Not a good move IMO. GM will not be able to keep up with demand for the Volt so they will need alternative models to sell to the rest of Americans. Once Toyota is dead, there will be nowhere left to go to buy hybrid crossovers, large sedans nor sports cars (Toyota doesn’t have this either) and not everyone wants a Volt.

GM. AN American Revolution

Thats because the public has no faith in this questionable volt car, so why would they spend money that they owe to the government on marketing a new brand that will never become as succesfull as the Prius.

since when did they plan to even do that? I feel like it was never even on the table…

If GM pulls of this “Volt” endeavor, it will certainly be one of the greatest automotive moves this century! If not, well I guess the guys at Audi/VW will say “we told you so’!

@ A4, It actually would have been a great idea to separate the Volt from the GM image. Similar to what BMW did with the Mini and what Toyota did with Scion. This allows you to target a niche market with unique branding and image! I fear that GM actually think the Volt will be the next “peoples car”. I would argue that you need to target this to the whole foods eating organic types that car about the environment. The Prius has had great success in this market!

correction^^^ “:actually thinks…” “care about the environment…”

I would have to think most people will stay away if it is released.
I think the Volt = ev1
Plus it looks to close to a Cavalier. I wont spend $25,000 for it.

dickvictory – Where the hell do you see a resemblance to the Cavalier on this car? It looks like a chevy version of a Civic.

And why would they plan a Volt brand? To celebrate the upcoming failure the vehicle itself is gonna result in?

lets see…$45,000 for the basic Volt. or….with some money buy a top of the line Prius and use the left over money to pay it off faster or use whats leftover to upgrade to a plug-in hybrid…hmmmmm thats a hard one. Plus with Toyota’s unbreakable history for reliablity vs GM’s below average reliability. Also the Prius is using a engine thats been used for 10+ years and hybrid system thats been used for 5+ years and have a near perfect record vs GM’s Ecotech 1.4l thats new and hybrid that’s been tested for just 2 years? hmmm I don’t know. Maybe NMOFGM should make all our car desicions for now on….HAHAHAHAHA sorry i couldn’t hold it in anymore. The Volt, albeit a good idea and had the makings of be a good car. GM dropped the ball on it in soooo many ways. It’s sad really

bahhahahahah. This pos will never sale and will fall apart after you leave the dealership.
Long live the Prius

bad move GM…not surprised though!!!

well that’s quite presumptuous given that the little dolt hasn’t even come out yet. build it, sell some, then we can hypothesize.

I don’t know what is worse on these postings, NMOFGM or the endless amounts of people making names off of that to say GM sucks. Guess what? All brands and companies have their strengths and weaknesses. GM has some strengths – Onstar is proably the best in-car telecommunications system in any car – but has had problems too. Get over it. Toyota builds ugly cars but are better at resale and supposedly reliability.

This is a good move GM – get interest in the Chevy brand and make people associate the Volt as a Chevy, Creating another brand is possibly the stupidest idea right now since they are getting rid of brands that couldn’t make the cut – why make other ones?

I hope Colorado continues with their double-digit % incentive kickbacks for high efficieny vehicles in the future. Maybe a $20k Volt would make sense to try….

jakeass, biased much? its pretty sad when the only strength you can come up with for an auto manufacturer is a glorified telephone. oh and gm has built most of the ugly cars known to man. i hate to rename but aztek would do for now.

“…get interest in the Chevy brand”. good luck with that one.

Zesty… never said it was a bad idea, I’m well aware of the purpose of it… just saying I never heard a word that GM was considering doing it in the first place.

@ kingknet – Amen to that my friend. You and millions of other people will think the same thing as well as myself. Except with me, I would buy the fully loaded Prius, and then use the extra money to hook it up with accessories. It would be the coolest looking Prius on the streets. And the best thing about it, it won’t break down all the time like the Volt would.

One other thing. Save your money GM. You’re gonna need it to recover the losses from this piece of sh*t not selling. All the millions of tax money spent on this bad idea that demonstrates your failure to see what people are demanding in this market. An inexpensive, but high quality fuel efficient vehicle. Thats what people want. Something the Volt doesn’t have in common with. and I’m not buying the 230 MPG bullsh*t that they claim but they won’t say how they got that number when reporters ask. I sense something suspicious about that.

