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OT Volt Pricing

3K views 30 replies 16 participants last post by  Xyst 
#1 · (Edited)
So if I went out to the Toyota dealer and purchased a top trim Prius with EVERY option box checked I'd be in for 36,795USD to my zip code.

A Honda Civic Hybrid with highest trim and every allowable option, a cool 30,996USD.

A Nissan Altima Hybrid, all in for 35,220USD

So today while reading an auto news site, they announce that Chevrolet announced base pricing for the Volt. It starts at 41kUSD before any incentives, tax breaks, trade ins or even checking an option box. :eek: After the HUGE tax credit (but no word about your electric bill) you start at 32k, but if you finance it's for the full 41k + options etc.

Looks like GM has avoided the Mahindra problem of never delivering but created their own new problem or way too much money. I recall when Maximum Bob was talking about starting in the mid to high 20's, then it got delayed and then it was low to mid 30's and then delayed and delayed... and now 41k.

Now I know that mog's and next step technology don't always play well but mogs do mog work that hybrids can't so we'll leave that one alone. And nearly any mog can bring along a Smart as a dingy.

But honestly what do you guys think of GM asking big time dollars for an awful lot of sizzle but not too much steak?
 
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#2 ·
My first thought of the Volt is that when they had the mid 20's price they also had a very sporty and attractive car. Now that the car is over 40 it is really not to much to look at. They figured this would get people standing in line to buy why?

And for your question I think a can of Alpo has more steak in it.

I for one will not be standing in line.

I am not even close to a tree hugger but have spent a lot of butt time in a friends Prius and I do have to say I'm very impressed with the car. Very well executed in comfort and gas milage, let alone proven dependability.
 
#3 ·
If you want gas mileage/efficiency, get a VW diesel. If you want green, ride a bike.

All the others are just gimmicks and status symbols.

C.
 
#5 ·
Well said. I can't imagine all the chemicals that make up the lightweight plastic's for these cars, as well as the batteries, and other materials. I'd like to see how green one of these cars is over its entire life compared to a mog, from day of build to recycle.

-Trev
 
#4 ·
I've been following the Volt story like everyone else since the beginning. The first time I saw the concept at the NY auto show it looked like a slick 4-door Camaro with the promise of hybrid fuel milage. With the years dragging on, the car they brought to the auto show changed, evolved into what it is now, ugly, tiny, and expensive.

GM is betting early adopters will line up for it and they can sell it using a tax credit. They're also saying that the price will start to come down after the first two years or so as the R&D cost gets paid back and they can sell a "stripped down" model, possibly only a bench, a horse, and a cart.

I was stoked, but after talking with some of the guys who have designed this thing, the compromises made, the politics surrounding it, it's the exact same thing that GM has been putting out for the past decade. Uninspired, mediocre, rubbish.

I hope it does well, I really do. Put this in a car that can actually seat 4 grown adults (and remember that American's do grow over 6'!), and still pull halfway decent milage, and I'll be in line for generation 2.0. Until then, I'll stand on the future's sidelines and continue to wait on my jet pack.
 
#6 ·
I think Ill take a VW TDI... I just built a TDI jetta Wagon
Picked every option listed, DSG, 18" Bling, Nav system, Suposed to get 30 city 42 Hwy MPG .. only 33,113 And if im not mistaken is eligable for some Tax brakes from the GOV...

But in all honestly it depends what your going to do with the car... If you work, live, eat in a city then a all electric maybe a very usable option. drive the 5 miles to work, plug in, head to the gym, supermarket and go home 12 miles the whole day.. 0 gallons of gas...

Or your a Taxi driver, .. but when you compute the 40K prius up against the 3,000 Used crow vic with a Hudge ass trunk .. maybe not so much.

But if your like me and live in a suberb of a big ass city "Seattle" Im 40+ miles from down town, I may drive 70+ miles round trip on the highway, some stop and go some 65+ MPH ... For me in my situation a hybrid would be a status symbol, The TDI would over all be better MPG wise.
 
