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The genius of the Chevy Volt – at $40k each

By: yoyo (Diary)  |  October 19th, 2009 at 10:15 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

This is just a quick entry, but it came to me as an epiphany.

I was thinking, why on earth would anyone buy an underpowered, POS Malibu without an engine for $40k each?   Then I realized that “no one” was the answer, but the Volt was not made to be purchased – except by idiot tree-huggers.  The real reason it was made was to “buy” CAFE leverage.  By making just one – NOT selling, just MAKING – GM can make 11 other cars [averaging 15 mpg, like the Camaro or Corvette - cars people WANT to buy] and remain below the 35 mpg CAFE standard, set for 2016.

The jury is still out on the Camaro, but without Pontiac and Hummer dragging down the corporate line, the VOLT, even if NO ONE EVER purchases ONE, will allow GM to continue [or start to] make real vehicles that everyone outside of the city limits of SanFran wants and needs.

At 235 miles each, one can make a whole lot of other gas guzzlers and keep below the 35 mpg CAFE standard.  $40K is a cheap write-off.

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  • redtillimdead

    The Volt has an engine. It will have GM’s new 1.4L 4-cyl engine in it, which will get more than 40 MPG (Turbocharged) in GM’s new compact car,the Chevy Cruze. The Malibu is not a POS. It ranks higher than the Japanese competition in many tests, and gets better fuel economy. Also, the Malibu is based on GM’s global Epsilon platform, and is a mid-size car. The Volt is based on GM’s Global Delta II platform, and is a compact car. The Volt is also expected to start between 35k and 40k, with a 7k government tax rebate bringing the cost down to the low 30k’s. A few other minor points I want to make:
    Pontiac is NOT a drag on GM’s CAFE rating, it actually brought them up. Camaro will not hurt either. It gets nearly 30 MPG (29) with the V6, and GM has consistently improved mileage on each model every year. The V6 and V8 both have better fuel economy than the Mustang, while getting much more power. The Corvette isn’t too bad on gas either, it gets 26 mpg, only 1 MPG less than a Nissan Altima V6, for a V8 with over 300 hp. GM has 2 new small SUV’s on the market, the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain. Both achieve 32 MPG, better than the Ford Escape Hybrid (The Equinox and Terrain are NOT hybrids, so of course, Al Gore will not approve). The reality is, despite perceptions, GM does NOT need to VOLT to get pass CAFE.

    • redtillimdead

      You Said “By making just one – NOT selling, just MAKING – GM can make 11 other cars [averaging 15 mpg, like the Camaro or Corvette - cars people WANT to buy] and remain below the 35 mpg CAFE standard, set for 2016.”
      This statement is completely false. CAFE averages are based on the cars SOLD not made. In reality, the first year the Volt is in production, it will have very little impact on CAFE. GM will produce much less than 10,000 next year (production begins November of 2010) and, even 230 MPG will not make a difference if you only sell 5,000 and you sell a total of a million cars. It will probably be by 2013 before it makes any significant impact on CAFE