Bad press and ignorance will kill it. In Canada, I read about the Volt fire from the DOT tests for years, while it was considered as a minor issue for the DOT itself. I still hear that story from time to time from people when they want to 'prove' that electrics have no future.

Bad press made the Volt an enemy to most people while it employed american people to build it, for the most part... Imagine if it would have been made in 'cheap' China.

You can build the most reliable car in the world and the one with the highest % of satisfaction, but if the press don't get it, it's DOA.

No wonder why so many people don't care if they (the so called journalist) are a dying breed. They did a bad job on so many levels for so many years... They continue to spread inexact facts and partial and biased analysis, most of the time it's just clickbait...

And then there's the dealership problem... They don't want to sell cars if they don't make money out of regular maintenance... This has to be addressed if GM wants to sell electrics in large numbers.

And there is the GM problem... They priced the Volt so that they could barely make any money out of it (compared to trucks for instance)... So the first thing that the bean counters did when they needed to shave some 'dead' weight is kill the small cars that did not bing the bacon home. If the Volt was priced at a decent price and was getting them some dough, efforts would have been made to relocate and continue. The other imports from Asia (Trax/Encore) do bring a decent profit for GM and the dealerships.

Oh well... Sateday morning rant!

 

For me no I won’t buy a China-made GM EV. Maybe a used future US Made Cadillac EV someday, since I won’t pay full price on a Caddy.


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...using an iPhone made in China...

 

I don't care where it's made so long as the price and quality is right. Just remember what Lord Beaverbrook said about the Japanese cars coming into England to compete with the English automotive industry back in the 70's, "who would buy those pieces of junk?" Where is the British motor industry today? Although more cars than ever are made in Britain, the only British owned ones are the quarter million dollar super sportscars. Take warning.

 

Do you own a cell phone?
And where are those made?

The future has China cars in it one way or the other, they are coming. I would like to see domestic made vehicles still be relevant. But, take the EV tax credit, we as a country just can't seem to focus on the things we need to be doing, and keep a comprehensive effective plan working. Domestic brands will suffer from this shortsightedness.

 

Do you own a cell phone?
And where are those made?

I have an LG. Made in Vietnam.

Note - you pay for quality. Chinese cars made to world standards won't be cheap.

But, if you surrender your manufacturing base to China, there's really not much point in spending any defense resources defending against them, so that would cut a big chunk out of the defense budget. The other SE Asian countries, Korea, and Japan might not like China owning the South China Sea and the other effects of Chinese hegemony but, that's too bad.

 

No way.

I go out of my way to buy American on a normal basis whenever possible as it is. Supporting your neighbor by buying American, who's employed in America is supporting yourself. In addition, I absolutely despise sending any money to a Communist/Socialist country.

 

I would much prefer to buy American IF possible and I would love to be able to buy a GM EV if it meets my standards and needs. I would like to see those shuttered GM plants and layed off workers get busy again. But for now, it looks like the upcoming Tesla Model Y is most likely my next vehicle...unless it turns out to be way too expensive. My Volt is fine for now and has been rock solid. If it were AWD I probably would keep it until it breaks.

 

Just because it says "Made in the USA" doesn't mean it was made in the USA same thing for Canada. That can of tuna that says "Product of Canada" could well be from Vietnam where big blocks of frozen fish are imported into Halifax where it is unfrozen, canned and labeled and because enough of the process (including the printing of the label) was done in Canada it can legally be sold as a Canadian product. Same for the US. With manufacturing the way it is you can't avoid foreign participation unless you live in cave and hunt with a homemade bow and arrow. Anything else and you are just fooling yourself. I know people who fought in the Pacific and would not buy a Japanese car, I golfed with a guy that flew a spitfire in the Battle of Britain (the average age of the pilots was 20 years old believe it or not) and while he respected the German pilots he fought against he didn't the Japanese because they would fire on an ejected pilot as he parachuted down. There where people in Israel that wouldn't buy a VW Beetle unless it was made in Belgium before being shipped over. As far as China being a communist country, it isn't. It is a free enterprise country where the government is ruled by one party (except for local governments). That gives them one voice, one direction. That may give them an advantage over a country that is stymied by being split in two. Time will tell. As far as socialism, virtually the whole world is socialist to one degree or another including the US. That makes 195 countries (more or less depending on definition) that have varying degrees of socialism. Where do you draw the line on 195 shades of grey. Besides the more you buy from these $3 per hour countries (3.5 billion make under $10 per day) the quicker their salaries will rise up to "advanced" levels.

