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Chevrolet Volt testing

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I just wonder if all the hype and the waiting will amount to anything successful.
It does seem to have worked pretty well for the Camaro which has been outselling the new 2010 Mustang since it came out.

And the Volt will be the only game in town as far as plug in hybrids go when it comes out, so maybe…

What do you think?
Would you actually consider the Volt as your next car?

Conversation 35 comments

  1. The only thing that I am worried/scared about is getting electrical shock in the event of an accident.
    I guess that will be sudden death for me.

  2. Would I consider one? Of course not. It's still a GM-USA product, which means it will fall apart just around the time the warranty ends. If you thought the ABS controller in your Grand Am was expensive, just wait until you see the price of the Volt's ABS! It'll be shocking in more ways than one.

    I don't understand how anyone below retirement age can buy a GM-USA product. It's not like they've made a good car since the 1960s. They may be cheap to buy, but you'll be left holding the bag in the end.

  5. Biggest drawbacks are the price, the hideous black strip below the side windows, and the fact that it is a GM product. But that's just me. I hope this is a huge success.

  6. Nope.

    Too expensive.

    I drive 300-400 miles a week. I don't think this will pay off.

    Live in New England and wonder about the range in below freezing weather.

    I keep my cars until they can't run and don't trust the long term on this.

    And it wouldn't matter what company was putting this out.

  7. +1 for depends on price and the price of gas. My commute would be perfect for the Volt. Unfortunately, even if I didn't use a drop of gas ever, it would take me 16 years to recover the $20k price premium vs a 30mpg compact car @ $2.50/gal and 15,000 miles per year….

  8. Nobody will buy this thing without a subsidy from the government (taxpayers) because it'll cost too much. Also, who in his/her right mind would buy an all-new GM car–especially one as radically different as the VOLT–without waiting until the bugs are out of it. That might take at least a year or more.

    Best if the Volt shares much of its chassis design with the Cruze or other GM cars to spread development costs. At $40,000, nobody with a brain will buy this thing unless the taxpayers chip in.

  10. Okay.

    I don't think anyone questions this will ultimately be a flop. The question is, how big will the flop be? Will this be like the GM EV1 that was eventually (and literally) scrapped? Probably not that bad – but GM will certainly lose a lot of money in this endeavor. Hopefully we'll see some of this technology trickle-down to other products, making the Volt less of a disaster…

  11. No, will be too expensive.
    Id rather have a Prius because Toyota have about 12 years experience and long term testing on their hybrids that have turned out to be very reliable.
    How many years of testing on this for GM?? 1 – 2 years.
    Reliabilty?? Id say there will be plenty of towtrucks on standby.

  12. Good car since the sixties?

    Don't get your zip ties in a bunch but don't give anybody credit where it's due.

    Great Toyotas? Try none, Hondas? should stick to two wheels.

    You haters can try to blast the Volt but why not admit it. It scares you because it might just work and make you "wrong" as if you were right to begin with. There are so many redundant safe guards in place there is absolutely no issue with electric shock.

    It's the future boys. Love it or get egg on your face. And too bad it's not Japanese. Heck they can't even get floormats right. Don't it suck to be stuck in the self loathing mode and drive Nissan?

  14. IMO GM has over promised and will under deliver on this product. The price alone is enough to keep it off my shopping list. The Federal Tax credit doesn't help it either. They should have made it a rebate that the dealer can cash in with the feds and taken it out of the consumers hands.

    I'm sure the car itself will be a technological tour de force. The folks talking about GM's quality haven't been paying attention to reality as of late. But all that doesn't trump the fact that the car is too expensive with a stylishly bland interior. Fritz's 200+ mpg comment didn't help things either..

  15. I will NOT buy GM products until:

    1. Their reliability is PROVEN by stats, not commercials.

    2. Their commercials stop being full of "competition" (not-so-hidden patriotic messages). Have you seen the latest Honda's commercial? "From Honda. For everyone" – this is the way it should be.

    3. GM starts spending more time in development and testing, instead of trying to hurry new cars into the market.

    With #1, #2 and #3 in mind – I will not buy GM products in my lifetime.

  17. I respect GM for taking a risk such as introducing a new vehicle type. It may not be as revolutionary as the Ford Model T, but this is as close as we can get to it these days. GM is potentially taking the heat and grief from a system that will be the standard 20 years from now. Theres' no going back, only forward. I know there will be enough people out there to buy this. However, I won't be one of them. I'm currently a graduate student who drives a 10 year old vehicle. I couldn't even afford a brand new Kia Rio right now even if I wanted one, let alone this. I'm, sure when I have a real top dollar job someday, I may be in the market for this TYPE of vehicle someday (definitely won't be a 1st gen Volt though).

    We'll see where the Camaro hype is in 3 years. At least Ford is stepping it up for 2011. I don't think I've seen such a car company improve products with such quick turnaround before. I'm still waiting to see a proper replacement for the Cobalt coupe. It would be deadly for them to open this type of gap in the market if they stop production and only want to rely on the Cruze, Aveo, and Spark….Kia and Honda are chomping at the bit to take up the slack.

  19. After the initial CO2 is bad/stupid-people-with-money rush (ie Hollywood)…This thing will stop selling.

  21. I've had great luck with GM cars, so I don't have any hesitation about their quality. But I live in NYC during the week and my parking garage doesn't have a place to charge something like this. I drive 17 miles to work so this would be perfect for me if I had a place to plug it in at either end of my trip. If the gas engine has to run constantly to keep the batteries charged, it kind of defeats the purpose of a plug-in electric vehicle. But this might be a great car to keep at my weekend house in Montauk. It'd look cool with my surfboard on the roof. So I guess my answer is "yes" I would consider this as a next car. But not my primary car.

