Chevy Volt a Failure - GM to Layoff 1,300

Pepe's now has a place on Central Ave in Yonkers but, sadly, it's a poor imitation and I rarely go there anymore.

 

You corrected shit. At this point it is a "small niche market" and will be for a while as long as the price of entry is $60,000.

 

From Reuters:

But total EV sales last year were only 14,687, representing 0.1 percent of total U.S. sales of 14.5 million.


Sounds like a pretty small niche market to me.

Here's the link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/04/us-autos-electric-hydrogen-idUSBRE91304Z20130204

The story says all-electric vehicles are losing favor among the automakers, who are turning to hybrids and studying other alternatives, such as hydrogen fuel cells, to try to meet the coming higher fuel efficiency standards. According to this story, hybrid sales now account for about 3.3 percent of the total U.S. market.

Again, from the story:

[Toyota] Vice Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada, the "father of the Prius" who helped put hybrids on the map, said he believes fuel-cell vehicles hold far more promise than battery electric cars.

"Because of its shortcomings — driving range, cost and recharging time — the electric vehicle is not a viable replacement for most conventional cars," said Uchiyamada. "We need something entirely new."


Also, the Obama Administration has backed off of its stated goal of having 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/31/us-autos-greencars-chu-idUSBRE90U1B020130131

 

$60000? The Nissan Leaf goes for as little as $21800, depending on the state.

 

Because Nissan is having trouble selling them:

Nissan unveiled the Leaf two years ago and to date has sold just under 50,000 worldwide. It sold 9,819 last year in the United States, well under its target of 20,000.

As part of a year-end sales push, Nissan slapped incentives of almost $6,000 on the Leaf, and in January slashed the starting price by more than $6,000, to $29,650. Some Nissan dealers in Los Angeles are advertising Leaf lease rates as low as $199 a month with $1,999 down, according to industry research firm TrueCar.

 

I was pointing out that Boom's citation of a "$60000" buy-in for an EV was an exaggeration.

I wonder if most of these manufacturers were counting on the price of gasoline having gone much higher by now to help drive sales. In 2006, when development of the Volt began, what did the program designers at GM assume the price of a gallon of premium would be by 2013?

I think everyone also assumed a breakthrough in battery technology that hasn't quite arrived yet.

 

I believe this is absolutely correct.

And I believe manufacturers are starting to think it might never happen.

 

When you develop a business you look at potential customers.

Cars are not something you buy and sell every six months just because you see a prettier one.

 

What does that mean and what does that have to do with the post you are quoting?

 

The sales are coming. many future buyers, like myself, are waiting for the time their family needs a new car.

 

What's your price point for this new family car?

 

Never called it a family car.

It gets tiresome correcting and correcting people on this thread.

I spend about $180 to $200 on gas each month for my commuting vehicle. So a $20,000 vehicle would cost me about $300 to $325 a month in payments, less the $200 a month I save in gas.

So if I can get a new car for $100 a month, that can take me round trip to work, it's a no brainer.

So my price point is $20,000. That will be here in 2-3 years.

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/smart-transportation-solutions/advanced-vehicle-technologies/electric-cars/electric-vehicle-timeline.html