No sure why you are making this so complicated: I'm not asking if GM will replace a battery pack if a customer feels like its holds less charge than it used to, I'm asking if there is a quantitative numerical threshold so that when the battery pack is attached to the appropriate testing device at the dealership and it comes back below that defined threshold the battery pack will be replaced under warranty - nothing objective.
Do people actually buy a volt to save on transportation costs? those cars cost like mid 40's You can get a BMW 3 series for that price. Look at what you can get with BMW for a Volt price. http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Cont...OKhDkiZheya04aMuu99MggK8BN1h8gK1ly43HVFvNow== And thats not counting discounts from MSRP (negotating with BMW dealer) where the volt is selling over discount and dealers pocketing the tax credits according to CNN etc. 3.0-liter, inline 6-cylinder engine Rear-wheel drive See all standard features 28 MPG Base MSRP $34,600 Platinum Bronze Metallic $550 Beige Dakota Leather $0 Dark Burl Walnut wood trim $0 Convenience Package $2,350 Premium Package $2,650 Value Package $0 STEPTRONIC automatic transmission $0 Destination & Handling: $875 BMW Ultimate Service⢠A suite of premium benefits that are included at no cost with all new BMW Vehicles. 4 Years/50,000 Miles Warranty Included 4 Years/50,000 Miles Maintenance Program Included 4 Years/Unlimited Mileage Roadside Assistance Included Total MSRP as Built$41,025
The problem I see for this vehicle is twofold. One, as already mentioned, any savings in fuel costs are totally eclipsed by the high purchase price. Two, they are aiming at a pretty narrow demographic, basically Prius buyers. I don't see too many gearheads trading in their Camaros for one. The Prius crowd would rather eat the meat of protected species than be caught dead in an american car. Plus, they can always buy a Nissan Leaf if they just have to have a glorified golf cart.
Has this been posted? How much does a new battery pack cost? Then, how much would the labor fee cost for installation?
Prius is significantly cheaper than the Volt and it road tested for years and I would trust Toyota over some new GM tech.
Your first point is completely on the mark, at the current prices for these cars and gas its very hard to make the economic case, even with the generous rebates. The prices on these cars need to come down - hopefully volume production will get us there. Currently the cars have to attract buyers for reasons other than strictly cost savings. Not sure what you are saying with your second point. There is nothing intrinsic about these cars that keep them from performing with the best gas powered cars, Tesla should have put those doubts aside (albeit at a steep price). In fact many characteristics of electric motors are superior to gas engines. I am actively interested in getting an all-electric car when I replace my current car but the current crop is not there yet. If they can get the cost down to make it a break even proposition then I will be happy. Not that thrilled with the volt approach, I don't want a gas back-up engine in the car, defeats the whole purpose of going electric. If I want to take a trip longer than my electric car can go I will take my other (gas) car. I want an all electric car for the 95% of the trips I make which are 50 miles are less.
Eight-thousand dollars??? Say what??? If this is correct, I'd say a Volt is out of the question. Talk about "highway" robbery!!
Guess you haven't priced Lithium-Ion batteries then, that's just how much they cost. The volt battery is only 16 kWh, the Nissan Leaf is 24 kWh so I would expect it to cost 50% more, e.g. $12k+ (I couldn't find an actual price on the net, apparently its a secret) The cost of the battery is really the deal breaker with the current generation of cars (and why they are priced so high), they need to get the cost of Li-Ion batteries down significantly or find an alternate technology to store energy. Here's some interesting information from the Leaf wiki page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Leaf): "Warranty The Leaf's battery warranty is for eight years or 160,000 kilometres (100,000 mi). The warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship, but does not cover gradual loss of battery capacity, nor does it cover damage or failure resulting from not following the preventive actions recommended in the Leaf Owner's Manual for the lithium-ion battery, such as exposing the car to ambient temperatures above 120 °F (49 °C) for over 24 hours, or storing the Leaf in temperatures below −13 °F (−25 °C) for over 7 days." Here's something from the Volt wiki page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevy_volt) "In order to make sure the battery pack would last ten years and 150,000 miles (240,000 km) expected for the battery warranty, the Volt team decided to use only half of the 16 kW capacity to reduce the rate of capacity degradation, limiting the state of charge (SOC) up to 80% of capacity and never depleting the battery below 30%. General Motors also was expecting the battery could withstand 5,000 full discharges without losing more than 10% of its charge capacity."
That wasnt even related on topic. What I asked was a simple question, I figured you would know the answer since you work for a dealer. No reason to get defensive.