"The Volt" May BE SCRAPPED!- NEVER BUILT!!

[pgfpro]

GM is nothing more then a body on life support. Sure they still have cars being produced but there is no brain activity. They are clinically dead, but our government... the life support system is still keeping them alive.

Its time to pull the plug and stop using viable energy (tax payer dollars) to keep them alive. Use that energy to make a cup of coffee or something we can benefit from.

This country has got to stop wasting money and believing in magic and
fairy tales. GM is done, get over it and move on.

The Volts technology is probably already in China and will see it
mass-produced within two years. Sorry to say.

Next time your out and about ask people if they would buy a GM automobile?
The answer will tell you the outcome of the GM.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by elhigh

Getting back to the Volt, GM, and whether we should throw good money after what may be bad:

Vote with your pocketbook - buy a Fusion Hybrid. Proven, viable, available. If it weren't, you couldn't buy one.

I think the most telling statement I've read of all the above posts is the one that speaks to what $50B could've bought, if it hadn't been spent on floating GM. Well, sure that much money can buy a lot of R&D. But if GM isn't there to do the R&D, then who? Ford is already doing their own. Toyota has a few bazillion sunk in hybrid projects, Honda's off in left field brewing up next-gen fuel cells and Mercedes is making minivans that look like fish. So in effect, isn't our $50B actually going to R&D and sky-high mileage numbers, just like we want? Granted, we have to buy the bathtub with the baby, but we are ultimately getting desired results. It's just costing more than we'd rather pay.

I think one factor we all have over looked is that SOME other companies have forms of Universal Health Insurance, and this means the major car companies have A LOT less to pay in medical insurance bills than the ones here in America. Such a large savings can be invested into R&D.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by Jammer

that SOME other companies have forms of Universal Health Insurance,

Do you mean they're in countries that have universal health coverage?

If so, you have a very valid point. The playing field is not level. And who cares? Nobody actually wants a level playing field. Regardless of anti-monopoly laws, every manufacturer wants as big a piece of the pie as he can possibly get. If they could have it, GM would prefer to be the only manufacturer, Toyota would prefer to be the only manufacturer. They don't want level fields at all, they all want the high ground, the least overhead, the fewest obligations. That's the environment we exist in, and everyone involved knew it from the get-go.

Regardless of that fact, other points need to be made: the Volt is a series hybrid. The engine isn't connected to the wheels at all. Well, series hybrids aren't news by any stretch. Trains do that all the time, submarines, etc. The Volt reduces how much engine is needed with a big battery pack, but still that isn't anything earth-shattering.

Sure this technology is already in China. GM isn't breaking new ground at all. Shoot, I think the batteries are even being built in China, so again - what's the big deal?

I want to clarify that I didn't at first much care one way or the other about whether or not GM and Chrysler should've been thrown a life ring. I'm actually kind of glad they were, since I'd rather not have the US find itself even less of producer than it already is. But here's my point: we've thrown a mountain of money at GM, and to a lesser degree Chrysler. If we permit GM to fail, the odds of getting even a portion of that investment back drops precipitously. At least this way, if we keep shocking the corpse back to life, we have a chance of getting some good use out of the zombie.

[Frank Lee]

I suspect any extra money laying around goes to executive compensation.

No, make that any money that isn't nailed down. Er.. any money that can be pried/beaten/stolen.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by elhigh

Vote with your pocketbook - buy a Fusion Hybrid. Proven, viable, available. If it weren't, you couldn't buy one.

But old, less effective technology. Then of course there's the fact that I just don't want a car that's that big.

[Frank Lee]

Jah, Fusion is so, like, 5 minutes ago!

[Christ]

Originally Posted by pgfpro

GM is nothing more then a body on life support. Sure they still have cars being produced but there is no brain activity. They are clinically dead, but our government... the life support system is still keeping them alive.

Its time to pull the plug and stop using viable energy (tax payer dollars) to keep them alive. Use that energy to make a cup of coffee or something we can benefit from.

This country has got to stop wasting money and believing in magic and
fairy tales. GM is done, get over it and move on.

The Volts technology is probably already in China and will see it
mass-produced within two years. Sorry to say.

Next time your out and about ask people if they would buy a GM automobile?
The answer will tell you the outcome of the GM.

I wonder what a 5 billion dollar cup o' joe tastes like?

[Jammer]

Well, I still believe a level playing feel IS something to care about. In fact we might have many more jobs come back to the U.S. if it was not for that painful expectation of big manufacturers to supply decent medical insurance to full time workers. When they move operations to a Country that has some form of Universal Health Insurance then these companies can normally build the same product with a labor force that can likely have the same benefits at much lest cost and make a larger profit sooner. With that behind them it gives them much more room to spend more time devoted to the R&D of new cars/trucks.

[MadisonMPG]

Originally Posted by Christ

I wonder what a 5 billion dollar cup o' joe tastes like?

AMAZING!!!!

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Well, I still believe a level playing feel IS something to care about. In fact we might have many more jobs come back to the U.S. if it was not for that painful expectation of big manufacturers to supply decent medical insurance to full time workers. When they move operations to a Country that has some form of Universal Health Insurance then these companies can normally build the same product with a labor force that can likely have the same benefits at much lest cost and make a larger profit sooner. With that behind them it gives them much more room to spend more time devoted to the R&D of new cars/trucks.

Sure, the expectation is there. Guess what? Noone has to fulfill it. Benefits are not a company obligation, and Unions can ask for it all they want, but ultimately, the submissive is the dominant one. In other words, the company that the Union is hiring for still has control, within the federal labor law. If they don't offer benefits, they're not obligated to have them, and anyone that doesn't like that idea has the right to leave without pay.

I've never accepted company paid benefits where I had an option - I don't agree that my employer should be paying for my benefits, as it becomes a matter of cost, as opposed to a matter of good healthcare. The Employer will seek the lowest priced reasonable healthcare available, whereas the employee would rather have additional care beyond what the company provides.

Or, in my case, I'd rather not have insurance at all. I've never found it necessary, and I manage to pay off all my bills each time I do (rarely) need to see a specialist, doctor, or make a hospital visit. The times that the option is available, I take the money, rather than the insurance. Cash does me better, anyway.