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Thread: Government Motors Bailout: Worth it?

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Posts: 1-10 of 11
2012-09-10 17:52:20
#1
Government Motors Bailout: Worth it?
GM Is Losing Thousands Of Dollars On Every Volt Built

You be the judge, given the fact that GM is losing $49,000 on every Volt they sell.
2012-09-10 17:58:40
#2
LOL!! I called this whole electric car being crap for the industry YEARS ago with my brother!!

Let me buy a nice Older Civic that gets close to 50mpg and I will be OK!

Shoot, even the TDI specced VWs get close to 50mpg!!

Took a Golf TDI to the Montreal Grand Prix and filled up all of twice!! Thats 600+ miles one way might I add!

Either way, other than losing money on electric based cars, the American car companies are doing rather well over actually
Last edited by Boostlee on 2012-09-10 at 17-59-15.
2012-09-10 18:19:11
#3
The gub'ment owns the majority of GM stocks so that only tells us that the gub'ment does not know what they are doing alongside GM.
2012-09-10 18:36:45
#4
Originally Posted by Kyle
The gub'ment owns the majority of GM stocks so that only tells us that the gub'ment does not know what they are doing alongside GM.


And you do?

GM has paid its cash portion of the bailout. However, the stock portion is taking longer to grow than anticipated. Good article: Uncle Sam's GM Investment Is Still Coming Up Short*-*DailyFinance

Things aren't fixed overnight. Don't lose sight of that.
2012-09-10 19:07:54
#5
" It took Toyota a while to start making money with the Prius, so if Chevy can hold out, the Volt could do the same for them in the years to come. "

The final line from the article. Like Manny said, the bailout isnt going to fix everything overnight.
2012-09-10 19:25:02
#6
Increased emissions in turn decreased efficiency, but it has led to the auto makers making the motors they are today (like the 32-34mpg 300hp V6 motors you see). But I agree, electric isn't the answer for the auto industry. Natural Gas would have been a MUCH better investment avenue for the auto makers.

Brent
2012-09-10 19:29:04
#7
I know what GM and Cry-slear did to "repay" the debts.

Nor did I ever say I knew what to do or that I held the answer.

But the government still has no idea what they are doing. That is for true.
2012-09-10 19:29:14
#8
The problem with all electric is the limited range and even more limited "filling" stations available across the USA.

The Prius although a hybrid, can STILL run off good ol Dino fuel which makes it a much more viable option as people who live in heavily populated areas (DC, Boston, etc) usually take public transport as compared to buying any sort of vehicle (due to parking restrictions, cost of parking, ownership, traffic, inconvenience, etc)

I STILL believe and stand true that the industry is simply NOT prepared to support Electric Vehicles vehicles and on the same hand, Electric Vehicles are NOT capable of supporting the American pass time - Driving long distances.

Same thing what happened 20+ years ago is happening now. History is repeating itself and regardless of current advances in technology, no one has dabbled too much in it to care (read: Solar Panel research)

P.S I agree with those Natural Gas sentiments stated by Coach. There is so much of that thing nowadays they can't give that thing away!!
Last edited by Boostlee on 2012-09-10 at 19-30-40.
2012-09-10 22:44:30
#9
Originally Posted by coach
Increased emissions in turn decreased efficiency, but it has led to the auto makers making the motors they are today (like the 32-34mpg 300hp V6 motors you see). But I agree, electric isn't the answer for the auto industry. Natural Gas would have been a MUCH better investment avenue for the auto makers.

Brent


The infrastructure for NG is not there to support large amounts of vehicles using the stuff. If you were to take the number of prius on the road and convert them to NGV civics it wouldn't be so bad. But you add millions of vehicles to become dependent on NG and the infrastructure would fall apart.

Not to mention the appeal of the EV is to get away from fossil fuels and develop other natural revenues for energy production. NGV is the equivalent of Flex Fuel, and large amounts of cars cannot be supported yet. On the other hand, you don't really see anyone developing charging stations at all. And charging is still a lengthy process.

The solution to this issue is to get rid of batteries. Lithium batteries are terrible for the environment, very expensive, and bulky for their capacity (in automotive applications). The solution to the battery will be boostcaps. High power capacitors over 99% efficient that are lighter, more powerful, and smaller than any battery. Only battery i've seen come close is LiPo, but charging these LiPo batteries is a delicate process.
2012-09-10 22:56:01
#10
You guys are seeming to miss out the the simple thing here thats plain as day.

The volt is a fucking joke and not a true electric car as it is.

Ive only seen like 4 of the fucking things, when i take the wife to work ive seen a dozen different leafs now, and when at nissan every leaf owner i talk to is happy with their car, i talked with a volt owner at costco, not so happy lol.

Electric cars are good plain and simple for people that work and live in the city with their current range and lack of charging stations, maybe someday it will get better. Its just sad though that a datsun 1200 (white zombie) actually 2 1200's have higher range, and more power and were built by a guy in his garage than anything the car companies can put out right now.
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