#7 ·
What really irritates me about this whole thing, and I predicted it, is that we (the taxpayer) bailed their butt out and now they overprice this because of a $7500 tax credit (again paid by me) and continue to rape and pillage. They shift the energy consumption to big power plants that polute four times as bad as any car produced in the last ten years and can barely run long enough on a charge to get me to work and home if I don't stop in a traffic jam. They have a real carbon footprint because of the exotic materials and high energy used in production that is worse than a hummer (and probably our Mogs) and less recyclable at this time (and much more costly to do so). You know whats really ecologically friendly? My '90 Honda CRX HF that still runs like a champ, passes emissions, gets 55+mpg and cost me $1000.00 when I saved it from under a tree where it had been parked for two years. We are on a ship of fools, to be sure.
 
#9 ·
Well as a motorpickle rider and TDi owner I concure, single occupant vehicles are great for single people moving and if I need to rip off a 500 mile drive, well the waggy does just fine at ~50mpg highway.

I'm just totaly taken aback by the refusal to offer it, which ever wonder IT it happens to be, as a stripper. A diesel smart or diesel-electric runner using a baby wenkle turning a genny makes more sense to me than hauling a massive battery pack. Yes there are inefficiencies between converting rotational power from an IC diesel to electrical but like a locomotive; steady running at the right power setting saves more energy over the miles.

Wankel Supertec - Home

~40-50hp in a 10" cube. Almost as nice as a baby turbine the size of quart can.
 
#10 ·
It amazes me that bikes rarely do more than 50ish mpg. My 1200GS does 54ish, the 1.4d Yaris did 56mpg, both average over 20000mile+. The car weighs about six times more, but is more economical! Why isn't bike production aiming at silly big mpg for commuter bikes?

Many Prius are used in the UK as taxis. I don't think its due to better mpg, cos as far as everything I've read says day to day realistically you might just get 40mpg max. I think its the car to be seen in. Turn up for a dinner party and we havn't polluted to get here, unlike the Jones' for instance. They probably can charge (!) a premium for that.

If the Toyota factories producing Prius are the only ones in the world working flat out, then the Volt and any other hybris should sell well.

I want to know what happens at 100000miles. Is the cost of a new battery at the point the Prius warranty runs out going to make it disposable? :eek:
 
#11 ·
Back in 2008, a replacement battery for the Prius was about $2,500. That's not nearly as terrible as I actually imagined it to be, though I guess it's the same as replacing an engine in an older domestic, so not exactly a steal.
(Buying Prius replacement batteries just got cheaper — Autoblog Green)

I would love some type of tandem commuter bike/vehicle, but it's got to be closed in before the general public is going to sign on. Folks won't give up their convenience without a fight. Something like what's running in the current X-Prize competition (Peraves E-Tracer wants to quickly and efficiently win Automotive X-Prize — Autoblog Green), but isn't going to set me back $100k to get. If they could make that for the cost of a bike, I'd be the first one in line...but then again, if somebody was selling gold bricks for $1 I'd be the first one in line as well!
 
#12 ·
I like the Nissan Leaf. All electric, no internal combustion engine. Lower price than the Volt. It would work great for me I commute a grand total of 16miles a day. I wouldn't be suprised if the fit and finish are better than the Volt as well, but that's only a guess.
Rick
 
#13 · (Edited)
The thing that kills me about EVs, not just the leaf, is the fact that I would have to own at least two cars for normal use. One for commuting and one anytime I actually wanted to drive anywhere outside my town. (Yes, I understand the irony since there's also the truck, and any other side automotive projects involved! :D)

The other curiosity is the failure to disclose how far most of the EVs actually go under real world use. 100 miles sounds nice, but what happens if you listen to the radio, turn on your nav system, or heaven forbid run the A/C off that electrical system while your driving. Am I still close to having a 100 mile range at that point, or are we now closer to 80? 60? 40? I've never gotten anywhere close to the EPA estimates on any car I've owned, so I'm a bit hesitant here as well is all.

