GM Puts The Brakes On Chevrolet Volt Production
Chevrolet Volt sales haven't had the spark General Motors was looking for, so now it is putting the brakes on production.
The Volt has been the subject of five years of attention from GM, which touted the car as its best hope for the future during hearings on a Congressional bailout. But the Volt has become mired in political controversy, and reports of two fires in stationary Volts prompted lawmakers to examine the situation.
Obama's GM car dealership... 2013
Great advertisement for GM.The SS won't allow him to sit in it because it's susceptible to going up in flames. If it was a Japanese car they would call it the Hibachi. Obama thought he would have a little fun. I bet the UAW got a big kick out of it.
GM said Friday it will halt production of the Volt and the Opel Ampera so that it can balance inventories — car speak for a lack of demand. The move means that 1,300 people at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant will be temporarily laid off.
According to the Detroit Free Press, employees were told on Thursday that the production will be halted from March 19 through April 23. That's a crucial moment, right as the auto industry heads into its spring selling season. And it's the latest setback for the plug-in hybrid car, on which GM pinned so many hopes.
Chevrolet originally planned to sell 10,000 Volts in the first year, and as many as 60,000 this year and in subsequent years.
But it only sold about 7,000 in the car's first year. And even though sales were up in February versus January, the company has only sold 1,626 so far in 2012. That will put it way short of its goal for the year.
Even though federal officials have deemed the car safe, GM is taking steps to upgrade the Volt's structure and improve the way the battery is cooled.
I know it's Bush's fault, just haven't figured out why yet...
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