Song remains the same: GM loses billions, Volt still on track
2011 Chevy Volt - Click above for a high res gallery
GM's announced yesterday that it lost $6 billion in the first quarter of 2009. That's par for the course for the General these days. What's also pretty standard was the immediate confirmation that work on the Chevy Volt is going A-OK and that, as GM's product development chief Tom Stephens said, "At this point in time, I know of no reason why we can't be in production by November of 2010." No reason? Really? Not even a little one?
Aside from the Volt work - which at this point includes figuring out which of GM's other surviving brands (Cadillac, Buick and GMC) will get the Voltec powertrain - GM is working on its revised Viability Plan, due to the U.S. Auto Task Force's by June 1st.
Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt
[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sp 10:41AM (5/08/2009)
And toyota that shining beacon of all that is good and just and never making mistakes
"$Toyota posted a net loss of ... 7.74 billion, in its fiscal fourth quarter"
bad economy=bad times for such businesses
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ronEbear 11:01AM (5/08/2009)
Difference being that Toyota is nowhere near bankruptcy.
ronEbear 11:02AM (5/08/2009)
How the **** did you end up bitching about Toyota on a GM-fail-tastic post?
jpm100 11:10AM (5/08/2009)
"Difference being that Toyota is nowhere near bankruptcy."
Really?
There was an Autoblog article a few months back that said Toyota only had $18 billion capital. This would have eaten more than 1/3 of that. Two more quarters and they would have been bankrupt.
I say would have, because their government is funding them.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/04/honda-may-follow-toyotas-lead-ask-japanese-govt-for-aid.
Then there's the old standards like currency fixing.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/22/honda-could-move-headquarters-outside-of-japan/
ronEbear 11:27AM (5/08/2009)
My statement remains the same. They have had 0 negotiations with labor unions, have not been ordered to present documents on how it will restructure itself to remain viable, have not been in talks with other companies in regards to mergers, they haven`t had to kill brands to remain viable etc.....
Keep buying American if you think it`s gonna help, which it won`t. How`s your American pride feeling now that a once iconic brand NEEDS to be saved by an Italian manufacturer?
jharlan 11:02AM (5/08/2009)
It's nice to know a company that is bleeding billions is planning to stop the bleeding with a car they never expect to make a profit on. It looks like the General as we know him will pass the UAW and other creditors the ownership of their assets and quietly slide into the history books as how the most most powerful company on earth can be brought down by union excesses and arrogant leadership.
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ronEbear 11:15AM (5/08/2009)
It`s like GM is a little kid who promised his parents that he/she would take care of a pet only to be threatened to have it taken away for not taking care of it properly and making too little too late pleas like: "But moooom I promise i`ll take care of it better, i`ll even use ALL of my allowance to feed it and keep it healthy."
parents = government
pet = its own viability
UH2L 11:33AM (5/08/2009)
SP,
Thanks for providing perspective.
JPM,
Thank you so much for posting. People don't realize that much of the success of the Japanese car companies here and internationally is a product of their government's policies with respect to funding research, currency manipulation, trade restrictions, etc. They look out for their own, and I don't blame them. We should as well. Instead, many people here, (and much of the press), are simply Anti-American. They want our companies to fail, but they don't realize that it would take our people and our U.S. economy, (not just Detroit), down with it.
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Cellien 11:53AM (5/08/2009)
That picture is awesome. I'd really like to have one, but I just think it will be too much for me. Ideally I'd like this car and get its power from solar roof panels and a windmill but the cost is just laughably high. I live NEAR Austin (Austin gives rebates) but I'm not in the city limits so I don't think I can take advantage.
I've come to realize this car's design is the most practical "hybrid" (no vaporware) solution for people that actually want to get off foreign oil.
I hope this car does well and GM pulls through, unlike so many anti-American ******** on the internet.
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sp 12:10PM (5/08/2009)
While it is true the UAW has a hand in the problems it is managements job to explain to unions why they cannot have it all. Healthcare costs are out of control and it is killing all the UAW companies that agreed to generous benefits. There is no doubt mistakes were made and GM was too slow to react, but it is silly to think other car companies are not hurting and that GM is somehow is hugely different than other car manufacturers. When margins are razor thin the difference between success and failure can be quite small. Toyota's loss could be they just have the same problems as everyone else, or they could be trying to gain a competitive advantage after the mess clears b/c their competitors will cease to exist.
@ Ron the reason that comment is in a GM "failtastic" post is b/c such posts are ridiculously common w/o any comparison or background. As such they have the potential to be misleading.
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Mike!!ekiM 11:39AM (5/10/2009)
Had GM properly funded these benefits AT INCEPTION, there would have been No Problem.
lne937s 4:09PM (5/08/2009)
The big difference is GM is has a net worth of almost NEGATIVE $100 Billion. It lost almost $31 Billion in 2008 and $38billionin 2007
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=GM&annual
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=GM&annual
Toyota, on the other hand has a POSITIVE net worth of over $100 Billion
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=TM&annual
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Captain Morgan 10:21PM (5/08/2009)
Good grief ... make up your minds, already. First you dump on GM because they're not "forward thinking" enough to develop electric vehicle technology two decades ago when no one wanted to buy it. Now you dump on GM because they're sticking with the Volt's advanced power-train development despite their current financial situation. For some reason, I get the impression that you would just dump on GM no matter what they did. Perhaps you would prefer they come out with a press release that says, "GM scraps Volt power-train ... will focus solely on high-profit, gas-guzzing vehicle platforms."
GM has never said that the Volt would be a money-maker. It is a development platform for the voltec power-train. That investment will start to pay dividends in the second and third generations, as the power-train begins to expand into additional vehicle lines and costs begin to come down. It's simply unfortunate for GM that the global economic situation placed them in this financial hole before the voltec system had a chance to mature.
GM is not in the red because of the development of the Volt, nor will scrapping the Volt return GM to profitability. Toyota's recent financial woes should prove the point that no auto-maker is immune from the current economic climate, no matter what their vehicle lineup may be.
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PeakOyle 8:36AM (5/09/2009)
"high-profit, gas-guzzing vehicle"
Sorry Dude that concept has gone the way of the Dinosaurs.
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Mike!!ekiM 11:46AM (5/10/2009)
I'm still pulling for the Volt.
But, how GM prices the vehicle is a big concern.
And again, an EV1 with a LI battery would, with all due respect to Toyota, Kill the Prius today. I'm guessing today you could sell at least 100,000 EV1's per year. Would that help GM?
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MIke!!ekiM 11:51AM (5/10/2009)
GM could also be building more efficient pickup's. Put some Hi Tech, fuel efficient pickup's on the road.
There's got to be some smart contractor's out there, who can add up fuel cost savings with a pickup with smaller engines.
Remember: We got the word from Exxon, in the WSJ, Chinese fuel consumption will increase 300% by 2030.
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