Government Motors at work....
GM Starts Volt Buyback
By SHARON TERLEP
General Motors Co. has arranged to buy back Chevrolet Volts from some owners who asked to return the cars amid a federal safety investigation of the car's battery, the company said on Friday.
GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson said around a half dozen owners asked to return their vehicles earlier this week and the company agreed. The auto maker also is working with other Volt owners who asked to return the battery-powered vehicles.
"We are really trying to show that we are a different company," Mr. Akerson said, adding that he and some other executives plan to personally buy the returned Volts for their own use. "We are setting a new standard for customer service."
Mark Reuss, GM's North America chief, said less than a dozen out of around 6,000 owners have asked to return their vehicles.
The buybacks came amid confusion around the company's policy regarding returns. On Friday, two Volt owners said GM had refused to buy back their vehicles. Also Friday, GM product chief Mary Barra had indicated any buybacks were not automatically approved. "As we go through a process and we think it's the right thing to do, we will make that decision," Ms. Barra said.
Volt owner Valeria Davitt, of Beaumont, Calif., said she requested a loaner vehicle from GM but when she spoke to a representative from GM, "I was told that the media had gotten it all wrong and there would not be any buybacks."
Stephen Friedman, another Volt owner, said a member of GM's "Volt Advisor Team" said in an email that media reports quoting GM CEO Dan Akerson on the buyback offer were "out of context" and the company would decide "on a case by case basis" whether a buyback was warranted.
After the rejections were presented to GM, Mr. Reuss said the executives advised employees who keep regular contact with Volt owners to do "whatever it takes" to make them happy. GM has since contacted both customers to approve a buyback, the company said.
"There are a couple of mistakes that have been made, but we all trying to do the right things," he said. "We are moving fast." He said GM's policy on returns is clear: "If someone wants us to buy back the car we're going to buy back the car."
Repurchase requests will be handled by an official within GM who has the authority to repurchase the vehicles, he said. Mr. Reuss declined to say what mechanism GM would use to determine the repurchase price.
GM Starts Volt Buyback
By SHARON TERLEP
General Motors Co. has arranged to buy back Chevrolet Volts from some owners who asked to return the cars amid a federal safety investigation of the car's battery, the company said on Friday.
GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson said around a half dozen owners asked to return their vehicles earlier this week and the company agreed. The auto maker also is working with other Volt owners who asked to return the battery-powered vehicles.
"We are really trying to show that we are a different company," Mr. Akerson said, adding that he and some other executives plan to personally buy the returned Volts for their own use. "We are setting a new standard for customer service."
Mark Reuss, GM's North America chief, said less than a dozen out of around 6,000 owners have asked to return their vehicles.
The buybacks came amid confusion around the company's policy regarding returns. On Friday, two Volt owners said GM had refused to buy back their vehicles. Also Friday, GM product chief Mary Barra had indicated any buybacks were not automatically approved. "As we go through a process and we think it's the right thing to do, we will make that decision," Ms. Barra said.
Volt owner Valeria Davitt, of Beaumont, Calif., said she requested a loaner vehicle from GM but when she spoke to a representative from GM, "I was told that the media had gotten it all wrong and there would not be any buybacks."
Stephen Friedman, another Volt owner, said a member of GM's "Volt Advisor Team" said in an email that media reports quoting GM CEO Dan Akerson on the buyback offer were "out of context" and the company would decide "on a case by case basis" whether a buyback was warranted.
After the rejections were presented to GM, Mr. Reuss said the executives advised employees who keep regular contact with Volt owners to do "whatever it takes" to make them happy. GM has since contacted both customers to approve a buyback, the company said.
"There are a couple of mistakes that have been made, but we all trying to do the right things," he said. "We are moving fast." He said GM's policy on returns is clear: "If someone wants us to buy back the car we're going to buy back the car."
Repurchase requests will be handled by an official within GM who has the authority to repurchase the vehicles, he said. Mr. Reuss declined to say what mechanism GM would use to determine the repurchase price.
