RE: GM hits Volt battery milestone; What's the car's magic price?
Let me get this straight. GM, once the crown jewel of Detroit's "Big
Three"; now, famous for nearly driving themselves into the ground by
catering to the knee-jerk, entitled, debt-loving, reality-TV masses
of the MTV generation with Hummers, Escalades, Yukons and Denalis
(still waiting for the Sherman to show up), is touting the Volt: a
40-mile-range battery hybrid, that they've been "teasing" us with in
lead up adverts and PR pieces (this being one of them), for YEARS.
I am truly not amazed in the slightest, that this company will NEVER
get its act together, instead relying solely on the loyalty and
patronage of their country-folk for survival. While competitors
overseas (Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Fisker) and even in their back yard
(Tesla) continue to produce cars that far Far FAR surpass the specs
offered by Volt at competitive pricing.
I will NEVER give one penny over to a company that continues to rape
its customer base and ignore the long-term goal of eco-friendliness
and attention to consumer (nay, the planet's) demands. They are and
always will employ Economics 101 for operating their business: gouge
the customer offering as little for as much as they are *willing* to
pay and be REACTIVE to their demands, changing models and strategies
only AFTER the supply/demand curve tells them too... ALL others are
PROACTIVE and even Tesla's way-high price point on their initial
roadster is making way for a $50K vehicle - 7-seater - 300-mile
range - PURELY electric (0~60 in 5.6 seconds, no less). And folks,
have faith, don't worry about the battery cost, if it's covered in
the warranty for 7 years - you can bet the price of the swap will be
FAR lower than today's costs - while pricing meets R&D. Your price
tag covers the cost of these PROACTIVE companies to continue to
research and design better batteries, better cars and better ROI for
your automotive dollar. GM, will need to hoard it's multi-billion
dollar piggy bank to pay the interest on its next government
bailout, when they - once again - fail to catch up to the rest of
the pack while everyone votes with their feet (and wallets).
GM, Ford and Chrysler (are/were) sad examples of corporate
complacency and greed in the land of opportunity. They didn't
"blink" when their overseas counterparts were "building"... they've
been in a coma for decades and are just NOW, starting to wake up
after a government resuscitation. VOLT is waaaaay too little,
waaaaay too late and priced waaaay too high to ever be taken
seriously. They should've partnered up with the real brains in the
industry, like Tesla... long ago, BEFORE they became a viable
competitor. They may not have the manufacturing ability to keep up
with GM *now* but wait until some of the other majors from across
the pond decide to give them a shot in the arm just to get a
"foothold" in GM's own market with a far superior product - as
usual, none of those in the ivory tower will see it coming.
