Where's the Volt? It's October 1st and no sign of it

"So despite reports of low volume during the first full year of 2011 Volt production--5,000 to 10,000 units" - 2011 Chevy Volt Investment: How Does This Differ From the EV1? - Green Car Reports

 

I keep reading 10k units in the 2010 MY, and forward looking statements after. I honestly do not think GM can bank on more than 5000 purchases in the next 6 months, and maybe less after, if the price stays at $41k+

 

I still haven't forgot about the EV1 disaster so GM won't be getting my business on this other failure.

 

If they had built a full ev as opposed to a hybrid, the would have had my business IF they had no comparable competition.
However, they do have competition and aren't making an ev

 

GM is waiting for $4 gas. No hurry.

 

Actually there is quite a bit of news about Volt. If you really want to follow the news you should checkout gm-volt.com regularly.

I don't think GM is going to advertise much early on - afterall they expect to be sold out initially without the advertisements.

 

Wow - it must be a fantastic ploy. They afterall started the "ploy" before Obama even announced running for president ...

 

Volt = Vaporware

Believe nothing at all until it is in production, and has hit the real streets.

 

It looks nothing like what GM revealed originally.

The heavily promoted "50 MPG" goal turned in a big mess.

The "nicely under $30,000" target missed the mark by quite a bit.

Just those factors alone make you question how it's going to appeal to the mainstream.
.

 

People were test driving the Volt at the AltCarExpo in Santa Monica today. I didn't get a chance to drive it though. The wait list was too long.

 

Damn, you took the words right out of my mouth
http://priuschat.com/forums/chevrolet-volt/85261-i-didnt-see-volt-today.html#post1190950
I went to ACE Friday. I wasn't too impressed with it this year. The Volt was probably the second biggest hit there. There was a silver one for showing. The door tag had a big print "NON-SALEABLE" The white booth in the background is the Nissan LEAF booth. That's where the test drive is being held. I registered as walk-in for the Leaf test drive but didn't get to because the list was 10 times longer than the Volt. I was #74 to test drive the Volt but they only got to 61 by 5PM so I left. I believe there were over 100 people ahead of me to test drive the leaf by the end I left. There were numerous other alternative vehicles to test drive. Most of them are Hydrogen fuel cell cars. I did drive the Honda Clarity FCX and the Mercedes B class Hydrogen fuel cell crossover. There were other fuel cell vehicles from Toyota, Nissan, Chevy, and Kia there to test drive. Coda electric car was there for test drive too. The Chevy Equinox Hydrogen fuel cell car sounded like it's about to blow up. The biggest hit there was the Nissan Leaf. There were so many Leaves there it looked like a tree. The plug-in Prius was in the auditorium. Right before I left, Center for Sustainable Energy California Plug-in Prius showed up.

 

At the OC AutoShow, I walked up to one of the GM employees that was standing next to the Volt, and I said "Hey, this is supposed to be in dealers next month, right?" She replied "It begins production next month." I replied "So, will it be in dealers in November, then?" She paused and slowly said "So, it will probably be in dealers sometime in December."

I would not at all be surprised if GM delivered ONE Volt to a dealer on December 31st 2010, and invited the media just to say it was in dealers in 2010.

 

Two-Mode production began the end of October.

By March, dealers were seeing that hybrid which was supposed to take the world by storm.

What will the forecast for Volt be? :fear:
.

 

I was able to get *3* rides in a Volt yesterday

GM came to my place of employment with *4* Volts. After signing a waiver I got on line for the test drive. Two of my buddies wanted me to ride in the back seat for their rides and take video. Hey, it's tough work but ....

I went to the event totally prepared to hate the car but instead came away somewhat impressed. The fit and finish of the cars was nice. The interior had lots of headroom, comfy leather seats and all the Star Trek displays you could ask for. The only downside was that the cars had depleted their EV batteries on the trip down so they were running in 'mixed mode'. Even still, they were deathly quiet (no noisemakers here). The acceleration pushed you back into your seat. The steering was tight and precise and reminded me of a sports car.

One of the demo people had worked on GMs EVs since 1994 and the Impact. Talking to him was just as interesting as driving the car! I asked him if GM was serious about selling the Volt and he replied "As serious as a heart attack.".

All in all, I think GM might have a winner here, if they really want to sell the car. Even though the price is in to 40K range, they were passing out fliers saying you could lease one for $350/mo and $1999 down (higher residual than the Leaf?).

Time will tell. The volt is not going to be available in the NW until 2012.

 

They had to stick the battery somewhere.