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Saturday, July 31, 2010

I think the Edsel is getting a break

The Edsel was a line of car manufactured by Ford 58-60 that never caught on with the market and ended up costing the Ford Motor Company 350 million. In today’s money, that’s 2.45 billion. And in Americana the term “Edsel” has become synonymous with failure. But I think that title will be taken over by two words: Chevy Volt.

From the official propaganda arm of the left, The NY Times has a great column on what we, the is the taxpayers, will be putting into this disaster before one goes to the showroom:

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.


What makes me think about this taking the title of failure from the Edsel. At least the Edsel sold some units. 84000 in three years. Less than half the breakeven point for Ford but at least it made the sales without taxpayer support.

A basic question any half ass businessman will ask that no politician will ask, especially B Hussein Obama: Is there a market for this? The answer is no. But that won’t stop a man-child like B Hussein Obama from spending other people’s money. And when the thing falls flat on its face, Obama will just say “I’ll appoint anther Czar to oversee more Volts.”

The electric car has been a dream for the left for over a century. From the Daily Beast,

The electric-car industry has a century-long history of failure tailgating failure. And yet we are being told that this time things are different, that the technologies are better, the batteries are better, and that consumers are ready to adopt electrics like never before. Perhaps that’s true. But consider this declaration: The electric car “has long been recognized as the ideal solution” because it “is cleaner and quieter” and “much more economical.”

That story was published by The New York Times on November 12, 1911.

Or given that the new Chevy Volt costs as much as a new Mercedes-Benz C350, consider this assessment by a believing reporter: “Prices on electric cars will continue to drop until they are within reach of the average family.”

That line appeared in The Washington Post on Halloween 1915.

And since the Volt is being built by GM, this news item says that the giant carmaker has found “a breakthrough in batteries” that “now makes electric cars commercially practical.” The new zinc-nickel oxide batteries will provide the “100-mile range that General Motors executives believe is necessary to successfully sell electric vehicles to the public.”

That story was published in The Washington Post on September 26, 1979.

Now fast-forward to July 2008, when Thomas Friedman of The New York Times declared that Shai Agassi—the founder of an electric-car company called Better Place—was “the Jewish Henry Ford.” Friedman went on to claim that Agassi was launching “an energy revolution” that would end the world’s “oil addiction.” Never mind that when Friedman wrote his story Agassi’s fleet of electric cars consisted of exactly one prototype.

But again, leftist don’t get the fact no one wants it. I doubt there will be enough sales on this electric lawnmower to break the Edsel’s record of 84000 units sold.
Add it up. Almost 75 billion in taxpayer money for nothing.

8 comments:

  1. I look at it this way, the car companies boil this down to 2 basic factors : consumer demand vs. production costs. Consumers have their 2 basic factors: cost vs reliability (cost for the consumer isn't just based on the selling price - maintenance, insurance, etc. also factor into the equation). The factors of the seller and the buyer have to meet in the middle somewhere down the road (pardon the pun) in order to bring a product to market and keep it there. Although there have been good products that failed to "make it" for one reason or another, the basic rule of "quality product at a reasonable price" has been a good rule of thumb in the market place for the success of a product and/or business.

    My problem with the volt, and, cars smaller than a volkswagon beetle - is that the manufacturing of this car goes against this basic principle. These are cars that the vast majority of Americans don't want. Most people drive, and, put a lot of miles on their vehicles. They want to feel safe in their vehicle, and, these little pieces of crap on wheels feel more like coffins on roller skates rather than a safe, reliable piece of transportation. The volt is another example of a type of car that some people (liberals, beaurocrats, politicans) feel that EVERYONE should be driving, whether they like it or not. In the immortal words of Senator Landrieu to a fellow worker in a correspondence during the health care debate, she noted "this isn't about what you want - it's what's good for the country".

    That sums it up I think. We (Washington politicians) know what's good for you (the taxpayer). Turn in your Truck / SUV and buy this car dang it (look at the bright side, you'll get a 25 dollar tax break on your 2011 taxes).

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  2. I've read that it's a $40,000 car with the space, comfort, and performance of a $15000 car.

