car company had hoped to sell 45,000 Chevy Volts in America this year, according to the Detrot News, but has only sold about 1,626 over the first two months of 2012.

    "GM blamed the lack of sales in January on “exaggerated” media reports and the federal government's investigation into Volt batteries catching fire, which officially began in November and ended Jan. 21," the Ann Arbor (Mich.) News (actually, it's at MLive.com -- Ed.) reported.

Surely GM is not referring to the New York Times, which has been overly sympathetic to electric toys -- I mean, cars -- for years. Nick Bunkley's coverage describes the production halt as a "pause."

The company also can't complain about how the Associated Press has covered the Volt story over the years. Today, the related AP story takes artificial solace in GM's move, claiming that "Although the Volt has not been a big seller, the low-emission vehicle has improved GM's reputation for innovation." It also found someone to moan about how "the perception of a safety risk has hurt sales." Fires will tend to do that.

The fact is that the Volt has been cut tons of slack through the years, up to and including its you've-got-to-be-joking designation as Car of the Year by two different auto industry publications.

Perhaps -- only perhaps, because this modern-day Edsel might have flopped even in a great economy -- the biggest irony is that if the GM-owning, "green" car-loving Obama administration had successfully turned the economy around with the right policy prescriptions instead of massive, misguided, counterproductive "stimulus," its pet car company might be having better luck finding 45,000 drivers per year with lots of money ($41,000) and a whole lot less sense to buy the things.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

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I'm "shocked" ......get it?

I'll be here all week.....

[Hazcat]

Actually GM blamed it on the media for reporting on the battery fire problem.  (honest)

[rojawe]

just think with all the other Green companies going broke then add Volt obama's nightmare and I think their trying to ship volt to China.  IT's Obama's fault now

[rojawe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=avLKiWi71cE

[alfsauve]

Well done testimony.   I'm sharing this on FB.

I especially like the part sub-title/disclaimer.    "Chevy Volt is not responsible for the contents of the Chevy Volt"

[Sponsor]

[graywolf]

Today at a campaign event...everytime he says something it's a campaign event, BHO said the Secret Service would not let him drive a Volt (too dangerous?) so he just sat in it.  I wonder if the Furhrer ever drove another "people's car", the state sponsored Volkswagen way back when? I'm pretty sure I have seen pictures of him riding in one, but never driving.  Couldn't resist in making the analogy!

[tombogan03884]

Today at a campaign event...everytime he says something it's a campaign event, BHO said the Secret Service would not let him drive a Volt (too dangerous?) so he just sat in it.  I wonder if the Furhrer ever drove another "people's car", the state sponsored Volkswagen way back when? I'm pretty sure I have seen pictures of him riding in one, but never driving.  Couldn't resist in making the analogy!

I don't think Hitler drove anything but a motorcycle during WWI.

[rojawe]

obama and his energy idiot are still pimping the volt today and the Energy Sec says he doesn't have a car and offering 10,000 tax incentive but still costing the taxpayers billions. 

[MikeBjerum]

I have driven a Volt several miles, and it is a nice car.  It has a lot of power, and handles great.  However, out here in the rural world it isn't practical for the limited range.  Also, the jury is still out on our cold winters and its affect on battery power (how many miles per charge will be lost in the cold).

As to the media - Once you get past the price the bad media could be part of it.  In the 1980's the Ford Pinto was ruined by the press on gas tank explosions, but the Chevrolet Chevette did not get hit - Chevettes did the exact thing in similar accidents.  Both companies did recalls, Chevette went on for more good years, and the Pinto went bye bye.  Same happened with Chevy pick ups with side fuel tanks vs. Ford with its tank between the frame rails in the rear.  Media missed what happened to Ford pick ups when they got rear ended or if they were t-boned in their optional dual tank location ... Just like Chevy.  The media selectively reports and then walks away smugly after they launch or sink someone or something.

Electric vehicles being "green" - Having spent several years on the board of a municipal electric utility I always questioned what makes green good and actually fought it.  Green is extremely expensive to produce, but rather than let the savings offset the cost on their own we tax and subsidize the daylights out of things to manipulate the market.  Second, what is the environmental impact of all the technology to make green good - I cite the amount of mercury in every cfl bulb in light sockets in homes vs. mercury at power plants.  Third, an electric vehicle may have zero tailpipe emissions, but we still have emissions somewhere.  All an electric car does is move its emissions from the tailpipe to the power plant stack, but the greenies deny that and claim there is no pollution from the car.

Forced technology never works, and adding tax driven subsidies to it only makes it worse.  The Volt went down for several reasons, and yes, the unbalanced media hype was part of it.

[Solus]

The Chevy Volt had major drawbacks regardless of how the media covered it.

The now defunct Confederate Yankee did a lot of coverage on the viability of the Volt and found it seriously lacking.

Here are links to two of the posts about the volt.  The second one contains links to some of the previous posts, should these two leave you undecided.

Here is an excerpt from the second link.

I compared, among other things, the difference in cost between a Volt and a well-equipped 40 MPG Ford Fiesta and found that if the Volt managed a real world MPG average of 120 (electric and gasoline), it would take a minimum of 14 years to make up the difference in initial cost between the vehicles in fuel savings. Actually, it would be more like 19 years, which of course means that for probably 99% of the public, buying a Volt would save nothing at all over a conventional, far more useful vehicle. It would almost certainly leave most owners deeply in the hole overall.

http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/318906.php

http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/318631.php