The Chevy Volt to be Priced $41,000 (or $33,500)

[ajcroteau]

It looks nice however at the 41K price range, it's the price of a BMW and i'm sure the repair costs will most likely be in the similar price range... It's nice that people are coming out with more economical cars but its a crying shame when it's only the rich and wealthy who can afford to own it...

WTF Chevy...

 

[cknobman]

Awesome I want one!!!!!

Wait its made by GM????? nevermind.

 

[sublifer]

so the electric motor and all electric systems except for the batteries themselves are covered for only 3 years...
HA! I can see Chevy service mechanics telling everyone that brings it in that the charging system or motor/alternator was not producing the right current and since it was at fault the batteries won't be covered either.

 

[lamorpa]

"The Chevrolet Volt will be the best vehicle in its class…because it's in a class by itself," said Joel Ewanick, vice president of U.S. marketing for General Motors

A truer statement was never said: the only way GM could have the best car in a class would be if it is the only car.

 

[willgart]

I prefer to wait 3-4 years and see the new models and prices. today its not cost effective. and we don't know what the technology will become in the future. Maybe suddenly they decide to stop creating it because another technology is better and finding a new battery will cost a lot.
We have to wait to have some standard in the battery insuring that we are not locked to the manufacturer (and the price will be lower due to competition)

 

[zjuice]

"The Chevrolet Volt will be the best vehicle in its class…because it's in a class by itself,"

So can you also say "The Chevrolet Volt will be the WORST vehicle in its class…because it's in a class by itself!"

 

[snowgoer1998]

Hmmm...lets see...

Chevy Volt = $41,000 + TTL = ~$43,000
Charge cost = assume 8 hr charge at night * 120v * 15 watt * 300 charging days = 4,320 Kilowatts * $0.12 / Kilowatt = $518 for electricity


Chevy Cobalt = $13,000 + TTL = ~ $15,000
assume city driving for 20,000 miles/year = ~27 MPG = ~ 800 gallons of fuel * ~$3.00 / gallon = $2400 per year for gas


So, lets see here... I could drive a Chevy Cobalt for 11.666 years, averaging 20,000 miles per year and paying ~$3.00 per gallon, before breaking even on the purchase price of the Chevy Volt

Ok, you say, but what about the tax refund???...fine...take off 3 years (~$7500 of fuel) and you're still at a minimum of an 8 year payback - WITHOUT taking in to account the cost of the electricity to charge the Volt...



Volt = EPIC FAIL!!!!!!!

 

[lamorpa]

[citation][nom]Blessedman[/nom]You do know that we get 80%!!!! of our oil from Canada right?[/citation]

Why not just say 100%, since you are making this number up.

It took 10 seconds to find YTD figures which show 22% (http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html)

It would help this discussion if you did not post total nonsense. Then again, since the figure is so obviously unbelievable it doesn't make much difference.

 

[wotan31]

A marketing gimmick and nothing more. EV's just aren't there yet in terms of technology and real world utility. This is for the pie-in-the-sky enviro-nazi's and early adopters with more money than sense. For $41k, I'll take a nice BMW 3 series.

 

[long2know]

[citation][nom]moricon[/nom]Wish there were cost figures included for charging daily![/citation]
It has a 16-kWh lithium-ion battery. The cost to charge would depend on electric rates in your area. In my area, 1 kWh is $0.08. So, I'm assuming that fully charging the car would cost about $1.30.

That's not bad for 40 miles of driving. That's roughly the equivalent of 2 gallons of gas for conventional cars while driving within the city limits. The big difference is that the Volt would have zero emissions and save roughly $4. My daily commute is roughly 40 miles round-trip, so I can see the value in this.

I really don't understand the "breaking even" analogy as someone else posted. Comparing cars of different classes makes the break-even point have nothing to do with fuel costs.

 

[wydileie]

I'll wait for Hydrogen fuel cell cars. They have a much brighter future IMO.

As was stated before, "0 emissions for 40 miles" is a sort of ruse. Not even counting the initial production and transportation of said batteries, the electricity has to be created somewhere, and most electricity is created via fossil fuels.

 

[lamorpa]

[citation][nom]wydileie[/nom]I'll wait for Hydrogen fuel cell cars. They have a much brighter future IMO. As was stated before, "0 emissions for 40 miles" is a sort of ruse. Not even counting the initial production and transportation of said batteries, the electricity has to be created somewhere, and most electricity is created via fossil fuels.[/citation]

And the 0 cost, 0 environmental-load-for-production hydrogen comes from where?

 

[Sabiancym]

So how much money are the oil companies giving to car manufacturers to keep the prices insanely high on their cars that don't use as much gas?

We'll never get rid of our dependence on oil as long as the massive oil companies have as much power as they do.

 

[lamorpa]

[citation][nom]Sabiancym[/nom]So how much money are the oil companies giving to car manufacturers to keep the prices insanely high on their cars that don't use as much gas?[/citation]

You can always seek professional help for paraniod beliefs like this. It can be quite helpful.

 

[captainnemojr]

What is up with all these fuel efficient cars and the CRAPPY range? They shrink the gas tank because it's more fuel efficient and doesn't need as much? Yes better gas mileage, but same range so you still have to stop and fill up. Screw that. Give me my 24 gallon gas tank and I'll drive 1,000 miles!

 

[nahdogg]

Mercedes Benz, BMW, Lexus, or a Chevy...tough call but Chevy is definately NOT the answer. Fail

 

[Guest]

so you pay 41k for it and you can drive gas free for 40 miles.

 

[dark_lord69]

I'll wait for the Tesla after the Model S. According to the CEO that car will be about $25,000 (plus you would get a tax credit which would decrease the cost even more)

On the downside of electric cars the electricity to power them does indeed have to come from somewhere and wydileie is right most of that is created by burning fossil fuels. It's a double edged sword where you have to decide which one is the lesser evil.

 

[scrumworks]

What does auto industry have to do with Tom´s? Toyota has electric cars too. So does Mercedes and, well, all of them have electric cars. But I guess Chevy was the only one to pay for the ad.

 

[beayn]

[citation][nom]snowgoer1998[/nom]Hmmm...lets see...Chevy Volt = $41,000 + TTL = ~$43,000Charge cost = assume 8 hr charge at night * 120v * 15 watt * 300 charging days = 4,320 Kilowatts * $0.12 / Kilowatt = $518 for electricityChevy Cobalt = $13,000 + TTL = ~ $15,000assume city driving for 20,000 miles/year = ~27 MPG = ~ 800 gallons of fuel * ~$3.00 / gallon = $2400 per year for gasSo, lets see here... I could drive a Chevy Cobalt for 11.666 years, averaging 20,000 miles per year and paying ~$3.00 per gallon, before breaking even on the purchase price of the Chevy VoltOk, you say, but what about the tax refund???...fine...take off 3 years (~$7500 of fuel) and you're still at a minimum of an 8 year payback - WITHOUT taking in to account the cost of the electricity to charge the Volt...Volt = EPIC FAIL!!!!!!![/citation]

Yeah the initial price of these electric and hybrid cars far outweighs anything you'll save in gasoline unless the price of gas skyrockets to 4x its current price.

It's the same with many environmentally friendly things like windmills and solar panels. It takes decades just to break even. My neighbor also installed a geothermal heat/cooling system for something like $10,000 about 15 years ago. Today, her electric bill for the whole system is double my natural gas & electric bill combined, and it cost no where near 10k to install my central air & furnace.

On top of that, the geothermal system is an ecoli and bacteria farm which drains right into my well, making my water undrinkable. Very environmentally friendly and money saving!!! /sarcasm