It is premature to predict poor quality for Volt. It is been in papers for 3-4 years now and still no one in automotive press drove working prototype. Journalist are driving Daewoo hooked up to electric motor without ever trying range extending prowess of this car (or whatever car GM plans to build). I, for once, think it will be of exceptional quality, like all the cars that never hit the pavement in reality/production.

I sense a heavy anti-GM sentiment in these posts!

The 230 came from the EPA test procedure.

People need to stop complaining how the Volt looks like some cheaper car and wouldn’t buy it. The whole Lexus brand is based on making Toyota cars less crap and they charge up the ass.

Time will tell how this thing holds up. Either it will kill or save GM.

carstuff, um that’s quite misleading my friend. Chevy did their in house testing using EPA procedure for conventional gas powered cars. If testing on the Volt were done using the correct EPA’s hybrid testing methodology, it would yield an estimated 48 mpg. Typical shady gm.

I’m not Anti-GM. I’m anti the whole by american buy american, because “be american” is having choices. I would rather spend my hard earned money on something that will last, and i do my homework. I look at the past history of the, recalls, ratings, talk to owners of the car, whats be redone, etc. I learned that lesson the hard way. I bought an GM without checking it out, and it had problems from week one. I wish wish GM would put more effort into their products. Maybe they’ll learn from past mistakes. R.I.P. EV1 GM could have done better with the Volt. 40miles on a charge? please EV1 with old tech and old batt. did more then that. and GM is using Lit.Ion ? please. *rolling his eyes* !!!GM WAKE UP!!!! You owe us BIG time for all that $$$$ we gave you. I say a free Volt for everyone. LOL

superman, where did you get your info? I assume you have no data to back it up but I would like to see it if you do.

“GM arrived at that figure during development testing of the car using methodology drafted — but not yet finalized — by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA draft that General Motors referred to repeatedly is SAE J1711 (.pdf), “Recommended Practice For Measuring The Exhaust Emissions And Fuel Economy Of Hybrid-Electric Vehicles.” The standards are to be published later this year…”

The volt is gonna crash and burn so they are too scared to make a ****ty brand out of a failed car.

Having a separate Volt or “Eco” brand is idiotic
… ALL GM divisions should be eco-minded in their own away.

Start off with the Volt and expand that powertrain to other divisions as it makes sense… for instance that gorgeous Cadillac EV that they showed off a few months ago – it obviously would not be as fuel efficient as a Volt, but efficient for it’s class of luxury and performance. The way you gain a reputation for fuel economy is not by having one highly efficient model, it’s by having ALL your vehicles be as efficient, or more efficient, than your competition. There is little doubt in my mind that in 10+ years most new cars are going to have some kind of hybrid system as standard equipment, not just a select few models here and there.

The success of the Volt still remains to be seen – I think it could be a popular car… as long as GM is able to keep it’s pricetag down. If it costs an arm and a leg, then they are screwed. Toyota has amortized the cost of developing their Prius over a decade (they are on their THIRD generation) – GM has to look at the long-term and price the Volt at a loss for the first few years in the hopes that eventually they too can get the efficiency credibility that Toyota has.

kingknet, can you please list the supposed “soooo many ways” that “GM dropped the ball” on Volt? You say it’s really sad but I think your antiquated prejudices are really sad. Wake up man, this isn’t 1984. You also say something about Toyota’s “unbreakable history for reliability” (LOL) with complete disregard for their well-documented shortcomings over the last few years. Not to mention those that involved the tragic loss of human life. And I’m curious, do you have any concept of the mechanical differences between the Volt and the little lady Prius? You know, things like full-electric drive versus a little electrical suplement. Small stuff like that. Wow, as if ignorance isn’t enough, you add ill-founded self confidence into the mix and… well, the result is a closed-minded yet vocal loyalist like kingknet.

Regarding the article, I think it was great news that GM isn’t planning an additional brand. They just shed themselves of several that were self-defeating. And, this will help to bring credibility and recognition back to the Chevrolet name. Toyota is almost comical to watch these days. They are making so many of the same mistakes that sent GM down the tubes. Mistakes that GM has apparently learned from at this point. Toyota’s virtually new Scion brand is nearly pointless already. So what plan does Toyota management hatch? Create yet another Toyota division. Toyota’s best days are more than a decade behind us.

try again superman.

