Daniel Howes Blog Forum

Jump to bottom
Fri. 10/30/09 09:45 AM

Toyota hand: Don't believe GM about the viability of the Chevy Volt

DCH: Love your stuff, but come on. If Toyota doesn't do [it], GM shouldn't do it. The Steelers and Patriots don't model themselves after the Lions, and Jessica Alba doesn't follow Rosanne Barr's fitness routine. At that price point, GM is continuing to "whistle by the graveyard," as they have done for decades. Do you have any doubt a Volt would need $2,000 worth of repairs annually to keep it on the road as soon as it's out of warranty?

scott44, Northville, MI

S:

And you based your prediction on the warranty repair record of a Volt on what -- the numerous models just like it that GM has fielded in the past? Remember: Global automakers push technologies that are right for, in part, their home market. The Germans love diesels because their governments and tax regimes do, the same reasons the Americans hate diesels. The Japanese, mainly Toyota, prefer gas-electric hybrids cuz they've been successful with them and they're acceptable in their home market, which does't like diesels, either. You get the picture.

What I know if that GM needs to push the envelop with the Volt, especially now. If you're right and GM falls flat with the Volt, you'll have the satisfaction of being right -- not that it would help things 'round here much.

-- DCH

Fri. 10/16/09 01:44 AM

Toyota hand: Don't believe GM about the viability of the Chevy Volt

The Chevy Volt project is commercially unviable and technically unviable. The U.S. should take [the] approach that bring[s] maximum fuel savings while still viable, and unfortunately it is the approach pioneered by Toyota (fortunately adopted by Ford) few people can and will buy the expensive Volt, and never mention that internally there is little confidence in the project, it is pet project from management.

Please ask Fritz why their top scientist do not believe the battery can last 10 years? The crooked management should be liable for their doomed future as the bad PR (basically Volt is fraud project) will ruin them.

GreatToyota, Ann Arbor, MI

GT:

Just asking, but is the credibility of your analysis betrayed by the name on your post -- "Great Toyota?"

-- DCH

Thu. 10/15/09 08:26 PM

Hopes for Detroit Public Schools pinned to Bobb, et al.

I think that Mr. Bobb is the ONLY ray of reasonable, competent sunshine I have seen associated with Detroit (Including the auto companies, the City [No offense, Mr. Bing], schools and the state) in a long time. A no-nonsense man with his heart in the right place and the gloves off. I wish him well. If he wants to continue the difficult task he undertook for a limited term, hire him.

Schools reflect the community, not the other way around. If the DPS, under Bobb or anyone else, turns the corner on apathy and corruption, it will be an indication that the city has also. It is way too soon to think that turn has happened. Mr. Bobb has slowed the descent. If he can stop or reverse it, that will be a sure sign that things are getting better in Detroit, and not before.

Brian Reilly, Tipton, MI

BR:

Well put. Big job, massive challenges. And you're right: schools do reflect a community and its values -- or the lack thereof. Bobb, the people jumping in to help him and the parents responding to their accomplishments so far speak to the discovery of standards buried under a mountain of corruption, incompetence and self-dealing. The response is almost as encouraging as the actions itself.

-- DCH

Jump to top

Advertisement

About this Weblog

Business | The Economy | Politics

Daniel Howes' column runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Click here for his latest column and archive

You can reach him at (313) 222-2106 or email him at dchowes@detnews.com.

Daniel Howes is business columnist and associate business editor of The Detroit News. From 1999 to January 2003, he was based in Germany as The News' European correspondent and automotive columnist, reporting from more than 20 countries on three continents. Before heading to Europe, Howes was senior automotive writer and an investigative and projects reporter on the business desk. He came to Detroit in 1993 from The Roanoke Times in Virginia, where he covered business, politics and higher education.

More on Daniel Howes

  • On media: He is a regular contributor to the Paul W. Smith Show on NewsTalk 760-WJR in Detroit. He appears often on radio and television locally, in the United States and overseas.
  • On education: He holds a bachelor's degree in history from the College of Wooster in Ohio, and a master's in international affairs from Columbia University.
  • On awards: Winner of multiple International Wheel Awards for column writing; a four-time winner of Northwestern University's Medill award for general markets coverage; and a three-time finalist for the prestigious Gerald Loeb Awards, including an honorable mention for commentary in 2007.

Resources

Blog Roll

About this forum

Acceptable Use

The Detroit News does not tolerate offensive language in its forums. Once you register, your posts go up automatically, but we kill offensive posts that are brought to our attention. Users who violate our acceptable use policy can and will be denied access. See a problem? Tell us.

Feedback

We value your feedback, so please let us know if you have any questions or problems.

Threading in forums

We are working on adding threading to the forums. Clicking on the headline of a post will now get you related posts in a few different ways.

- If the post was sent to us in response to an article, clicking on that post's headline will retrieve all comments on that article, and clicking on the "See related article" link will send you to the article itself.

- If the comment was submitted in response to a cybersurvey, clicking on the headline will take you to the cybersurvey and its related comments.

- If you click on the headline of a forum post that was simply posted in the forum, you will get all posts with that same headline.

If you want to add a comment to a thread in the forum, use the same headline as the post to which you want to respond.

If you find a problem, please tell us, and thanks in advance for your patience as we work to improve the forums for you.