I thought the volt was a stripped down camaro, minus a few cubic inches.

I can't wait until the General recalls the volts and crushes them. Deja vu, all over again?

Isn't immitation a form of flattery?

I like the closing sentence. The writer should have mentioned that even the Ford Escape Hybrid is a better choice than the Volt, IMHO.

Except for its celebrity appeal, the Volt is about as relevant to the survival of GM, much less the world, as Paris Hilton is to the future of Western civilization.

If I were trying to market the Volt, I would avoid making comparisons with the Prius interior since the Volt looks cramped.

Stripped down Corolla? I've driven the Corolla as a loaner for a few days and while I thought it was a good vehicle I much prefer the interior of the Prius. By GM logic the Volt is a $40,000 Geo Metro--ouch, that's gotta hurt.

Wow! If it's based on a Corolla, that's the best compliment possible! Sign me up for the waiting list!

(I'm waiting to see the next-gen Prius, before I trade my Corolla in for a Prius. The only thing holding me back right now is that I don't like the interior of the current Prius - and I drive a lot, so the interior is important to me - so, I'm hoping to get on the waiting list for the next-gen Prius ... or maybe - gasp - the Insight)
No first-gen Volt for me - it's like the people that bought the first-gen iPhone and spent $500 to $600, and then the following year, the second-gen came out for $199. The people who buy the first-gen Volt are going to pay a lot more, and for an un-"tried and true" product.

You know the people supporting Volt are getting desperate when they attempt to claim it's a stripped down Corolla. That's clearly not true and very easy to prove.

But since debut the new model Prius is quickly approaching, they hope to quickly recruit followers before the opportunity disappears. Of course, comparisons to a model that won't be available then makes no sense. But they try anyway.

.

toyota would've make the interior of a prius nice if the car is $40k. they're just too proud that they've made the volt. lets just hope it lives up to the worlds expectation.

Nice article. Good to see someone in the media trying to inject a little reality into the "Volt fever" present in most articles.

Rob

Its obvious they are just trying to sell some cars, and get the more coverage. When the volt finally comes out, the next generation Prius will have been on sale for a year.

Hi All,

Ya know, some journalists really should get an education before they are allowed to write in public. That big about the batteries being dead weight on the highway is about as devoid of engineering understanding as anything I have read.

Take a nice long highway downhill in your Prius and watch the green bars light up. Then, the engine turn off, and get pumped by the batteries to keep the battery charge down. That is all passee in a Volt with 40 mile range battery. That battery will suck 40 miles of down hill regeneration. And there ain't too many places in the US where that is going to be a problem.

Stripped down Corolla? Bah! We have one of each, and the Prius is a definite step-up (no disrespect meant for the Corolla, it's fine for what it is). Why do GM spokespeople keep inserting their feet between their bicuspids?

I previously thought the Volt might be worth looking at once they work out the bugs (2 or 3 years from now, based on GM products in my past) but there are too many interesting announcements coming out from other automakers every other day. I think interest in the Volt will start to tank when the price is no longer a secret and other decent options (plug-in Prius, Insight II, et al.) come in at a lot less.

Jim

Some enthuiasts continue to insist that they'll be able to convince people, despite the higher initial cost, that Volt will be favored over Prius... without actually providing some numbers. So, I ran some ballpark calculations... curious, ya know...

- - -

$40,000 vehicle price plus 7 percent tax is $42,800. A 5-year loan at 6 percent interest calculates to a $49,646 total, which is a montly payment of $827

$22,500 vehicle price plus 7 percent tax is $24,075. A 5-year loan at 6 percent interest calculates to a $27,926 total, which is a montly payment of $465.

The cost of driving 15,000 miles per year with the current 48 MPG real-world average at $4 per gallon comes to $1,205, which is a per-month amount of $104.

The $465 plus $104 is $569, which leaves a difference from $827 of $258.

- - -

So... how are they going to convince the typical consumer to pay an extra $258 per month, plus whatever gas & electricity Volt uses?

Heck, even if the owner qualifies for a full tax-credit (no AMT penalty), that would only drop the expense by $125 per month to $133 more than Prius. Of course, the Prius available then will deliver an efficiency improvement, maybe 4 MPG real-world average. That's a monthly improvement of $8, bringing the Volt disadvantage to $141, plus gas & electricity.

.

Its a shame the writer just does not get it. A vehicle that can go 40 miles with no gas IS NOT IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS A PRIUS. While GM did not invent this category its a new category of car, the plug in hybrid. Toyota could make a Prius with 25 or more miles of all electric range it would be a game changer as well.

0-60 in 9 seconds is not bad. I would love to see better but not at the expense of fuel economy or range.

After the batteries are down its batteries are only dead weight on the highway and that basically does not matter on the highway. In the city the system works to save gas. Yes there is more weight then a Prius for the pack but its certainly not dead weight.

The relevance of the Volt? Price will determine that. If its less then $35000 after the tax credit (probably $5000) then it will start to be relevant. If its $29000 it will be a game changer. If its over $40000 then it will just be a (re)learning experience for GM.

Volt can and will use gas! In fact, at least two third of all the miles on it's ODO will be from gasoline power.

The 40 miles daily commute is only about 35% of all the miles driven. When the battery pack is cold in the winter, Volt will initially start on gas engine until the battery pack is warm enough.

You are too nice. Do it the GM style. Compare a stripped down Cobalt (starting at $15k) with Volt and see how long it will take to pay back. Ignore that touch sensitive LCD screen and other extras because that's how people compare a Corolla with Prius.

The electricity available at night to charge the Volt are mostly from the coal so the emission compare to a Prius will be just a wash.

If nothing else, the Volt hype is a constant bell in the ear of Toyota and others to add a plug to their vehicles.

Keep it ringing...

"If you call a tail a leg, how many legs has a dog? Five?
No, calling a tail a leg don't make it a leg."

- Abraham Lincoln

We all know GM will not sell a single Volt.

Instead they will lease all of them...

During the term of the leases they will work diligently to get the government to repeal any legislation that might help the low component count, low failure rate vehicles.

Then when they succeed in obsoleting any legal reason for having the volt, they will tell people discontinue the car because no one is interested in having one..

By then many celebrities would have leased one and they would want to buy it. Instead GM would stick to their guns and say NO ONE is INTERESTED!... GM would then attempt to charge with theft, anyone who doesn't return the car to them...

Then they would impound them until they get a chance to crush these perfectly functional cars. Don't worry they will save a few for museums, disabled and non-functional...

There would be the last Volt...

Anyways.... Prius stripped down Corolla? Huh... more like a streamlined upscaled Matrix.... GM has the funniest spokes people... Maybe they can say the Ford Highlander hybrid is a stripped down version of the Mini cooper?