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Will the Chevy Volt Succeed?

1015 messages,  Last post on Dec 09, 2012 at 8:21 PM

You are in the Chevrolet Volt Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Volt, Automotive News, Hybrid Cars, Coupe, Hatchback, Truck, Sedan, SUV

Messages Page 99 of 102

#978 of 1015 Re: Don't hold your breath [gagrice] by jimparr

Apr 11, 2012 (6:15 am)

Replying to: gagrice (Apr 10, 2012 9:43 pm)
Your post is disturbing. China is not mentioned in the parts content part of my sticker. Where does that China stuff come from?
  Also you state we do not have the resources or expertise to make a decent EV or Hybrid. I got news for you, there is one in my garage, its real, its here now, its American, and its a fantastic car!

#979 of 1015 Re: Don't hold your breath [jimparr] by gagrice

Apr 11, 2012 (7:17 am)

Replying to: jimparr (Apr 11, 2012 6:15 am)
Yes your Volt has an American name plate. No it is not mostly a USA made car. My research shows that actual USA content including assembly is 30%. I am glad that Nissan will be assembling the Leaf in the USA as well. That is better than nothing. But your premise that the name makes it an American car is about as true as saying an Apple iPhone is an American product. To manufacture an EV or Hybrid takes a large amount of Rare Earth Elements. Currently China produces and Sells 97% of the World's supply. We are just now starting to mine them again to protect our military. However we are sending them to China for refinement. We are NOT in any position to build a complete or even half of an EV or Hybrid. Thanks to years of over regulation in this country.
 
As far as the old "buying from the enemy" line. We bought more crude oil from Canada last year than the total from the Persian Gulf. You may not realize it but the Lithium in your batteries comes from an avowed enemy in Bolivia. There is a reason we buy our Li-ion batteries from Korea. Bolivia does not want to sell the USA their resource.
 
The Green agenda is going to be more buying from other countries than the old fossil fuel agenda. To support our workers people should buy a Ford F150, Camry or Accord that are about 80% USA made. Thankfully we are still sort of a free country to do as we like.

#980 of 1015 Re: Don't hold your breath [gagrice] by jimparr

Apr 11, 2012 (8:41 am)

Replying to: gagrice (Apr 11, 2012 7:17 am)
You bring up China a lot. It seems to me that you are willing to assume at some point that country will be involved with production of the Volt. I don't like to assume anything. We can build this car--that's not an assumption. Yes the batteries come from Korea. That still does not make the case for a pro oil agenda.

#981 of 1015 Re: Don't hold your breath [jimparr] by gagrice

Apr 11, 2012 (8:52 am)

Replying to: jimparr (Apr 11, 2012 8:41 am)
You can be thankful. You will have one of the few Volt cars assembled in the USA. My guess they will be built in China by next year. Too bad our government does not protect US like most other countries protect their workers.
 
GM to Build Electric Cars in China, Protect Chevy Volt Technology
 
SHANGHAI – General Motors Co. agreed Tuesday to deepen cooperation with its flagship Chinese partner on development of electric vehicle knowhow amid pressure from Beijing to hand over proprietary technology.
 
Investments and other details of the plan were not provided, and it was unclear if the agreement was the result of a renewed push by China to acquire advanced technology its own automakers still lack.
 
U.S. lawmakers have complained that China is shaking down GM to get the technology that drives the Chevrolet Volt electric car. GM plans to start selling the Volt in China by the end of the year, but its prospects are iffy because it doesn't qualify for a Chinese government subsidy that amounts to $19,000 per car. The government offers the subsidy only to electric cars made in China.
 
PS
Pro oil is not the issue. It is the 250 million existing vehicles that require oil to move down the road. And that is still the most economical means of individual motorized transport.

#982 of 1015 Re: Don't hold your breath [gagrice] by jimparr

Apr 11, 2012 (10:01 am)

Replying to: gagrice (Apr 11, 2012 8:52 am)
Thanks for an informative and nice response. I hope for the sake of the American worker that production of the car remains in the USA.
  I do think the Volt is economically viable now for the right consumer. And I think there are millions of "right " consumers. Mass consumption of the Volt would help get this country toward economic independence.

#983 of 1015 Re: Don't hold your breath [jimparr] by gagrice

Apr 11, 2012 (1:18 pm)

Replying to: jimparr (Apr 11, 2012 10:01 am)
The more I see US losing manufacturing jobs the more concerned I get. Cars like the Volt and Leaf are the future. We are not doing much to manufacture the future in the USA. We should be manufacturing the battery cells and electric motors and controllers here. GM is still buying the gas engine in the Volt from Opel. Built in Europe somewhere.

#984 of 1015 Re: Don't hold your breath [gagrice] by igh

Apr 11, 2012 (2:17 pm)

Replying to: gagrice (Apr 11, 2012 1:18 pm)
The Volt engine is currently being built at the Michigan Flint Engine South plant. GM had to retool the assembly line to get the production costs in line.
 
http://www.wnem.com/story/17231047/gm-to-invest-75m-to-upgrade-offices-at-flint-- engine
 
GM has battery contracts with A123 systems (recently in the news for wrong reasons) and Envia a start up from Silicon Valley. US will continue to innovate and make stuff at the top of the value chain. Mature technology will be moved to China for low cost production.
 
US did import $100 Billion worth of oil from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and
other middle east countries in 2011. US spent another 100 billion on military costs to ensure these oil supplies in the middle east.
 
Currently Chile (a friendly nation) is the largest producer of Lithium. Bolivia was not among the top 10 in production in 2011.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium

#985 of 1015 Re: Don't hold your breath [igh] by gagrice

Apr 11, 2012 (3:38 pm)

Replying to: igh (Apr 11, 2012 2:17 pm)
I should have said lithium reserves:
 
Now, with the emergence of electric cars, lithium could challenge petroleum as the dominant fuel of the future. And nearly half the world’s known resources are buried beneath vast salt flats in southwestern Bolivia, the largest of which is called the Salar de Uyuni. Bolivians have begun to speak of their country becoming “the Saudi Arabia of lithium.”
 
Yet it’s not clear that Bolivia is capable of making money off its trove. Morales, who is closely aligned with the populist socialism of Hugo Chávez, the President of Venezuela, is prone to revolutionary declarations: “Either capitalism dies or else Planet Earth dies.” Such rhetoric tends to scare away the kind of foreign investment that would facilitate the development of the Salar.
 
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/03/22/100322fa_fact_wright

#986 of 1015 Re: Don't hold your breath [gagrice] by jimparr

Apr 12, 2012 (6:15 am)

Replying to: gagrice (Apr 11, 2012 1:18 pm)
My sticker says the engine was built in Austria. Transmission (electric drive uint) - United States.

#987 of 1015 Chevy's reputation abroad? by steve_ HOST

Apr 13, 2012 (10:33 am)

A reporter wonders about Chevy's reputation abroad. If you did not grow up in the US, email predmunds.com by 4pm Eastern today, April 13, 2012, to share your thoughts on Chevy's reputation back home.

Messages Page 99 of 102

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