The Volt certainly competes with the Plugin Prius and wins with people who have a driving pattern that fits better with the Volt's larger battery pack and can afford the extra $2,500 after tax credits. And yes, GM has other full hybrids but they are trucks and large SUVs and fill a different product space than Toyota's smaller hybrid SUVs and sedans. GM also now sells mild parallel hybrid sedans under the eAssist name. Unlike the RAV4 EV, which *is* being sold only in California for CARB regulatory reasons, the Volt is being sold in all 50 states, Canada, most of Europe, Australia and soon China. It is currently outselling the Prius Plugin in the U.S. and probably internationally as well.
If there was no Prius, GM would still have to had produce the Volt to meet regulatory requirements. Especially true for GM which has no other hybrids and low emissions vehicles.
Is it appropriate to let the break drag on and on... ? Seriously, the tax-credits will expire and the 500 million shares sold back. Shouldn't their be pressure to ensure goals are achieved?
GM has several hybrids of various kinds: Fuel Economy GM also has several SULEV vehicles: Buick LaCrosse eAssist Buick Regal eAssist Chevrolet Malibu Chevrolet Impala Chevrolet Volt I also assume they have a number of ULEV vehicles but I'm not going to bother looking that up.
Chuckle...as noted. GM has no hybrids other than Volt. Volt was built to meet a regulatory requirement. Not to compete with Prius. No Prius, we'd still have a Volt form GM.
So GM can sell the Volt and skew the CAFE numbers in order to sell more Camaros. It isn't rocket science. DBCassidy
If there was no prius, it would have to in an alternatie reality and no one can meaningfuly predict what the state of such a hypothetical world would be. (or everyone could as there is no basis for deciding if it exists let alone its state). I'm just very glad both the Prius and Volt exist in our reality. Let's just let bad threads stay dead..
Without the Prius there would not be the current day Land Cruiser/4Runner/Sequoia/FJ Cruiser! Wheeeee! Let's all play children's games!
Don't forget that those were the vehicle that helped fund the advancement of Prius. Also, there's nothing wrong with a recreational vehicle. It was using a monster-size guzzler for the daily commute which became a major problem.
We all know there are always exceptions, easy to cherry pick. We've all seen the dramatic reduction of guzzlers since $4 gas. Some of us actually remember when a truck was a truck.
s\ John, Good points made. The new increase in petrol prices will see less gas guzzlers on the road and more parked in their front yards w/ "For Sale" sign on their windshields. DBCassidy