For 2014, GM has lowered the price of the Chevy Volt by $5000. When you add in the $7500 federal tax rebate, that brings the price down to about $27000. With other various rebates that are available, the price of a new Volt can go under $25000. This starts to approach "reasonable". I would like to know what you folks think about the Volt. Is it a car that should be considered, or are most people better with a conventional powertrain? Thank you for your input.
Chevy Volt
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We are averaging 203 MPG lifetime as of this morning. My OLM reads 76% with over 22k on the car. I'll probably end up changing it at the two year mark. There are some free chargers that we can use and when I do get to drive it to work I can charge for free. We love ours.
The owner of our store has pegged his at 250+ MPG and he loves it. He has owned it for two years now. He has about 25K on it.
I and some of the guys just had this conversation the other day at the dealership. I think it still makes more sense to buy one of the highly efficient traditionally powered cars on the market. Like all alternative vehicles you have to want it. Hybrids/electrics still cost something to run it and they still use energy. That said, If I were in the market for a Hybrid or and Electric the Volt would be the only one I would buy since the new cost is reasonable and it seems to be the most viable implementation of the technology.
I and some of the guys just had this conversation the other day at the dealership. I think it still makes more sense to buy one of the highly efficient traditionally powered cars on the market. Like all alternative vehicles you have to want it. Hybrids/electrics still cost something to run it and they still use energy. That said, If I were in the market for a Hybrid or and Electric the Volt would be the only one I would buy since the new cost is reasonable and it seems to be the most viable implementation of the technology.
I really like the idea of the Volt. Looks nicer than the Vauxhall version of the same.
I seriously thought about using one for work.
The deal breaker was the 4 seats.
You get a reasonable £5000 government grant for buying plug ins.
The Prius is no lumbered with 4 seats so I think that will sell better to be honest.
I seriously thought about using one for work.
The deal breaker was the 4 seats.
You get a reasonable £5000 government grant for buying plug ins.
The Prius is no lumbered with 4 seats so I think that will sell better to be honest.
With all the price cuts and tax credits they're putting on the Volt, I'm waiting for the buy one, get one free offer.
But seriously folks, the Volt is an OK car that operates as a default in its electric mode, then if you have to drive more than 30 miles, the IC engine starts up and gives 300+ miles of range on 9 gallons of fuel.
I went through the numbers on it when it first came out, and concluded that if you keep track of how much fuel you're saving by running in electric mode, it will just about pay for its additional purchase price over a Cruze Eco in about 14 years. That was assuming $4.00 per gallon gasoline, so with gas close to $3 now, the payback time would increase by ~30%.
But seriously folks, the Volt is an OK car that operates as a default in its electric mode, then if you have to drive more than 30 miles, the IC engine starts up and gives 300+ miles of range on 9 gallons of fuel.
I went through the numbers on it when it first came out, and concluded that if you keep track of how much fuel you're saving by running in electric mode, it will just about pay for its additional purchase price over a Cruze Eco in about 14 years. That was assuming $4.00 per gallon gasoline, so with gas close to $3 now, the payback time would increase by ~30%.
Personally i don't think there is much roi unless you do relatively short journeys and have a different car for longer distance travel.
Now the wife does less 20/30 miles a day an electric car makes perfect sense.
Charge it up every other day if you go for a Leaf or my preference of a Renault Zoe or every night with the Volt or Prius plug in.
Pity Chevrolet are leaving the UK market for good next year as the Vauxhall version of the Volt, Ampera, doesn't look as nice
Now the wife does less 20/30 miles a day an electric car makes perfect sense.
Charge it up every other day if you go for a Leaf or my preference of a Renault Zoe or every night with the Volt or Prius plug in.
Pity Chevrolet are leaving the UK market for good next year as the Vauxhall version of the Volt, Ampera, doesn't look as nice
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Ahhh nothing like guberment subsidy. Seriously, If it has to be subsidized to this extent many years after release it is an utter failure. My opinion is not even a part of this statement. I deal with grants/subsidies at work often and have done so for well over a decade. Originally it was an incentive, this many years later it is a subsidy.
