Will the Chevrolet Volt be a failure or a success?

usw's an anti-Volt troll.

We should ban him from the Volt threads.

 

My bad, I guess you can have two child seats in the back, except the middle one which is considered the safest.

Can you hear the sound when that soft, pliable spoiler touches the ground?

 

Although that may be true if the front air shield is 3 or 3.5" from the ground, I'd say it's fair to say that the vehicle's ground clearance is 3 or 3.5". That is, after all, the distance it clears the ground by, even if should you decide to run over a 4.5" block the only thing destroyed is that shield.

 

If the spoiler does not look like shit in a couple of years then other cars should copy the idea.

Maybe GM can sell each Volt with a couple dozen user replaceable spoilers ?

 

Wow. If that isn't a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

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What a bunch of crap for you to claim:

Usb is a Prius enthusiast and this forum's name is Priuschat, not Voltchat.

 

Actually we already see cars with a grill cover that can move I wonder why we don't have cars with a retractable wind dam. At higher speeds it would be quite safe to kick it in. Slightly more likely to hit animals but for the most part it would be pretty safe to have it drop down.

 

He is just mad because he is driving a 25 MPG Accord. I believe he has the case of Honda fanboi suffering from Prius Envy.

He is pro-Volt but wouldn't put his money where his mouth is.

 

Would it be economical since the savings from the aerodynamic may not make up the cost of the replacements.

 

Nissan Leaf has ground clearance of 6.5" yet it takes less electricity per mile than the Volt and Leaf is a bigger car with 5 seats.

 

GM said it will, why shouldn't we believe GM?

[passive aggressive trolling ]

 

Seriously though, my understanding is that the biggest issue keeping it from qualifying (besides a few minor tweaks) is the warranty. I suspect we won't see it at the beginning of the 2012 model year but may finish the certification process and be accepted mid-year once GM decides to stand behind the components that long.

I suspect there will be an up-charge for the extended warranty (a CA emissions package), but if it gets you the sticker and potentially a free battery replacement at that point, it might be worth it.

Luckily we don't have the same issues here on the east coast so I don't really care much one way or another.

 

The Volt weighs 10% more, has 40% more power, goes 12% faster, and uses 6% more electricity/mile. I'm happy with that compromise.

It may have 5 seats but it is smaller in most interior passenger dimensions. I have not been in one. Have you? Those 3 in the back won't be so happy - the Leaf is narrower. Perhaps they employ some magic that makes the narrower Leaf comfortable with 3 across seating. I prefer the two buckets of the Volt.

Interior Dimensions Leaf // Volt
Head room front/rr: 41.2/37.3 // 37.8/36
Shoulder room frt/rr: 54.4/52.5 // 56.5/53.9
Hip room front/rr: 51.5/50 // 53.7/51.2
Legroom front/rr: 42.1/31.1 // 42/32
Cargo volume (ft3) 10.6 // 14.5

 

Oh there is no question the Volt won ... it was voted "Car of the Year."

 

We have the same issue in NY with the Clean Pass sticker.

Please note that the 2011 Honda Civic hybrid does not meet the fuel economy requirements of the program and therefore does not qualify. In addition, the 2011 Chevy Volt does not meet the emissions requirement and does not qualify.
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The reason I asked is because during NY snow storms, the bottom of my Prius (5.5" clearance) touches the snow/compacted snow/ice. It bothers me and I will go crazy with 3" ground clearance. Since you are in NJ, you know what I am talking about.

Did you get your Volt prior to the last year's snow storm?

It should weight less, goes faster with less power and use less electricity/mile because it is a smaller car. It should cost less to own and operate as well.

 

Fair reasoning.

Tricky though, since the vast majority of people lease the Volt. I guess we will find out just how much the HOV sticker is worth. Is the issue complicated by states other than CA that are CARB compliant ? Presumably car owners in any CARB state will have 150k warranties if P-ZEV certification is given.

 

My problem with this whole line of discussion on the emissions rating is that it is more about certification and warrantys than it is about emissions.

Usbs correctly points out that the emissions from a cordless prius are cleaner than the grid in many (if not most) places, but the Leaf gets a super sticker as a ZEV even though it does not represent an emissions improvement. Only rating the Volt on the emissios generated at the worst part of its operating cycle doesn't reflect that it would have the same benefit as a Leaf to most commuters in terms of tail pipe emissions (and isn't that the point of the HOV sticker anyway).

Its almost as ridiculous as the law in California that makes it illegal for PHEVs (including the PHV prius) to plug in at any public outlet labeled as "electric car charging".

 

The movie Atlas Shrugged very nicely cinematizes why this is so.

 

No. Others claim it did just great but once you've used real snow tires, you start to question other's definition of "great" on 580 treadwear all-season tires.

BTW, I just walked outside and measured it. I get FOUR inches and GM is going to offer a 1" shorter one for those who just cant take the occasional scrape.

And it should come with a unicorn for my daughter and create sunshine and rainbows wherever it goes!

It is NOT smaller. It's 2.1" longer and 0.7" wider.

They put an ICE and a 16kWh battery in it. It turns out these things add weight and cost. I know, I know, I was surprised too. The car does show some attention to detail to save weight - plastic hood and aluminum suspension components are two examples - but I bet the engineers would have killed for a lighter ICE.

 

The warranty makes sense to me. After all, emissions do not stop after 50k miles.
I definitely agree that it is silly to promote a clean car that has an equally dirty lifecycle.

My problem with your problem is your assumption that the car will be x% EV and y% petrol based. There is simply no rational basis to pick numbers. The goofball '70% of drivers are within 40 miles of work' mantra is nonsense because a HOV sticker selects for people with long drives.