They haven't even started selling these things yet but here comes the hype.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/11/15/autos/motor_trend_car_of_the_year/index.htm

I wonder how big of an ad buy GM made with Motor Trend.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://bible.cc/1_corinthians/13-11.htm

Hopefully this Volt isn't a complete piece of shit. If Toyota, Honda, VW, were producing this car, I would feel a little more confident, but GM isn't exactly known for reshaping the auto industry with quality products.

MT selection has long been the result of politics rather than merit.

To Wit: some previous CoTY recipients:

Renault Alliance (used to work on them...we called them Renault Annoyance...horrible car)

Dodge Omni

Plymouth Volare

Chevy Citation...king of the recalls

Dodge Caravan

Chevy Caprice (1977 and 1991)

Dodge Aries

Chevy Vega (might be the worst car, mechanically, ever)


The Volt, which is a gov't lobbying effort on 4 wheels, and costs @ 30k more to build than they can dare hope to sell it for, fits right in. Welcome to The Club!

WashingTone-Locian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I wonder how big of an ad buy GM made with Motor
> Trend.

We'll probably never know. But let's look at a few of Motor T's more notable picks over the years. As you can see they have demonstrated a penchant for knowing a future classic when they see one. Enjoy!


The Ford Fusion (code name CD338) is a mid-size car produced by the Ford Motor Company since the 2006 model year. The 2010 model was awarded the Motor Trend Car of the Year and its hybrid version won the 2010 North American Car of the Year Award. The Fusion is manufactured at Ford's Hermosillo Stamping & Assembly plant in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico,



The 2004 Prius

........ One of my favorite the 01 PT Cruiser

'96 Dodge Caravan ...'85 Renault Alliance

Who can't forget the "K" cars.. Ladies and gentleman , Motor Trends 1981 Car of the Year, the Dodge Aries
.................................1978 Dodge Omni

1980 Chevy Citation.....1976 Dodge Aspen..

And the highly sought after collectable 1972 Citroën SM

eesh Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hopefully this Volt isn't a complete piece of
> shit. If Toyota, Honda, VW, were producing this
> car, I would feel a little more confident, but GM
> isn't exactly known for reshaping the auto
> industry with quality products.


That's exactly what I was thinking.
Chevy is not known for its quality workmanship.

At least the '76 Aspen was available in the rusted pile of shit brown color right out of the factory. It held up well 2 years later when rotted holes would show up through the quarter panels

I was going to come to the defense of the Volare until I realized I was actually thinking about the Valiant...



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://bible.cc/1_corinthians/13-11.htm

The Renault Alliance was a major joke, I knew a girl who had one and the trans went out after like 20K miles.

I personally helped friends destroy a Citation and an Omni (or Horizon) in the 80's. It's amazing how few of these and other econoboxes like Vegas, Chevettes and Pintos are on the road.

Motor Trend is definitely getting stroked by the manufactures on this.

idontlikebeingrightaboutshitlikethisbutiam



Edited 21 time(s). Last edit at 5/31/1967 05:57AM by WingNut.

Last edit at 11/30/2015 01:37PM Last edit at 5/14/2015 03:52PM Last edit at 1/28/2014 05:57AM Last edit at 11/29/2015 01:10PM Last edit at 3/14/2011 11:52PM Last edit at 7/20/2012 04:07AM
Last edit at 6/29/2013 11:18PM Last edit at 3/19/2011 01:02PM Last edit at 3/26/2012 09:07PM

In defense of Motor Trend, the Caravan, Prius, K Car and, to a much lesser degree the PT Cruiser, were all market makers in their day. The Omni and Citation were pathetic responses to what Japan was producing in the late 70s and early 80s.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://bible.cc/1_corinthians/13-11.htm

I had one of these back in the day. 1968 Chevy Bel Air. Black and looked just like this one. It was a pain in the ass to keep it going, but when it was running right, it would haul ass.
Attachments:

I don't normally give out stock tips as a rule. However here is one to avoid like the plague and don't think I'm going out on a limb.

GM

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704648604575620982583079458.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5

"Then, of course, there are all those looming costs. GM warned that it may have to make "significant contributions" to its U.S. defined-pension fund. As of the August filing, the fund was underfunded by $17 billion. Ford says its pension funds are underfunded by about $15 billion."

"Last but not least is the issue of GM's internal financial controls. Deep in the fine print of its prospectus was this: "We have determined that our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting are currently not effective. The lack of effective internal controls could materially adversely affect our financial condition and ability to carry out our business plan."

In other words, GM essentially said all the numbers used to tout the company's success are to be taken with a grain of salt—and that is putting it lightly. It could be a red flag or a promise of red ink. Who knows?"


James Early, a senior analyst at the Motley Fool, says GM won't fool him twice. "The only way I'd touch GM is with a cold, dead hand severed from my lifeless body," he says. "GM has lost more money than it's made for shareholders over its life. If it's proven one thing, it's that it can destroy shareholder value."



