Chevy Volt = Hens' Teeth

The Volt sticker was not on option. It was on demos and generally removed. I tried to get one..

I agree with the selective vision.. one becomes more atune to it when you drive it every day.

 

There are 4 in the parking lot in my office building (Western suburb of Chicago). Mine and 2 others are from co-workers. The other is from another company.

Here is where something like 10% of them are: Volt Stats: Owner Map
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There is a saying in the automotive industry for the Volt. It is known as the Unicorn.

You hear about them, but you never see them.

I am a Toyota salesman and so I get questions on the Chevy volt vs. our own Prius Plug in Hybrid from time to time. The best responses I have for Volt inquiries is that our Prius Plug in is not only cheaper by about 5 grand, it seats 5 (Volt only seats 4), Our regular NON plug in Prius get better MPG over a 100 mile range than a Chevy volt AND the Prius Plug-in won't set you ablaze.

 

(bold added by me)
I was with you right up until the last. Playing on overblown fears, especially to events that did not put anyone at risk, much less actually 'set them ablaze' is one of the reasons I won't shop with some car dealers. In the past, I had not seen this type of behavior from Toyota sales people. Which is one of the reasons we bought our first Prius, and a big reason we bought our second from the same dealer.

Just as the fear mongering used by FOX, or some other car salesmen when Toyota had the 'unintended acceleration' issue left a really bad taste for me, so does this.

 

Ok great a salesman that misleads potential customers... I guess that is not surprising.

For the Prius to have better MPG compared to the Volt the cutover is 135 mile trip (using EPA blended 37 vs 50) and since most long trips are highway, its more appropriate to use 205 miles using highway (40 vs 48) .

And as Zythryn said, there have been zero chevy volt caused fires and your using that is disgraceful. To anyone that know's a bit of facts that could easily cost you a sale.

 

Arbitrary measure like that is basically greenwashing. There's too many factors of influence. Notice how each claim of cutover is different every time?

In other words, there's no way to generalize.

When you plug in has a profound influence on outcome.

 

Its not greenwashing, its basic math. Maybe you feel compelled to call it pejorative names just because it makes it clear that many arguments about superiority of the Prius don't actually stand up to scrutiny.


All mileage estimates have variables but its still important to be consistent, which is why we have an EPA standard for comparison. The salesman was saying the regular Prius is better at 100miles, which is wrong (at least using the standard accepted processess). Personally, i consider that if one talks about the length of a trip, then its unreasonable to consider any plugin during that trip. But pluggin in is only to the Volt's advantage anyhow.

As to why 2 numbers, it is because there are 2 EPA standard estimates, one for general driving, one for highway. That is not changing numbers, its allowing people to draw conclusions under different circumstances. If I had just said highway, which is the more realistic model if we are talking 100+ mile trips, some might have said I was being misleading, so I gave both.


EPA volt EV range is 35miles per charge. So for x miles the volt will use (X-35)/37 if using mixed milage rates (i.e. x is about 55%city and 45% highway) or (x-35)/40 if the trip is highway miles (more reasonable model for long trips). For the regular prius (which the salesman said to use) its X/50 for blended and X/48 for highway. That gives a table for gallos of gas used that looks like this:

Code:

Miles Volt Hwy Prius Hwy  Volt  Mix   Prius mix
         Gal         Gal        Gal          Gal
50     0.38      1.04       0.41        1.00 
60     0.63      1.25       0.68        1.20 
70     0.88      1.46       0.95        1.40
80     1.13      1.67       1.22        1.60
90     1.38      1.88       1.49        1.80
100    1.63      2.08       1.76        2.00
110    1.88      2.29       2.03        2.20
120    2.13      2.50       2.30        2.40
130    2.38      2.71       2.57        2.60
140    2.63      2.92       2.84        2.80
150    2.88      3.13       3.11        3.00
160    3.13      3.33       3.38        3.20
170    3.38      3.54       3.65        3.40
180    3.63      3.75       3.92        3.60
190    3.88      3.96       4.19        3.80
200    4.13      4.17       4.46        4.00
210    4.38      4.38       4.73        4.20

