Motor Trend responds to Rush Limbaugh over Volt COTY choice
11-22-10, 05:32 PM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Motor Trend responds to Rush Limbaugh over Volt COTY choice
lol, rare this happens...
http://blogs.motortrend.com/rush-judgment-5957.html
http://blogs.motortrend.com/rush-judgment-5957.html
Rush to Judgment
You said, “Folks, of all the cars, no offense, General Motors, please, but of all the cars in the world, the Chevrolet Volt is the Car of the Year? Motor Trend magazine, that’s the end of them. How in the world do they have any credibility? Not one has been sold. The Volt is the Car of the Year.”
So, Mr. Limbaugh; you didn’t enjoy your drive of our 2011 Car of the Year, the Chevrolet Volt? Assuming you’ve been anywhere near the biggest automotive technological breakthrough since … I don’t know, maybe the self-starter, could you even find your way to the front seat? Or are you happy attacking a car that you’ve never even seen in person?
Last time you ranted about the Volt, you got confused about the “range,” and said on the air that the car could be driven no more than 40 miles at a time, period. At least you stayed away from that issue this time, but you continue to attack it as the car only a tree hugging, Obama-supporting Government Motors customer would want. As radio loudmouths like you would note, none of those potential customers were to be found after November 2.
Back to us for a moment, our credibility, Mr. Limbaugh, comes from actually driving and testing the car, and understanding its advanced technology. It comes from driving and testing virtually every new car sold, and from doing this once a year with all the all-new or significantly improved models all at the same time. We test, make judgments and write about things we understand.
Chevrolet has not sold one Volt because it’s not on sale yet. It will not sell 10,000 this first model year (although GE plans to buy truckloads for its fleet), because it takes time to ramp up production. See, Rush, because we’re the World’s Automotive Authority, we get access to many cars before they go on sale.
But, harrumph. In its attempt to force cars that don’t use much gas on us — how un-American/un-ExxonMobil/un-Halliburton is that? — the Obama administration is offering a $7,500 tax credit on the Chevy Volt, grabbing tax breaks and credits right out of the deserving, job-creating pockets of America’s richest individuals. How dare he?
This is another of your distortions, Rush, repeated by the otherwise more level-headed George Will in The Washington Post last Sunday. The $7,500 Obama tax credit is an expansion of President Bush’s hybrid credits from the last decade. The Obama tax credit extends to the new Nissan Leaf, too, but if you or Will slammed that car, I’ve not heard or read it. I’d be surprised if you did, though, as Nissan is building the Leaf in a non-union factory in a right-to-work state represented by two Republican senators. A factory located there because Tennessee offered Nissan big tax credits. Maybe you’re worried that if the $7,500 tax credit works, too many people will buy the Volt, and that could reduce the need for oil drilling tax credits?
GM designed the Chevy Volt after its failed experiment with the EV1, which was its attempt to respond to a California mandate. States rights, you know. While Toyota was developing, and eventually selling the hybrid Prius in ever-greater numbers, GM decided to move beyond the Prius-model with a new kind of technology that’s not quite plug-in hybrid, not quite pure electric.
It unveiled the Chevy Volt concept at the 2007 Detroit auto show. That means GM began working on it before the November 2006 elections, when the Republican Party had majorities in the House and Senate, before President Bush had signed a single veto. Bob Lutz, who famously decreed, “Global Warming is a crock of ****,” introduced the car two years before Bush gave GM its first bailout from TARP pocket change. This was two-and-a-half years before Obama’s Automotive Task Force forced GM into bankruptcy.
Sure, Toyota designed and built the Prius on its own, and no doubt lost billions of yen probably well into the second generation. Do you think Toyota did this without any Japanese government help?
Thanks to the recently unbridled ability of American and foreign big business to contribute unhindered to their favorite politicians – both Democratic and Republican — you don’t need to worry about rampant left-wing policy coming out of Washington any time soon.