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2010 09:49AM by mcsmack.

Have fun paying for premium gasoline

octane 91 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Have fun paying for premium gasoline

WTF?

Stop winning, do some research. Chevy Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid will require premium gas. What a shitty car to save on fuel cost.
http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/07/gm-says-chevy-volt-will-require-premium-gas-fuel-costs-10-more-than-regular.html

why are americans so blind kissing up to the asian countries who want to continue to ram their products down our throats. Don't you realize everything is made in China that we buy while americans are out of work. Why do they kiss up to the asian dealerships buying their cars they are taking over all industries because we continue to put down our products. What is wrong with Americans. Everytime I see an American buy a car from Asia it makes me say to myself why why why are americans giving everything away to asia. Stop putting down our own products, because one day we will all regret that we have been so blinded blindsighted and made fools gauking and gawking and gawking asian products. Now practically nothing is made in america anymore and because of this we are worse off and young people in america don't know how to make anything. We even feel we shouldn't even do our own yards. What happened to this country. Do americans think they are better off to let someone in another country or culture do everything for us so. Is this prosperity for us. Are the people complaining about american cars that dumb and blind.

Warren Brown's review from Sunday's Post:


2011 Chevrolet Volt

Warren Brown
Sunday, February 13, 2011; 9:00 AM

I seldom agree with the Car of the Year awards given by magazines or panels of journalists, such as the one issued at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. But I have participated in many of those presentations and probably will do so again.

This year, however, I enthusiastically agree with the car juries (none of which I was on), including the NAIAS panel. The popular choice is the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in electric hybrid hatchback sedan. The Volt changes everything - the car itself, the way we think about and use automobiles, and attitudes about energy conservation and fuel alternatives.

...

The car is a work of premium craftsmanship, easily among best in class. Electric-to-gas-to-electric operation is seamless. We don't need a gasoline-powered "regular" car and an all-electric environmental-statement car. With the Volt, we would have both.

Feb. 9: I stop at a filling station. That brings laughter and chiding from other customers. Typical question/ridicule: "That's supposed to be an electric car. Why the [expletive] are you filling it with premium gasoline?"

I point to the total cost of my gas fill - $1.86 for premium. I point to one of their refilling prices: $53.35 for regular.

There's no need to say anything else.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/11/AR2011021102741_2.html?sid=ST2011021102950

Numbers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had one of these back in the day. 1968 Chevy Bel
> Air. Black and looked just like this one. It was a
> pain in the ass to keep it going, but when it was
> running right, it would haul ass.


That's a sweet-looking car. But as you say, the problem with those old cars is something's always breaking down.

I had a '66 Olds 98 for a few years in the 80s. Genuinely low mileage, excellent condition, very few problems. Best used car I ever bought. Had to sell it when I moved from the suburbs to a city with prohibitively expensive parking. Looked just like this ad (minus the mobile home).

Voter______ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Warren Brown's review from Sunday's Post:
>
>
> 2011 Chevrolet Volt
>
> Warren Brown
> Sunday, February 13, 2011; 9:00 AM
>
>
>
> The car is a work of premium craftsmanship, easily
> among best in class. Electric-to-gas-to-electric
> operation is seamless. We don't need a
> gasoline-powered "regular" car and an all-electric
> environmental-statement car. With the Volt, we
> would have both.
>
> Feb. 9: I stop at a filling station. That brings
> laughter and chiding from other customers. Typical
> question/ridicule: "That's supposed to be an
> electric car. Why the are you filling it with
> premium gasoline?"
>
> I point to the total cost of my gas fill - $1.86
> for premium. I point to one of their refilling
> prices: $53.35 for regular.
>
> There's no need to say anything else.
>
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic
> le/2011/02/11/AR2011021102741_2.html?sid=ST2011021
> 102950



Check it out Voter.The dumb fuck Warren Brown from the Post states, "I point to the total cost of my gas fill - $1.86 for premium. I point to one of their refilling prices: $53.35 for regular.

There's no need to say anything else."

Oh fucking really Brownie?

With premium fuel at $3.86 per gallon ave. currently, why would the dumbshit pull over to put .5 gallons of gas in his 8gal. tank? To check his mileage? That piece of shit gets on average 38 MPG with a 300 mile range.

These damn things won't be on the road 5 years before owners tire of cost prohibitive maintenance and repairs on this piece of shit.

But all that aside I like how Charlie Spiering over at the Examiner sums it up.

"So the future of General Motors (and the $50 billion taxpayer investment in it) now depends on a vehicle that costs $41,000 but offers the performance and interior space of a $15,000 economy car. The company is moving forward on a second generation of Volts aimed at eliminating the initial model’s considerable shortcomings. (In truth, the first-generation Volt was as good as written off inside G.M., which decided to cut its 2011 production volume to a mere 10,000 units rather than the initial plan for 60,000.) Yet G.M. seemingly has no plan for turning its low-volume “eco-flagship†into a mass-market icon like the Prius.

