Quote:
Originally Posted by martinjlm
Other than on this site and a couple other "hybrid savvy" forums, I have not seen the level of dis-satisfaction that you are noting. It obviously exists among people who have a pre-conceived notion that hybrid = Prius level fuel efficiency or double digit mpg improvement (in real mpg, not %). The BAS Green Line is not targeted at those people. Even on this site, I'm seeing about a 50 / 50 like it / don't like it split amongst owners. Obviously not what I'd personally like to see, but again, this site is not a barometer for the general buying public. Quite honestly, the VGL seems to be selling very well.
In this business tough decisions are made all the time. Many are good ones, some are not. Typically if you have a product ready for launch, you launch. There is very rarely any benefit to delaying a launch. Given the two radically different target markets, launching VGL when it launched makes perfect sense. Time will tell if it is the right decision.
Not certain I really understand the BLUE part, particularly the underlined part. Not clear where the deception came in. I do get and appreciate your point wrt the '80s. The VGL has always been described as a mild hybrid with modest fuel economy improvement at a low price. The 2-Mode has always been discussed as a high tech potentially high cost system that will deliver world class fuel economy improvements. The only issue not disclosed was (and remains) full detail on which vehicles will get BAS and which vehicles will get 2-Mode. That's plain and simple Product Planning 101. Don't tip your hand on future product until it suits you.
I won't really comment on this because I haven't seen it. I also only know a handful of people who have seen it. Their view of GM seems to be unchanged by that. (These are people who do not work for GM, some drive GM cars, others don't)
Peace,
Martin
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Sorry Martin, but that just doesn't seem to be the reality from where I'm sitting. I know of 3 people who have
returned the VUE GL and gotten their money back, at least one of which used false advertising as their basis for the return, having been promised by the salesman FEH comparable FE. It doesn't matter how corporate builds them, if they're being sold by salesmen incorrectly, which they seem to be, then you're looking at a potential disaster.
Then, you have the intensely dissatisfied person who just bought his VUE GL. 2 months later, you announce that you're coming out with the 2 mode. Had he known, and waited, he could've waited and gotten the 2 mode (and been happy with his purchase) rather then the GL he has now, which he's disapointed in. That doesn't help business, and seems like a reverse bait and switch.
"Here's our hybrid! Now that you suckers bought one, here's our much better one that we were hanging on to! Nyah Nyah!" That's why I said it can seem like a slap in the face to current owners.
Yes, I fully understand that GM's scheme is to offer 2 versions of their hybrids, 1 that offers minor FE improvements for cheap, and 1 that offers substantial improvements for more of an investment. But since they're playing three card monte with the consumers (from the consumers point of view [slight pun intended]) with what they're doing with their hybrids, it seems like a botched consumer relations issue. Then again, GM does seem to be pretty good at that. Look at their EV1 advertising and awareness campaign.
I also realize that the number of people quite interested right off the bat to the hybrid technology may not be that many, but that doesn't make them immaterial.
Lastly, not to detract from
any of the previous points (Since I view them as being slightly more important), but why is it (All prices according to Edmunds) that the BAS technology is about 2K on the VUE GL as the "cheap hybrid alternative" when the difference between a TCH and a standard Camry equally optioned out is a $3,100 difference and a FEH and Escape equally equipped is a $3,700 difference? When you're talking about a $30,000 vehicle, 1+K isn't that much of a difference for a 45+% in Fuel Economy, something I think every VUE GL person would be happy to pay for that kind of FE boost instead of the marginal difference they're getting. Or is the VUE 2 mode hybridization going to be far costlier then the difference between base and hybrid model that every one of the competitors attach as the hybrid premium?