You’ve made two king’s ransoms by convincing legions of dittoheads to tune into you every day. I wonder, do you ever ride in anything that’s not German or Anglo-Saxon? Do you have any idea how powerful IG Metal is, and of the size of Germany’s social safety net?
My esteemed colleague, Jonny Lieberman, got a copy of Will’s hit piece on the Volt, and responded thusly: “A bit of flag waving is in order – but instead, Will chooses to be a partisan clown and gets everything wrong.” You and Will don’t even worry about being un-American, anymore.
All the shouting from you or from electric car purists on the left can’t distort the fact that the Chevy Volt is, indeed, a technological breakthrough. And it’s more. It’s a technological breakthrough that many American families can use for gas-free daily commutes and well-planned vacation drives. It’s expensive for a Chevy, but many of those families will find the gasoline saved worth it. If you can stop shilling for your favorite political party long enough to go for a drive, you might really enjoy the Chevy Volt. I’m sure GM would be happy to lend you one for the weekend. Just remember: driving and Oxycontin don’t mix.
Read more: http://blogs.motortrend.com/rush-jud...#ixzz1645auGMq
You said, “Folks, of all the cars, no offense, General Motors, please, but of all the cars in the world, the Chevrolet Volt is the Car of the Year? Motor Trend magazine, that’s the end of them. How in the world do they have any credibility? Not one has been sold. The Volt is the Car of the Year.”
So, Mr. Limbaugh; you didn’t enjoy your drive of our 2011 Car of the Year, the Chevrolet Volt? Assuming you’ve been anywhere near the biggest automotive technological breakthrough since … I don’t know, maybe the self-starter, could you even find your way to the front seat? Or are you happy attacking a car that you’ve never even seen in person?
Last time you ranted about the Volt, you got confused about the “range,” and said on the air that the car could be driven no more than 40 miles at a time, period. At least you stayed away from that issue this time, but you continue to attack it as the car only a tree hugging, Obama-supporting Government Motors customer would want. As radio loudmouths like you would note, none of those potential customers were to be found after November 2.
Back to us for a moment, our credibility, Mr. Limbaugh, comes from actually driving and testing the car, and understanding its advanced technology. It comes from driving and testing virtually every new car sold, and from doing this once a year with all the all-new or significantly improved models all at the same time. We test, make judgments and write about things we understand.
Chevrolet has not sold one Volt because it’s not on sale yet. It will not sell 10,000 this first model year (although GE plans to buy truckloads for its fleet), because it takes time to ramp up production. See, Rush, because we’re the World’s Automotive Authority, we get access to many cars before they go on sale.
But, harrumph. In its attempt to force cars that don’t use much gas on us — how un-American/un-ExxonMobil/un-Halliburton is that? — the Obama administration is offering a $7,500 tax credit on the Chevy Volt, grabbing tax breaks and credits right out of the deserving, job-creating pockets of America’s richest individuals. How dare he?
This is another of your distortions, Rush, repeated by the otherwise more level-headed George Will in The Washington Post last Sunday. The $7,500 Obama tax credit is an expansion of President Bush’s hybrid credits from the last decade. The Obama tax credit extends to the new Nissan Leaf, too, but if you or Will slammed that car, I’ve not heard or read it. I’d be surprised if you did, though, as Nissan is building the Leaf in a non-union factory in a right-to-work state represented by two Republican senators. A factory located there because Tennessee offered Nissan big tax credits. Maybe you’re worried that if the $7,500 tax credit works, too many people will buy the Volt, and that could reduce the need for oil drilling tax credits?
GM designed the Chevy Volt after its failed experiment with the EV1, which was its attempt to respond to a California mandate. States rights, you know. While Toyota was developing, and eventually selling the hybrid Prius in ever-greater numbers, GM decided to move beyond the Prius-model with a new kind of technology that’s not quite plug-in hybrid, not quite pure electric.
