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A Guy In My Office Just Leased A New GM Volt

11K views 34 replies 19 participants last post by  Termin8r 
#1 ·
I don't get it...they claim 35 Miles on electric full charge...then gas drives the generator..really...$45K and no sunroof...only a 4 seater...and, I put in regular gas...filled up I get approx 450 miles on a tank with no worries about having to plug in the car...where's the greatness of the Volt???
 
#3 ·
I am not saying anything to him but congratulations on the new car..I'm just wondering what the attraction to the car is if it only gets 35 Miles of only electricity...better off in my opinion waiting for a plug in Prius or similar...I was simply stating you get no extras for all that money and the reliability of GM is definitely a black spot in consumer reports on many of their cars
 
#4 ·
I'm not a GM fan at all, but they say the average gas consumption is half the CT from what I've been reading and seeing.
I've seen a car show on TV here that usually bashes on anything GM. Well the guy was raving about the car in general and it's average gas consumption. he couldn't believe the car.
Having said that I wouldn't trade but I'm happy that more and more people turn to green cars.
Official 2011 Chevrolet Volt EPA Fuel Economy Released
 
#6 ·
I've heard; GM estimates that the "average" driver will get about 60mpg. (includes short trips all electric, and longer trips with electric and gas) Not bad.

it's larger inside than the CT
it get's better MPG than the CT
the interior feels cheap, like a prius

As long as people are buying "green" cars, I'm all for it!
Besides, a little competition will make Toyota work harder, and this is good for consumers! :)
 
#7 ·
Cargo space is smaller than that of a CT...and, only two seats in the back...it's a 4 seater...Not arguing that its better or worse..matter of opinion...but, even when standing outside looking at it...seems to have a cheapness to it...kind of looks like a chevy car from the ugly cavalier years.
 
#8 ·
Because its "American-Made", some Americans will buy it just for that sake.

- I live across the border from Detroit. It's a huge ideology for a lot of people I hear from to be pro-Detroit when it comes to their vehicles. Doesn't bother me because kudos to supporting local factories/workers. Even though some plants are in Canada, that's another story.
 
#9 ·
Well here's a reason NOT to buy one:
Chevy Volt Production Suspended for 5 Weeks Due to Lower Than Expected Demand | PluginCars.com

But I did consider the Volt initially. Why? 35 miles on electricity means I could commute to work and back and frankly just about anywhere else I go in my area never needing to use any gas! That's pretty big. I could also plug in at work so my operating cost is, well NOTHING!

In the end the high price tag of the Volt, the styling of the CT, the great experience Iv'e had with my previous Lexus and the fact that Priuses seem to be completely reliable made the decision for me.
 
#11 ·
I think people who are buying the Volt is paying for a pure electric car. Yes if you go over the range (25 to 50 miles depends on driving condition), you will be using the gas fueled generator to power the electric engine, but if you can get back home within the range and charge it, you are driving a electric car. Most people have like 10 to 15 miles commute to work, so it would be an ideal car to drive to work. And on the weekend, you can still use it for long trip without worry about when and where you will have to find places to charge it.

One of my coworker also got the Volt and another is signed up to buy the Tesla S when it comes out. Both of them have Solar panel recently installed at their houses to charge the vehicles.
 
#12 ·
I agree with the post someone had that said if the car were about $30K, they would sell more...in the meantime, his car is in the shop today because of the way it switched form electric to gas...very rough transition...also, I am not sure but think that if you use up most of the electric and you are parking, the next time you start it does it have to be able to start off in electric mode (kind of the opposite of our CT which must start off in gas before the batteries have some charge)?
 
#16 ·
You mean "if" instead of "unless"? Yeah if you don't have to pay any federal tax, then you don't get anything back I guess. I think most people who bought a $40,000 car would have to pay some federal tax. If not this year, maybe in future. I think some tax credit will carry over to next year if you don't use it, not sure though.
 
