Ah, what a fun thread.
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Originally Posted by Indpowr
Once they make an EV that can go 200-300 on a charge we will consider it. The Telsa Model S does everything we like plus looks amazing..
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But Tesla doesn't have the range they plunked on their website. That is their test in the their conditions. Tesla sued Top Gear when the reported that they got 50 miles range (with rather spirited driving). But keep in mind it weighs next to nothing and is simply a 2 seater. Volt is a car you drive on vacation comfortably with luggage. I know guys that have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GEEo
$39k is a lot better for what the dealers are asking for the Volts around here.
One dealer here localy is asking $52k for the volt. I think that's just overkill.
Compared to the Pruis, the Pruis only starts at $23k!! That's a hell a lot cheaper compared to the American Hybrids. but the volt does look the best in all of them Tho.
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As mentioned there isn't a reason for a price mark up especially on a car selling so poorly right now...................UNLESS THE DEALER IS AN IDIOT.
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Originally Posted by Ject
at that price I rather buy something else. If it was 20k-30k I'd consider it.
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It would be if batteries were free. Sadly right now they aren't. A huge amount of the cost of the Volt is simply the extra propulsion system.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GEEo
The Volt has been in the Market for to long to have a Mark Up that much. Having a mark up is overpriced. Yes the Camaro did have a mark up but did not last this long.
I agree that the volt has more technology than the Pruis. But the Pruis is selling even tho it's inferior compared to the Volt. Because its not overpriced and doesn't catches on fire. lol
I don't see this EV cars lasting verny long.
You can get a brand new 3 series with that price!
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But you can't run as an EV only in the Bimmer. Volt is the only car that gives you the choice to use ZERO gas if you want.
By the way, I'm not sure what you think will take over for EVs. Electric propulsion is here to stay. Now whether you use batteries or something else to provide the juice is another story.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GEEo
Hhaha. I guess.
Theres other alternatives other than EV. What about those Hydrogen Cars?
I've read somewhere that a guy in the Philippines had successfully made a car fully functional with water as fuel.
Many Car Company's offered him Millions to buy that car. And I believe GM wus the one he sold it to. Not sure on that tho.
Anybody heard about this?
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Those hydrogen cars (GM had the "In your Driveway" demo fleet and Honda has a few on the road too) cost over a quarter of a MEEEEEELION dollars. A long way from practicle and if you think the Ethanol discussion was bad, look into how much energy it takes to free hydrogen from water. It's a negative engery model.
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Originally Posted by derklug
At a recent auto show GM made the mistake of putting the Volt at 44k next to a Cruze at 19k. My son looked at both and decided he would rather have the 100,000 miles of free gas with the Cruze than the interior upgrades of the Volt.
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But with the Cruze, you can't choose to be gas free no matter how hard you try.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GEEo
If the Gas Prices do go up to $5 a gallon which eventaully will. People will turn to EV's.
And that could be the end of our Big V8's!!  |
CAFE already did that...............$5 per gallon gas might just speed up the process.
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Originally Posted by Captain Awesome
They could find full time employment if they re-opened the Trailblazer/Envoy assembly line.
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I belive Moraine is now a parking lot. :(
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Originally Posted by Captain Awesome
They have created their own problem here. This news is already a couple of days old, yet I sit down and watch a couple programs tonight on TDC and I have been subjected to commercial after commercial for the Volt. They stuffed commercials for the thing into the Superbowl as well... and that one was particularly revolting "The car America HAD to build..." 
They know the car is radioactive right now and a political football and they don't have the sense to shut up about it? Everyone knows about the Volt already, so advertising it incessantly is only annoying people who wouldn't buy it anyway and making them dislike the brand.
They need to cool it and do some sort of tastful reworking of the commercials and reintroduce the car like any other car. I do not appreciate being hit over the head with this thing every time I turn on the TV. |
But Captain you aren't the intended audience for those commercials.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Awesome
Just for the record, to completely prevent a fire you must REMOVE the battery after an accident. The Lithium in the battery itself can catch fire because it reacts with oxygen. Damage to the battery can lead to exposure of the Lithium and eventual fire.
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And a 12 V battery in your car can also lead to a fire after an accident......just sayin'
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Originally Posted by CooG
The wifey sent this to me via email the other day......
