OK. So that's not such an ugly car. I honestly thought that the original concept car was f'ugly. This one, I can live with.
The first thing that comes to mind is "Chevy Malibu." I'm not impressed! The concept was obviously not a very practical design, but the new thing looks way too "safe." I still think part of the Prius' appeal is that it has a distinctive look: whether or not you like the way the Prius looks, you can recognize one from a mile away.
Ugly is as ugly does. I could not care less what a car looks like. I thought the Prius was ugly until I got used to it. All that matters to me are what it is: How long will it go, and at what speed, before it starts to burn gas? What's the acceleration, with and without the ICE running? What's the FE when the ICE is running? Etc. Make it the ugliest thing in the world and I'll buy it if it does what I want and is quality built. (Though that last does not seem to be a concern for GM. Seems like they've never heard the term "quality."
Doesn't look as much like a Prius as the new Honda Insight! And maybe it's the color, but that Volt pic reminds me of the Gen1 Prius too. It's not quite as homely though.
I'm with Daniel on this one. I would just as soon have cars made from traction plate and painted with Rustoleum. I could never understand why we take a utilitarian object like an automobile and make it shiny and smooth with a delicate skin. That's just asking for trouble. Give me utility and save the candy nice person looks for runway models. Tom
Camry lights (Front and Rear) + Chevy Grille + Prius hatchback = Volt. Camry hybrid has 0.27 cd -- more aerodynamic than the Volt.
The grill looks like a decal. The drag is worse than the Prius, but at least better than the prior concept. sheesh, they went from the low drag (in the 1's) of the EV1 up to the high 2's
Wow, they do look very similar. What is the Cd of the Volt? I hadn't heard any numbers thrown out yet.
I'm not hung up on how the car looks. Heck, a year before I bought my Prius, I thought is was "Gremlin" ugly. I've grown to like it because it is a high quality vehicle that fits my needs to a "T". The only real problem with the Volt is that it is a GM product and right now, GM products are far too inferior for me to consider buying one.
Perhaps, you missed Lutz interview with Charlie Rose. Lutz said that Volt aerodynamic measures between 0.28 and 0.29. That is pretty bad considering the Camry Hybrid is 0.27 cd.
I am not a fan of the Camry (Grandma mobile) but who in there right mind is going to pay 10 grand more for a Volt than a FULLY loaded Camry?
Im pretty sure thats a concept version, so the headlights ARE actually decals. Thats not a pre-production model, which would normally come with most fixtures the production models do.
I thought one of the lessons of the Prius was that it was successful BECAUSE it looked different. They didn't just add the Hybrid drive train to an existing model. This just looks like any other Chevy, but way overpriced but with better mileage. Does not look like GM learned anything from the EV1.
Here is the latest non-studio picture of the Volt I could find: Personally I think that GM should introduce the Cadillac version first: An expensive, limited volume vehicle should be introduced under a premium label where more of the additional cost can be recovered.
