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Can GM Challenge Tesla With a Long-Range Electric Car?

Posted by Soulskill on from the build-some-space-rockets-while-you're-at-it dept.

cartechboy writes "GM may sell the Chevy Volt, but it's not a sexy electric car like Tesla Model S. It's a plug-in hybrid with muddled marketing (whose owners love it even though they burn gasoline sometimes). Product exec Doug Parks says GM is developing an electric car that does 200 miles on one charge, with a price around $30,000. But he wouldn't say when, falling back on the old excuse: 'Electric car batteries are really, really expensive!' Tesla's still the only maker to offer an electric car with more than 200 miles of range, so it will be interesting to see whether GM can really build a true Tesla rival. If so, the marketing must be better than the Volt's. Otherwise, it won't matter how good the car is."

5 of 466 comments (clear)

  1. Sure they could. by Kenja · · Score: 3, Interesting

    But they would be lease only, GM would refuse to sell them to anyone and then they would for no reason take them all back and destroy them.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:Sure they could. by Kenja · · Score: 3, Interesting

      And yet... GM refused to sell them to people with the money and willingness to buy them. GM decided they would rather destroy the cars then sell them (shrug).

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      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    2. Re:Sure they could. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There's all kinds of liability issues that most of Slashdot doesn't care to acknowledge. Anytime legal matters come up you guys just make up your mind that life shouldn't work that way and act like that somehow absolves any guilty party of responsibility. Unfortunately, for those of us who have to live in the real world, life doesn't work out that way. There would be all kinds of question of tax credits offered to GM if there were any, parts availability, and liability for environmental factors of disposing of such new technology.
       
      Have you even began to consider the implications of the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act on selling off a previous for-lease-only unit that has no public supply chain let alone GM's control over who made the original parts? If I were GM I wouldn't want that headache. This isn't like seeing a used lawnmower at a flea market.

  2. Re:No. by 0123456 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    GM wants to make cars that people want to buy. Most people don't want to buy electric cars that are twice the cost of a Civic and can only drive a couple of hundred miles before they have to stop for an hour to 'refuel'.

  3. Sell the car, lease the batteries. by jfisherwa · · Score: 4, Interesting

    .. then they could advertise much cheaper prices, get people in the door, and sell multiple range options based on the batteries they could afford/lease.