Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, Chevrolet, GM, Earnings/Financials
Wagoner now driving Volt mule to Congress
General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner will be taking advantage of the media circus surrounding his drive from Detroit to Washington D.C. tomorrow. As it seems every press outlet will be covering the roadtrip adventures of the three Detroit leaders as they travel via wheeled transportation to the capitol to beg for billions (remember, no corporate jets this time), Wagoner has wisely dumped the ho-hum hybrid Chevrolet Malibu in favor of a Chevy Volt mule in a Chevy Cruze body during at least the last few highly-visible miles of his journey. Wagoner will still trek part of the route to Washington in the hybrid Malibu, but just not all the way. To take full advantage of the public display, GM will also bring a show version of the highly-anticipated 2011 Chevy Volt to the capitol and put it on display when Wagoner arrives at the Russell Senate Building around 9:30 AM. If you are in the neighborhood (Delaware Ave. and C Street), Wagoner will be briefly talking to the public before he opens his heart to Congress. Thanks, TKTK.
Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt
[Source: Detroit Free Press]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
rprovo 11:19PM (12/03/2008)
when is this going to be? i'd love to go down and see the volt!
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Torrent 11:23PM (12/03/2008)
Volt Mule. Not the Volt itself. Which technically means it will be the Cruze body with the Volt Architecture. Seems pretty good, seeing as he's killing two birds with one stone: Proving that the Volt engine works while also giving a preview of the 40 MPG econocar America will see- that's only if they get the cash in time.
john 12:52AM (12/04/2008)
Just because he's gonna drive up to dc with a volt doesn't change the fact that he screw up GM. Why hasn't he resign as congress asked him to? why didn't he take that $1 salary like ford ceo? Man, they need new management. Else they're just gonna be back in June next year to ask congress for another package after they get this one. And look people, they originally ask for $25 bil and they up the ante to $36 bil. We're screwed either way. There was a saying my local radio "We'll have to pay for GM's life or its funeral", which is completely true.
Shipey 8:02AM (12/04/2008)
rprovo,
Don't listen to torrent It specifically says that although he'll be driving the Volt mule, they're bringing the show car along for the media. It would be fun to see in person, plus it's guaranteed entertainment while Wagoner is there.
Tool 12:34PM (12/04/2008)
Perfect! A Jack-Ass Driving a Mule.
K.C. 11:22PM (12/03/2008)
So with all the support vehicles and mechanics they'll have along, in case the Volt fizzles on the way, it'll be another real cost saving trip I'm sure.
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Ken 11:26PM (12/03/2008)
LOL - you are so right. No doubt this trip will cost MORE than if they just took the jet again!
Richard 11:29PM (12/03/2008)
Rabid Rick must have a bad prostate and need to discharge every 40 miles while the Volt recharges.
Honestly, GM would probably do better if they promoted cars they could actually sell you today. F! Even Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are smart enough to figure that out!
rustyshackleford 11:48PM (12/03/2008)
The Volt has a gas generator engine to recharge the batteries. He will never have to stop to charge, only refuel.
sbessette91 12:34AM (12/04/2008)
The first GM exclusive Washington, D.C. car show.
Hmm. I hope for their sake it works.
N 2:54AM (12/04/2008)
In some respects you are correct. You could average the cost of engineer's time at $200 per hour, and say there is a time of 10 calibration engineers.
Mechanics probably cost GM only $100 per hour, and you would need 4 or 5 at a maximum to support one test mule. Add together the managers coming along for the ride, and you probably have a team of 20 people to support one vehicle.
However, I am sure that a lengthy road trip in the Volt would provide some interesting data for the engineering team... so it may not be throwing money away.
xxxxxxx 7:04AM (12/04/2008)
-Firts of all $200/hour? Never knew that engineers get paid $1000/day = $20000/month. I am one, I must be highly underpaid.
-Second,
Don't you think that those guys might be salaried employees? That all drove in one van to DC?
-Third,
This will be coming out the pocket of the marketing and eng. department, marketing in these case being a priority.
-Fourth
Somebody mentioned that Wagoner should take the $1/salary job like the Ford CEO did. Guess what, he is doing so. Maybe you need to read more info before making false statements.
here is the plan:
http://www.gm-volt.com/g/gm_plan.pdf
extinctdoughnut 10:48AM (12/04/2008)
The engineering rate isn't the bring home pay. Comp + Ben. + O/H. Based on experience $200 is in line with what I have seen.
3seriesisking 11:23PM (12/03/2008)
Good decision.
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guerro 11:25PM (12/03/2008)
Why don't they just fly commercial just like any other normal American would? There is absolutely no significance behind driving a flippin hybrid car. I would think a CEO's time would be better spent working on fixing the company rather than driving for 8 1/2 hours each way. Why does he even need to go to congress at all??? Call me crazy but can't they just make a conference call? That, to me, would be the most sensible and logical way to conduct a meeting from long distance.
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James Donovan 12:07AM (12/04/2008)
If the CEO doesn't have confidence in their product, why should the taxpayers?
why not the LS2LS7? 12:55AM (12/04/2008)
When you go to Congress begging for $12B, you show up in person.
MajorGeek 11:27PM (12/03/2008)
Cool, now if your going to use our tax dollars, lets drop the Volt from the last known final pricetag of 40k down to a price under its original dream of 30k, so lower it more so the average homeowner can afford the car at 20k. I'd prefer we did not bail them out, but if we must, give me and end game scenario like this.
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The Luigiian 11:27PM (12/03/2008)
Hmmm... I'm not sure if this is going to go over better or worse than the Escape Hybrid Mulally's driving.
Or if anybody still cares about this for that matter. I'm still confused as to why so much attention was given to their usage of private jets. Like a lot of other people said, if I were the CEO of a company on the verge of bankruptcy I'd want someone else to do the driving so I could do some work. I guess if it were just these three goofing off in hot tubs while the workers under them get the shaft I could see.
The best choice would be to have a chauffeur do the driving (in a car) while they work in the back. But again, who cares? If Wagoner hadn't failed his company, he wouldn't be in this position in the first place. Which means as everybody's already said a bazillion times already, the best solution is for Wagoner to drive up there and announce he's going to excuse himself from his position and put in a newer, more competent leader than himself.
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David 1:05AM (12/04/2008)
The whole jet thing confuses me too. Do the bankers fly on private jets? Have we given them a whole lot more than $25B? (or $34B, if you prefer)
Even after a screwup of epic proportions, we still refuse to hold Wall Street to any reasonable standard. No wonder we're in such trouble.