Cost to operate a Chevy Volt - Eric Bolling (Fox Business Channel's Follow the Money) test drove the Chevy Volt at the invitation of General Motors.
For four days in a row, the fully charged battery lasted only 25 miles before the Volt switched to the reserve gasoline engine.
Eric calculated the car got 30 mpg including the 25 miles it ran on the battery. So, the range including the 9 gallon gas tank and the 16 kwh battery is approximately 270 miles. It will take you 4 1/2 hours to drive 270 miles at 60 mph. Then add 10 hours to charge the battery and you have a total trip time of 14.5 hours. In a typical road trip your average speed (including charging time) would be 20 mph
According to General Motors, the Volt battery hold 16 kwh of electricity. It takes a full 10 hours to charge a drained battery.
The cost for the electricity to charge the Volt is never mentioned so I looked up what I pay for electricity.
I pay approximately (it varies with amount used and the seasons) $011.6 per kwh.
16 kwh x $011.6 per kwh = $18.56 to charge the battery for 10 hours.
$18.56 per charge divided by 25 miles = $0.74 per mile to operate the Volt using the battery.
Compare this to a similar size car with a gasoline engine only that gets 32 mpg.
$3.19 per gallon divided by 32 mpg = $0.10 per mile.
The gasoline powered car cost about $15,000 while the Volt costs $46,000.
So Obama wants us to pay 3 times as much for a car that costs more that 7 time as much to run and takes 3 times as long to drive across country.
REALLY?
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Bad math. Boooooooooooooooo
Quote:
Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65
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People think the Volt is tied to the Government involvement and the bailout. Volt was a program well before either occurred. Check the date that the Volt was first shown at the NAIAS. Then check the date of the bankruptcy.
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Originally Posted by Russell James
Wifey needs a better news source. A reporter that fails at basic fact checking
is pretty much not really a reporter. We call those types blowbags.
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blowbags.............love it!
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Originally Posted by PAUL SS
They want $1499 down and mileage is 10,000 per year.
Let's face it, the Volt is not for everyone, but fits my wifes driving habits.
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It isn't for everyone and GM has never said it was. You get it, many don't. It works for some people and it's that simple. Just like the Camaro doesn't work for everyone (I know that's hard to hear on a Camaro website)
Quote:
Originally Posted by CooG
She was just passing on an email she got and sent to a car nut (me). I read it thinking something a'int right about this....never took it too seriously.
Never meant to post the info as fact.... thanks for the Snopes link. I sent it to all the people on her email.
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Good recovery. You are forgiven.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russell James
You also have a lot of money invested in Ford's alternative energy vehicles...
and a few other car companies that lined up for DOE money.
When the DOE created a 25B loan program for alternative energy vehicle development.... which was actually a wink wink... bailout program... Ford was one of the first in line asking for 11B, and they received 5.9B.
Then advertised proudly how they build their cars without any taxpayer
money. Last I checked, money from the DOE is 100% taxpayer money.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...rgy-loan_N.htm
Just in case there was any misconception that the Volt was the only alternate energy vehicle out there built with the support of taxpayer dollars. It's one of many. Just the most popular headline. |
I saw the list of the DOE requests from the industry. My recollection was Ford was the bigges piggie at the trough. They were proposing projects that GM had implemented years earlier for FE improvements.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ffrcobra_65
and mileage is everything? There are other more important factors...like proven reputation and reliability.... in this econony, these are two major things the average american buyer will surely weigh before spending $40k+ on a commuter car. The American buyers decided, the result is death for the volt.
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The American buyers haven't decided anything yet. Way to early. The Volt and sister Opel Ampera just won car of the year in Europe. In a year if it's still in the dulldrums, maybe. But GM will, just like they have with the Camaro, continue to improve the Volt. The technology will improve, the battery will improve and costs will improve. It's just bound to happen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blownhotrodder
Why buy a $40K+ volt when you can buy a nice new car for under $20K that gets equally great mileage?
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Again, the Volt offers you the ability to NOT use gas if you choose. For some people, people not often on muscle car websites, this is a hugely important factor. And to have a car that allows you to be gas free at your choosing but then be able to drive 500 miles also at your choosing is HUGE.
The Volt was made around two key points. EV when you want to and eliminate range anxiety, the number one consistent concern for people considering buying an EV.