Tuesday, September 11, 2012

GM Volt

Cheap Volt lease offers meant to drive more customers to Chevy showrooms this summer may have pushed that loss even higher. There are some Americans paying just $5,050 to drive around for two years in a vehicle that cost as much as $89,000 to produce.
 …Nearly two years after the introduction of the path-breaking plug-in hybrid, GM is still losing as much as $49,000 on each Volt it builds, according to estimates provided to Reuters by industry analysts and manufacturing experts.
Some are put off by the technical challenges of ownership, mainly related to charging the battery. Plug-in hybrids such as the Volt still take hours to fully charge the batteries – a process that can be speeded up a bit with the installation of a $2,000 commercial-grade charger in the garage. …GM’s basic problem is that “the Volt is over-engineered and over-priced,” said Dennis Virag, president of the Michigan-based Automotive Consulting Group. …
It currently costs GM “at least” $75,000 to build the Volt, including development costs, Munro said. That’s nearly twice the base price of the Volt before a $7,500 federal tax credit provided as part of President Barack Obama’s green energy policy.
“I don’t see how General Motors will ever get its money back on that vehicle,” countered Sandy Munro, president of Michigan-based Munro & Associates, which performs detailed tear-down analyses of vehicles and components for global manufacturers and the U.S. government.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/10/us-generalmotors-autos-volt-idUSBRE88904J20120910

In general, companies don't continue manufacturing a product that costs twice as much to make as it sells for.  But  if you are Government Motors you do!  I have heard that the Volt is a great car, but overpriced and with some problems burning down garages, it looks like the price actually is too low.

I of course refuse to buy any GM product until the government is out of it.  They (government (Obama) and the labor union) screwed the bond holders and the old stock holders probably contrary to law, but that doesn't bother or stop Obama.

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