With 40 years as a G.M. retiree, the ELR is now the front runner towards my Final Car. Without doubt, this car has the Class, Style,Looks,and Efficiency for the final drive into the Sun Set.

As the article discusses, the incremental cost of manufacturing and selling new cars based on the Volt’s technology is pretty low. The technology itself is a sunk cost, but the more vehicles you can spread around it, the better off you are.

Bob Lutz has done a healthy amount of good at GM. You may notice GM vehicles started winning road tests once his influence was felt on the company. He’s not perfect, but he’s passionate, enthusiastic and has a track record as a automotive manager I think we can all envy. Remember, he didn’t even get hired at GM until a few months before their financial crisis emerged into the headlines. You can’t blame him for the horrible engineering and design mistakes of the past.

That being said, personally, I’d buy the Tesla Model S before I bought a Volt or Cadillac ELR. I like the Model S design and engineering better, and I like the all-electric aspect of the car. I also appreciate what Tesla has tried to do in building an all-new vehicle on a relative shoestring.

D

There is a waiting list to purchase the Volt in several states. It’s being rolled out a few states at a time and GM expects only ~10,000 units to be produced this year. The demand for the Volt is much higher than the current supply; it’s not the other way around.

In fact, the demand is so high that there are several dealerships (price gouging) marking up the sticker price in excess of $20,000 and still moving them.

Want to see GM turnaround, fire Bob Lutz.