Jake- 1
superman- 0

I agree 100% with your comment Jake.0

there wasn’t supposed to be a 0 after the jake.

Most of the people posting here on LLN are a bunch of flamers looking to be some kind of cool by bashing what is in fact some of the best stuff ever. The @$$-mouth from such people and those that happily agree with them is just part of the mindless Herd mentality that permeates the WEB especially among young people who still haven’t learned to think for themselves. They have nothing to contribute and for the most part, like some punk looking to get arrested on COPS, just wants to be a pain in the rest of our collective posteriors.

Passing around lies and disinformation and defending them like Rush Limbaugh trying to defend his blatant racism and arrogant ignorance and the Fox Network trying to defend their gross hypocrisy only defames their own lacking sense and when they do finally have something useful to say no one will believe them. Their cronies will mock them, and the rest of us seeking meaning discord over the subject at hand will ignore them as well.

These people have no choice but to continue to be a bunch of A-holes and morons because like the kid who decided to run with the bad kids, he finds he can’t go back even if he needed to.

Now back to the article…

The Volt really should not be spun off into its own brand as it is a the first model in a paradigm shift for GM. The Car will by default, get between 60-80mpg and that is without relying on the batteries, the sole reason why the car costs $40K. With the batteries you are looking at at least 100mpg. The cost will be mitigated by Gov’t tax credits and by the time those run out GM will have figured out how to get the cost so far down you’d think that consumer GEVs had been around since the 1970s.

GM’s quality is improving radically with every new model, mainly because the crap it no longer being made. I do hope that GM gets it in their heads that every remaining division needs a Voltech based vehicle. No “cookie-cutter” Cars though. It would be interesting to see them try Voltech in a full-sized truck.

Vold Rules
Prious sux

nnmofgm seems 2 be ruling a lot o’ folks’ thoughtas

u never 8 a hoda, so i don’ty no id it can B zesty, but I like da black jack taco.

cavalier was better dan da cuiviv cbut not very good

da prius duz not look cool. it looks like a car 4 people who eat bean sprounts & don’t bathe

Lexus sux!

toyota us killing people. dat’s not unbreakeability!

Volt: Just GM made junk.

the volt will not make or break gm…gm is being turned around today without the volt in the lineup…if the volt fails completely and they don’t sell a single one, the company will still continue to improve due to the rest of the lineup…and like some folks have mentioned, the volt will be a 1st gen car for gm…it takes a few generations to get new tech like that polished…

Does anyone here actually read the articles here and remember them? There was just one that talked about a battery breakthrough that will greatly reduce the cost of the batteries and improve the capacity. Another on gas going over $4 when we get out of this recession (whoops, we are now officially out) and the economy gets back to somewhat where we were. And how the EPA MPG rules are going to force us into a whole different mindset on what we drive due to global warming and slowing the import of oil from our battlefileds.

Electric / hybrid vehicles are coming. Have no doubt. Ethanol is coming. In 10 years everyone will be driving some kind of electric hybrid vehicle, most likely with an extended range engine. Toyota sees this. The entire industry sees this.

The reason for birth control. See below.

ktulu
Vold Rules
Prious sux
nnmofgm seems 2 be ruling a lot o’ folks’ thoughtas
u never 8 a hoda, so i don’ty no id it can B zesty, but I like da black jack taco.
cavalier was better dan da cuiviv cbut not very good
da prius duz not look cool. it looks like a car 4 people who eat bean sprounts & don’t bathe
Lexus sux!
toyota us killing people. dat’s not unbreakeability!
Long live Japan, Germany, Italy and UK (manufacturers of automotive excellence

What a relief

I just find it a novel idea that GM wants to get something right the first time. Maybe with the Volt they won’t be so embarrassed about the first one that they have to give each successive generation a new name. Although it is too bad they wasted “Ion” on a piece of sh*t Saturn.