As soon as that guy is outa office the funding will be cut and GM will slowly move beyond this and you will see parts either unavailable or available but more expensive than even the $450 water pump for my BMW.
As soon as that guy is outa office the funding will be cut and GM will slowly move beyond this and you will see parts either unavailable or available but more expensive than even the $450 water pump for my BMW.
For $25k a Volt would be a very nice car.
1. Too heavy
2. Too Small
3. No manual transmission driving fun to be had
4. Shoulda put a diesel engine in there
5. Too slow for a car in this price range and size
Other than that: it is an attractive deal with the government bribes. Just not for people who enjoy fun cars.
Great city tripper, but still uses gas in extreme hot or cold weather.
2. Too Small
3. No manual transmission driving fun to be had
4. Shoulda put a diesel engine in there
5. Too slow for a car in this price range and size
Other than that: it is an attractive deal with the government bribes. Just not for people who enjoy fun cars.
Great city tripper, but still uses gas in extreme hot or cold weather.
Have you ever even sat in a Volt? They are a nice midsize car, and for what they are they drive fine.
A manual really? That's like saying a Tesla should be a manual. You really have no concept of how electric vehicles work do you?
Also again how is the tax credit different from me buying another pickup and writing it off my taxes?
BTW today in the snow I saw a few Volts and Tesla's getting around just fine in single digit temps.
A manual really? That's like saying a Tesla should be a manual. You really have no concept of how electric vehicles work do you?
Also again how is the tax credit different from me buying another pickup and writing it off my taxes?
BTW today in the snow I saw a few Volts and Tesla's getting around just fine in single digit temps.
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The next gen Volt should be much more interesting. GM claims it will be $7,000 - $10,000 cheaper than the current car.
http://insideevs.com/gm-ceo-chevrolet-volt-price-to-drop-by-7000-to-10000-for-next-gen/
http://insideevs.com/gm-ceo-chevrolet-volt-price-to-drop-by-7000-to-10000-for-next-gen/
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Also again how is the tax credit different from me buying another pickup and writing it off my taxes?
BTW today in the snow I saw a few Volts and Tesla's getting around just fine in single digit temps.
It's different in that the only way you can write off the new pickup truck on your taxes is if you have bought it for a business purpose. I suppose you could also write off a Volt on your taxes if you use it for business, but then you would be double-dipping: the $7500 tax credit for buying a car that the government likes, and the business expense tax credit for using it in a business capacity.
Did you happen to notice if those Volts were running on electron or hydrocarbon power?
Also again how is the tax credit different from me buying another pickup and writing it off my taxes?
BTW today in the snow I saw a few Volts and Tesla's getting around just fine in single digit temps.
It's different in that the only way you can write off the new pickup truck on your taxes is if you have bought it for a business purpose. I suppose you could also write off a Volt on your taxes if you use it for business, but then you would be double-dipping: the $7500 tax credit for buying a car that the government likes, and the business expense tax credit for using it in a business capacity.
Did you happen to notice if those Volts were running on electron or hydrocarbon power?
A tax credit is a tax credit, its the government playing favorites with electric cars, and trucks.
I didn't see any exhaust steam coming from one so I would say electric.
I didn't see any exhaust steam coming from one so I would say electric.
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The way I understand the tax rebate is that you get up to a $7500 rebate of the federal taxes you paid in the year you buy the car. If you only paid $6000 in federal taxes, your rebate would be $6000. Please feel free to correct me if this is wrong.
Originally Posted By: badtlc
So when the battery is dead and the juice is all coming from the engine to power the electric motor, what are the MPGs?
About 35 mpg, from what I've heard. Decent, but not spectacular.
So when the battery is dead and the juice is all coming from the engine to power the electric motor, what are the MPGs?
About 35 mpg, from what I've heard. Decent, but not spectacular.
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