3/8/12, "Maybe It Should Be Called the Chevrolet 'Vote'," Forbes, Patrick Michaels
"Wrong #4: Corporate cronyism and coercion. Last month, General Electric, whose CEO Jeffrey Immelt chairs the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, announced that all 2012 sedans ordered by employees for corporate use will be Volts. That’s Competitive! Beginning next January 1, GE will not reimburse employees for any corporate travel unless it is done in a Volt. If GE purchases the 12,000 Volts it is committed to buying, it will get a $120 million subsidy.
Mark Modica, of the National Center for Policy Analysis, has uncovered another whopper. Dealers that sell Volts to nonprofits, such as municipalities, can claim the subsidy. The Obama Administration is simply determined to give away money to move this car that so few want."
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GE is to sell 'chargers' for GM 'electric' cars. Is that "tired" right wing spin?
3/2/12, "Millions Spent on Ads Does Little for Chevy Volt Sales," NPLC, Mark Modica
"Despite GM spending millions of dollars during the month (Jan. 2012) to advertise the taxpayer subsidized Volt, only 1,023 sold in February.
The pitiful sales number is not stopping the ridiculous headlines on the web by proponents of the Volt. One reads, "Chevy Volt Sales Sizzle" as others brag about the car outselling the even more dismally selling Nissan Leaf. One shill site stated that the Volt outsold the Leaf by a "massive" margin of 545 units. Given the fact that GM outspent Nissan by millions of dollars on ads, we can guesstimate the added advertising cost per additional vehicle sold at about $10,000. In addition to the ad spending, GM is now offering 0% for 60 months on the Volt through government owned Ally financial to help spur sales. Economics obviously has nothing to do with Government Motors' Volt push.
Notably absent from the sales figures were purchases by crony company, General Electric. GE is insisting that all employees drive company supplied Volts or not get reimbursed for their vehicles. Non-credible sources that continually falsely tout the Volt as a success claim that GE is doing this to save money. Considering that the fuel savings for the Volt amount to about $2 a day and that the vehicles cost approximately $15,000 (even after tax credits) more than gas-powered fuel efficient vehicles, the more likely reason for GE's backing of the Volt
- relates to their vested interest in selling chargers for the vehicles.
President Obama has also staked his reputation on the Volt, recently stating that he would buy one in five years. That might not be a bad idea if he plans to buy used. The car is sure to depreciate a great deal in five years time; he should be able to get a much better deal then. Maybe his pals at GE can sell him one of their fleet vehicles at that time. That is, when they have a fleet, which suspiciously appears to be timed for when we get a bit closer to November elections.
GM and friends have complained about the politics surrounding the Volt, yet President Obama continues to pitch the vehicle. I guess GM is fine with politics as long as it benefits them, such as happened with the Obama orchestrated bankruptcy process which shored up GM's balance sheet by $50,000,000,000 (courtesy of taxpayers) while favoring the politically powerful UAW. GM now wants to condemn anyone who criticizes the Volt as having a right wing political agenda. Do you really have to have a political agenda to think that it is wrong to spend billions of taxpayer dollars subsidizing a car for the wealthy that does practically nothing for oil dependence or the average working American?"...
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2/20/12, "GE “Forcing” Employees Into (GM) Chevy Volts," Gas2.org, C. Demorro
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Ed. note: A new term used by the electric car crowd: "Electrification of the mobile sector." (Translation: The Chevy Volt.) I overheard this today. They didn't mention pollution caused by manufacturing and disposal of batteries and necessity of using rare earths which are not available in the US. Where does the power come from to charge the batteries again?
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"Classic Bolshevik" Obama takes from the middle class and gives to the rich. (pointed out by Michael Savage)
2/17/12, "Obama Provides More Tax Breaks for the Toys of the Rich," Planet Gore, Henry Payne
The average income of the Chevy Volt’s buyers is $170,000 per year, says GM CEO Dan Akerson, putting them in the top 7 percent of U.S. income earners and slightly above the household income of buyers of BMW, Lexus, or Cadillac luxury vehicles. Recipients of the current electric subsidy have included such needy cases as actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Senator Carl Levin.
“The ruling political class has determined that people who may not be able to afford a new car of any kind should subsidize affluent buyers of electric cars,” says energy expert Russ Harding of the Mackinac Center.
The president’s One Percenter auto subsidy is being opposed by Republicans such as Rep. Mike Kelly — ironically, the owner of a Chevy dealership — who has introduced legislation
- to end Obama’s trickle-up economics.
Obama’s taxpayer giveaway to the rich is an attempt to goose the sales of electric in order to meet his arbitrary mandate of a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. (This is a number already artificially propped up by government purchases, as we reported here.) Even with the $7,500 rebate, Chevy sold less than
- 8,000 Volts in 2011."...
.
General Motors and General Electric are two companies that have been in the political crosshairs lately. GM stands accused of “crony capitalism,” while GE is under fire for paying no Federal income taxes in 2010. The two companies share more than that though, with GE placing an order for 12,000 Chevy Volts and other hybrid vehicles.
A memo leaked to Green Car Reports lays out GE’s plans for their new fleet of Volts, and as expected, it has some people crying foul.
The memo, sent to employees of GE Healthcare Americas team explains that all sedan, crossover, and minivan purchases in 2012 will be replaced by the Chevy Volt. Only field engineers are exempt from having to drive a company Volt.
GE will offer estimates for installation Level 2 Charging Stations, though all-gas use will be allowed when there is no electric option. Any employees who opt out of the Volt program will not be compensated for their expenses. Those who do choose to drive the Volt will be reimbursed for public charging and home charging costs, in addition to gas uses.
Source: Gas 2.0 (http://s.tt/1
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