#15 ·
Speaking as an inhabitant of UK which used to have its own car industry, I guess that it could be argued that buying a GM volt might help to keep Americans at work and may go some way towards saving an aling industry. "You dont know what you've got till it's gone" sort of thing.;)
 
#17 ·
You mean "if" instead of "unless"? Yeah if you don't have to pay any federal tax, then you don't get anything back I guess. I think most people who bought a $40,000 car would have to pay some federal tax. If not this year, maybe in future. I think some tax credit will carry over to next year if you don't use it, not sure though.
I mean $7500 tax credit does not mean $7500 return at all. You have to spend these $40000 any way but question is how much you will save on taxes?
 
#22 ·
I thought about the Volt/Ampera ...

But I had a date of May 2012 for when the loan would complete on my previous car, which was boring as hell. The last car was also approaching some hefty bills for new parts, so I had a "must get rid of yawny Focus" timeline. The Volt/Ampera was little more than a pipedream for UK deliveries last year, so it got crossed off the list early.

Yes it would fit with my daily Work<->Home trip but I don't have a secure charging location ...

And after a quick peek at the Vauxhall site, I still don't know when it's due over here. Nice idea but until customer cars arrive there's no valid data on "is it the car for me ?"

The Lexus would have won my vote anyway due to the sheer quality of the entire package : interior, drive, garage support, reliability. We've had enough bad experience with Vauxhall reliability in my family to make us want to try other car makers for a while :)
 
#23 ·
I'm sensing a lot of sour grapes here because we bought ct200s before the Volt was released. It can go 35 miles on no gas, my ct can't back out of the driveway without using gasoline. I feel the same way you all do, if we can't get a volt, let's bash them. Unfortunately no one else is listening.
 
#28 ·
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh...no, not at all man. Do you really think that?
 
#24 ·
I looked at the Volt prior to buying my CT200h in 2011. The GM dealer was so lame I got disgusted. He played all these games and wouldn't let me take a test drive. To get the car with similar equipment as the CT200h it $46K. That's what you get taxed on befor the $7500 tax credit. So you are down to $38.500 in theory. The drivers seat is manual. it seats 4, not 5. The back seat opens to the hatch with no separation. The space between the back seats look right into the hatch area. The usefulness of the car is for driving 30 miles or less on electricity. Longer trips in it are much less efficient at 32 mpg (not bad but should be closer to 40 mpg) and premium gas.
If you do limited driving get a Nissan Leaf. All electric miles for 75-90 miles.
I think the CT200h is the best all around car. I average 47 mpg. 400 miles on a little over 8 gallons of regular gas. Got the CT premium with Navigation for $34.500 a year ago. Great technology and styling. If gas goes to 5,6, or 7 dollars a gallon even our CT200's will be expensive to fill up. But we will be better off than most who will be paying double to fill up their cars.
To each his own. GM needs to sell some Volts. They really do.
 
#25 ·
To each his own. GM needs to sell some Volts. They really do.
I actually read a theory that the Volts is not selling well is because of the tax credit. Dealerships are selling the new Volts to their employees and friends so they could make some money on the $7500 tax credit. They would turn around and try to sell or more likely lease the "used" Volts out. Some people are saying that many dealerships refuse to order new Volts because they need to get rid of the "used" ones. And if they order new ones, they would go to their friends again... Thank about it... employee discount + $7500... that's a lot of money for the dealership employees per Volt.
 
#26 ·
I agree with Rehabmax...on all points...no sour grapes here...it's an EXPENSIVE car for what you get...if you don't drive far each day and charge it every other day, that's fine...BTW, the guy I work with...leased it on Sunday, brought it to work Monday to show everyone...it went into the shop early Tuesday morning for an electronics problem...today is Thursday and it's still in the shop....they told him only two guys in the shop can work on that car....one guy is out this week...I also agree...if I had a shorter commute to work...the Nissan Leaf would have been a possibility...what I am really excited about is the new Plug In Hybrids like the new Prius or CT200 with plug in capability when it gets here
 
#27 ·
Agreed, no love for the Volt, it's an epic failure. The Prius PHV beats it in every way really.

