Chevy volt sales continue to drop

[brenthutch 444]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3027058/posts

May sales down 4.3% amid strong full sized pickup sales.

FYI the Chevy volt is NOT the same as a Nissan leaf or a tesla.

[Opie 0]

brenthutch

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3027058/posts

May sales down 4.3% amid strong full sized pickup sales.

FYI the Chevy volt is NOT the same as a Nissan leaf or a tesla.

also in 1974 Motorola reported disappointing sales of the new cell phone.....

[AggieDave 6]

Opie

***http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3027058/posts

May sales down 4.3% amid strong full sized pickup sales.

FYI the Chevy volt is NOT the same as a Nissan leaf or a tesla.

also in 1974 Motorola reported disappointing sales of the new cell phone.....

They should have, that cellphone didn't sell for crap compared to the iPhone.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[billvon 2,998]

“Watching something on your cell phone seems like crazy talk to me.” - Matt Thompson circa 2000

[brenthutch 444]

Opie

***http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3027058/posts

May sales down 4.3% amid strong full sized pickup sales.

FYI the Chevy volt is NOT the same as a Nissan leaf or a tesla.

also in 1974 Motorola reported disappointing sales of the new cell phone.....

FYI a circa 1974 cell phone is also NOT a Chevy volt. I know it can be confusing.

[AggieDave 6]

billvon

“Watching something on your cell phone seems like crazy talk to me.” - Matt Thompson circa 2000

I remember reading about SMS messaging back in the mid/late-90s and thinking "that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, why not just call the person?"

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[billvon 2,998]

On computers:

"it is very possible that ... one machine would suffice to solve all the problems that are demanded of it from the whole country." - Charles Darwin 1946

" . . .If there were a half dozen large computers in this country, hidden away in research laboratories, this would take care of all requirements we had throughout the country." Howard Aiken 1952

On aerospace:

"The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic, carrying innumerable passengers. It seems safe to say that such ideas must be wholly visionary." William Pickering, Harvard astronomer, 1910.

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." Marshal Ferdinand Foch, 1911.

"With the possible exception of having more pleasing lines to the eye while in flight, the monoplane possesses no material advantage over the biplane." -Glenn Curtiss, 1911.

"That Professor Goddard, with his 'chair' in Clark College and the countenancing of the Smithsonian Institution, does not know the relation of action and reaction, and of the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react—to say that would be absurd. Of course he only seems to lack the knowledge ladled out daily in high schools. " - New York Times, 1919

"The Americans cannot build aeroplanes. They are very good at refrigerators and razor blades." Hermann Goering, 1940.

"There has been a great deal said about a 3000 mile high-angle rocket. The people who have been writing these things annoy me; have been talking about a 3,000-mile high-angle rocket shot from one continent to another, carrying an atomic bomb and so directed as to be a precise weapon which would land exactly on a certain target, such as a city. I say, technically, I don't think anyone in the world knows how to do such a thing. and I feel confident it will not be done for a very long period to come. I think we can leave that out of our thinking. I wish the American public would leave that out of their thinking." Dr. Vannevar Bush 1945.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

brenthutch

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3027058/posts

May sales down 4.3% amid strong full sized pickup sales.

FYI the Chevy volt is NOT the same as a Nissan leaf or a tesla.

Lesee:

A Chevy Cruze is 33mpg (from fuelly.com) car with a $17,000 price tag.

Swapping in an electric drive train and calling it a Volt eliminates the gas but ups the price to $40,000.

Paying $23,000 more for a cheap car seems stupid before you run the arithmetic - in California that'll buy enough gas at $4.50 a gallon to cover 168,663 miles.

OTOH, the $70,000 Tesla Model S is out selling gas powered cars with comparable quality and price tags.

First quarter sales were 4750 units versus 3077 Mercedes S-class cars, 2338 BMW 7 series, and 1462 Audi A8s.

I think Chevy's problems are more about trying to charge a lot for a cheap Chevy than moving electric vehicles.

[AggieDave 6]

DrewEckhardt

I think Chevy's problems are more about trying to charge a lot for a cheap Chevy than moving electric vehicles.

