Jones Beene wrote: > > > There are indications that GM is already trying to keep it out of the > US market until the Volt arrives, but they may be too late for the > buffet, so to speak, as the first in line gets all-you-can-eat ....
GM is clearly run by an idiot (or several idiots). They have been plugging electric cars all over the place (good for them!) and they splattered the 2009 release date for their car all over the news (good for them!). (I see their "Soon You'll be Filling Up at the Outlet" billboards on all the major roads around Ottawa, by the way.) This was fabulous; IMHO it did more to push other car companies to produce all-electric or serial hybrid cars than just about anything else could have, save maybe $10/gallon gasoline. The *obvious* result was that several other companies, not wanting to play catch-up to GM, got projects rolling that would *ALSO* deliver EVs by ... the end of 2009, natch! GM set the deadline, GM placed the bar, and a number of companies are going to do their absolute best to jump over the bar and not miss the deadline. And now, having virtually guaranteed that there WILL BE either EV or PHEV offerings from a number of car companies during 2009, GM ... slips their delivery date to 2010, so they are now guaranteed not to be first to market with a PHEV. This was so predictable, and so obviously the wrong thing for them to do, I find it incredible that they didn't have a backup plan in place to let them deliver **something** electric during 2009, even if it's not the full-fledged Voltmobile. > > Jones >