It unveiled the Chevy Volt concept at the 2007 Detroit auto show. That means GM began working on it before the November 2006 elections, when the Republican Party had majorities in the House and Senate, before President Bush had signed a single veto. Bob Lutz, who famously decreed, “Global Warming is a crock of ****,” introduced the car two years before Bush gave GM its first bailout from TARP pocket change. This was two-and-a-half years before Obama’s Automotive Task Force forced GM into bankruptcy.
Sure, Toyota designed and built the Prius on its own, and no doubt lost billions of yen probably well into the second generation. Do you think Toyota did this without any Japanese government help?
Thanks to the recently unbridled ability of American and foreign big business to contribute unhindered to their favorite politicians – both Democratic and Republican — you don’t need to worry about rampant left-wing policy coming out of Washington any time soon.
You’ve made two king’s ransoms by convincing legions of dittoheads to tune into you every day. I wonder, do you ever ride in anything that’s not German or Anglo-Saxon? Do you have any idea how powerful IG Metal is, and of the size of Germany’s social safety net?
My esteemed colleague, Jonny Lieberman, got a copy of Will’s hit piece on the Volt, and responded thusly: “A bit of flag waving is in order – but instead, Will chooses to be a partisan clown and gets everything wrong.” You and Will don’t even worry about being un-American, anymore.
All the shouting from you or from electric car purists on the left can’t distort the fact that the Chevy Volt is, indeed, a technological breakthrough. And it’s more. It’s a technological breakthrough that many American families can use for gas-free daily commutes and well-planned vacation drives. It’s expensive for a Chevy, but many of those families will find the gasoline saved worth it. If you can stop shilling for your favorite political party long enough to go for a drive, you might really enjoy the Chevy Volt. I’m sure GM would be happy to lend you one for the weekend. Just remember: driving and Oxycontin don’t mix.
Read more: http://blogs.motortrend.com/rush-jud...#ixzz1645auGMq
11-22-10, 06:02 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
I normally agree with Rush on most issues, but I have to go with MT on this one. The Volt clearly deserved the COTY award. No, it's not the only new car just entering the market with promising new technology (witness the hydrogen/fuel-cell Honda FCX). But the Volt, clearly, because of the nation's acute lack of compressed-hydrogen refilling stations at the moment, stands to be more practically available to far more customers than the FCX. The big question, it seems, is going to be if the Volt is ever put on general sale or customer/region-restricted and leased like the electric GM Impact was back in the 1990s. But the fact that Chevy has announced a general sales-price (41K before tax-credits) seems to indicate that whoever pays up, orders one (no doubt with waiting lines and dealer-markups), and can find space at home for the plug-in recharger (if they want to take max-advantage of the electric-range without the gas engine) can have one.
11-22-10, 06:38 PM
#4
^^ +1 MT took the bait and he will get tons of free publicity on this one.
I listen to him from time to time and his comments on why the Volt shouldn't be COTY would be something we'd have to agree to disagree on.
Having said that I really have not paid much attention to MT COTY since they had the Renault Alliance
as COTY back in 198x something.
I listen to him from time to time and his comments on why the Volt shouldn't be COTY would be something we'd have to agree to disagree on.
Having said that I really have not paid much attention to MT COTY since they had the Renault Alliance
as COTY back in 198x something.
Last edited by TripleL; 11-22-10 at 06:42 PM.
11-22-10, 06:55 PM
#5
Not a fan of Rush by any means, but Motor Trend's COTY awards have a history of being given to them most miserable, dreadful junk.
The Volt might be a tiny step in the right direction, but given that its GM, I wouldn't touch it with a 6 foot pole. Screw GM.
The Volt might be a tiny step in the right direction, but given that its GM, I wouldn't touch it with a 6 foot pole. Screw GM.
11-22-10, 08:37 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
i still don't get how a car that isn't even available gets COTY.
and a car that will likely cost 50% more than a prius should be a breakthrough, and from a company that with govt help stole billions from taxpayers to protect over-compensated union workers.
and a car that will likely cost 50% more than a prius should be a breakthrough, and from a company that with govt help stole billions from taxpayers to protect over-compensated union workers.
