RIP Volt

too bad. a decent size increase and lower ev miles might have doubled sales.

 

Sad to see it gone. It is truly a revolutionary car. But it is expensive, small, not so energy efficient, and its reliability record also dragged its sales. If it is something like Clarity that roomy, powerful and power sipping 8 years ago, it would be a hit.

 

Great commuting vehicle for those who needed the extra EV range. Would have gotten one if my commute were substantially longer.

Sadly, the typical solo commuter prefers an SUV or truck. Something much bigger than needed for a commute, anyway. Drivers are paying Volt prices on their new rides, just not interested in the eco-tech.

 

GM (and apparently Ford) will never learn ... When gas prices go up again, and people are looking for smaller and more gas sipping vehicles and the Asian and European automakers are selling them while the US automakers aren't ... it may seal their coffins shut They killed the electric car off once before, so history sort of repeats itself again I guess ... I guess they will need to figure out how to start produce some really efficient hybrid or electric SUVs and mini-vans... Both GM and Ford pretty much are killing off their sedans and hybrid lines... it just seems short sighted.... not everyone wants a gas guzzling cross-over or SUV...

 

It's the same story for pretty much every US based public company. The short term demands for extra profit from the shareholders outweighs the reasoning for less profits now for a more stable future. As soon as gas prices go up, they will fail again. People in general don't seem to have long term memory.

 

Ahhhhh... Corporate America. Most companies are run by bean counters. They only know how to use spread-sheet management, then cut and slash. Innovation is squashed.

 

Ford and GM are both investing heavily into plug ins, with even some hybrids. Ford has several partnerships going for autonomous cars.
Not all their crossovers and SUVs are gas guzzling, and even their large ones are likely the most efficient in the segment. They are also still making actual cars, just not selling them in the US.

The fact is that sedan sales have been declining, and Ford and GM don't sell those cars in volume like Toyota and Honda. Then new car sales likely peaked last year. Combined with the large supply of cars coming off lease, the industry is looking at a down turn before tariffs went into effect. Then there is currently an oversupply of oil, so barring something like a war, gas prices will likely remain low for the next few years. US corporate mindset is short sighted, but that doesn't mean they aren't planning for the future.

 

All these years Chevy literally kept putting money on top of each Volt sold, and was making money on each let’s say Colorado.
Not a good thing.

 

The name Volt will be dead, but it doesn't mean the concept will. I'm sure GM will continue on with it in some form or another. Now, besides my trouble free Volt, I've also added a Spark EV, which is also discontinued. I alternate between the two, so I always have a charged car waiting for me.

 

That "concept" was never clear. In fact, that contributed to the demise of Volt. Enthusiasts tried prompting the "EREV" identifier, but kept changing the definition each time another plug-in hybrid rolled out. Basically, GM had no idea what direction to take. It was obvious 12 years ago, when Volt was first revealed. Almost immediately, we got mixed messages of purpose. Goals were unrealistic and the target market uncertain.

The true death part though is the simple fact that there is no successor. Tax-Credits were intended to help push a product into the mainstream; instead, GM decided to abandon the technology just as phaseout approached. In other words, GM wasted a massive amount of opportunity. Someday when a realistic offering debuts, GM will have to start all over.

Sadly, we knew back when Volt-1 was rolled out that the market was gravitating toward SUV choices and that GM had little interest in promoting a compact hatchback. Yet, we saw a Volt-2 without anyone beyond those taking advantage of the $7,500 discount wanting to purchase it. Those owners did what they could to promote, but SUV shoppers couldn't care less.

It was an ideal example of what not to do. GM took praise for a subsidized niche and let their minions spin Toyota as an automaker "kicking & screaming" in resistance to mainstream offerings. The hope was that GM's silence would go unnoticed, that their reluctance to actually address change of the status quo would be overlooked due to Volt.

Two-Mode failed to reach ordinary consumers. So did Volt-1 and Volt-2. Now, they only have an awkward Bolt that doesn't appeal to even their own dealers to stock as inventory. Needless to say, GM isn't taking the situation seriously. Making fun of Toyota for their seemingly timid approach will be their downfall. The potential for Toyota's fleet of everyday hybrids... Corolla, RAV4, Camry, C-HR …to later offer a plug is enormous. So what if none are standout vehicles? The point is for the technology to become common.

In short, ugh. What a waste.

 

volt will live on in the hearts and minds of electrical engineers the world over

 

It'll be living on in my driveway, too.

 

Unless the market moves away from larger vehicles it will likely continue to live in mine for the foreseeable future as well

 

Interesting.
Buick To Launch New High-Volume BEV & PHEV In China

 

6 seat dual bench Plug in hybrid mounted to a 6 speed manual ?

That is interesting even though I bet it’s economy’s questionable

 

Notice how the article is missing a number of vital pieces of information...

 

There is already a Buick Volt available in China with a crossover version.

 

Yep and now, they're going to add two more.

 

Right idea, wrong reason:

It sounds like the Bolt might have killed the Volt by being more "halo." Of course the Prius Prime played a role too. That is the problem with a justification based upon an 'image' versus a commitment to a goal.

Bob Wilson