Chevy volt fail, production halted for now.

[IGBT]

it's the perfect car for liberals. Fails all cost effectiveness analysis and it's not to be judged by it's faulty end result and performance.

[zephyrprime]

Eh, I don't think it's that big of a deal. It'll take time for new technology like this to come down in price.

[3chordcharlie]

Originally Posted by OutHouse

there is a Walgreen's near my office that has 2 chargers. honestly whats the point of plugging it in for 15 minutes? seems way too much of a pain in the neck to me.


also i was listening to hte news on XM radio this morning and a reporter had a Volt on week loan from GM. he was only able to get 28 miles after a 12 hour charge. he was in NYC so he was running the heater to keep warm during his commute. his Volt ran out of charge twice, both times in the Lincoln tunnel.

And when it ran out< he continued on his way with no drama at all.

Or did he purposefully have the tank empty so he could prove that the vehicle does not work when you use it exactly as not intended?

[Gillbot]

Originally Posted by PokerGuy

It's actually the opposite, the manufacturers need to pay more attention to what consumers want. Those "idiots" are the ones who decide what to buy. You can build the car you think America needs, but if the public wants something else, you're going to end up with a nice big inventory of unsold vehicles and you're going to be broke. The public is saying loud and clear that the volt is overpriced.

Originally Posted by OutHouse

hahah fail.

I covered this already.

Originally Posted by Gillbot

That's my point. US makers cater to people who have no idea what they want, because if you ask them they want everything. Then when they see the price tag they complain and go buy a Kia.

There's a reason I don't work for one of the US automakers anymore.

[Doppel]

http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/05/auto...source=cnn_bin

Yep, price simply too high.

[K1052]

Originally Posted by DCal430

I thought about getting a VOLT in 2012, since RUMORS has it that the 2012 Volt will get the California HOV sticker and that is worth good amount of money to me.

The rumors are true, GM is taking orders for the CA specific model that can get the new HOV stickers. I doubt GM will be moving 30-40K annual units like they had hoped but I'd expect sales to pick up a lot in CA. If they can keep the line going at 10-15K per year it might carry them few years so GM invests in getting the costs down on the next model.

[the DRIZZLE]

On a less boondogolish note there was an article in the WSJ today about Chrysler and GM making a pickups that can run on CNG or gasoline. Hopefully this will start a start a virtuous cycle of CNG vehicle and fueling station development. The technology is here today and we can decouple our economy from oil if we replace the NG power plants nukes and use the NG for our cars.

[xBiffx]

Named European Car of the Year.

http://thehill.com/blogs/transportat...ar-of-the-year

ROFL. So I guess Nobel Peace Prizes and European Cars of the Year have something in common.

[Attic]

Originally Posted by Idontcare

If you run the numbers on the cost of a vehicle the number one cost is depreciation, buying new versus used.

If you are buying new and thinking you are saving money because you bought a new hybrid or a new all-electric then you haven't computed the accounting correctly.

Anyone who buys new but makes gas mileage a decision point in their purchase is getting their cart before the horse, you threw away far more money in deciding to buy new than you were ever going to save by getting a car with 40mpg instead of one with 25mpg.

A few of those folks likely have the cart lined up exactly where it should be.

That placement is going to be dependent on annual miles driven and the price of gas and possibly the ability to buy under invoice by seeking out a loss leader.

For someone driving 20k miles a year, a used car at 25mpg vs a new car at 40mpg is >8k in favor of the new car alone when run over 5 years if fuel averages 4.5 a gallon. If you factor in savings in maintenance of going new you can easily be looking at a 10k favor over 5 years for going new vs used. If you consider the 5 year average cost of fuel at a possible $6 a gallon then the fuel savings alone are approaching 12k.

Getting a used, fuel efficient, cheap to maintain car is the ultimate finance victory, but MPG value is dependent for each driver and the price of gas.


The Chevy Cruze Eco is the car that comes to mind for providing exceptional value as a new car at ~20k vs a used offering at 10-12k.