Volt 2.0: Ruess "It will leap-frog... the competition"

Because John has a blind spot when it comes to his bias against GM.

I actually like the i3 quite a bit, it is my second favorite car.

But to say the i3 is more "built for the masses" than the Volt when it is more expensive and less efficient with gas, more expensive to repair and has those unusual suicide doors. Well, that just doesn't fit.

 

You forgot to add that the i3 looks weirder than a Prius to most people.
Then the unusual tires sizes made by only one manufacturer also doesn't speak of it being for the masses.

If the US REX could be hacked for the European performance, I might consider it over a Volt, and won a lottery.

 

i3 uses extensive carbon fiber. It is not for the masses.

Volt is using all steel and regular materials but the oversized battery and EREV operation (and the cost to achieve it), is for a niche market.

 

Know your audience. The goals focused on who.

BMW designed a plug-in for their customers. Chevy did not.

It's too bad some don't see such an obvious shortcoming. Watching sales get lost on the showroom floor is a very big deal.

Each automaker faces their own set of challenges... which is why it is such a waste not addressing what they are.

 

I'm certainly don't understand the desire to take an anti-volt or anti-any-PHEV/EV position. I hope they all succeed. (What a second, maybe they are succeeding!) Along with the latest Volt, the latest Telsa base model S has lowered the price. That's only possible with substantial sales volume.

 

I wouldn't bundle all PHEVs or all EVs. Some are good and some are bad. There is no need to support a badly designed PHEV or EV. Doing so doesn't make you anti-PHEV/EV.

 

Unfortunately in this thread the definition of bad and good seems to be decided by the name of the manufacturer instead of the car's attributes.

 

Not true. I have seen John praise the 47 MPG Chevy Malibu hybrid that uses simplified Voltec.

That's the car that makes sense for the mass market, but not the Volt.

 

And what makes the Volt "bad"?

 

Two powertrains weight each other down, resulting in cramp interior, SUV heavy, high cost, long refuel time with little returns (in term of emission and efficiency).

It offers EV driving experience (majority of the time) but that does not warrant $7,500 incentive. Better to give that money to a few Malibu hybrid owners.

 

The generic "anti" comes from those tired or unwilling to discuss the actual issues in detail. It's the same old nonsense we've seen for years when it comes to the "leap frog" topic. Reality is, the "bad" is undeniable. When an automaker is unable to capture the interest of its own customers, what's the point?

We've witnessed Toyota's struggle to keep Prius a top-seller here. They've managed though, despite pressure from low gas-prices. Success came from identifying consumer need, the balance of appeal-factors resulting in high-volume profitable sales.

GM didn't do that with Volt. Focus was on want. That's fine, if also given a choice. That's where the upcoming Malibu hybrid and CTS plug-on hybrid come in. Those are the "good", since they address what Volt does not. In other words, they are being targeted at people who have simply chosen to purchase a traditional GM offering instead.

Why some refuse to acknowledge the true competition and recent diversification is a mystery. My guess is old habits die hard. It's easy to overlook audience and not notice change.

 

It isn't a plug in though. Just a plain hybrid. GM is going to be late to the party, but hybrids have been available for 16 years now in the US.

 

Initial sales have nothing to do with design, Volt overwhelmingly confirmed that.

As for the volume, remember audience! BMW is a luxury automaker. That most definitely is not the case for Chevy.
MERGED

Competing against traditional vehicles with 100 years more market popularity is a massive challenge.

You cannot just draw a clear distinction between with or without a plug either. The this/that mentality is a barrier yet to be overcome.

None of this is a simplistic situation... hence considering goals, not means.

 

This is a story of one Volt owner. The existence of the plug may have been the deciding factor. The important point was that the upcoming Malibu hybrid wasn't available in 2012. He may have been able to get a 2011 eAssist one though.

The lack of a hybrid version to there standard cars hasn't hurt GM's car sales. The Camry hybrid is coming upon 10 years of age. It is still less than 10% of all Camry sales. If it got an ICE buyer to switch, good, but it also stole Prius sales. Among the ICE models, GM has competitive fuel economy compared to Toyota. In some cases better.

The problem with GM's cars was the design. The out going Malibu suffered from a rear seat as cramped as a compact car's, and the Impala was only loved by fleet purchasers. The new Impala was the number one selling full size sedan last year. The Cruze has been a big success, and North America may be getting the hatcback or wagon version with the new model. The new Malibu looks to be following in the new Impala's footsteps. The hybrid version looks to be a winner, but the ICE version highway rating matches the 2013 Sonic's. I'm hoping GM has a surprise in regards to the price, but I'm not holding my breath. The hybrid premium is still too high for the majority to consider it with current gas prices.

 

With all the tangent discussion points, it's time to get back to the primary question:

Who is Volt 2.0 for?

If it's not intended for buyers who would otherwise purchase a traditional car like Malibu or Cruze, what's the goal? After all, that is the competition. The market is modern guzzlers verses high-efficiency, low-emission vehicles. It's the automakers own product-line.

 

Your defining "bad" as "bad for my priorities". "Cramped interior" should be a good reason for yaris, fit, and other subcompacts to be "bad". Weight is a strange metric to pull out of the blue. The Prius V weighs quite a bit more than a Prius C, so that is "bad". High cost is always bad, so no luxury cars fit the bill. Long refuel time seems to be a strange one. The PiP has a short refuel time since it has such a dinky battery. A dinky battery makes it good??

Let me rephrase the question. How is it bad for me?

 

the goal of the volt is to steal prius drivers, not chevy/gm drivers. which is what it should be.

 

All of those separately isn't necessarily bad but when all of them comes in one package, you have a Volt. That's what make it " bad".

 

Possibly folks who want a PHEV with enough EV range to cover their daily commute. In other words, someone like me.