GM CEO Dan Akerson labels the Toyota Prius as a Geek mobile he'd wouldn't be caught dead in.

 story summary:
On December 10, 2010, while speaking to "The Economic Club of
Washington DC" General Motors CEO Dan Akerson said, "We commonly refer
to the geek-mobile as the Prius. And I wouldn't be caught dead in a
Prius." Akerson declared the Chevy Volt as the "world's first electric
vehicle with extended range capability."
During the talk, CEO Akerson complained that GM's 49.5 billion dollar
federal bailout restriction on executive salary and compensation made
it difficult for him to attract and retain executives.

commentary:
Not everyone who drives a Prius is a *geek* ( technologically inspired
individual),
most of the people who drive a Prius drive it normally and do not use
it to it
fullest potential. However, because the Prius drive technology is so
advanced
it  can do easily do hypermiling driving techniques that once took
great skill
to do -- so it has a significant community of  Ecologically -Energy
Efficiency
inspired drivers  than the limited edition of the 199x Honda Insight
(first
gen honda Insight hybrid - which is the car which currently holds the
BEST
hypermiling results so far in national competition).  The Chevy Volt
is a fine
car but it's success does not hinge on how much GM pays Akerson or his
top executives.  Like the Prius the Volt is a work in progress -
however,
the Volt design team does not have the Prius design team advantage of
being
in the real world for ten years. Ultimately it will not be the
executive but
the geeks of GM's engineering research and development section which
will determine if Chevy Volt design will survive the real world.
Because the
Volt is such a unique car - GM needs to provide additional support to
the
owner/drivers. For example, since the Volt does not come with a spare
tire
it should either come with run-flat tires or On-star should come free
for the
first two or three years. Given Volt's high MRSP, GM should also be
providing technical assistance for the Volt via a user group forum
via
the internet.



sources
========
Top GM exec says federal pay limits hurt company
Ken Thomas. Associated Press. Dec 10 2010
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GM_FUTURE?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATEÞFAULT

GM CEO calls Toyota Prius a "geek-mobile." touts Chevrolet Volt
Mark Trumbull. Christan Science Monitor. Dec 10, 2010
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2010/1210/GM-CEO-calls-Toyota-Prius-a-geek-mobile-touts-Chevrolet-Volt

GM CEO calls Toyota Prius "geek-mobile." wants to pay execs more
James R Healey/Drive On, USA Today
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/12/gm-ceo-calls-toyota-prius-geek-mobile-wants-feds-to-let-him-pay-execs-more/1

  On 12/12/2010 9:58 AM, Neo wrote:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GM_FUTURE?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATEÞFAULT

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2010/1210/GM-CEO-calls-Toyota-Prius-a-geek-mobile-touts-Chevrolet-Volt

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/12/gm-ceo-calls-toyota-prius-geek-mobile-wants-feds-to-let-him-pay-execs-more/1


Why should anyone pay a premium salary for the fraud that is "Chevy Volt"?

 Neo wrote:

    No spare tire? No run flat tires? Yikes. Hopefully it at least has
free roadside assistance...


...

 
Currently GM is fitting the Chevy Volt with  Goodyear Assurance Fuel
Max (TM)
which are good low rolling resistant tires but since the Volt has no
spare tire
I believe GM should fit the Chevy Volt with run flat radial tires like
the Goodyear Eagle NCT5(TM)

GM's OnStar is currently an option for the Chevy Volt but in my humble
opinion
I think it or some other kind of roadside assistance  (AAA maybe?) is
necessary.
The Chevy Volt design still needs work.

 On 12/14/2010 8:20 PM, Neo wrote:

OnStar won't work when the batteries fail....