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Post 03 Aug 2011, 9:06 am

The July sales numbers are out and the Chevy Volt continues to electrify (get it?) the country. GM sold … 125 Volts last month!

Way back in March I made fun of the Volt for selling 281 units in February. Turns out, February was a good month.


I would say this is sad, but it is what I predicted--a car was manufactured for which there was no demand. Unsurprisingly, it's not selling.
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Post 03 Aug 2011, 9:14 am

I heard on the radio that GM is upping production to 5,000 Volts per month. A might bit optimistic...
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Post 03 Aug 2011, 9:50 am

bbauska wrote:I heard on the radio that GM is upping production to 5,000 Volts per month. A might bit optimistic...


Yeah, that was in the article too. On the plus side: if you really want one, wait. It is inevitable the price will have to be slashed to clear the lots.
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Post 03 Aug 2011, 10:01 am

Well Ohm's law states that the number of Volts (V) you have divided by the current (I) production equals the resistance (R) to buying a new GM vehicle.
:winkgrin:
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Post 03 Aug 2011, 1:59 pm

Too good not to re-post:

Image

And, yet, it was the Tea Party who caused all the trouble, right?

Not the people (Democrats and Republicans) who for the last 11 years nearly tripled the national debt?

Those troublemakers! Why do they object to government "investing" our money so soundly?
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Post 03 Aug 2011, 2:15 pm

LMAO
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Post 05 Jul 2012, 3:16 pm

Yeah, these electric cars are taking over! On the "bright side," the Volt is outselling the Leaf:

In the first half of 2012, GM sold 8,817 Volts, more than triple the 2,745 it sold in the same period last year. It already has topped Volt sales for all of 2011, which were about 7,600.

Volt sales have been boosted by California's decision to grant solo Volt drivers access to carpool lanes. GM spokesman Jim Cain said 1 in 5 Volts are sold in the Golden State.

June sales were up over the 1,680 Volts sold in May.

GM had 5,300 Volts in stock at the end of June, an 82-day supply.

GM has been sharply outselling its Japanese rival, the all-electric Nissan Leaf, by more than 3 to 1. It did so again in June.

The Detroit-based automaker has abandoned its 2012 U.S. sales forecast of 45,000, saying it would instead match supply to meet demand.

GM has been forced to idle the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant for two stretches this year because of low demand.


Naturally, the Obama Administration has been chastened and is no longer so keen on subsidizing these vehicles . . . wait . . . really?

President Obama’s erstwhile goal of getting one million electric cars on the road by 2015 isn’t even potentially close to becoming a reality, but no matter: Obama’s Department of Energy is still leading the charge, reinvigorating the push for the creation and production of plug-in electric vehicles, comparable in cost to conventional vehicles, within ten years.

The “EV Everywhere Grand Challenge” was announced by President Obama in March and the Department of Energy is holding a series of workshops across the country to brainstorm and inspire the dramatic advances needed in batteries, power electronics, motors, lightweight materials and fast-charging infrastructure technology to make it a reality. …

Today electric vehicles with a range of 200 miles, such as the Tesla Roadster, are too expensive. Even the mass-market Nissan Leaf at $36,050 (not counting the $7,500 tax credit) has a payback period of seven years at $4 a gallon, according to Edmunds.com. …

Chu said the goal is to reduce cost so electric vehicles such as the Leaf can come down about $10,000 in price and there is a choice of EVs with a 100-mile range in the $23,000 price range …

Chu wants to see better lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles — he thinks they can improve their efficiency as much as threefold — and the ability to replace individual bad cells in a battery.


This is just ridiculous. The DOE would like for batteries to improve their efficiency threefold, in less than ten years — well, why not sixfold, in four years? Heck, why not demand batteries that run on happy thoughts and fairy dust, right now?

Like Secretary Chu, I most definitely believe that non-conventional vehicles are a real possibility, but you can’t force them to become a reality on an arbitrary timeline just because you wish it.


We don't need a businessman in charge?

Can we at least get someone with common sense?
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Post 17 Jul 2012, 10:47 am

Hmm . . . maybe I need to buy/borrow a Volt?

Free car for 60 days, $7500 rebate, what's not to like?

General Motors has announced a 60 day money back guarantee policy for all new Chevy models, including the Chevy Volt. The move sets up a scenario where purchasers can buy a Volt, claim the $7,500 federal tax credit (and most likely state credits) and return the vehicle for a refund within 60 days. Did GM really not consider this glitch, or is this just another way for Government Motors to prop up politically important Volt sales leading up to November elections?

IRS tax form 8936, for plug-in motor vehicle credit, does not have any minimum time requirement for buyers to own their qualified vehicles. The vehicle only has to be new and purchased during the tax year being claimed. Buyers of Volts will have documentation and VIN numbers for qualifying vehicles. The 60 day return policy lays the groundwork for a very easy way to scam the IRS out of $7,500. Buyers will most likely have to eat registration fees and sales tax paid that will be deducted from refund
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Post 17 Jul 2012, 11:33 am

So, the IRS could not use the information provided to check whether the vehicle was returned under guarantee?

The article was so well 'researched' that the guy didn't know that sales tax would be refundable.
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Post 17 Jul 2012, 3:15 pm

danivon wrote:So, the IRS could not use the information provided to check whether the vehicle was returned under guarantee?

The article was so well 'researched' that the guy didn't know that sales tax would be refundable.


Is the Volt doing well?

Will the IRS be able to catch such fraud? Will they want to, since the better GM does, the better it is for the President?
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Post 17 Jul 2012, 11:21 pm

Neither of your questions go anywhere towards answering mine? If I didn't know better I'd say you were avoiding them. Claiming a rebate on a purchase that has been annulled under warranty would be fraud. The fact that sales tax can be reclaimed demonstrates that the expectation is that the sale has been reversed for tax purposes.

So, the IRS can, if they invest a little time, crossreference the car details against refunds by getting them from GM. You suggestion (by question) is that they won't since, ummm, everyone in any government agancy only does what the current President wants and only acts for them without reference to laws or something.
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Post 18 Jul 2012, 4:48 am

You asked ONE question, so "them" doesn't apply.

I think your question is not well thought out. The IRS does not receive car sales info.
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Post 18 Jul 2012, 6:44 am

fate
The IRS does not receive car sales info


Then how do you get the rebate in the first place?
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Post 18 Jul 2012, 6:46 am

So what does the form mentioned do? Does it not tell them that a car has been sold?

They are barred from checking for fraud on those forms by getting confirmation of the car details?
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Post 18 Jul 2012, 7:33 am

rickyp wrote:fate
The IRS does not receive car sales info


Then how do you get the rebate in the first place?


By claiming it.

They won't get the sales info--price, etc. What they will get is a report that you bought a car that qualifies for the rebate. There is no mechanism, that I'm aware of or that I've seen reported, to tell the IRS that you returned the vehicle. Furthermore, I doubt that was written into the credit/rebate law. Who would anticipate a 60-day return policy?