First, the worst thing about the car is it's from GM (Government Motors). If you haven't already heard, GM just decided to refuse warranty service on 400,000+ Chevy Impalas with a known suspension/manufacturing defect. Why? Because they claim that was the 'old' GM before bankruptcy. WHAT? Yes, seriously, google it.

So, what happens when that $12,000 battery in the Volt starts going flat in 5 years? What's to stop GM from just declaring bankruptcy again and leaving the Volt owners screwed like the Impala owners? That, right there, is enough reason to look at another brand that does stand behind their products.

Second, it uses premium gas only. WHY? Toyota can get 50+mpg with regular, there's no excuse for requiring more expensive premium. All the engine does is spin to make electricity, it doesn't even drive the wheels! They should be able to spin it at the exact precise RPMs for optimum power output 24/7, premium is just BAD engineering, and bad for the wallet.

Third, it only gets 37mpg on premium. I have no problems keeping the CT in the 48-50mpg (calculated) range all day long. If you add in the 'highest in the nation' electricity prices here in California (over $.16/KWH), there's little to no advantage to that 35 mile range on batteries.

Fourth, the gas engine is so dirty that it doesn't qualify for the HOV lane in California. The battery also only has an 8-year/100k warranty, where the Prius is 10-year/150k. Why don't they want to stand behind their technology? (I've heard they've used legislative tricks to shove it through the HOV qualification soon).

Fifth, it's the first model year of a car. Good to avoid in general, but this is the first model year (or so) of a completely new type of vehicle for GM. The Prius (and CT200h drivetrain) has a decade of refinement.

Resale value. It will be horrible on the Volt, look at the lease rates. Especially with that 'tax credit' (what a load of ****) rolled in. And how about it when that battery dies? You've got yourself a really expensive paperweight that's impossible to sell. (Take note Nissan Leaf).

Meh, I'll keep my CT200h (or a Prius PHV). It's far cleaner in the long run. Where do you think that electricity comes from anyway? Primarily coal-fired plants in the US. If it were mostly nuclear, or even from natural gas, that might be cleaner, but we're just shifting where the pollution is created from the tailpipe to the power station, and the Prius' emissions are as close to zero as I care to buy.

Smart move for him leasing and not buying, I would NOT want to get stuck with that thing after the 5 year mark with only 3 years left on the battery warranty. D'oh!
 
#29 ·
Third, it only gets 37mpg on premium. I have no problems keeping the CT in the 48-50mpg (calculated) range all day long. If you add in the 'highest in the nation' electricity prices here in California (over $.16/KWH), there's little to no advantage to that 35 mile range on batteries.

It's far cleaner in the long run. Where do you think that electricity comes from anyway? Primarily coal-fired plants in the US. If it were mostly nuclear, or even from natural gas, that might be cleaner, but we're just shifting where the pollution is created from the tailpipe to the power station, and the Prius' emissions are as close to zero as I care to buy.
Thank you for pointing out these two items above Dozer. The cost of paying to charge the EV as well as the effect on the environment needs to be considered too, as well as the installation of the charging port (if you go with the 240V option). The math just doesn't add up to me.
 
#32 ·
My impression of the Volt was mostly that it just didn't feel like a $45k car. Putting aside all the feature differences between the CT (where the CT wins on most accounts except for EV cruising range), I felt like the overall look and quality just didn't warrant the price. I was also wary of jumping into a 1st generation American car with so much new technology.

Hopefully it won't be a disaster, GM will continue to build and improve it and cars like it, and we'll see more and better EV and plug-in hybrids at lower price points over the next few years. There is already demand for cars like this, but not so much at the current pricing.
 
#33 ·
I must say that I find this thread very interesting and have been trolling on both the CT200h and Volt websites as I am looking to purchase one or the other... Ugh, decisions, decisions.