@psiclone. I’m doing a comparo with Toyota vs GM(I could have done Ford vs GM, Honda vs GM, etc..)it’s not “prejudices”. it’s truth. My family has owned a car from GM(all brands), Ford, Honda, Nissan,Toyota even a Renault.With the exception has you said “the last fewyears” Toyota has made GM mistakes,and I agree, but before, they had superior relialbility. The loss of human life is the horrible part of any car problem; such as the floor mat or the problem the NHTSA will found. And GM has had their fair share of problems for years that have claimed lives(so have other car companies). I owned a GM car that had a recall for coolant pouring into the engine chamber and causing engine fires that indeed killed people. And about the “Mechanical differences” between the two, i know it all too well. I want a EV car and have been waiting for one. Chevy Volt – electric car with a gas range extender, more of an electric car then most hybrids. Single charge 40miles,a 1.4 L4 “generator” to provide more electricity to the electric motor,batteries or both. The Generator will be a Flex-Fuel E85. Here’s the Problems. 1. The Generator is too big. A small motorcycle or even scooter engine could provide enough electricity for the Volt. (A motor making has little as 16hp is more then enough) At first they had the right idea. A 1.0L Turbo-Charged 3cylinder engine. (which one could assume would have been FlexFuel and or Diesel)2.The EV1 Gen.1 did 70-100 miles on a single charge using old lead-acid batteries.EV1 Gen.2 used NiMH batteries with a range of 100-140 miles to a single charge. The Chevy Volt – does 40 miles to one charge with lithium-ion battery packs. They could’ve done better 3. They had something GREAT at first, but then watered it down. The $$$ GM and Chrysler got, could have got to smaller companys that could have done it better. But such is life. And I’m well aware of the Prius’ problems too,1. I’m 6’4, and the Prius isn’t made for a 6’4 guy.2.Too much plastic.3.30mph EV mode. 4.Overly-priced at dealers 5.Seats of stone. Ill-founded confidence and closed-mindedness? Please. Don’t jump to concussions my friend, I’m no NMOFGM. I had hopes for the Volt, I really really did. GM just didn’t put “real” much effort into the production form of the Volt. They could have made something truly great. But instead,fell short of the mark. And I do agree with that Toyota is making the same old mistakes GM did. Hopefully BOTH GM and Toyota will wake up. Not trying to argue, just wanted to put my thought in. Peace my friend and good motoring.

sorry for the long reply. =)

Kingnet, no apologies necessary from you but from me instead. Sorry for lashing out. I guess I’m just getting tired of people bashing products before they are even being produced for the public, much less even tested. In GM’s case, the products are typically being compared to those they made 20 or more years ago. I would submit that the EV1 was a very different and far simpler vehicle. I worked for a battery company that owned one and had the chance to drive it at least a dozen or so times on 30+ mile trips. It was rather rudementary on the inside (especially by today’s standards) and was far from feeling like a production vehicle. It accelerated quick but had the build quality of something made quickly for a movie. And I can assure you it did not get close to achieving 70 to 100 miles on a charge. I would generally start to panic on the way back from a destination 15 miles away. The last LED charge indicator bar, the red one, would flash way before it should have according to the odometer. Ultimately, the vehicle was returned and the lease terminated when the battery caught fire during a charge one day. Sorry, I’ve drifted from my point for that story. My point was that the Volt will be running systems that take significantly more electricity than the EV1 and I would gander any production electric vehicle. I’m not sure where you get the 16 HP figure as being more than enough for the Volt’s energy needs. 16 HP is good maybe for, what, 300 amps? Not my specialty though I could be off.

Yes, historically other brands have also had problems with their vehicles, some even involving fatalities. But how long has it been? How long since a problem with the magnitude of Toyota’s potenital issue has occurred? Seriously, this is not just a “recall issue” as much as it is a critical situation deserving the highest safety precautions, manufacturer PR be damned. You’re right, Toyota did have a sterling reputation for quality. Key word, “did.” I estimate their best days are at least a decade behind us and most of us in the automotive fringe are waiting for the automotive sheeple to figure that out.

You say you HAD high hopes for the Volt. I really hope you wait for the product to be introduced before you pass final judgement. Based on the buying public’s and critics’ reactions, GM’s last 5 or 6 product releases have been excellent and in several cases better than the competition. There is clear evidence of significant product improvement and you’d only cheat yourself to negatively prejudge a potentially superior product. I honestly haven’t seen any news about the Volt that would have given me the reaction you got but you’re right, you were just putting your thought in and I appreciate the civil exchange. I again apologize for the rudeness in my last post.