Quantifying just how much taxpayer money will have been wasted on the hastily developed Volt is no easy feat. Start with the $50 billion bailout (without which none of this would have been necessary), add $240 million in Energy Department grants doled out to G.M. last summer, $150 million in federal money to the Volt’s Korean battery supplier, up to $1.5 billion in tax breaks for purchasers and other consumer incentives, and some significant portion of the $14 billion loan G.M. got in 2008 for “retooling†its plants, and you’ve got some idea of how much taxpayer cash is built into every Volt.

In the end, making the bailout work — whatever the cost — is the only good reason for buying a Volt. The car is not just an environmental hair shirt (a charge leveled at the Prius early in its existence), it is an act of political self-denial as well."

The Volt is a cramped, uncomfortable, 4 passenger pile of shit but you be a good little Obamanite and buy a fucking Volt.

cz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> why are americans so blind kissing up to the asian
> countries who want to continue to ram their
> products down our throats.

Nobody is forcing you to buy their products. Americans have a choice of which car brands to buy and Asian companies (Honda, Toyota) just happen to be popular, and for a good reason: They tend to be very reliable and fuel efficient. These are highly sought after traits in these times with expensive gas etc.

I do think its unfair however to judge Domestic brands based on unreliable models from the past. Ford and Chevrolet are really stepping up their quality with cars such as: Ford Fusion and Chevy Malibu. I plan on buying American for my next car.

The stupidity to all of this is - you have to plug the car in to charge it up. It draws power from the (already overtaxed) electrical grid. So for Obama - who is pushing an electric car initiative - what is the end result? More dependence on coal? It is like watching someone trying to rip apart a piece of paper - they grab both sides and pull in different directions - eventually the paper rips. That seems to be the play right now with this push - more electric cars (which will do little to stem demand for gasoline) will put more stress on our power supply infrastructure. Which one is going to give first? Especially if Oil continues to rise while we work to discourage almost all development of domestic resources.

Really - these people are clueless.

If you can’t model the past, where you know the answer pretty well, how can you model the future? - William Happer Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics Princeton University

Good lord, it's a good thing not everybody has followed the Republican 'can't do' credo.
Attachments:

Voter______ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good lord, it's a good thing not everybody has
> followed the Republican 'can't do' credo.

It has nothing to do with 'can't do'. Let's see 'truly viable'.

Hydrogen fuel cells are probably going to be the best idea out there - and they are working on ways to have the car produce it's own hydrogen using new processes that have been worked out recently to provide low cost alternatives to making it.

But with all the crying over the lack of electrical generating capacity, I don't see how throwing a bunch of electric cars on the grid is 'helpful' or responsible. Not without some commitment to rapidly expanding the grid - even if it means approving 'clean coal' plants. And imagine all the jobs that would be created (not to mention keeping home electric bills in check) - not as if we aren't going to mine coal and sell it to China otherwise. so it isn't like we are doing something altruistic like shutting down coal mines.

This is about as good an idea as using corn for fuel.

If you can’t model the past, where you know the answer pretty well, how can you model the future? - William Happer Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics Princeton University

Electric cars, high speed rail, wind mills, solar shingles? hell the horse and buggy were around back when the battery was invented. Why don't we stimulate and develop High speed Horse and Buggy? Horses decompose after they die and turn back to dirt. much safer than lithium cadmium batteries.

Negroe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had a '66 Olds 98 for a few years in the 80s.
> Genuinely low mileage, excellent condition, very
> few problems. Best used car I ever bought. Had
> to sell it when I moved from the suburbs to a city
> with prohibitively expensive parking. Looked just
> like this ad (minus the mobile home).

Nothing against the 98 but the olds to have in '66 was the Toronado. Amazing car.

Have you guys put a call in to GM letting them know you are available to help? Shit, I'm sure all those engineers would be thrilled to know that you two have already figured it all out...

mcsmack Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Electric cars, high speed rail, wind mills, solar
> shingles? hell the horse and buggy were around
> back when the battery was invented. Why don't we
> stimulate and develop High speed Horse and Buggy?
> Horses decompose after they die and turn back to
> dirt. much safer than lithium cadmium batteries.

Motor Tren 66 Toronado car of the year link..

http://motortrend.automotive.com/38627/112-6512-toronado-roadtest/index.html

Voter______ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Have you guys put a call in to GM letting them
> know you are available to help? Shit, I'm sure
> all those engineers would be thrilled to know that
> you two have already figured it all out...
>

Unfortunately our tax dollars already did. :(

Volt - the not so green machine.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/15/autos/aceee_volt_green/index.htm

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

Warhawk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Volt - the not so green machine.
>
> http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/15/autos/aceee_volt_g
> reen/index.htm

Anyone that knows shit about anything see's this car as a huge scam. These damn things will be in the shop longer then they will be in buyers possession the first year.
The government will be forced to buy 1000's of them only to have to rent fleets to replace broken down Volts.