Volt Birth Watch 153: GM Plays the Babe Card
How did we miss facesofgm.com? I mean, it’s not like they have four (five?) other websites offering the public a look down the nationalized rabbit hole. But now that we’ve found it, well, way-hey! Clearly, New GM is playing the babe card; all three “faces” are female. Mel Fox by name, Mel Fox by, uh, nature. Needless to say, “the world of Mel” has been carefully sanitized by GM’s spinmeisters. Not so much Mel’s personal blog: theworldofallthingsmel. Here we get the idea that maybe Volt battery engineer Mel’s got mixed feelings about GM. “so i find myself asking… what can i do about this? [the root of the problems that we face in our nation is the mindset of humans, and the way people in power work to manipulate others, and the way that those being manipulated enable themselves to be manipulated again and again] the other question i ask is, how much of my career needs to involve invoking change vs. believing that what i’m working on is “good?” my point here is that perhaps it’s via the time donated to affiliations and public offerings that real change can be fostered as i don’t see too much within corporate america that truly facilitates change (fundamental change, that is).” On the other hand, Mel’s met the enemy and it is us!
i love that gm is so involved with social networking and sharing information about the employees at gm with the outside world. my perception is that the media perpetuates a horrible image of the automotive industry, and i am a big supporter of general motors showcasing the hardworking and interesting people that work on the inside!! one of my favorite things about working at gm is working with so many excellent people – i have been very lucky to develop good relationships with new people and seasoned veterans, and to be able to learn from and work together them in this very exciting industry!! :-)
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I feel sorry for you, Ted, that you feel as if you can predict the success or failure of a vehicle over 12 months before it is released. I don't think that GM will have a problem selling the production numbers of the Volt. While it may be a somewhat niche market, there are enough trend setting early adapters that will be up for it. As for the Prius plug-in, while it is a very cool vehicle as well, it's very different than the Volt. If I remember correctly (and I could be wrong) the Prius plugin will still use an ICE intermittently throughout the drive cycle (highway speeds, acceleration, etc) and has a MUCH smaller battery capacity (5-10 miles all electric) In your OBVIOUS expert opinion, I fail to see how that would indicate 'game over' as you say, for the Volt. To make the assumption that anything toyota sells in this market will be instantly a hit, and anything that GM sells (even with, in this case, much better specs) will fail is baffling.
Ms. Fox is definitely quite good looking and apparently quite brainy as well. She is a very good spokeperson for GM. Of course the underlying reason she is in the video is to find someone who looks like the market GM would like to get back: Young, white, educated, upwardly affluent, eco-concerned. Those people buy Prius or Civic. My opinion is that the Volt technology may price itself out of the market in the short-medium term. GM doesn't have a great history of execution and I'm not convinced that being financially unstable will bring out the best in them.