Will the Chevrolet Volt be a failure or a success?

It is strange they didn't use TCO to compare.

 

Same thing we have all proved before. Different commutes different outcomes.

And this article is a complete sham...

So they used a volt, a kia optima, hyundai elantra, a fiat 500, and a vw jetta tdi... In every case they say "highway" after the fuel economy. Then they compare the prius to 40mpg...


And where is the Prius on the list? Is it not being produced in 2011 or something? How would you not put the fuel economy king on the list of fuel efficient cars?! That is just stupid. What about the Leaf? If you are doing all gas/diesel, hybrid, and series hybrid, why not all electric?



Not to mention they are ignorant about transmissions and physics too. The cheaper conventional transmission with fixed gearing cannot match an infinite gearset in efficiency. Only in manufacturing costs.

 

I agree using the Kia as the hybrid sedan competitor instead of the market leader prius was a bit lame. However I think overall the reviews were fair and even handed.

The Volt won overall but lost on the uphill mountain climb and the margins from first to last weren't significant enough to justify the additional cost of the Volt (from a financial standpoint alone).

I found it interesting 2 of the editors liked the Volt the best even though they still didn't think it made financial sense, if you haven't driven one yet you should really give it a go before bashing it.

I was impressed the Volt did so well on the long drives well beyond its electric range though, I would not have expected that.

I don't think there is any reasonable doubt the car itself is excellent, its really just about price. IF the Volt at my 2011's trim level were available for $35,000 before tax credits they would change the world.

 

The comparison had mid-size (Optima), compact (Volt) and mini-compact (Fiat 500). Without considering the cost of the car and ignoring the size class, I don't think it is fair or even handed at all.

Volt beats the non-hybrid of the same size or smaller for the cost of fuel. It is not a surprise but the cost gap (or much lack of) is surprising.

 

Wow ... Edmunds must have bought up all the smoke on planet earth. That's how much it'd take, to hide the true miles per gallon difference between PHEV's Prius & Volt - when based on running out a full tank to empty. Or, maybe edmunds just got notice of Volt's claims from 18-20 months ago ...... 230 mpg.

.

 

edmunds has been pretty critical of the Volt since the beginning (including that ridiculous force-it-out-of-gas demonstration with the prius chase vehicle).

This article is only good for comparing the vehicles tested, but it tested them all under the same conditions on the same roads and in that regard I think it is fair. It highlights real world numbers that are pretty lackluster compared to some of the theoretical or ideal condition numbers we see discussed here a lot, and as noted above found that the difference in fuel costs was a few cents compared to a $20,000 price delta; that pretty much sums up most of the arguments I see on here against the Volt.

Likewise I think the comments about them liking it despite the financial shortcomings goes to the difficult to describe improved driving experience I have failed so miserably at communicating here in the past.

I don't quite understand hill's comments about a comparison with the PHV, which was only revealed in Frankfurt 2 days ago and I seriously doubt edmunds has available for any kind of testing.

 

^^ Fair summary, although we should always keep in mind that Volt reliability is a complete unknown, depreciation is a WAG, and battery longevity/replacement/repair is an elephant in the room.

These unknowns *have* to add to the cost, and send the Volt into the 'toy for the rich' category.

 

I came to a screeching halt after:
"When we did the first Fuel-Sipper Smackdown four years ago, there were no diesel-powered cars on sale, the wretched Smart Fortwo was the only gas-powered car with hypermiling capability and the Prius was the only serious hybrid. Back then, it seemed as if the only vehicles capable of 40 mpg were more like science experiments than real cars."

(a) You can hypermile anything; to "hypermile" is simply to beat the EPA estimates - I hypermiled my Subaru Outback, for example.
(b) I prefer my Prius, but Honda Civic Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, Escape Hybrid aren't "serious"???
(c) In 2007 the Prius and the Civic Hybrid were certainly capable of >40mpg, and my Insight-I was averaging 84mpg (>100mpg in the summer) - "science experiment" doesn't come to mind as a useful characterization of any of them.

I'm not sure what this is but it isn't journalism.

 

GM has ads in this weeks Vancouver Province, advertising the Volt for sale. They use an expression like "on the ground" or "on the lot". Sounds like they are getting some...

 

Volt is a good car made by a stupid company. Gm is taking its time to roll out volt tech in all its car. They should have done Volt tech in top corvette, Camaro, High end trucks and build cost down.

It is very hard for Government Motors to compete with giants like toyota. Prius has devolped a reputation as a good car. Gm has to beat toyota on price, quality, and promotions. They need to figure out how to compete with toyota/tesla marriage.

Ford on the other hand has lot better chance than chevy. They are going to flood the market with new tech and new EV cars.

Toyota needs to watch its back when it comes to ford and VW. Both of these companies can hurt prius sales.

TDI plug in hybrid with over 200mpge and about 80mpg will start a new mileage war.

 

2 notes:

Volt is only a very early version of a possibly good car. Yet to prove on long term. As Prius was in 1998, I reckon, but the faults were strictly minor things.

TDI plug-in hybrids are not yet ready, and are to be very expensive, maybe the mileage war capabilities cannot be along with the sales war.

 

TDI vws as they are are more expensive than Prii. I agree that a hybrid version would be even more so, and VW isn't really known for electrical mastery. I'd need to see long term reliability before buying one. I guess it won't really compete with Prius, though. VW is super-duper entry level of luxury market in my eyes, a slight step in prestige above Toyota, and priced accordingly.

 

Actually, I'm fairly certain the Insight-I is exactly what he was referring to as a "science experiment". As an early adopter, I personally really appreciate what it was at the time, but it was definitely not mainstream. When I took my wife to look at it even the Honda salesman was looking askance at it.

 

Honda built about 15,000 of them and sold them all over the world. BTW, far more than the number of Volts made to date (and sold only in a few states in the US so far), yet I certainly wouldn't call the Volt a science experiment either. Both are a long way beyond the prototype or science experiment stage. Maybe the Insight-I didn't suit your needs but it suits mine perfectly. Just as the Volt apparently suits your needs but not the needs of very many other folks.

"Science experiment" means something like the X-prize cars: a one-off cobbled together from various parts to test something - that's what experimental scientists do. In this context, it's just a silly snotty writer's slur. Setting aside the Insight-I, the Civic Hybrid is a "science experiment"? Give me a break.

 

Absolutely baffling to me why they didn't choose the premier hybrid, with more sales than all others on the market. What a really just strange comparison of cars they looked at.

 

From their 3rd paragraph:

"we're back for another installment with a new set of appealing fuel sippers, and this time 40 mpg seems to be promised by every carmaker."

The Prius was included in their previous test (link was provided) and was the overall winner then.

 

Yup, that was the Gen II Prius. Hello, it's the Gen III now, different engine, different body, lots of differences including better mpg I think - at least a better EPA rating.

 

Thanks. I wonder what the point of that is, though. Would be like comparing a new line of cameras when one of the previous line is actually better than all of the new ones and yet isn't included. Comparatively it would still be very valid to look at.

 

I finally drove a Volt on Wednesday. I gotta say I was really impressed. Every bit as seemless and smooth as the manufacturer's propaganda. I know its newer than my Prius, but it really feels . . . better. Time to see if the Gen 3 Prius meets the challenge. Maybe a trip to the dealer is in order.

And GM has to get past their slow ramp and part availability excuse, get cars into the dealers and really see if they are going to sell. With availability previously constrained (now something like 10 months into the launch), its time to get past the excuses.

 

The point is selling advertisements, and for that you need readers. Publications like this are always looking for an angle to appeal to both readers and advertisers. It doesn't have to makes sense, just make cents.

Tom