84 4+3

So that 130 mile claimed range, you think it is under ideal conditions or what? Electric is great on paper but the technology isn't quite there yet... 130 miles wouldn't even get me through my day right now. It's coming and will be here in my lifetime, actually fully autonomous vehicles will be here in my lifetime too imo. Tesla has it close imo, they have nothing to fall back on with other models so it has to. Friend of mine has the new model s and he does actually hit about what they claim on range... Until you start beating the snot out of it just like any other car then it drops like a rock. But it's pretty fun since all the weight is at or below the centerline of the hubs a vehicle that has no business going around turns suddenly drives like it's on rails with nothing special as far as suspension tuning is concerned. And once the switch happens that'll be about the time everyone realizes the electric grids cant handle the new demand and that solar and wind won't cut it by themselves and it'll just be a whole mess. We did a whole project on it for school and unless some major technology breakthrough happens with renewable electric generation we don't really have the technology to make the switch 100%. We'll see. That is an interesting project none the less. 220mph out of anything is impressive.

Sin City

Ummm..I think you are not reading what GM says its doing.

Not me saying it -- GM saying it.

Its abandoning gas powered cars and plans to put 20 electric vehicles into the US market by 2023. It is also away behind the curve when it comes to the new trend of Crossover vehicles. To get back on track takes money and it takes manpower (aka resources). Its going to take their best engineers, planners, factory managers, and marketeers to do it. And those who are not needed are not needed.

That does not sound to me like it's the fault or decision making of anyone in Washington to me. That sounds like GM is trying to respond to consumer demand.

If GM is nervous about anything, its that they have acted like an ostrich while their competitors have had their eyes wide open.

If I believe what you are saying, GM would be cutting back on investments and new products. But instead they are going full throttle.

Why would a company go "full throttle" if they were uncertain in the future?

The answer: They wouldn't.

RapidC84B

I'd love a Corvette "SUV" as a daily.

PCMIII

If VW can build one, no reason why Chevy cannot: https://www.caranddriver.com/lamborghini/urus

Supersonic 427

Chevrolet builds several SUV's. They even have a new Blazer coming out after the first of the year. BTW....a Corvette is a model of Chevrolet just as a Traverse, Equinox, Silverado , etc. etc.is!

gurneyeagle

What exactly are you trying to say here?

Foosh

LOL . . . why not a Chevy Traverse sports car? I'm sure they could do it.

Why do you have such a hard time understanding the difference between a "brand" and a "model?" Chevrolet is the brand in this case and builds boatloads of SUVs.

Quinten33

I wouldn't mind a Corvette SUV that rides on the Alpha II platform. It'd go a long way in funding future GM Performance research, development, and production. It would also boost brand image and could be used to get Lansing up to production capacity if built there.

Supersonic 427

Exactly! Also why he feels because of a Mid Engine design at an affordable price, that the C8 Corvette will be a glorified Fiero of the 1980's!!

sunsalem

Geez, those are crazy numbers.
If the top of the line Corvette will go for $150k, why not spend $50k more for the Tesla?

Yeah, but the margins are low too.

Jeep already has:
https://www.jeep.com/2018/grand-cher...rformance.html

ArmchairArchitect

Corvette very well may be its own brand soon- GM has been moving in that direction for years with removing Chevy (read: cheap car brand) badging from Corvettes. Once Corvette becomes its own brand there may be several models of Corvette. It makes sense because "Chevy" cheapens the cachet of the Corvette branding.

Supersonic 427

Never going to happen! Corvette will always be a Chevrolet Corvette and will always be a 2 seat sports car exclusively!

PCMIII

Are you saying the Blazer or any other Chevy SUV can compete with the Urus? I don't think so.

Foosh

Agree, the chatter about Corvette soon to become it's own brand has been "imminent" for at least 2 decades now. It simply is NOT going to happen. GM went through the process of eliminating "brands," over the past decade, and at this time of industry restructuring and transition to an uncertain future, the last thing they're going to do is spin off another brand.

Supersonic 427

I am not saying that...I am saying Chevrolet makes several SUV models and Corvette is their MODEL of sports car! Chevrolet's are built as price leader cars and trucks that compete with comparably priced brands!

Foosh

And Cadillac is supposed to be the designated GM player in the luxury/performance SUV space. GM made the mistake of cannibalizing itself w/ too many competing brand models, and finally eliminated many of them, recognizing it was a failed strategy. They're not going to spin off another brand player to start the cannibalization process all over again.

Stew24

Uh, .. If the current administration, and the economy has nothing to do with it, then why didn't GM just reassign and position those 14,000 jobs, instead of eliminating them? If buyers are simply buying Traverse's instead of Impalas, they still are buying and workers are still needed, right?

84 4+3

If the factory that builds the Traverse has full shifts with no shortage of workers and they can meet and exceed demand as they sit why pay more and have more overhead if you still have the capacity to meet foreseeable demand? Something to the tune of 20,000 total jobs have been removed over the past 3 years or so as well. Long before anything happening now would impact that decision. The Oshawa plant was threatened to have its doors closed in 2016. It's been on their radar for a while. These things don't just happen overnight. Shoot my friend almost went bankrupt keeping his business alive 2007-2012 because he didn't want to cut workers. It was all well and good but when you have to start cutting deep into your savings just to keep your company doors open something isn't adding up and that is an unsustainable scenario. That being said the last 2 years for him has the business almost back to where it was pre crash so I guess you could say it paid off but if you look at the margins vs money spent keeping it he still would be way ahead of he just shut the doors after that first year.

At the end of the day the company still needs to make money and if you aren't doing that you end with another bailout scenario. Like was said, this was coming for quite a while.

dcbingaman

GM is going where the market is going, BUT the market is schizophrenic as hell. People want Crossovers and SUV's with big power and lots of features.....but government regulators want electric cars with no emissions. Hence the $7500 first electric car buyer subsidy, and the mfg. subsidy for the first 200,000 electric cars produced. The big question is what happens to the electric car marketplace when the subsidies expire ? No one really knows. My guess is the electric car market will go the way of the Cruze.....20,000-50,000 units a year as a niche.

The other problem for electric cars is infrastructure. The Grid is just the start - who is going to put in all the supercharger stations required for 17 million cars ?? The tab of that bill is in $$$$B's and no private concern, whether GM, Ford or PG$L has the investment power to do it. I am not a believer in electric cars really catching on anytime soon unless and until there is a BIG public investment to make it happen. The third problem is batteries - the rare earth metals required to make them in the quantities required are getting more and more RARE. As a result the price of a Tesla battery is HIGHER today than it was four years ago. The learning curve slope is going in the wrong direction.

Does anyone REALLY think THIS government is equipped to make the required electric car infrastructure happen anytime soon ? I don't - these guys can't find their a$$ with both hands !! Hopefully GM hedges their bet with some efficient front IC-engine powered sedans and crossovers when this whole electric car technicolor dream melts down like icing on a cake in the rain.

nyca

This move by Mary Barra is going to have a big blowback - already word that the closure locations were selected based on politics. They are going to alienate half the voting block in the US to not buy other GM vehicles now.

On the electrics - people who want electric cars - want a Tesla. It has the "chic", no matter how many issues the cars have, people are buying them to be socially conscious and they want to own "the name". The other makers coming forward with electrics are going to be surprised to see that there is little market for them apart from Tesla.