Chevy Volt: Still Not Selling

The July sales numbers are out and the Chevy Volt continues to electrify (get it?) the country. GM sold … 125 Volts last month!

Way back in March I made fun of the Volt for selling 281 units in February. Turns out, February was a good month. But wait, there’s more! GM says they’re going to increase production to 5,000 Volts per month in order to keep up with demand.

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Chevy Volt: Still Not Selling | The Weekly Standard

Consumers don't want it, but we're gonna be forced ot pay for it.

not enough range, to costly. eventually maybe electric cars will be pratical.

Yep, it had zero chances of being successful. Rather than build a practical $25,000 Hybrid, Chevy decided to build a mostly useless $40K albatross.

MrVicchio said:

Chevy Volt: Still Not Selling | The Weekly Standard

Consumers don't want it, but we're gonna be forced ot pay for it.

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From the link that your article links to:
GM Volt Supply Poised to Surge in Race With Nissan

At today’s production levels, both vehicles are in short supply and the automakers have thousands of consumers on waiting lists. It’s still unknown whether customers ultimately prefer a pure electric car like the Leaf or a plug-in hybrid like the Volt that can travel longer distances, and how many people are willing to pay for the gas-saving technology.
“This is very much about supply constraints as opposed to a sales race,” Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with IHS Automotive, a research firm based in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Next year will really show true demand for these kinds of cars and which one wins.”
GM will quickly expand output as its pushes toward a goal of selling 10,000 Volts in the U.S. this year, Posawatz said. GM plans to assemble 60,000 next year at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, with 45,000 of them earmarked for U.S. buyers.
“It’s fair to say GM underestimated demand for the Volt,” he said. “By January, the capacity we need will be online.”

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But in the end it'd be much easier to trust a blog on the weekly standard rather than actually research anything and educate yourself. Have fun with that dude.

The Volt is unsucessful because it is essentially a way to say "Look how green I am! Also, look how rich I am, since I clearly have enough disposable income to buy this."

Eventually, of course, we'll all need one. When the oil runs out, which it will.

roughdraft274 said:

But in the end it'd be much easier to trust a blog on the weekly standard rather than actually research anything and educate yourself. Have fun with that dude.

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The research I've done tells me it's not worth it. I don't need a blog to tell me a $40K electric car with limited range won't pay for itself for a long time, or be practical for my type of driving.

MrVicchio said:

Chevy Volt: Still Not Selling | The Weekly Standard

Consumers don't want it, but we're gonna be forced ot pay for it.

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I don't get it. Nobody is going to be paying for it unless they buy it. what are you talking about? And I highly doubt GM would be pumping out 5,000 more of these babies if there's simply no demand for them.

Ockham said:

The research I've done tells me it's not worth it. I don't need a blog to tell me a $40K electric car with limited range won't pay for itself for a long time, or be practical for my type of driving.

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good thing it is not a pure eletric car. It does have a gas engine and can run on gas. The standard electric range is about 40 miles at which point the engine starts

Lord Tammerlain said:

good thing it is not a pure eletric car. It does have a gas engine and can run on gas. The standard electric range is about 40 miles at which point the engine starts

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I get it, but the electric part is what's supposed to be selling it right? Otherwise, I can get a cheap 4 banger that gets 30+ miles per gallon for < 15K like a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris. What am I getting for the other $25K I'm paying for a VOLT? Nothing... :shrug:

The cost after rebates is $33,500, which is not unreasonable for a quality mid-sized car. Costs for electrics will come down and they will become more popular with increased volume, better battery technology, and more widespread charging infrastructure.

Ockham said:

I get it, but the electric part is what's supposed to be selling it right? Otherwise, I can get a cheap 4 banger that gets 30+ miles per gallon for < 15K like a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris. What am I getting for the other $25K I'm paying for a VOLT? Nothing... :shrug:

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My attitude towards this was summed up pretty well by rocket in post #5.

Ockham said:

I get it, but the electric part is what's supposed to be selling it right? Otherwise, I can get a cheap 4 banger that gets 30+ miles per gallon for < 15K like a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris. What am I getting for the other $25K I'm paying for a VOLT? Nothing... :shrug:

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I agree I would rather buy the fit then the volt,

Or screw the mileage and get a Nissan 370z

StillBallin75 said:

I don't get it. Nobody is going to be paying for it unless they buy it. what are you talking about? And I highly doubt GM would be pumping out 5,000 more of these babies if there's simply no demand for them.

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Would anyone ever buy a used Volt?

One thing for sure. Whoever buys a new Volt is going to be the last owner.

It wouldn't surprise me if the Volt turned out to be quite collectible one day.

First of all the Volt is a series hybrid, I'm pretty sure. An electric car that carries its own generator to provide electricity. Plug in hybrid, meant to be used as an electric primarily, with the ability to use gas for longer trips.

I need to read up on it, because I thought it was just a plug-in parallel hybrid.

The difference between the two hybrid types is significant. Primarily in emissions and efficiency.

The parallel types we're familiar are basically regular cars with an electric motor and batteries to assist acceleration, which helps, but still includes the acceleration/deceleration cycles that are responsible for most of the inefficiencies in ICEs.

When I first encountered the concept the idea was for series hybrids. Electrics with onboard APUs. Most American automobile trips are less than 7 miles. Most people could do most of their driving with a forty mile range. The series model puts a generator onboard, tuned to one output. Iirc about 20% over what the vehicle requires to cruise at freeway speed, to replace battery energy used to accelerate and climb hills. By tuning the generator to a single output, fuel efficiency can literally be maximised to the engines best potential, as well as making it "pzev". No accel/decel cycles, much less unburned fuel going out the exhaust pipe.

