Found this article about Volt sales and thought it was an interesting read.

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoram...210758486.html

 

I've driven the Volt, and I admire the technological achievement and innovation behind it, but GM's estimate of potential sales was way off the mark.

As to whether the steadily increasing gas prices will drive more sales, it hard to tell. In the real world, you can get Volt level efficiency and mileage with the Cruze Eco. I think you'll see more folks going to the "Eco" versions offered by Chevrolet and other brands in the future.

It take a long time, and large annual driving mileages, to "get back" the added cost of a hybrid vehicle. How many people are actually driving their "Smug-mobiles" 50,000 miles a year?

 

I casted my doubts on the viability and sales success on the Volt right from the beginning. They put an awful lot on the line to make it a success. Now that is showing up as a questionable decision in some ways.
I mentioned on another thread that a very good friend of my was mezmerized on Hybrids and finaly made the plunge into a Honda Civic Hybrid.
6 months later he turned the car back to Honda on an exchange for a CRV standard gas engine as he had had it with problems that Honda could not fix.
These are very hi tech vehicles and quirky problems can come up.
Time will tell if Chevrolets decision to build the Volt was wise or not.
And by the way,

Hope you are doing better now Mike......

 

 

With a 30 mile electric cruising ability, why would you pay $40K less government incentives for "green" car? Once you run out of juice, you get an overpriced ~30 mpg car. Driving only 30 miles a day, do you really need a $40K car?

Anytime the government gets involved with private industry, they manage to mung it up, at least with the current administration.

 

I am not sure I buy it being the goverment as the issue here. The Nisssan Leaf has even worse sales and Nissan is not government owned or highly directed by them. But yes the government isn't helping.

But I 100% agree with you on the price. Hybrids are right up there too when you figure how many other cars can achieve 30-40 MPG's while running on gas.

 

i also agree with the prices....outrageous!. why would someone pay that much for a car that when you can get a cruze eco loaded for like $15k-$16k. and it will cost the same to operate? plus the "green car" fecal matter that gets spread around is ridiculous. these batteries are worse for the enviroment than exhaust emissions. so what happens when all these electric cars get junked in 15 years? batteries everywhere

 

I think you can sell them, but not in the numbers they expected, I have a customer that has a Volt, he drives 10 miles a day, is an electrical engineer, has a flat roof full of solar panels, and does not care what things cost. He loves the volt, but he is not a typical consumer.

 

Just started to see chevy Volt commercials on tv
Maybe they should have done more before but I. Am sure they. Have. There reasons?

 

GM would have been much better server to debut the Volt as a Cadillac and make it a little more upscale. Market is as a Prius alternative for those who want luxury.

Cadillac's customer base would be much more willing to pay $50k for a car than Chevy's. After they got their R&D costs back on the Caddy version, then they could scale it back and release a Chevy version for around $30k and make it competitive with the Prius. That would appeal to the masses and get the volume sales they so desperately need.


But that is too logical, they would rather release a $40k+ Chevy and then release a $60k+ Cadillac version after all of the novelty has worn off. Then they will not sell enough of either version and a great idea will become a sales bust. No wonder GM went bankrupt.