 

And our salaries will sink to their level. I f we are not making the money and having jobs, who cares how cheap or where it comes from. We used to be the greatest manufacturing country till GREED showed it's ugly face.

 

Is my Volt an "American" car? Even though it has a UAW sticker on the door, it only contains 45% North American parts! But it was assembled by union workers in an American plant. We need to remember that GM is a global company.

 

Starting with 2018 and perhaps some late 2017 models, the Volt is up to 66% US/Canadian content. ICE production was switched to Michigan from Mexico.

I'm a Union member and prefer to buy a Union assembled car, but only if I have a desirable option, which our 2018 Volt certainly was. Likewise with my 2011 Cruze.

Of course buying products from China and elsewhere is unavoidable. However when a domestic product is at hand, I prefer to buy it.

That is why I purchased a Clipper Creek over a Chinese EVSE. I paid more, but it was worth it to me.

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

So no, I would not likely buy a Chinese made GM vehicle.

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I'd certainly prefer to buy a US made product, but I'd still consider a product that supports a US company. I convinced my parents to buy a Chinese made CT6 PHEV, so I certainly won't dismiss it. I've always bought or leased GM products, but I'm finding it harder and harder to support them lately with the decision to drop the Volt and PHEV in general, and the potential giant amount of layoffs happening soon. I can't go to Ford because they don't want to sell any cars any more, and I don't want an SUV. Chrysler/Fiat products don't generally interest me. It will be interesting to see what I do when I'm ready to sell my Volt. Hopefully it will be at least 5 years away (maybe I'll just see if my parents want to sell me their CT6 then?).

 

If you take prescription drugs, chances are the ingredients or the whole thing came from China. Ditto most computers. Everyone saying no to a car manufactured in China should stop using medications, computers and cellphones except the few made in the US (or whatever country you live in).

I'wish all these were manufactured in the US, but it's a capitalist economy and the companies go where the costs are the cheapest. Barring any government subsidies to manufacture in the US (like Foxconn's awesome con job in Wisconsin), that's unlikely to change.

 

I won't buy a car made in or by a Chinese company.

 

The country of assembly isn't an issue as much as whether they can get to the right value proposition without the government subsidies.

The Regal / TourX is a poor seller despite being a European sports sedan/wagon. Poor lease program's is a key part here. The TourX starts at 30k. The Volt starts at 33k (before currently available government subsidies). A Buick level Volt would need to go for more.

A BMW 3 series wagen starts at 45k but has much better resale value than the Buick. The sedan costs less. The resale /residual value differences makes the lease monthly payment favor the BMW.

For those that are spending more and image conscience. 45k buys a BMW. 45k buys a Tesla model 3. That demographic won't buy a 45k Buick sedan/wagon. A Voltec Buick will need to be at least a loaded Volt premier cost, or around 45k. And without government subsidies, a Chinese made Buick doesn't stand a chance in a image conscience segment.

My view is a made in America version of the Bolt in Buick Encore guise will sell well. Same platform. SUV. More premium brand (Buick vs Chevy), gives it the best shot.

 

Used to be able to buy an American made TV too but you'd be hard pressed to find one that is larger than 19" and didn't have a roundish picture tube.

 

You are right about that and so many other things. However if I added up what I paid for all the foreign made stuff in our house, including the clothes on my back, I bet it wouldn't add up to what I paid for our Volt.

