What would it have taken for the Chevy Volt to be "worth it"?

[waggy]

i don't care about the style. Its supposed to be a small good gas mileage car. i can stand it being ulgy.

the main thing is cost. why should i pay that much for such a tiny car? you really aren't saving as much as people think.

Also a better way to charge and replace the batteries. Also disposal of batteries.

 

[crackerjacks]

i kind of like the volt, 40k is too much but 30k would've sold a lot more.

I probably would've bought one as a commuter, I drive 10 miles a day and very rarely more than 30 in a day so I'd hardly ever need to hit the gas station.

The deal breaker for me was is I live in the city and have street parking, sometimes I have to park a few blocks over if nothing is open. I'm not going to be running an extension cord out of my house every night to top it off. Some garages have charging stations but now we're talking adding another couple hundred a month to just park my car.

maybe when I get a proper house and a garage the price will be a little more reasonable.

 

[MovingTarget]

I like the Volt too. What would make it "worth it"? If I could "afford it", basically. The Volt costs more than I make in a year's salary.

But then again, it is a first gen product. The price is going to come down eventually, and the tech developed in the Volt will find its way into other cars that they make.

 

[unokitty]

When it comes to automobile design, politicians do not have a good track record. See:

The Socialist Car
or
The Trabant

Uno

 

[imagoon]

I dunno, 15K tax credit would a pretty good chunk of a Volt to LS9 conversion.... Then sell off the spare parts...

 

[ultimatebob]

$10 a gallon gas and a longer drive range on battery would probably do it for me.

 

[child of wonder]

200 miles driving range on a single charge plus maximum of 30 minute charge time @ 220V.

However, that's not going to be possible until large, slow leaking ultra capacitors become cheaper.

 

[manimal]

Lifetime battery replacement and sub 25K price.


Realistically we all knew the first few generations would be cost prohibitive. Its the subsequent improvements in the process tech that will eventually bring it in line with demand.

 

[KentState]

All the Volt and Leaf prove is that adoption of electric cars while be consumer driven. At least GM, Nissan and Toyota are figuring out how to build a solution before that time. GM did not have anything in the pipe the last time and was stuck on SUVs. At least now they have a proof of concept to work with. Anyone that thought the Volt was the end game is really out of touch.

 

[Ferzerp]

you really aren't saving as much as people think.

You don't save anything.

 

[Doppel]

drop another $8k off its price and GM would TRULY be able to sell all they could make, not the bullsh*t lies from last year pretending they were able to sell all they could make.

But the tech is too complex/expensive, they cannot drop this $8k off, so you see what we have which is awful sales for it unfortunately. It's a good car by its own right, well liked by owners, just too expensive.

 

[freegeeks]

over here it's the called the Opel Ampera
it has to compete here with diesel/hybrids like the Citroens ds4 and ds5 and the Peugeot 508 rhx which are around the same price but come fully loaded, are more powerfull (200 bhp, 4 wheel drive) and are just plain more usefull (bigger). Offical cycle for the Peugeot 508 rxh is 56 mpg (converted to US gallon)

What would you take for 42k, the Opel Ampera or this

As Citroen DS 5 diesel hybrid starts at 37k (58 MPG)

they will be lucky to sell 10 Ampera here in Belgium (fyi, gas is more expensive then diesel over here)

 

[XZeroII]

I drove one at the local auto show the other week. It was an excellent car. However, the price was prohibitively expensive. If it were cheaper, I would definitely consider getting one since I work less than 7 miles away. I think that I may get one in 3 or 4 years or so assuming that the price comes down quite a bit.

 

[Dman8777]

The economics don't pan out for the Volt. My dad bought one in the fall and wrote me an email the other day to tell me he just had to fill it up for the first time in February. He was really excited about it but for the ~10k he paid (after tax credit and trade in) he could have kept his 135i gased up for years (he doesn't drive much).

My parents are both hippies though and now have two hybrids. They think they are helping save the planet while living as retierees in a house big enough for 5 or 6 people. They live in New Hampshire and have to heat the house (half of which they only need when guests are there, 1% of the time) for a good 8 - 9 months out of the year. It makes me laugh sometimes.

However, the first gen prius did pretty crappy too. I'm pretty sure GM has the funding behind the Volt for at least a second gen. I expect it to improve tangibly in all areas, cheaper, longer range, better looking, etc.