RUMOR: Could GM offer a lower-cost, 20-mile range Chevy Volt

For 70 miles Tesla is charging $10,000 for batteries. So from my pov the Volt has $5,000 worth of batteries now and needs to dump the ICE.

I don't remember very many people decrying the tax credit and the previous tax deduction that Gen2 Prius owners were able to take.

 

We do? Did Toyota announce something to that effect?

 

well, the whole point of volt and prius is to be as efficient as possible... otherwise there are better cars than both.

 

And, what are the "right circumstances?" short drive; mild weather; inexpensive electrical power; premimum fuel?

Oh, and a "lot of Volt owners" ....... there are not a heck of a lot of Volt owners.

But it is the vaulted "Car of the Year" and I am quite certain if an owner can live with the limitations, it will be very satisfying. I sure hope so, I very much want GM to repay the taxpayers.

 

The Volt is priced not to be successful.

I doubt a smaller battery will drop the price that much. Maybe a few $K. And the design may not allow it.

 

Why so testy? Do you hate the Volt that much?

Are you implying that the Volt cannot significantly reduce gasoline consumption for some drivers? I think you are wrong if you are.

 

You fogot dealers that think $5000.00 over MSRP is perfectly acceptable

 

Telsa is much smaller, VOLT has way more than $5k in batteries.

I swear I read the premium recently, fairly confidently, was about $5k over a Prius II, but some of that will be mitigated by tax credits.

 

The Volt is an vehicle. I do not "hate" the machine, but I do hate the media hype. Remember: 360 mpg; "geek" mobile; prius-killer and so forth.

It will be interesting in time to look back and review the entire power situation following the tragic Japan quake. There will be a tremendous outcry to stop/close nuclear generation of electrical power; there is already a call to cut coal generation; imported oil is taboo, and domestic oil is not "politically correct"; solar is ideal ... but not practical in well over half the country; wind is tremendous in isolated areas. All of this will eventually (perhaps sooner) impact electricity, and ..... the cost to charge any EV.

I readily acknowledge that EV's CAN reduce consumer gasoline ocnsumption. However, electrical generation is going to be tomorrows demon to solve. Coal and fossil fuels have been so cheap and so abundant that we have not invested in alternatives like geothermal, tidal power, and wind. I suspect the cost of electricity will be increasing ..... and so will other forms of energy. I fear the economy will be the eventual "looser." Not very optomistic, I know.

 

Right on. I feel ya.

 

Volt is a vehicle configured to appeal as a niche. GM wants it to stand out. Heck, they've even pointed out the benefits of it being a "halo" vehicle. So, you can imagine some of the lower cost talk really ruffling some feathers. Mainstream volume simply isn't going to happen for awhile.

The big problem with reducing battery capacity to offer a second model to choose from is the fact that the engine is so inefficient. Depending more on that doesn't work well when compared to the PHV. The difference between 35 and 50 is rather blatant. To make matters worse, the 40 MPG traditional vehicles really emphasize the shortcoming.

To have been the "game changer" that was hyped, the price would have needed to be much lower and volume much higher at the time of rollout. Instead, we must wait years for the next generation still.
.

 

Sill John . . . . even though history says otherwise, GM COULD be a game changer. They could come out with an efficient ... rocket pack ... or even a flying carpet. Yea . . . it could happen.

 

I am not pessimistic on technical grounds.

1. Cut energy use 50-75% with conservation. Heck, just solar heating and Prius use chops off 1/3 of residential energy consumption for a current average American.
2. Wind and electric-Solar easily covers the rest with current tech at ~ 50% higher cost. Since people are using that much less, the net cost to the country is 0.

Politically, I am VERY pessimistic. American laziness, powerful entrenched lobbies, American ignorance --- potent combination for impotency.

 

Is it still a Chevy? Then no thanks.

-Brad

 

I'm on board now.

VOLT sucks it's not the same or better than a Prius!!!
We all would have been happier if they just brought the H2 Hummer back!!!
GM sucks because they bult a greener car.

 

You forgot hype. Because lutz hyped the volt, it is your obligation to bash it, and go to gm sites educate them how bad the car is. Feel free to make up and distort the hype to make the actual car look worse. Do something like this GM promised the volt would get over 200mpg, but it only gets 35mpg in the city, that is awful! How can gm build a car that trashes the environment like that. GM said they would give them away for $20K but dealers have them on sale for $65K what a rip off and the government bailed out gm only for the volt you know. It had nothing to do with anything else. ;-) They could have saved that money and saved the unicorns.

 

How about a NEW rumor.

They are going for 80 miles between charges, for half the current 45K price !
No dealer markups allowed!

Too bad they are not listening!

 

well we are talking about fuel efficient cars here and much hyped competitor arrives at twice the price and manages only 37 mpg while Prius can do almost 50% better...

Of course people are disappointed.

Not to mention how they claimed that their solution is so much better and not an hybrid

 

I understand where you guys are coming from. But give a little credit to a american car company that builds the volt on american soil with american workers. It can go up to 40 times farther than a prius without burning any gas. And if someone could get solar/wind power the volt can truly be a greener car than the current prius or the upcomming phv prius(i am thinking it will not have the range the volt has). Untill i see a Prius with an electric range of over 30 miles with a cheaper price than the volt, we truly can't say the volt can be beat(yes leaf i know but it can't go on a 500 miles trip if needed so again it's hard to compare the two). It is built for people that drive less than 40 miles a day, it was not built to beat the prius while burning gas. Comparing electricity to gas is just like apple to oranges. I hope the volt gets cheaper over the years and truly cathces on. I really want to see a few jobs left here in america that pay more than the 12$ most americans make in their jobs today.

 

GM is 'american' the way a pie made with apples imported from who knows where, baked by an illegal immigrant is 'american.' The only thing truly American about GM is the bailout money.