In addition to the Volt and Cruze, we have big ticket items like a new expensive washer and dryer that I made sure was US made. That helps to tip the overall balance in favor of domestically produced items. I'm sure like our cars though, they have their share of foreign parts.

We have TVs, dvd players and stereo equipment that is foreign made, but all the domestically produced speakers I have, probably equal them in cost.

We also just spent megabucks on a beautiful Amish made dining room set, and most of our furniture overall is domestically produced.

We do the best we reasonably can , without living in a shack and hunting with a bow and arrow.



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Comparing a phone to a car makes little sense - the average car is 35 times the cost of a phone. If you want to keep the American economy and American engineering (R&D) alive, make sure your most expensive purchases are from American manufacturers.

 

It's irrelevant where the car is made. GM provides the specs and standards, and the plant has to abide by them.

Having said that, it's highly unlikely this car would come here. The cost to manufacture in China is rising, as is the cost to ship the cars here. If GM wants to sell that car here they will make it somewhere in NA. That's the only value proposition.

 

Not true, cars made in any country can be shipped any where in the world. Nissan just decided to not make the X-trail SUV in UK as planned and make it in Japan and ship stock to UK.

 

How Can GM Bring Back The Chevy Volt from China?


https://www.torquenews.com/3613/how-can-gm-bring-back-chevy-volt-china?

 

For those of us who plan on keeping our Volts for a long time, at least it's continued production, as a Buick in China, bodes well for parts availability.

Maybe several years down the road, we will just switch from local parts sources to Alibaba. Replace enough parts and we will be driving Buicks.[emoji3]

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They already are making a Buick in China and selling it here. Thr Buick Envision. https://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-embrace-a-made-in-china-buick-suv-1475771438

 

I am not buying any GM car anymore due to their own uncertainty of their business model behind their products.

 

I believe the GM Cadillac CT6 PLug In PHEV is built in their GM Chinese factory. So, why not have a buick or volt PHEV or even full electric from a GM china plant. Do people care if their Kia, Nissian, BMW, Etc. is foriegn. made. My 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV is an excellent all around 5 passenger vehicle with a 47 mile, all electric range, then the I4 engine takes it another 280 miles on it's 7 gallon fuel tank. It is made 100% in Japan.
Today, we have a World Marketplace. We can not change that fact.

 

No, most people probably do not care, as is evidenced by sales numbers and plant closings. Some of us however do care.

I won't buy a crummy domestically made car, from a company domiciled in the US, but I will buy a good one, like our 2018 Volt. That goes double if it's assembled in a Union shop.

And of course no vehicle is 100% US made with 100% US parts, but more is better than less, to me. I am not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

And no doubt your Clarity is an excellent car, even if unlike the Volt, you can't always drive those EV miles without the ICE kicking on occasionally. My 2001 Miata and 2006 Mazda 3 were excellent cars, and both were made in Hiroshima.

During that period I was still shying away from American cars, but by 2011, I felt they had improved enough to buy my Cruze and later, our Volt. Both are very good cars. Only $28 spent out of warranty on the 2011 Cruze so far, and the Volt after 15 months has been flawless.

You are absolutely correct though, most people don't care if the vehicle they just bought, supported local jobs or not.

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A news story about Foxconn published February 7, 2019 suggests there will now be both a manufacturing plant and research center in Wisconsin. https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/...-unlikely-to-ever-create-jobs/article_f72f42ea-d872-59eb-a06e-5928f583ba93.html

 

VWhen was the last time you saw a commercial for the Volt? I can't remember even one! No wonder the Volt didn't sell......



2014 Volt owner.

 

Being that I was really considering buying the last production Volt in 2022 I'm hard pressed now to think about buying any similar car not made in the US. We had planned that buying the Volt would be our last and take us to our final years of driving. So now the wait is on to see what may become available from a US company. I might consider the Buick if I had a chance to see and drive one but that maybe a pipe dream. Maybe my current Volt will last me and maybe the best bet. Later RJD