Overall, my cost will be pretty much exactly the same with the $7500 tax credit and 0% financing on the fully-loaded Volt vs the semi-loaded CT200h (no sport package, just NuLuxe). Compare it to a fully-loaded PiP (Nav, premium sound, etc) a PiP is actually more even with the $2500 tax credit but you actually get further with the Volt on electricity (the ugliness of the Prius along with its useless 11 miles of mpcharge tossed it out the window with a second wave goodbye though so no further thoughts on that). For a single person like me who commutes relatively few miles during the week, but is a notorious road tripper on the weekend, a purely electric car (ie, Leaf) would make no sense at all. I'll admit, I like the look of the Lexus better, but the Volt has way better pick up off the line. Sure it beats the CT200h by a second in 0-60 but overall you can actually feel that extra bit when taking off and that isn't because of being inefficient, that's just pure electric torque. While we can all claim we are okay with no power because we are saving the world by being green, please tell me that you would complain if the CT200h had 273 ft-lb of torque like the Volt vs the meager 105 that it has? I just don't know... But, what I do encourage you all to do, even if it is to just become more aware of the technology and the awards the Volt has won. Volt owners are super crazy in love with their cars too!! It received the highest ratings in customer satisfaction, just recently won Best European Car of the Year - it is the first time that an American-made car has ever won this - and won Car of the Year last year. Don't poo poo it without at least having given it a go (and by that I mean a test drive). I am okay with the interior, it is much more futuristic than the Lexus by far. Something you would expect out of a futuristic car.

Now for the Lexus, I currently own a Toyota and sure the Lexus feels very similar inside to my Toyota so in that sense it is comfortable, I like that I can have a sunroof with the CT200. I don't care that the CT200h can fit "five" people, because unless you are shoving a 5-year old back in that back seat (with no child safety seat) along with 2 adult-sized humans, there is NO WAY that you are actually seating 5 adults in this car. Instead with the Volt, you actually have cupholders, charging outlets and 2 extra inches of legroom for your rear passengers that you don't with the CT200. That aside, the driver's seat (the one seat in the car I do care about) is more comfy in the Lexus. As said, the look of the Lexus is better. You don't have to worry about charging (although I can charge at home and 110V charger is sufficient for most owners). And, while maybe it is the snobby thing to say, who doesn't want to say they drive a Lexus vs a Chevy? Hmmmm....

To those putting down coal energy vs gas. Your coal energy is US made, your fuel is not necessarily so. Also, depending on where you live, your energy source from electric may be very similar to gas (usually it is slightly cleaner regardless of coal or not) or it may be much cleaner. For example, Californians are mostly electrified :) by natural gas and hydroelectric so they can rest easy knowing an electric car is actually better for the environment. Plus, if you are similar to many of the other Volt owners and running about 250+ mpg, you will need very little of that premium fuel. Additionally, for those that mentioned the cost of the battery, a replacement battery is $3000, the same as a new transmission in a used car so that shouldn't be a worry and has the same warranty as the battery in the CT200h.

However, that is where I get stuck... For that 40 miles, do I pay $3.75 (for now) for a gallon of gas to goodness knows what country, or do I pay $1.50 for a full charge to my local electric company? Do I sacrifice in power for the Lexus look? Do I worry about new technology (Volt) vs the tested Prius engine? The way i see it, no matter what I decide, I am getting a pretty spectacular car.
 
#34 ·
I too looked at other vehicle options before getting my CT. I payed more attention to how long has the technology been around (Lexus has the Prius drive train that has been around since 2000, and the Volt, well it is very new). I also looked at the complaints and problems with many of the cars. Spent weeks reviewing what I wanted to do.

But the big decision came down to: What do I like? Coming from a BMW, the Lexus was a no brain'r. Sure, slower off the line but I remember when my BMW got stopped by a turbo Cayenne. It didn't make me feel less of a man. :)

Good luck with your decision making......
 
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