I edited my previous post to clarify what I was describing.
I dunno if the guy was local or not, but I heard of a guy who got one of the first Challenger SRT8s off the assembly line and paid over $60k for it. A year later he traded it in and the dealership wasn’t going to budge from $41k; a grand less than brand new
Suckers never learn…
It’s that mentality…I MUST have it first…“Look at me!!! Look at me!!!”
I never understood it. The Miata was the same way…First year people were paying way over sticker price…Yea it’s a nice car…but no way in h*ll would I pay OVER sticker price for any the Miata…or ANY car…In fact I’ll NEVER pay sticker price.
The biggest blunder was the PT Cruiser…Mechanically it’s a Neon…Yet people were paying THOUSANDS over sticker…
Now that the Prius’s batteries are dying of old age, the bloom has quickly faded from THAT rose…
That’s WELL after 150k miles on average…My sister-in-laws Taures’s didn’t even come close to lasting that long…So you buy a new (or newer battery) for $2,000…and in most cases you’re still better off financially.
The biggest blunder was the PT Cruiser…Mechanically it’s a Neon…Yet people were paying THOUSANDS over sticker…
Actually, that’s a misconception.
Originally, they were hoping to build it off of the Neon platform, but early testing proved that the chassis wasn’t strong enough to use, so they created a new chassis for it.
The suspension is completely different between the PT and the Neon.
The only similarities are in the engine and the transmissions used.
After that, everything is different.
As for people wanting to buy the PT Cruiser when it first came out, that was done by people who really loved the style of the car.
Why shouldn’t someone buy a car if they love the styling?
Why shouldn’t they get the first ones in their area if they are willing to pay extra?
Not everyone buys things because they need them.
Sometimes they just want something, and are willing to buy them.
BC.
I’m not sure I understand the logic behind a car like the Chevy volt. Consider:
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The Volt gets 93 miles per “gallon” in EV mode. (Meaning, a qty. of electricity equivalent to the energy in 1 gallon of gas gets you 93 miles down the road.)
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The “plant to plug” efficiency of electricity from coal (the biggest player in US energy) is around 33%.
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93(.33)=31mpg.
So, assuming the volt is meant to appeal to the “save the world!” contingency, it seems a fail, given that it gets roughly the same MPG (considering total BTUs of burned stuff) as a similar-sized gasser would.
Like hybrid technology, it’s a marketing thing designed to make the buyers feel good about themselves.
On another forum, I seen a picture of a sheep and a Prius with a chart for noxious emissions, and the sheep polluted more than the Prius.
As for people wanting to buy the PT Cruiser when it first came out, that was done by people who really loved the style of the car.
Why shouldn’t someone buy a car if they love the styling?
No problem with that…but paying THOUSANDS OVER sticker price.
Not everyone buys things because they need them.
Sometimes they just want something, and are willing to buy them.
YUP…and that’s financially STUPID…
Like hybrid technology, it’s a marketing thing designed to make the buyers feel good about themselves.
The hybrid technology IS viable…But ONLY in certain situations.
- Most of your driving should be city driving so it can take advantage of regenerative braking.
- You really need to put on about 30k/year to really benefit.
If you meet those two cafeteria’s then a hybrid is an excellent choice. But for MOST of us…it’s not worth it. I average 40k/yr…but MOSTLY highway.
My wife actually passes both tests…We looked at the Camry hybrid…but the trunk space was so small we decided against it.
I think the comment “it’s more car than electric” is intended to dispel the (erroneous) notion that an electric vehicle would not perform as well as, or would drive differently than, a regular gas vehicle. It’s intended to suggest to potential buyers that the car will operate and feel like a regular car.
I agree with the points already made about the reasons for a controlled launch.
Only 2 or three professions that I’d consider having 30k+ miles of city driving is taxi cab and pizza delivery.
I don’t even want to GUESS how long it’d take me to break even on the mileage/cost. I have like 2,215 miles on my car that I bought middle of May this last year(8 months next friday), so try and calculate from there. 
I don’t even want to GUESS how long it’d take me to break even on the mileage/cost. I have like 2,215 miles on my car that I bought middle of May this last year(8 months next friday)
As I said (if you read my post)…you really need to drive 30k miles a year to benefit from a hybrid…And here in New England…that’s not hard to do. My wife drives 60 miles a day to and from work (and that’s all back roads)…not to mention all the other trips we take in the car…She averages about 31k miles a year…I average 40k…but most of my driving in highway. I know three people who one hybrids…two have the perfect commute and they put enough miles on their vehicles to justify it…the other probably just bought it because it was cool (he’s that type of guy).
At 2k miles since may…why even own a car???
Right now it’s 19 degrees outside with snow on the ground, I don’t think I’d be very comfortable riding a bicycle to and from work everyday.
Whats the dealership in Georgia going to do if the Volt breaks down? Do they have a factory trained Volt mechanic on hand?
Despite the fact that companies like GE are wasting money on the Volt and other hybrids for fleet cars, the Volt won’t get off the ground. It’s much too expensive. Smarter buys with proven reliability: Prius, Fusion hybrid, and Camry hybrid. Just wait until Hyundai gets its hybrid act together. The Volt won’t be able to compete in the expanding hybrid market. Soon, pure electric vehicles at reasonable prices will render the Volt and other hybrids obsolete. The costly engine and all its costly, space-hogging components will soon give way to extra lithium-based battery packs. The cost of the battery packs should come down when production ramps up.
The best is yet to come. When lithium-based battery packs can propel a sedan at least 150 miles at 70mph on a 10 minute quickie recharge, heavy, expensive, space-robbing, complicated components like engines, exhaust systems, gas tanks, and the like will no longer be needed or wanted. The money spent on the extra battery packs should be offset buy the money saved on the unneeded components. The weight of a fully-electric vehicle carrying lithium-based packs shouldn’t be an issue due to the absence of the obsolete components. I’d gladly pay 30 grand for such a vehicle when there are recharging stations every 50 miles or so on our highways. Installing recharging stations at existing gas stations should be a snap. Perhaps I’ll open the first InstaZap station in the country.