  22. The praise of GM over Honda and Toyota is laughable. GM failed because of the UAW and lousy management. Take you pick who was worse.

    In any case, GM cars were substandard and that's why Honda and Toyota ate GM's lunch. Now, GM must pull itself out of the deep hole it dug by selling crap for years.

    GM's newest cars appear to be pretty good, but none of them are clearly superior to competing vehicles. The market will decide, not the government which is too deeply involved in GM already.

    It's YOUR money! Would your really rather have a Buick than a Honda at this moment? Not I.

  23. The only thing that I am worried/scared about is getting electrical shock … WELL, nobody had had the lithium batteries explode yet in the toyota or honda hybrids, so I doubt you'll get a shock in the chevy. (Lithium batteries become very unstable if they overheat — like in an accident.)

  24. GM was $170B in debt to the UAW when they filed for bankruptcy…Who destroyed GM?

    Why would you want to store electricity in a chemical solution? It is sooo stupid! Hydrocarbons are great with the added benefit that they add CO2 and water to the air when burned…which is a good thing despite what the morons say.

  25. My problem with the Volt is that it is priced too high and looks like a 1st generation Saturn on the outside and inside. I think sneaky Toyota will introduce a plug in Prius around the time the Volt finally comes out, and steal the show. Americans develop the technology and the Japanese perfect it.

  26. GM is finished. Same mistakes can been seen from these photos. For Example, The guy sitting in the back seat. His head is near the cieling in the very cramped rear quarters, and worse of all, the cieling is actually the rear window!!!!. As well, the seats are thin and cheap "looking"

  27. anyone who agrees that this will fly is ignorant and naive beyond compare. Maybe GM could use you in mamagement. It can't do anything but fail. Poor design inside and out. GM technology is light years behind. It's over before it starts. Save this comment for reference for about a year to a year and a half from now. This car signifies GM's ultimate demise.

  28. Some of you guys are truly stupid. The Volt is a game-changer. It leapfrogs the Prius and is the first of it's kind. The fact that you can use virtually no gasoline is reason enough for our government to encourage people with incentives to buy one. The initial price is sorta irrelevant, as the rich and greenies will run to buy a Volt. If any of you haters knew anything about business, you'd quickly come to the realization that economies of scale will take over and Volt price will decrease. Additionally, Volt technology will start showing up in other GM models at lower price points.
    GM and Ford have done an excellent job fixing the quality and design issues of the past. You'd be an ignorant and mortally dumb consumer not to try products from either due to bias. Both want to win back customers and will go above and beyond to make buyers of their cars happy.
    I'm not even a little worried about the quality question or safety of the electrics. The redundant safeguards are pretty standard for electric motors and batteries.
    Good for GM.. The Volt is going to be a hit and a huge step forward.

  29. The Volt will be a huge success for GM. I'm been a hater for years (and of Ford for that matter). However:
    GM:
    – Malibu – fantastic
    – Equinox – fantastic
    – Lacrosse – outstanding
    – CTS – a dream car for me.
    – Camaro – outstanding.

    Ford:
    – Escape – I love it.
    – Edge – well done
    – Fusion – brilliant
    – 2010 Taurus – best looking sedan on the market – period.
    – Mustang; looks similar, but beats the camaro in every test I've read.
    – Flex – right product – but a few years late.

    BOTH companies have really managed to turn things around. Unfortunately, consumers take a few years to catch up.

    Nissan QC is a joke. Toyota is self proclaimed at letting their QC slip (Ford is beating them!!).

    Things aren't 5 years ago in the automotive world. Good on 2 of the 3 domestics for figuring that out.

  30. You cannot compare the Volt to a Camaro, Vince! Camaro were kids' doodles and dreams at time looong ago. The movie Transformer bought back the fond memory of the nameplate, at least to me and my generation.

    The Volt has no history… The only ones drooling for one these might be those greenies driving their Prius. However the smart Prius owners would not look to own a Volt.

  31. I am proud to say I am ignorant and naive beyond compare,

    I am also proud to say that I will not buy cars or trucks sourced from a nation that lies about currency to gain market share.

    I will also not buy from technology thieves.

    You want to spot a real failure? Just look for those that have have succeeded at nothing but trying to drag others down.

    When Japan does stop manipulating currency at your expense (which thanks to Bernake dropping our prime to zero is happening now) maybe the naysayers will finally realize what fools they themselves are. Go look at the history, it does not lie, you've been lied to repeatedly by the likes of Toyota "true" ignorance is your complete inability to grasp it.

  33. I will NOT buy GM products until:

    1. Their reliability is PROVEN by stats, not commercials

    You're going to have to set down your beer, and buy some gas with that welfare check so you can get to a library and catch up on a few FACTS. Those commercials comparing Chevy to Toyota/Honda; and Buicke to Lexus are nothing but cold, hard, facts. This isn't 1984 anymore. Mabey you can sober up enough to bring your arti-GM prejudice in touch with current realities. Not that YOU will be affording a NEW car anytime soon, anyway!

  34. Ummmmm. Dude is blaming Japan for GM's historically crappy cars? Wow.

    Blaming Japan for a prime lending rate of zero %?? wow.

    Typical American…the world is falling appart and it's everyones fault but my own.

  35. Of course I would buy one. Anything is gona be better that this silly Prius that keeps stopping abruptly on me!!!!!!!

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