Comments on: Volt Birth Watch 171: Weber Bails

By: Facebook User

Facebook User — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:23:50 +0000

only problem with that plan is the Democrats are about to be booted out of office in oct next year. Here in Europe we’ve had a mass migration in voting patterns to the right which you can bet on will be repeated in the USA

i think climate change which is based on junk science propagated by Govt funded croney scientists is on its last legs. Copenhagen in Dec this year, like the G20 meetings, will be all waffle and no action (that’s politicians for you!)

By: lw

lw — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:23:54 +0000

Don’t be so sure about the Volt being a failure. Imagine the following:

- The FEDs get the health care industry under their control and need to move on.
- They launch an all out attack on oil. Huge gas taxes at the pumps and an ad campaign about the evils of foreign oil
- No drilling for domestic oil since the tree huggers would object
- $10 a gallon gas with the most of it being taxes
- Those taxes then funneled into massive rebates for electric cars. Maybe the Volt costs $40K and you get $10K a year for 4 years off your taxes to offset the cost. So anyone that doesn’t buy in to the Volt is a sucker…

The game is rigged.. you just have to figure out how before everyone else does.

By: Facebook User

Facebook User — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:06:35 +0000

Look guys despite 50 years of carnage and terminal decline at GM i still sincerely believe there’s some winners at the General. Yes people with grit, talent, honour and the steely determination to put duty above career and see a job right through to its successful launch. I’m backing Frank Weber as a solid Gold company man.

On second thoughts, maybe the slimey rat jumped camps before this expensive electric toaster fried its diodes and blew up in GM’s face a second time!!

By: derm81

derm81 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:14:24 +0000

Can he really do all that much more for the Volt? Isn’t his main dutiy pretty much done in that respect?

By: oboylepr

oboylepr — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:10:09 +0000

As a design engineer I think it would be very hard to leave a major project like this that I really saw as viable/believed in. It would be a once in a carrer oportunity.

Very true, However! Lets suppose for a minute that he feels the Volt will be a monumental flop. In that scenario getting out while the gettin’ is good makes sense. If there is a large amount of excrement about to hit the volt-fan, distance, lots of distance is your best bet if you want to stay clean. So what are the chances that the Volt will be be all it’s builders, buyers, backers claim it will be? I’d say the odds are 5 to 1 against. If I were him I would do likewise.

By: John Horner

John Horner — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:01:18 +0000

The smartest rats often get off the ship at the last port before it sinks. There is absolutely no way the Volt will be the company saver/game changer GM has hyped it to be. As an interesting science project designed and funded to move the organization and the industry a touch further into the future the Volt is defensible, but as a Hail Mary pass which is expected to win the game? Nope.

By: Bunter1

Bunter1 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:58:22 +0000

gslippy & texlovera: +1s

As a design engineer I think it would be very hard to leave a major project like this that I really saw as viable/believed in. It would be a once in a carrer oportunity.

Not saying there aren’t plenty of valid reasons for him to go…but if this is the start of a trend…

Bunter

By: Steven02

Steven02 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:54:30 +0000

His jump to Opel doesn’t make the Ampera less likely. GM selling Opel is what makes that a problem. Even so, the Ampera was a concept. GM sells Chevy in EU. If they wanted to sell it there as a Chevy to keep the IP, they could. While, no one outside of GM knows the status of the Volt, I doubt it is behind. They have been touting it too much for that to happen. My guess, Weber saw the opportunity for a promotion and took it.

By: celebrity208

celebrity208 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:43:21 +0000

Or, things might actually be “on” schedule. I’m not saying they are but the possibility exists. Another plausible scenario: they don’t want their salary capped by the guvment so they bounce. I reserve my judgment until 3Q 2010.

By: texlovera

texlovera — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:36:02 +0000

@bwell:

yeah, bailout money.

By: bwell

bwell — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:24:13 +0000

The folks at GM are definitely inhaling something.

By: gslippy

gslippy — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:43:13 +0000

Like every other non-setback at GM, it’s just a flesh wound.