If you actually own one of these cars and have a few months experience driving it, I would like to know your impressions…It’s pure electric range in the real world, it’s real world mileage when traveling on the gasoline engine…It’s impact on your electric bill…
There is a message board at www.thevoltclub.com
Some interesting reading there.
Here’s a long term test:
Thanks!
I checked one out at a dealer and it looks like a pretty nice car. I’m a bit right wing, and when I hear conservative pundits making idiotic rants about Volts I want to scream!
The Volt is not going to set sales records with a sticker price of $41,000…Gasoline will have to go north of $5-$6 gallon before people consider it seriously…But it’s a revolutionary vehicle that’s proving a completely new automotive drive technology. And it’s doing it with very few problems…
While the vast majority of Volt owners are happy with their cars, when serious problems develop, NOBODY can fix them…The cars can sit at dealerships for weeks waiting for factory repair team(s) to arrive…Using the heater or air conditioner greatly reduces the electric range, disappointing some owners…
I’m not formally educated, but it astounds me that people don’t have a better grasp of basic science than to be surprised that turning on the heat and/or A/C reduces the electric range. Do they think that heat and A/C just run, magically requiring no energy?
“Do they think that heat and A/C just run, magically requiring no energy?”
Of course.
It’s easy to see now why the Volt is not sold in all 50 states…“Winter Driving Conditions” are just not its cup of tea…
Enthusiastic buyers can wait for months to take delivery while GM shuts down Volt production because of excessive inventory (they say)… Chevy dealers certainly don’t have any excessive inventory, that’s for sure…
Definitely don’t want one and the Chevy dealer here still has some on the lot that have been there since they were first introduced. Eventually they will probably run a special, “Buy a Corvette Z06 and get a free Volt” or something like that. 
From the looks of “completed auctions” on eBay (and excluding the mutant 49 Ford that’s in there) it appears that few people even want a Volt and the high bids are nowhere near the asking prices. None of them are selling even on eBay.
The market for Volts looks pretty soft alright…
I think Chevy pulled an Apple here. Offer older technology for double the price tag of it’s competitors(“normal” hybrids). $40k+ put it into their hybrid truck price range.
I note that on the Volt forum referenced earlier that the administrator has disabled the public write access.
Being a cynic, I might wonder if GM was behind setting up that site and didn’t like the direction the site was taking.
I noticed on eBay, on the few Volts that get any bids, buyer interest seems to stop at $15,000-$15,500…Unfortunately, no sellers are willing to accept that kind of money. Next year, the first of the Volt lease returns will hit the market and that should make a larger market than there is now…
My daughter’s 1998 Corolla is in it’s sunset years and a Volt would be a perfect fit for her needs and lifestyle…Her house is partially solar powered and this system could be expanded to feed the Volt solar power delivering very low operating cost as long as the upfront price is something she can afford…Maybe next year…
I think the Volt is a neat car, but I don’t think it’s worth $45,000. If you drive about 20-30 miles a day, you wouldn’t need gas, and it only costs about $1.50 or maybe a bit more to charge it. It probably would be a good idea to run the gas engine here and there. There needs to be better access to repairs, too. My work is in different places every day, and I could never deal with having to wait weeks for a repair.
I guess most people aren’t ready for electric cars. There is added cost for the batteries and electric motor when augmented by an ICE. And significant savings exist for those that drive them within the 35 mile range (for the Volt). If someone can charge the car at work, they can even go up to 35 miles one way (Edmunds says 25 to 50 miles w/o charge). Under those circumstances, a Volt owner can save over $2300 per year in gas just for commuting compared to a car that gets 30 MPG. A $10,000 difference in price evaporates in less than 5 years. And remember that the Volt qualifies for a $7500 Federal tax rebate. Even if you get the premium trim package, the MSRP is $40,300. That’s $32,700. And after 6 years in the above circumstances, the purchase and operating costs would be similar to a $23,000 car.
Seen a couple of them around UVA,they like hybrids there,a good many Prius around there along with other gas sippers-Kevin
f someone can charge the car at work, they can even go up to 35 miles one way (Edmunds says 25 to 50 miles w/o charge).
Most people I know have far longer commutes then that. And not to mention that after you get home…many times your driving isn’t done especially if you have kids (soccer game/practice, baseball game/practice…etc…etc).
And after 6 years in the above circumstances, the purchase and operating costs would be similar to a $23,000 car.
Everyone one of my neighborhood that I know (with the exception of myself and my wife) buys a new car every 3-4 years.
I like the idea of the Volt…but the range is a killer for me. My one way commute is over 40 miles. Plus I still have one kid at home that plays sports.
Keep the cost at $40k but give me a 100mile commute and it’s now a vehicle we’d look at.
They have sold 10,500 of them in the 2012 model year. The plant that makes them will shut down for model changeover shortly for 30 days…No real changes in the Volt, but the “all new” Impala is built in the same plant…I suspect at some point all the electric/hybrid cars will switch to lithium-polyester batteries which have twice the energy density of the lithium-ion batteries they use now, allowing electric range to be doubled…In development, the lithium-air battery which could boost energy density by a factor of 8 allowing a 400 mile range car…