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| Will Chevy Sell 60,000 Volts In 2012? Posted: 19 Oct 2010 01:56 PM PDT
Another car faces a similar hill to climb, the Chevy Volt. Early estimates place the car at just 10,000 units for the first year…though GM hopes to ramp production up to 60,000 units by 2012. Possible, or too optimistic? 60,000 Volts by 2012 is the maximum production capacity GM will have for the Volt, which is based on a heavily modified Chevy Cruze platform. So the production capacity certainly is there…but two years from now, will GM actually be selling 60,000 Volts annually? With a price drop to around $35,000, I could see it happen. Yet GM faces a very unique problem; there is no car in its lineup anything like the Volt, or in the Volt’s price range. I still have this sneaking feeling Volt would have had a better time selling the Volt as a Buick or Cadillac to justify the $41,000 price point. It is the same price as a well-equipped Camaro SS, and just $10,000 shy of a Corvette. Even a maxed-out Impala LTZ (Chevy’s top full-size sedan) is less than $33,000, which is the Volt’s price after the tax credit. That tax credit won’t last forever though. I can see GM selling 60,000 Volts every year if the price hovers around the $30,000 mark…but if they can’t bring it down by the time the tax credit expires, many people might not take the bait. Thank the Volt has what it takes to max out its production capacity? Source: The Detroit News |
| Porsche Promises Hybrid In Every Model Line Posted: 19 Oct 2010 11:04 AM PDT
So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that Porsche is promising that, at sometime in the future, every model line from 911 to Cayenne will have a hybrid option. Development chief Wolfgang Duerheimer told Automotive News says that "In the future, we will have hybrid drive in every model line.” Up on deck is a Cayenne Hybrid, a Panamara Hybrid that will use the Cayenne’s technology, and the aforementioned 918 Spyder Hybrid. Still, that covers just half of Porsches current lineup. The 911 that debuted at Petit LeMans uses a flywheel hybrid setup, so that is doubtful that setup will make it to market. That also leaves the Boxster and Cayman up in the air. That isn’t to say there won’t be conventional Porsches still for sale. With tightening emissions and fuel economy standards across the world though, Porsche has to up the ante if they don’t want to pay big fines for poor mpgs. They are in a sort of gray zone, selling a lot more cars than say Ferrari or Lamborghini, but not nearly as many as the major manufacturers. They must meet standards or pay big bucks in fines that will eat away at their profits. Another option Porsche is considering are smaller, four-cylinder engines. As Ford is showing, a turbocharger can make up for a lack of displacement, delivering good performance without sacrificing fuel economy (as long as you can keep your lead foot out of it). Porsche also wants to reduce the weight of each successive model by 10%…a tall order when drivers demand so much from their cars these days. It can be done though, and Porsche customers have already demonstrated they have no problem paying a premium price for a premium car. More than anything though, Porsche is help to disprove the myth that hybrids are boring. If Porsche uses the hybrid system right, it could provide better fuel economy and a burst of extra speed when needed (or wanted). That, my friends, should be the true meaning of hybrid. Source: Automotive News |
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