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  3. But from what I understand about the Volt, it only gets about 40 miles on a charge. and the port for the charger you have to buy separetly. So, the question being...is this a good deal?? I'll drive my Trail Blazer till it falls apart!! I love it. (In Colorado I got 24.5 MPG)
    Linda

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  4. Darren,

    From the NY Times article:

    For starters, G.M.’s vision turned into a car that costs $41,000 before relevant tax breaks ... but after billions of dollars of government loans and grants for the Volt’s development and production. And instead of the sleek coupe of 2007, it looks suspiciously similar to a Toyota Prius. It also requires premium gasoline, seats only four people (the battery runs down the center of the car, preventing a rear bench) and has less head and leg room than the $17,000 Chevrolet Cruze, which is more or less the non-electric version of the Volt.

    You got a good way to describe it...and unless we are forced into the lawnmower, no one will buy it. I think the "mandatory" is the long range plan.

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  5. Linda

    We’re gonna waste tens of billions of dollars to bring something to the market that no one wants. After a few years trying to push this hopefully someone will cut our losses and throw this away…and the Congress, the bureaucracy and the other idiots will leave the auto industry alone. What has been successful in the last few decades. The minivan was not approved by the DOT…the SUV is hated by the Washington bureaucrats (although they think they should drive them themselves). Yet the last two decades they have been best sellers for GM/Ford/Chrysler.. It’s tragic what has become of our auto industry…just another example of the foolishness of idiots who have never done anything running businesses.

    You may find this article interesting….being ruled by “A” students… http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/plague-%E2%80%98a%E2%80%99-students

    BTY, I got over 225K on my Ranger before I gave it to my nephew…I bet the Volt has a life span of around half that.

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  6. Jerry

    For the moment the auto industry still responds to the needs of the market. You want something smaller and less expensive (e.g. you’re younger, poorer and thinner) they have cars for you (i.e. the Prius, the Corolla). You’re a little older, got a little more money and need more space (e.g. middle class family going to the football game) there are options for you (SUVs, Minivans, mid-sized cars, ….there used to be station wagons but they are mostly gone). If you were more wealthy or as you got the kids out of the house and wanted a bit more luxury there are options (Cadillac, Lincoln, Lexus, etc).

    Washington cannot tolerate that. You must be told what to drive. And people are buying this crap about “alternative energy sources”. I had a debate on “alternative energy” with someone on Darren’s blog and I asked “if I need to get 20 tons of cargo 500 miles over the Rocky Mountains over night what ‘alternative energy’ will handle that?” I never got an answer. The correct answer is none, the transport needed would be either trains or trucks, both powered by diesel.

    Hopefully we can get a Congress and President that will neuter the bureaucracy soon enough…it’s a shame what has happened to two of the great examples of industry under Obama (GM and Chrysler).

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  7. Agreed Mike, I suppose my buttocks are chapped because of the attitude from these Washington elitists who feel that they 'know what's good for us'. ("Us" being everyone from the citizenry to the manufacturer of goods and services) These are "blue bloods" who look down their noses at us stupid citizens who don't understand and appreciate the "genius" and "wisdom" of the upper echelons of the Democratic party and liberals in general. We're too busy clinging to our guns, bibles, trucks/suvs and Anheiser Busche products (Amen) to understand what they are trying to do for us.

    This is about Elitism, pure and simple, and these people running the show in Washington think they're the new aristocracy on this side of the pond. Their "do as we say and not as we do" actions speak louder than words. Most people know "BS" when they see it (or smell it) ... and these people reek of it.

    Let me be fair here, as far as I'm concerned, many of the upper echelons of the republican party are of a similar mindset. The only reason why many of them have been humbled is due to how fast they got booted out of office when the crap got thick.

    What is happening in Washington with these career politicians is living proof of the old saying "power corrupts ...". Back in the old days, a senator or representative went to washington with a mindset similar to mine when I get a summons for jury duty. It's something that I have to do, but, I darn sure do not want to make a career out of it. they did their tour of duty (usually 1 or 2 terms) and then went back home to their "regular job".

    I'm starting to ramble and babble so I'll stop now. My apologies for the long read and the long wind.

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  8. Sounds like you had fun…and talking about the elites in this country, take a read from this month’s issue of The American Spectator….I think you will enjoy it.

    http://spectator.org/archives/2010/07/16/americas-ruling-class-and-the

    Mike

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