Audi boss says Chevy Volt is for idiots
In a potential public-relations disaster for Audi, the president of the German company’s U.S. operations, Johan de Nysschen, has been quoted as saying that the upcoming all-electric Chevrolet Volt is “a car for idiots.”
According to Autoblog, in a recent talk with auto journalist Lawrence Ulrich, the Audi boss said that the Chevrolet Volt is too expensive and “no one is going to pay a $15,000 premium for a car that competes with a Corolla. So there are not enough idiots who will buy it.” He predicted that Volt sales will fail, which will cause the U.S. government to subsidize the electric car in order to save face and boost sales.
The man then said that electric cars are “for the intellectual elite who want to show what enlightened souls they are.” The hilarious part is he overlooked the fact that Audi’s German operation will be launching an electric concept car, possibly in R8 guise, at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show this September!
Comments
shafiq
who in uae will pay usd 35-40k (120kdhs to 150kdhs) for a volt 🙂 wait a minute i know some “IDIOTS” who will 😉 anyways if tesla can come up with the model S @ usd50k in time then im sure the general will lose big time.
John
The new open top Audi A6. http://www.emailvirals.com/data/media/1/audi_a6.jpg
eazy_mas
I think he is right about it. But in the UAE if some idiots going to pay a Pardo for 170K fully loaded or LC starting price for 190K and fully loaded for 260K anything is possiable but with a Toyota name 😀
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
It is not about the Volt. The tech will trickle down to cheaper cars later. Even the Nissan Leaf will be cheaper. But the man dissed ALL electric cars, even while his company is rushing to get into the game.
danee
first of all, congrats to mashfique bhai , the new look of the site looking very nice!
and yea, i guess the technology is new, thus the price premium. As soon as more and more cars are produced, Chevrolet (and all other companies) can reap the economies of higher scale production and prices will go down.(hopefully)
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
Thanks, buddy. I just got bored yesterday and decided to change it.
vivek
Volt is for idiots…so who’ll buy the Audi now??? 😀 😀 😀
JB
I don’t think the Audi boss overlooked the R8, its an R8, its a $100K supercar, its not a car to compete in the ‘cheap hybrid’ market. Its a testing platform for future electric technologies. Its the same as the new Porsche hybrid supercar, its a SUPERCAR! not a ‘everyday car’. The Audi boss is correct, the Volt is for idiots, its the same for all those who bought the first 3D TV’s with the glass.. Toshiba has now already debuted a ‘no-glasses’ 3D TV… though, we need all those suckers to buy these things first to get the ball rolling for cheaper models to come down the road.
ROJ
“for the intellectual elite who want to show what enlightened souls they are.”
Sumg middle aged men with a midlife crisis and cannot get laid from their wives that is.. I’d forgive him if he says idiots..