Will the Chevrolet Volt be a failure or a success?

Oh man, ConnectMidMichican.com is a huge influence. You better get right on that.

 

Report for the past week:

256.7 miles, 249.7 electric using 73.1 kWh, 7.0 on gas using 0.2 gallons (it reports 2 significant digits in the driving display but not on the tripmeter).

Summary: 29.3kWh/100 (vs. 36 EPA) or 3.42mi/kWh (vs 2.78 EPA).

I've put gas in the car once, on March 15. $26.56. I have about 1/4 tank left from that.

 

You are comparing a midsize to a compact. Try comparing with a vehicle of the same class (a fully loaded Honda Insight). Insight has cleaner tailpipe emission, higher cordless MPG and costs about half.

A fully loaded Volt comes with Halogen headlight. No LED, no Smartkey entry, no radar assist cruise control, no lane keep assist, no parking assist, pre-collision system, etc...

 

Mike, if you want a reputable propaganda site, try gm-volt.com. Read the posts a year ago, before the official launch.

 

And there goes the oft-repeated argument of comparing a fully loaded volt to a fully loaded prius.

 

Fanboi site has fanbois? No way!

 

Fully loaded it has rear camera and front and rear parking assist.

 

Ok, scratch that. It has Ultrasonic parking assist. Does it turn the steering wheel for you, like with the Prius?

 

What do you think ..... this thread is just about made a complete tour, and a conclusion is still not eveident: success? failure?

 

For: 2
Against: Dozens
Could not care less: Everybody else.

And therein lies the truth about the Volt: apathy over an underperforming, overpriced car with technology copied from Toyota.

 

A brief search says no and that there is also a slight issue with the sensor height losing low bumpers as the car gets very close. Seems like it's a useful system, but not so good for the parking impaired.

 

Correct, no auto-drive for the parking assist, just indicators of how close you're getting to objects. I'm not used to garaging my vehicles and I like getting the confirmation I'm in the right spot, but otherwise its pretty "meh"

 

I have yet to see this feature work well in any vehicle. Including a $100k+ mercedes, and numerous Lexi. All the ones I have been in do turn the wheel, go through the motions and park pretty seamlessly. But the parking job is that of a 15yr old girl. Usually a good half meter from the curb, or at an awkward angle.

So "meh" would be appropriate.

 

"With a total of 2,029 Volts sold, that model now becomes the highest-selling highway-capable electric car in the U.S. It surpassed estimated total deliveries of 1,650 for the Tesla Roadster since it went on sale very late in 2008."

April Electric Car Sales: Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf Steady

 

So it's an EV when they want it to be and a hybrid when they want it to be... I see...

Tesla doesn't use any gas, therefore an EV. Volt has a gas tank, therefore not EV. Don't see why this is so hard for GM to grasp.

 

493 sales (and 300 demo deliveries) is well short of the production-rate increase to +2,000 per month annouced in January.

Downplay to an "early adopter" generation sure is quite a difference from the "game changing" hype we were hearing about this time last year.
.

 

Can everybody say "halo car for the Cruze?"

 

Yes, I agree with the above statements. Really, the Volt is a plug-in hybrid with only one mode: EV mode. The Prius and Plug-in Prius on the other hand are hybrid vehicles with EV mode and HV mode.

IMO, if a car has an internal combustion engine, a gas tank and a muffler, it is not an EV. They know that, but the EV, range extender stuff, is for marketing in my opinion.

 

But when people argue that you must shovel coal into the volt isn't it an EV

You are counting some shipments. The number is 1,703 through april. It still is more than the tesla, but given the price differential and the lack of tesla dealerships I would not call that much of a win. Let's wait for 2012 and see if they are shipping 5000 a month. Then it will be a win. The phrasing is rather poor, though it is highway capable on electricity, why not call it a PHEV that can run for 25-50 miles *35EPA purely in electric mode.

AH but the volt can run in EV mode or in hybrid mode. The prius can not run over 100kph in EV mode, which in most of the country is highway speed. The range is also very short compared to American commutes.

Agree with the other stuff though. I would call the prius phv a blended mode PHEV, while the volt is an EV-ER PHEV. PHEV is the key term here not the EV. If the volt got 200 EPA EV miles would the range extender make it less of an EV than the leaf?

To those claiming wild numbers like 2000 per month as the goal, I think you are guilty of spreading hype that my 9 yo niece would never believe on the internet. I'm not sure what the purpose is other than to fool idiots.

For those thinking that the volt is really a halo car meant to sell more cruzes, that is my opinion too. It seems to be working the cruze moved up to #6 this month and is ahead of the corolla.

 

I don't know if this test/review from blogs.cars.com/kicking tires has been posted, but they compare Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf and the regular Prius on a 64.5 mile run to get to the bottom of the cheapest commute!

Cheapest Commute: Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, Toyota Prius, Ford Focus or a Train? - KickingTires