Especially when you have vehicles like the Jetta TDI getting incredible gas mileage for a fairly low purchase price.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Stumpy 284]

billvon

On computers:

"it is very possible that ... one machine would suffice to solve all the problems that are demanded of it from the whole country." - Charles Darwin 1946

Turns out he was kind of right - its called Google ;-)

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[billvon 2,998]

>I think Chevy's problems are more about trying to charge a lot for a cheap Chevy than moving electric vehicles.

I think they also missed the target a bit. A Volt carries the cost of a big battery (16kwhr) AND the cost/weight of a gas engine. Compare that to a Prius PHEV, which carries a battery 1/4 the size. You add a small incremental cost for the battery and you cover most of your gas usage (assuming a one way commute of 15 miles or less.) The C-Max Energi is also a somewhat better compromise with a battery half the size (and thus half the cost) of the Volt's. I have a feeling the market will settle on an EV-only range of about 20 miles for PHEV's, enough to cover 95% of most people's driving.

[tkhayes 348]

Prius sales are holding, up an down a bit. There is plenty of competition out there are new hybrids come online and variations of electric vehicles.

There are plenty of reason for Volt sales to be down, it actually does not indicate anything much more than competition and market variations..

[Opie 0]

brenthutch

******http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3027058/posts

May sales down 4.3% amid strong full sized pickup sales.

FYI the Chevy volt is NOT the same as a Nissan leaf or a tesla.

also in 1974 Motorola reported disappointing sales of the new cell phone.....

FYI a circa 1974 cell phone is also NOT a Chevy volt. I know it can be confusing.

Oh shoot, thanks. Now back to this dead horse you've adopted.

The Volt may not be a home run but that doesn't mean the technology is not worth pursuing. Other manufacturers are doing better in the field and the lessons learned from these various early forays into the field including the Volt will be used in future versions from all car makers.

-

[ayevee8toryear 0]

Quote

The Volt may not be a home run but that doesn't mean the technology is not worth pursuing. Other manufacturers are doing better in the field and the lessons learned from these various early forays into the field including the Volt will be used in future versions from all car makers.

I agree.

I believe the expensive price tag on the initial sales will be recouping R&D, per unit sold, becuase they can get away with it for now while they are novel. In the long term I see the price coming down significantly.

I like the concept of the Volt's running gear the most out of any electric vehicle setup i have seen, though I am not an expert on them.

A plug in vehicle that you drive on electricity the whole time, if you stay within a range that is over 100 KM, that has a gas generator that allows you to travel indefinitely... that is cool.

Is there any other vehicles on the market like that available other than the Volt?

A Tesla or a Leaf will just run out of energy on a long haul, then you will have to wait for a recharge before moving on...

That sux.

[brenthutch 444]

***On computers:


On aerospace:

• Quote

[funjumper101 15]

brenthutch

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3027058/posts

May sales down 4.3% amid strong full sized pickup sales.

FYI the Chevy volt is NOT the same as a Nissan leaf or a tesla.

One of my colleagues just got a really good deal on one. Nice car. He is saving about $12.00 per day in fuel costs for his commute. The savings will cover about 1/2 the car payment.

Even a right wing conservatard should be able to understand that mathematical calculation.

Pickup trucks are useful tools, if you need one. As a daily driver, not so much. They are a hassle to park, and use a lot more gas than most automobiles.

I have a GMC Denali that I use for towing boats to lakes and the ocean. My daily driver is a company Scion XD. The correct tool for the job is the right way to go.

[turtlespeed 221]

funjumper101

Pickup trucks are useful tools, if you need one. As a daily driver, not so much. They are a hassle to park, and use a lot more gas than most automobiles.

If you find it a hassle to park a truck, you need to rethink your ability to drive, and work harder on your spacial relationship drills.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[billvon 2,998]

I know you don't get it. That's OK.

[CygnusX-1 43]

I say good for them (GM). Chevy should get out of the EV market. Stick with what they know - as you put it so well, trucks. Let others like Toyota, Tesla, etc. who actually know how to build an EV vehicle do it.