Another reason the series type is superior, even ideal, is the ability to use fuel/engine types that would not be suitable for vehicles. Small turbines, for example. Iirc, a midsize car uses about 20hp to cruise at 65 on level ground. So one would only need about a 30hp powerplant, and only part time for longer trips, making alternative fuels more viable, and making it possible to select from a variety of fuel sources on a single platform.

The Luddite nonsense from the Church of AGW Denial gets pretty ridiculous sometimes.

I don't get spending a ton of money and resources to build a mega-battery so someone can have a very limited vehicle that runs off nuclear or coal. I can't wait to meet an anti-nuclear enviro in Miami with a volt... "Nuke car!".

Hyrid is the way ta go, one can even get heavy trucks and sports cars as such. Battery-cars might work someday or for some purposes. If I could get a sport model and run it off nuclear, I'd be cool with that.

1Perry said:

Yep, it had zero chances of being successful. Rather than build a practical $25,000 Hybrid, Chevy decided to build a mostly useless $40K albatross.

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another example of someone who does not bother to learn before they prate. the volt IS a hybrid.

"Chevrolet's electric vehicle that can use gas (but only if you need to)."
chevrolet.com

and base price is 33k, not 40k... you were only off by about 20%.

geo.

ecofarm said:

I don't get spending a ton of money and resources to build a mega-battery so someone can have a very limited vehicle that runs off nuclear or coal. I can't wait to meet an anti-nuclear enviro in Miami with a volt... "Nuke car!".

Hyrid is the way ta go, one can even get heavy trucks and sports cars as such. Battery-cars might work someday or for some purposes. If I could get a sport model and run it off nuclear, I'd be cool with that.

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One of the side benefits to large battery packs in cars is "grid storage". Google is doing a research project on this. Cars parked in the lot and plugged in can provide load leveling for the grid, as well as "holding" solar power produced in the daytime for use at night. As battery technology continues to improve, costs will come down and ranges will go up while charge times come down.

Appropriate technology is many solutions, not just one universal panacea.

We have a problem now with being hooked on fossil hydrocarbons, and it will take a while to change to something else.

If our vehicles are primarily electric and some breakthrough comes along in fusion or whatever, we don't have to build all new cars again. There's LOTS of ways to make electricity. Car battery banks provide a way to store it. All my hotrod LEV designs include the ability to use the battery packs to power other devices, charge your phone/laptop, whatever. Adding value by increasing the usefulness of that expensive battery pack.

I'm an enviro in Miami who is not anti-nuke.

Tesla has been making some smokin'-hot electric sports cars for a while. But you better bring a fat wallet to the party.



0 - 60 in 3.7 seconds. 245 miles per charge. Top speed only 125 mph, though.

AdamT said:

I'm an enviro in Miami who is not anti-nuke.

Tesla has been making some smokin'-hot electric sports cars for a while. But you better bring a fat wallet to the party.

0 - 60 in 3.7 seconds. 245 miles per charge. Top speed only 125 mph, though.

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The builder of the prototype for the Tesla also built an APU tralier for it for longer trips that tracked the car perfectly, without adversely affecting handling. (The designer came from a racing suspension/chassis background, iirc.) The original car's range was MUCH less, but batteries have come a long way.

AdamT said:

I'm an enviro in Miami who is not anti-nuke.

Tesla has been making some smokin'-hot electric sports cars for a while. But you better bring a fat wallet to the party.

0 - 60 in 3.7 seconds. 245 miles per charge. Top speed only 125 mph, though.

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I'm over here finishing my PhD research (ecology) and should be returning to Miami (I go to UF) in about a year. If you could have a Tesla waiting for me, that would be great. Otherwise, perhaps I could try for a grant.

MrVicchio said:

Chevy Volt: Still Not Selling | The Weekly Standard

Consumers don't want it, but we're gonna be forced ot pay for it.

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you have a problem with our investing in a motor company . . . in which we own a 60% investment?

sounds like a rational plan, to me.

btw, your jefferson line is a misquote. what he actually wrote (to Thomas Cooper, 29 November 1802) was: "if we can but prevent the government from wasting the labours of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy."

a little different... less prejudicial.

geo.

Whatever the price is, I can't afford a Volt if I wanted one. I bought a car this winter for $2800 (very much used), and it was hard enough coming up with that.

On the other hand, between my 2 cars (a '99 Blazer and an '01 Caravan), I have no car payments. Why would I want to take those on just to have a Volt?

AdamT said:

0 - 60 in 3.7 seconds. 245 miles per charge. Top speed only 125 mph, though.

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only?

good enough.

geo.

Geo Patric said:

another example of someone who does not bother to learn before they prate. the volt IS a hybrid.

"Chevrolet's electric vehicle that can use gas (but only if you need to)."
chevrolet.com

and base price is 33k, not 40k... you were only off by about 20%.

geo.

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Please, here we go again. The 33K is the subsidized figure. For some reason people think that because the government is paying people to buy them that it's not real money that has to be paid back also.

2012's Volt is available nationwide in seven different packages, ranging from $39,995 to $46,265.

Chevy drops Volt base price by $1,000 for 2012, makes saving the world slightly more affordable -- Engadget

Now as for the Hybrid part, it get's below average fuel economy when running on gas. As a Hybrid it's rated at 37 mpg which makes it not all that successful as a Hybrid. So no, it's not a very practical Hybrid when the overall costs are so high and in regular driving it doesn't do so well.