Your comment about quality though, yeah it wouldn't surprise me to see a Nissan outlast a Chevy. I mean GM is the same company, regardless of the decade, that could make a front bumper that would stay attached to my buddies El Dorado, ha!
 
#14 ·
'''GM asking big time dollars for an awful lot of sizzle but not too much steak? '''
I think that is typical of GM, not being a N.American car enthusiast I cannot think of one vehicle GM produces that has ''bang"" for the buck. For that matter most US manufactures should pull there heads out of there asses and smell the roses. It's high time US automakers looked around and then produce a vehicle that is suited to a specific 'world market' not just the junk they sell to Joe Blow who only buys 'GM/Ford....' because his father had one, his grandfather had one, blah, blah,blah.
I know it all comes down to the application you want to use a vehicle for when you are in the market, but in my humble ol Canadian opinion US vehicles are junk!
G Vavra
1 Toyota
2 Mogs
 
#16 ·
100 mile range is without heater or a/c.
I wonder what stop/start traffic would do to its range?

But £1 cost per 100 miles?!

There was some talk of Nissan having to lease the batteries as an additional cost to make the sticker price even halfway realistic, but I can't find anything that says batteries are definitely included! Maybe that was other manufacturers spreading bad rumours?

For city parking until electric sockets are widespread you could just carry a small genny? 1KW Honda job for £600, padlocked to the car recharging while you shop? That may well pollute, but is hugely efficient!
 
#17 ·
And to think, the 70mpg CDI Smart is verboten. 5 years ago you could have sold a diesel smart for just about any number you asked for here in 'merka and yet manufacturers were tripping over themselves to stuff ever increasing amounts of 15mpg truck & SUV down our throats.

Perhaps I'm just being an old man but I long for the days when you just about had to check a box for each tire when you bought a car. Things were so much simpler when it was Car, X amount, options extra. Rather unimog like I suppose, buying only what you needed. Clara Dallas bought a 1970 chevelle with a 307 & a 'glide, no power brakes but AC and power steering was standard. She bought the AC radio with FM converter over the parts counter and paid for install. Many years later it was mine. Today GM tells you "but all of this is standard" except you keep bumping the price up with options I don't want or need and make me pay even more for the ones I do.

I heard an NPR report talking about how GM has based their pricing on the iPhone model, posturing the Volt as an electronic lifestyle accessory. Thank you but I'll take the analog mog to help save the world, spend less fuel per municipal project.
 
#25 ·
Perhaps I'm just being an old man but I long for the days when you just about had to check a box for each tire when you bought a car. Things were so much simpler when it was Car, X amount, options extra. Rather unimog like I suppose, buying only what you needed. Clara Dallas bought a 1970 chevelle with a 307 & a 'glide, no power brakes but AC and power steering was standard. She bought the AC radio with FM converter over the parts counter and paid for install. Many years later it was mine.
The folks who do the Car Tech podcast for Cnet had some news about this a couple weeks ago actually. Apparently, BMW is going to start moving its dealers (back?) to the custom order model for cars to prevent more expensive models sitting on lots and selling at a discount. I remember hearing something like a 2 week lead time between order and delivery date, not bad.

As for the car being my next iPhone...I may have to pay for gas, but I'm in no way inclined to have to pay a subscription cost for the car I just purchased, thank you very much! :rolleyes:
 
#19 ·
Electric vehicles still have problems. The thing I worry about are the use of Lithium Ion batteries. FIRE! They need to change to Lithium Ion Phosphate, it is more stable.
I just pulled a battery pack out of a electric Ford Ranger for a Dr. friend of mine. He is using a retrofit battery and an aftermarket B.M.S. 100 mile range. The guy is about to change them again and is expecting 125-130 mile.
 
#30 ·
You mean so it is a constant tone with "beeps" of silence? Pure Genius!
 
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