That way if the market decides that EV is the way to go in the future, Chevy will be bankrupt and out of business. Then we can stop all this futile posting about american automobile companies. Let the strong survive and the weak die out. I praise the demise of the Volt. More money for Toyota* by prius buyers like me.



* to use in R&D for new and better prius cars.

[funjumper101 15]

turtlespeed

***

Pickup trucks are useful tools, if you need one. As a daily driver, not so much. They are a hassle to park, and use a lot more gas than most automobiles.

If you find it a hassle to park a truck, you need to rethink your ability to drive, and work harder on your spacial relationship drills.

Nice indirect PA. Thanks for playing.

I think that the word you tried to use is "Spatial".

I have been driving since I was 8. Started with go-carts and riding mowers. Learned to drive a stickshift VW Bug when I was 11. Was taught 2 and 4 wheel drifts by a neighbor, in a Jag XKE, when I was 13. That 850lb iron 6 makes it really hard to cleanly break into a four wheel drift. I learned to drive on the street in the greater Boston area. I lived in that area until I was 22. Driving in snow and ice develops one's skill in dealing with reduced traction conditions. When I moved to Cali, for a while I drove a 24' bobtail truck, delivering 4x8 plastic sheet all over the Bay area, including SF and Oakland. I now drive a car about 25,000 miles per year in my job. I have never been in an at fault accident. I have been hit once by a drunk driver (sideswiped in a parking lot at low speed), and I broadsided someone who ran a stop sign. I hit that car at under 10mph, even though I was doing 40 when they violated my right of way. I can get into any car, start driving, and judge distance down to 6" on the passenger and drivers side with ease.

In other words, as far as driving skill, odds are that mine are far superior to yours.

My Denali is a hassle to park due to parking spaces having gotten smaller as cars have gotten smaller, as have the lanes in most parking lots. Big truck, small space = tight spacing, which is a hassle. People freak out when you get within a foot of them while squeezing through the tight spaces.

I find it quite annoying how bad most people's ability to judge spatial relationships is. Needing at least 3-4 feet on the right side to be able to make a turn on a red light is pathetic.

The Volt is a pretty cool car. The fit and finish are in line with the price paid. I am happy that the government saw fit to invest in helping develop the technology. Money that was much better spent than the money spent (borrowed from China) on premeditated invasion and occupation, along with regime change, in the middle east.

The conservatards who aren't happy about the Volt project would have been against NASA buying integrated circuits etched onto silicon for the space program in the sixties. Why spend that much money, just to save a little bit of weight...

The 'tards would have opposed the government buying the first iterations of solar panels.

The 'tards are now opposed to the government assisting any development of technologies that might, over the long term, help reduce the use of carbon based fuels.

There has never been a positive change in society that came about due to the practical application of conservative political philosophy. Never. All of the positive changes have come from progressives. The 'tards are a drag on progress. Always have been, always will be.

[turtlespeed 221]

Must have touched on an insecurity there

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[brenthutch 444]

billvon

I know you don't get it. That's OK.

No my friend, you don't get it. My original post was about the sales of the Chevy volt, not about electric cars, computers, cell phones nor rockets. I know that it is blow to the ego, when one is wrong about: co2 induced global warming, solar panels, Chevy volt, fracking, US oil production, sea level rise, windmill efficacy, etc., I know that your heart is in the right place, regrettably, your brain is not.

[billvon 2,998]

>My original post was about the sales of the Chevy volt, not about electric cars,
>computers, cell phones nor rockets.

I know, and I know you don't understand analogies like that. That's fine.

[turtlespeed 221]

billvon

>My original post was about the sales of the Chevy volt, not about electric cars,
>computers, cell phones nor rockets.

I know, and I know you don't understand analogies like that. That's fine.

OR . . . he might be trying to stay on topic and denying you your attempts at straw men.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[brenthutch 444]

What straw man? Bill is conflating poor Chevy volt sales, with Luddites throwing their shoes in the gears of early factories. The straw man (or straw men as you say) is his not mine.