The
killer Chevy Volt at NAIAS 2008
As I finished off my last day at NAIAS, I happened to
walk by the Chevy
Volt, and I noticed something. Like a Siren Song,
the Volt continues to enchant crowds, seducing believers
with dreams of a better future. Whether it's the
Internet, or NAIAS, the Volt is still an amazing hype
machine.
But is it all just hype?
Last year, I was invited to attend NAIAS to experience
the debut of the Chevy Volt, to speak with some of the
people involved with the Volt, and to hear Bob Lutz
wager his career on the Volt.
Since, I've been invited to other GM events, to test
drive different hybrid cars and fuel cell vehicles, to
engage GM engineers and designers - I even ate dinner
with Bob Lutz, his wife, and three other journalists
once - and this year I was again invited to NAIAS by GM,
which I'll have a lot more to write about in the days to
come.
Again, I met with engineers and designers, including the
Volt's head designer, Bob Boniface and Frank Weber, the
engineer in charge of not just the Volt, but the entire
E Flex Drive, and I have a quote from him that I cannot
wait to publish.
And, I was invited to GM's new product studio in
Warren, Michigan - the first ever product design studio
dedicated to just one car, the Chevy Volt.
Unfortunately, my travel plans didn't allow enough time
for me to partake in the visit to the Volt design studio
to witness first hand some of the design changes that
the Volt has undergone since the wind tunnel began
grabbing onto the Volt in an unacceptable fashion in
tests last year.
Fortunately, however, I got to see the lab and some new
pictures of the Volt on CNBC which ran a feature
on the new design lab yesterday morning.
That made me wonder, why
would GM put hundreds of engineers and tons of
resources, such as a designated, one-of-a-kind studio,
into the Chevy Volt if it was meant as nothing but a
hype machine?
Honestly, GM didn't have that great a year last year, so
would they have gone bankrupt without the hype from the
Volt? How is Volt hype really helping GM's bottom line?
And, suddenly, I hear the siren singing, calling out to
the disenchanted, to those losing hope and to those
seeking change.
America IS in the midst of an automobile revolution and
GM is not as stupid as many believe. GM knows full well
that foreign oil dependency is on the verge of choking
the US auto industry to death, while destroying the
lives of millions of Americans with its bankrupt wake.
Yet, the question must be asked, why are we blaming GM
in the first place?
Without doubt, GM has made numerous mistakes, and GM
continues to make a lot of mistakes, such as not
developing a Prius-fighter concurrently with its other
dual mode hybrids, but it's almost too late for such a
hybrid now. It's all about lithium, even for Toyota.
More interesting, let's say GM did stop making large
SUVS, Toyota has proven that it would have gladly filled
that void. Quite simply, there are MANY consumers for
such vehicles, and that fact cannot be solely faulted to
GM and other US automakers when even Toyota is
outputting its largest vehicles ever even as we head
into the green revolution.
Perhaps if Americans knew what the real cost of gasoline
was every time they filled up their tank - dare I say
they even paid the real cost of gasoline at the pump -
things might be different. SUVs would have never become
so popular and efficiency would have been
consumer-driven.
Sadly, however, most Americans don't realize that
securing foreign oil from the Middle East costs tens of
billions of dollars EVERY year (not including war
costs), and that these costs are NOT included in the
price of gasoline. Yet, these costs must still
eventually be paid for by taxes - lots and lots of
taxes, or lots and lots of deficit.
Congress, on the other hand, has no such excuse. They
write the check for the security costs of foreign oil.
This "subsidized denial", as blogger Kevin
called it on an earlier
post, is destroying America, as the subsidizers -
Congress - continues to complicity go along with the
greatest hoax ever perpetrated against America as they
transfer blame to automakers.
Instead of CAFE, Congress should have focused on the
real problem, the artificially low cost of gasoline, but
it is impossible for anything boldly visionary to come
out of Congress. Sadly, Congress is primarily motivated
by winning power, not by creating effective legislation.
Suddenly, I hear that Siren Song again, but this time I
realize it isn't the Volt that is enchanting me into
some false belief, it is the song of cheap gasoline
subsidized by Congress that is luring America into
disaster. The Volt, on the other hand, is a buoy of hope
as we near the precipice of a gas-guzzling disaster.
Maybe, just maybe, GM can produce the Volt and prove
that America can save itself - despite our pathetic
leaders. Besides, GM has everything to gain and
everything to lose when it comes to the Volt, and the
more hype the Volt creates, the more GM's survival
becomes hitched to achieving the Volt.
From
comments
"I
personally have no support to give to companies like GM.
Their engineering has been subpar for a long
time...they've made garbage vehicles for a long long
long time. They have been a HUGE disservice to the
general public for creating environmentally disastrous
barges which cater to Bush-loving, neocon idiots when
they have known all along that they could easily make
efficient cars for the masses.
Shame on them. For that reason, I have no qualms about
companies like this going out of business and making way
for firms that actually are productive, innovative, and
forward thinking...i.e. Honda?
A day late, dollar short GM...you can't be the school
bully and one day turn around and start acting nice."
(more)
--------------------------------------------
"Hope.
And it is because of hope that I will continue to plug
the Volt, pun intended of course, because hope can turn
myth and dream into reality.
Some might call the Volt a distraction, I see it as an
opportunity for GM to wrong its rights, or to go
bankrupt trying.
As Volt myth grows, so to do expectations, and great
expectations might just be GM's last hope - America's."
(more)