Or the following table of MPG

Code:

Miles Volt Hwy Prius Hwy  Volt  Mix   Prius mix
        MPG      MPG        MPG        MPG
50     133.3     48.0       123.3      50.0
60     96.0      48.0       88.8       50.0
70     80.0      48.0       74.0       50.0
80     71.1      48.0       65.8       50.0
90     65.5      48.0       60.5       50.0
100    61.5      48.0       56.9       50.0
110    58.7      48.0       54.3       50.0
120    56.5      48.0       52.2       50.0
130    54.7      48.0       50.6       50.0
140    53.3      48.0       49.3       50.0
150    52.2      48.0       48.3       50.0
160    51.2      48.0       47.4       50.0
170    50.4      48.0       46.6       50.0
180    49.7      48.0       45.9       50.0
190    49.0      48.0       45.4       50.0
200    48.5      48.0       44.8       50.0
210    48.0      48.0       44.4       50.0

If you think the formula/results are wrong, please explain.
You can argue that EPA is just one measurement and you get better in your prius. Well I do much better in my Volt too -- the EPA is just a standard point of comparison.

 

Yep for me too. Never saw a V or C. I see the volts because I looked for them when they came out, and now there are a lot here. I live in a poor demographic for prius V. It shouldn't be bad for prius c though. Lots of prii floating around.

For the volt the top three states are california, Texas, and michigan. I'm sure it drops off quickly after that.

I have never seen a volt with the sticker on the road, they are easy to spot if you look for them, you notice prii even without looking though. I have looked for prius v and c and they just aren't here.

 

On my road trip yesterday, I saw 3 Prius Vs, 1 (possible) Prius C, many Prius originals, 1 Leaf (in a dealer lot), 2 or 3 Insights (new gen), and no Volts. Disappointing. At one point there were 5 Prii in a line including a Gen 1.

 

No Leaves.
Zero c's.
2 v's.
4 Volts. 2 were in the DC area.
That's my count.

 

Yeah I have seen 0 C 1 V ever here. I saw 3 different volts in the last two day. That is unusual though. Not a single leaf either. I was so excited to see the V in person I walked over to it and gave it quite a look over. (Yes I could go to a dealership but I am not going to buy a new car for awhile and dont want pressure).

 

It does.

I haven't seen a single Prius c on the road.

I've actually seen a few PiPs on the road now. I've seen a decent # of v wagons. I've seen fewer Volts than I have v wagons. I've seen way more Leafs than I have Volts.

 

^^ I've seen a few Prius C and V.
Never see a volt in person.
My uncle just bought a volt.
I don't talk to them, but he posted it on Facebook and my brother showed me.
Apparently he misses his 2008 Prius, but I don't know anymore then that.
He still has a 08 Highlander hybrid.

 

In the richmond area, I have seen too many 2nd and 3rd gen prii to count, no prius c's, probably about a dozen or so v's and I have sighted 6 volts so far, in about a months time. Not sure if I keep seeing the same volts over and over again, but they were all different colors. 2 reds, a silver, 2 blacks and a blue.

 

At the lake/park today (a busy place for Mother's Day), there were a pleasing number of Prius. Seeing so many explains the frustration often conveyed from Volt enthusiasts.

Anywho, there was indeed a V there too. Of all things, it just happened to be parked next to a Sonata hybrid.

I wonder if anyone noticed mine was a PHV model?

 

I wold think you'd have an easy time seeing PiP.. its a prius in the HOV lane.

 

ok there are four Volts near me in CT (other then the GE plant where there is at least 4 more) and I see one on my way to work in Ridgefield where I also spotted a leaf.

 

From the front the Volt is undistinguishable from any other GM sedan, only the side or rear gives you the clues. I've seen more in the last couple months, but Vettes outnumber em 2 to 1 for sightings! Haven't seen any PiPs yet that I know of, but it's harder to distinguish than a Volt even!