Is there a reason VW doesn’t have someone more local as head of VW America? Seems to me that if you’re an automaker who isn’t doing as well in a particular region that perhaps hiring someone from that region who might understand the market landscape better along with its consumer sentiment would be more ideal.

I grew u near a HUGE TVA coal plant in Tennessee. It had an enormous tower that could be seen for miles. Interestingly enough about 10 years ago a new tower was built next to the old one. It was only about half as tall but much wider in diameter. A gigantic amount of white smoke pours out of it 24/7. That is almost…

The trucks in question are made in Mexico. But even if they were made in the US your comments are unfounded and untrue. Actually a number of studies found that on average, Toyota, Honda, and Nissans made in the US were actually of higher quality than those imported from Japan. At this point most of the Japanese brand…

ha ha!!

Yeah. Looks like he got a charge for battery.

I didnt say they couldn’t compete. But if you’re going to do so you’re going to need to do something more than simply taking an existing ICE car and then stick batteries in it. There is a reason that cars like the Volt, Model S, and upcoming Bolt are purpose-engineered platforms.

you’re kiddin.... right?

First of all, let’s put this into perspective. For starters, Lithium Ion batteries ARE NOT made out of rare earth metals. I’d suggest doing some further research. Second of all the total amount of lithium used in the average EV or PEV is actually very small. For example in my Chevy Volt, with its 400 pound battery,…

Recycling Lithium Ion batteries is a profittable business and hence if there were “concerns” over these filling up the landfills then that is pretty much invalid. Also of note: the typical lead acid battery has a 7 year life expectency. The batteries being put in these EVS are meant to last as long as the car does:…

There are already facilities that recycle these and doing so because its profitable. Its not any different than what happens to lead acid batteries.

This lame, fake “concern” has been floating around ever since the Prius came about. So I suppose I’ll need to bring out my laundry list of reasons as to why these kinds of arguments are moot.

If VWs answer is to stick batteries in a phanteon then they've already made the wrong decision. Electrified versions of existing ICE cars have never sold well and mainly because buyers of EVs want something different. Secondly, by the time they have this thing out tesla will possibly have the model 3 along with their…

I was being a smart ass so disregard. Cadillac probably has a good 5 to 10 years before they become anything of a real competitor to either BMW or Mercedes. They spent so many years making nothing but big old boats that they could totally had to reinvent themselves as a company .

That was my reaction as well.

It basically looks like every single BMW made these days

They do

Whoopee.

wear a helmet.

I own a Volt I bought used so of course I am biased. But I think these cars are stupid. For starters the things are costly. Without the “range extender” these start at $42,000, or around $8,000 more than the Volt. If you want the “range extender” they will set you back $46,000. As the story above indicates the range…

It just amazed me that even with the heaviest 14 gauge cord that I started with that the plug was getting very hot. The outlet I'm using is even only a foot from the main breaker box. I've seen people using 100 foot long, 16 gauge cords with these cars and that's pretty scary.