Enraged over Mitt Romney’s recent comments that the struggling Chevy Volt may not be ready for prime time, GM cheerleader John Dingell huffed that Volts are “selling like hot cakes.” And Elvis is alive. And Greece is a model of fiscal health.
Michigan View.com columnist Dan Calabrese reports on life on Planet Dingell:
On Thursday, I received a press release from Dingell, excoriating Mitt Romney for saying on a Boston radio station that the Chevy Volt is “an idea whose time has not come” . . . . Dingell’s press release ripped Romney for his dastardly attack on all that is good and decent. Yeah yeah. This sort of bluster is standard fare for Big Jawn.
But read through the press release and you come to this gem :
“Romney is the only fellow in the United States who appears to think that the Volt is an idea whose time has not come. Clearly it has not come to him,” said Michigan Congressman John Dingell. “The Volt is selling like hotcakes.”
Um, yeah . . . excuse me. It’s what?
Despite GM’s prediction that it would sell 10,000 Volts this year, it is currently languishing at 5,816 units sold, in spite of the fact that the federal government – at the behest of John Dingell and others – subsidizes each Volt sale to the tune of $7,500. That is not a very impressive sales figure for any car, but especially for a car that is supposed to be the latest, greatest thing.
Does John Dingell even know the Volt’s sales figures? How to explain this? One possibility is that Dingell actually believes the fiction that permeates political circles. Politicians love the Volt because it is everything they think a car should be. It’s “green”. It’s made by union labor. It’s subsidized by the government. It’s wonderful! It receives praise from Motor Trend and J.D. Power & Associates.
It has to be selling. It must be selling. Why wouldn’t it be selling? When you’re this steeped in the propaganda, there’s no need to check the actual sales figures. You just know, baby.
Read more at The Michigan View here.
I'm sure PolitiFact is going to get right on Dingle's statement.
Any time now. Just wait.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWell, the honorable Congressperson Dingell is right in one respect: the idea of the Volt has indeed come. It came -- and went -- in about 1912. (Yes, Virginia, there were electric cars then. Look it up.)
Ben Hartley
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNow, let's be fair here. In Dingell's Michigan district, the Volt probably *is* selling like hotcakes. That's because here in Michigan, we don't eat hotcakes--we eat *pancakes*.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseA reminder of one of the reasons government should not be picking wining and losing products. First they go out on a limb and then they have to make everybody act as if it's the trunk.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRep. Dingell also probably does not know that GM's share price has lost half its value in the past year, and that it currently stands at about one-third of where it needs to be for the Treasury to break even on the GM bailout. At the same time, with plant closures and other downsizing, GM has eliminated more American jobs in the past three years than it has retained. The Treasury’s inability to cash out without booking a multibillion dollar loss means that each job saved has cost the American taxpayer hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, depending on how far the share price falls. We hear Obama persistently bragging that he has "saved the auto industry," but of course his friends in the MSM never ask the follow-up questions which would reveal these inconvenient truths. Obama's bailout has merely postponed the funeral. GM will slide back into insolvency again, and this time there will be no bailout, not even from Obama.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhen you remove the Volts purchased for government use, the sales figures look even worse. The Volt is turning quickly into the Edsel of our generation. At least the Edsel didn't cost the taxpayers anything, only Ford stockholders.
I wonder what the Chevy dealers think of the the Volt. I imagine most aren't crazy about them. I would bet the salespeople and tech's don't think highly of them, as they are hard to sell and require new tools. Most of the dealers near me (outside Chicago) don't have many in stock. Most dealers don't even have four a piece. When GM ramps up production, I bet they will force dealers to buy more Volt's to get the models that actually do sell (As is: want more big pickups, it comes with a couple of Volts you really don't want). They will have to sell them at a loss just to get them off their lots. So the dealer may end up "subsidizing" them as well.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe Chevy Volt reminds of the old story about dog food. This dog food company spent millions developing and promoting a new brand of dog food. It was supposed to be the most nutritious dog food ever. The first week it sold well. The next week, they sold less of it, and even less the next week. Finally, they held a meeting to figure out why it wasn't selling. They had marketers, product developers, sales people, executives, and other experts there to figure out why it wasn't selling. Finally, one guy raised his hand, "Maybe the dogs don't like it." Moral of the story, don't try to be smarter than the market. That is the Chevy Volt's problem.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI agree that the Volt should not have been subsidized. Instead of an electric car subsidy, I personally think Charles Krauthammer’s “Net Zero Gas Tax” plan would be a much better way to go: External Link
But I don't understand the criticisms of this American-made car that uses almost 100% Made-In-USA fuel. The "battery fire" issue is way overblown. The problem of a fire occurs DAYS or WEEKS after a Volt has been in a serious accident and rolled several times, AND the battery has not been drained. In ANY accident like that, with ANY car, the standard protocal is to drain the gas tank and remove the battery. So the Volt should be treated the same way.
Personally, I am really happy to be driving on almost all “Made in USA” electricity with my Volt. In over 7000 miles, I have only visited a gas station twice. If you want to continue to support the Saudis, Hugo Chavez and Vladimir Putin I suppose that is your right as an American, but seriously I would like someone to tell my why this is a good position to hold.
I actually work for as a military contractor. I still remember the days after 9/11 when me and some service members vowed to find a way to stop sending so much of our money to our enemies. The Volt has been that way for me.
Some compare the Volt to a Prius, which is a good car. But the Volt surpasses the Prius in every area that I find important: It’s made in America by an American company. The Volt is faster. The Volt is quieter. The Volt has a smoother ride. In fact, the Volt is so quiet, smooth and powerful that I regularly find myself going over 80 mph before I notice my speedometer and have to slow down.
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Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIHOP subsidized hotcakes last March on National Pancake Day and moved over four million on that day alone.
Volts sell worse than the things they've removed from their menu!
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