Comments on: Volt Birth Watch 99: Volt Schmolt

By: Robert Schwartz

Robert Schwartz — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:45:48 +0000

“diactritic mark”

-2 misspelled and redundant.

“diacritic” is defined as a “a mark, point, or sign added or attached to a letter or character to distinguish it from another of similar form, to give it a particular phonetic value, to indicate stress, etc.”

By: BTEFan

BTEFan — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:00:55 +0000

I just like to see Paris Hilton confused. That is the laugh du jour. And so is the price tag of the Volt. I thought it was going to be Prius priced.
Yep, dead in the water – sort of like Paris Hilton’s career – if she ever had one.
mg

By: Dutchchris

Dutchchris — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:11:18 +0000

Actually the Volt could be one of the most profitable cars GM ever build. If it succeeds in it’s secret mission: create the goodwill GM and the other big 1.8 need to get their $ 25 billion bailout money from the US government.

By: M1EK

M1EK — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:48:09 +0000

Clearly, the Volt won’t save GM, but it is a good starting point for the future.

The Volt isn’t a good “starting point” – if you actually believe, it’s a big leap. A good starting point would be building hybrids that don’t suck. Or, heck, even normal small cars that don’t suck.

GM got caught with their pants down – the Volt was originally just a FUD project to hold off the Prius until gas got cheap again. Now it’s a FUD project to get a big bailout. In neither instance is it necessary that it actually sell.

By: shaker

shaker — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:37:18 +0000

A good caption for the above pic:

“You can never be too rich… or too thin.”

The Volt? Meh.

By: TriShield

TriShield — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:33:30 +0000

I was listening to Loveline on the radio last night and the subject of the Volt came up between calls. Dr. Drew talked about it and how it worked for a bit, then said he was probably going to get one. I wonder if he’ll remember it in the next two years it takes to finally hit production.

By: crackers

crackers — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:28:39 +0000

Clearly, the Volt won’t save GM, but it is a good starting point for the future. They need to learn to walk before they run, to find out what works and doesn’t work. Cost reductions will come eventually as volume increases and the technology matures. The 3rd or 4th generation 10 years into the future could be very interesting, especially if gas prices continue their upward climb and the world expends some serious effort in battery technology.

By: Bunter1

Bunter1 — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:25:02 +0000

Gotta put in my vote on it too.
‘a Viper for tree huggers.’
Inspired.
And accurate.

Bunter

By: netrun

netrun — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:23:07 +0000

I’ve always heard it pronounced “ca-feh” like you would in France, or for cafe racer.

Awesome pic, btw.

And +1 on the Viper for tree huggers line. That’s awesome!

By: montgomery burns

montgomery burns — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:11:08 +0000

Dr Lemming :
What’s next? Hey, how about something truly innovative like the world’s first wide small car?

You mean like the Pacer? If it had only gotten the Wankle, maybe…

By: John B

John B — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:09:50 +0000

Regardless of the merits of the Volt, this line is priceless: ‘a Viper for tree huggers.’

By: psarhjinian

psarhjinian — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:04:30 +0000

It is pronounced “cayfe” or “ca-feh”? I’ve always used the former, but when it’s mentioned–say, in podcasts–it’s the latter.

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:34:34 +0000

What’s the point of a $40,000 economy car?` If you care about saving money, you’d buy a $20K car and use the other $20K to buy gas.

By: Dr Lemming

Dr Lemming — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:26:27 +0000

I suspect the Volt will turn out more like the original Oldsmobile Toronado. Not a terrible car, but just another low-volume asterisk that displayed GM’s typical mix of innovation and myopia.

In marketing terms it doesn’t really matter what happens to the Volt. GM doesn’t believe that the corporation’s future rests upon its shoulders. This is just a big marketing game. Once GM has something else in the pipeline the Volt will be relegated to the top shelf back by the detergents (and the Camaro).

What’s next? Hey, how about something truly innovative like the world’s first wide small car?

By: faster_than_rabbit

faster_than_rabbit — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:19:39 +0000

There are enough rich treehuggers (been to California lately?) to make it worthwhile for GM, but not with that styling and not as a Chevy.

There were actually multiple Edsel models, a complete line of cars. GM has several Edsels-in-waiting: Saab, Hummer, Saturn, Pontiac, Buick…

By: RoweAS

RoweAS — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:10:15 +0000

Very well put. I suspect the Volt will turn out to be GM’s Edsel.