Well, I guess the foreign auto makers are going to get a charge out of this, especially after GM, Ford, and Chrysler have made incredible market share gains on Toyota and Honda since 2008.
Of course, the biggest gains came not from direct competition but from supply chain challenges due to the flooding in Bangladesh and the enormous catastrophe in Japan from the Earthquake and Tsunami.
Now no one wishes that on even their worst competitor, and I might add one of the United States' biggest trading partners and the world's third largest economy.
Have our alternative transportation innovations failed us? Did we bet wrong, wasn't the Chevy Volt to be America's comeback? Why did they sell fewer than 10,000 total units? Bright Automotive closed the other day, they specialized in Hybrid work vans.
Okay so, let's take a closer look and talk about this shall we? There was an interesting article recently in the Associated Press on February 2, 2012 entitled; "GM to suspend production of Chevy Volt," by Brent Snavely and The Detroit Free Press.
The article stated; "GM has told 1,300 employees at its Detroit Hamtramck plant that they will be temporarily laid off for five weeks as the company halts production of the Chevy Volt and its European counterpart, the Opel Ampera.
"Even with sales up in February over January, we are still seeking to align our production with demand.
" All, I can say is ouch, so much for the so-called promise of alternative energy vehicles, but really as a coordinator for a think tank which happens to operate online I must say that I am not all that surprised, at the lackluster sales of the Volt or the reality that no one much likes it.
There are so many issues with that "groupthink" innovation in automobiles that I barely know where to start? Battery Tech Not There Yet Lithium Supplies and Costs Consumers Don't Want Costly Cars ROI Even at $5 per Gallon isn't Doable The Car is Not That Pretty, Hardly Sexy at All I'd say those are the major issues, but there are many more, for instance the media attack after one of the Chevy Volt's caught on fire, and the threat of class-action lawsuits and/or returning the cars, and refunding all the money.
The R&D Costs were huge, and it was a great risk, but the price point wasn't there, and the car wasn't much better than the Toyota Prius which just had its 11-year anniversary.
Now, Toyota didn't make any money on the Prius either, and it never really revolutionized the auto industry, even as oil prices were at $150 a barrel, oh sure they sold some more for those months, but the sales were not like hitting the ball out of the park.
Hybrids once again with the lights turned off and the Chevy Volt factory dark.