Volt COTY: Korean Paper Calls B.S.
„The naming of the Chevrolet Volt as the North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show last week is sparking some controversy,” reports the Chosun Ilbo from Korea. “The main reason for the skepticism is that the Volt has sold only some 300 units since its launch a month ago. It is the first time that a car with such limited sales has won the award.”
The real sales could be less. “A GM source at the motor show admitted that the Volt’s sales were refigured at the last minute for the award,” writes the paper. What really bothers them:
Without outright saying it, the Chosun Ilbo calls shenanigans. Amongst the 21 contenders, there were 10 Asian and six European nameplates. When the field was whittled down to three contenders, left standing were the Nissan Leaf, the Hyundai Sonata, and the Chevrolet Volt. That the Volt won against all odds doesn’t surprise the paper: “The North American Car of the Year award recently has been disproportionately won by U.S. vehicles.”
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Ehem, hasn't Nissan lost about 1/3 of their Leaf pre-orders because urban apartment and condo buyers are coming to the realization that it is impossible for them to get 240V and can't even find a 110V outlet for charging (both here and in mother Japan). Haven't they delivered something like 20 Leaf's because of a bevy of launch issues that Nissan is keeping very quiet about? Old Korean saying, one should not throw rocks at rice paper houses.
I feel an urge, an inner compulsion, to initiate some form of award to commemorate improvements and advances in the design and/or operations of dumpsters since I remain convinced a growing horde of economically disadvantaged USA denizens will be clambering into those holders of life-saving and sustaining comestibles. http://www.westerndisposal.com/commercial-services/consulting-services/ http://www.nuwavecontainer.com/methodology (Made in the USA!!!!!!!!!!) Miss Dumpster Diver USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://tinyurl.com/4wc2re5
Dumpsters? They have dumpsters in the Ozarks??! Three hundred (or fewer; remember, this is GM-style counting) sales? I suspect my previous snark about the VOLT being no longer vaporware was premature. I'll bet GM loses more Chevys than that in a year.
The Leaf, the Volt and the Sonata were all worthy candidates. We've all overthought the validity of the award already. The Volt was a perfectly valid choice even if it wasn't the perfect choice. It is the first mass-produced plug-in hybrid car to be sold in North America. Period. That's reason enough to win a trophy. All the other arguments will be settled in the marketplace. As far as that's concerned, we all know that the Sonata is winning big so far...