11-22-10, 08:53 PM
#7
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: NY
Posts: 3,370
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
(undeserved) wonders for their CAFE numbers. It all feels, so...... engineered, like a government conspiracy
**takes tin foil hat off, puts flame suit on**
Trending Topics
11-22-10, 09:10 PM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
The auto press often gets chances to see, evaluate, and test-drive new vehicles before the general-public does. That is more-or-less routine...it has happened many times.
You may be talking apples and oranges here. Let's see where Toyota prices the Extended-Range-Prius, which has yet to be introduced. The ER-Prius will be a much closer Volt competitor than the current Prius.
That money, from what I understand, was not a gift, but a loan. And GM has already paid back at least a portion of it, ahead of schedule.
and a car that will likely cost 50% more than a Prius should be a breakthrough,
and from a company that with govt help stole billions from taxpayers to protect over-compensated union workers.
11-22-10, 09:19 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
But, despite their unreliability and poor assembly quality, a number of them represented MT's criteria in giving out the award......a significant jump forward in overall auto-design, particularly with the advent of domestic FWD cars in the late 70s and early 80s. The Volt, in 2011, clearly represents a major step forward in the design of gas-electric hybrids.....with the Extended-Range Prius to follow. Time will tell, of course, on the Volt's reliability.
11-22-10, 09:39 PM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
That money, from what I understand, was not a gift, but a loan. And GM has already paid back at least a portion of it, ahead of schedule.
meanwhile, a company like ford took no bailout money and has to compete against a rigged competitor.
11-22-10, 10:01 PM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
Back to the Volt, though.....if you don't think the Volt should get the award, then what car would you give it to?
Last edited by mmarshall; 11-22-10 at 10:07 PM.
11-23-10, 07:07 AM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
11-23-10, 11:12 AM
#15
Moderator: LFA, Clubhouse
What an awful response. Rush may often be guilty of exaggerations and grandstanding (I'm sure the main reason Rush criticizes the Volt is because GM makes it), but this article is just as bad. For example, Toyota has discredited receiving Japanese government subsidies towards Prius development, and Prius sales aren't even subsidized with buyer tax breaks from the Japanese government anymore. And is Motor Trend really going to go down the path of declaring it "un-American" for people to criticize American companies and products, especially when those companies and products are just shams propagated by big government intervention?
Of course, in the end, we already know Motor Trend is a joke, and given that, the selection of the Chevy Volt should be no surprise.
GM didn't "pay back" a minuscule portion of the loan - they just shuffled their loan money around. Money was not paid out of GM's earnings... it was paid back using other TARP loans, and GM and the Treasury admit it. In other words, GM just took taxpayer money the government doled out and used it to pay back other taxpayer money the government doled out and called it "repayment" (and "ahead of schedule", to boot). All the advertising from GM about how GM is so great and paying loans back ahead of schedule, and all the press releases and news snippets from the Treasury and the glorious Obama administration about it are part of the biggest sham marketing campaign in recent history. Talk about pulling the wool over the eyes of The People.
It was far more than 20 billion; in fact, the future tax breaks are about as much as all the loans/payouts combined that they received from the US Government. So effectively, the cost to taxpayers of the GM bailout is double what was actually given out - and keep in mind, this does not include all the subsidies that taxpayers have to pay to buyers of GM vehicles that are eligible for tax breaks and other subsidies.
Of course, in the end, we already know Motor Trend is a joke, and given that, the selection of the Chevy Volt should be no surprise.
they've paid back a small portion now with the IPO, but what they nor the govt also say much about is that they got so many special breaks that companies normally going through bankruptcy don't get, like they can carry forward some 20+bn in tax write-offs from the 'old company' - there was a post about it in here i believe...
Last edited by gengar; 11-23-10 at 02:40 PM.
