No one is bashing. Just telling the truth. Are you saying all the world from Forbes to Fox are not telling the truth? And why do you vanish for months then as soon as a volt post appears here you are back posting the company line. Which, by the way, is not really accurate. Are you stalking volt posters and volt threads?
Sanybestdog PM'd me to say he is planning on working up some comparison numbers. In the meantime I did this simple calculation (probably a little too simple, but maybe close enough). I compared the Volt at 40K sticker price and 100K miles using the EPA 94 MPGe number (I assume that takes into account aver electricity cost in KW-hrs, otherwise I don't see how they can get that number) with the Honda Accura 1.5 hybrid with a sticker price of 34.4 K and EPA estimate of 38 Mpg. I used $4/gal (probably too low for average price over 8.33 years that it takes to drive 100K miles at 12K/yr.) the higher the ave. gas price/gal, the more the Volt is favored in net cost. I get $44,254 for cost of the volt plus fuel equivalent for 100K miles and $44,922 for the cost of the Accura hybrid plus fuel for 100K miles. Virtually identical total cost for the first 100K miles. Assuming maintenance, licensing and insurance costs to be similar for the two vehicles, the Volt would be the better buy if there is a substantial tax credit that can be used. Another way to look at it is: the volt becomes a better buy to the extent that its cost is subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer -- the more subsidy the better buy it is for the individual.) But none of this, of course, takes into account the less tangible aspects, remembering to plug your car in every night etc.
Sandy, I have noticed that you appear whenever the Volt is mentioned. Now we are on the same side, make no mistake. I was just wondering what is your relationship to the Volt. Are you one of it's engineers?
OK here are the figures. I tried to be objective as possible. I calculated it using Maryland figures, since that's where I live. I'll work some up on the Prius if you would like. I'm just not as knowledgeable about it and the different costs. By the way. The Volt has an internal cooling and heating mechanism. So while Leaf owners are complaining about ranges as low as 47 miles (no battery cooling system), Volt owners are still getting close to or more than Chevy's estimated range. For the most point, Volt owners don't really care about CO2 emissions, I certainly don't. I mean I do, but when there are so many big trucks and factory's out etc out there, I don't care to pay more to save a miniscule amount of pollution. You can bash GM all you want as long as you are being truthful. I have only been selling for 3 years, so I don't know what the old GM was like. But I think you'll have to admit that with the slowing down of truck and suv sales, GM has done a wonderful job of introducing vehicles to a changing market. Case in point, the Volt, the V6 Camaro with 300+ HP yet 29 MPG highway, the Cruze (sold more than Civic and Corolla last month), the Equinox (best in class highway MPG), the Malibu, and the Sonic (only small car made in America). I don't like selling to current GM owners. I find them a little annoying. My best customers are those that have never considered a GM product and are quite surprised at what they find. Hyundai and Ford are others that have done a great job in a changing market. 2013 Cruze ECO automatic MSRP: $21,670 Invoice: $21,148 (selling price) Processing fee $200 Tags $292 Tax (6%) $1280 Total purchase price $22,920 Monthly payment at 3% for 60 months $412 Total payments after 5 years: $24,720 100,000 mile cost of ownership: Gas: 100,000/EPA estimate of 31 MPG average = 3225 gallons x local price of $3.87 = $12480 Oil change: 19 (every 5,000 miles) *$25 = $475 Tire rotation: 12 (every 7,500 miles) * $25 = $300 Change air filter: 2 * $49 = $98 Onstar for 2.5 years (Volt is free for 3 years, Cruze for 6 months) : $747 Total cost of ownership over 100k miles: $38,820 Approximate trade in value at 100,000 miles: 25%*21,148 = $5,287 Net cost: $33,533 2013 Volt MSRP: $39,995 Invoice:$39,016 (selling price) Processing fee $200 Tags $292 Tax (6%-$2000 MD rebate) $353 Total purchase price $39,861 Monthly payment at 0% for 60 months $664 Total payment after 5 years : $39,861-$7500 = $32,361 100,000 mile cost of ownership: According to Voltstats.net, 71.4% of Volt driving is done on electricity. With the 10% increase for 2013, that should yield an increase to 78.5% (Iâm personally at 86%) Electricity: 78,500 miles/38 (EPA estimate) miles per charge = 2065 charges * 10.8 KWHRâs per charge = 22,302 KWHRâs used * 8.5 cents per KHWR (my current rate) = $1895 Gas: 21,500/EPA estimate of 37 MPG average = 581 gallons x local price of $4.29 = $2,492 Oil change: 2 (every 24 months) *$25 = $50 Tire rotation: 12 (every 7,500 miles) * $25 = $300 Change air filter: 2 * $49 = $98 Total cost of ownership over 100k miles: $37,196 Approximate trade in value at 100,000 miles: 25%*$31,516 ($39,016 - $7500) = $7,879 Net cost: $29,317 The thrill of driving a completely silent electric vehicle with instant torque that handles incredibly well : No charge Proving to Mitt Romney that the Volt's time has come $PRICELESS
SBD, the only things you missed were: 1) Out of warranty repairs. Those repairs on the volt will be much much more expensive. And 2) We were discussing the impact and cost to GM and effect it will have on their profitability. It's and Edsel. Your compairson of final cost is too close to opt for electric technology. The volt isn't the answer, obviously.
Damn! Congratulations, you win the funniest post award for today. Admittedly, this post was from earlier, but I did not read it `til today so it counts! Woot! It is not viable. I know, I've checked it out. Motors rock. Much more efficient than engines, a whole lot less hassle and maintenance and fixing crap and moving parts! I would pay serious coin for a full, real electric car (not one of these hybrids). I don't care about polar bears or Eskimos or sea turtles or any of that stuff, but I surely would like a car that didn't need an oil change every time I turned around or any of the rest of the hassle you get with an infernal combustion engine. Having said all that, we're not there yet. `Lectric cars are still way too damn expensive due to battery issues, and the reality is that cost does not yet fully include the battery toxins. They are (as yet) too damn expensive. And everyone knows it.
Neither do I. So let's stop calling it an Obamanobile. Saying Obama forced GM to build. That it costs taxpayers $200k+ to build each one. That only liberal tree huggers buy them. Bush enacted the $7500 tax credit, Obama has continued it. Yet the sales figures disagree with you. According to the website below, 25,568 plug in hybrids/plug in extended range electric vehicles and pure electric vehicles have been sold in 2012 through August. GM has reported YTD Volt sales of 13,497. That's 52.7% of all electric car sales. To put that in words you can understand, more Volt's have been sold so far this year than every other plug in/electric car combined. http://electricdrive.org/index.php?ht=d/sp/i/20952/pid/20952
No, I'm just somebody who likes my car and don't appreciate when others spread lies about it, especially when they don't know what they are talking about. As previously mentioned, I am a Chevy salesman. I sell Volt's, but they make up a small (though increasing) portion of my total sales. I am not here on behalf of GM. I don't work for them. The opinions I express are mine alone. For the last time, I received an email saying a post had been made to an earlier thread (I'm sure the moderators will fix the problem). I decided to search to see if any others had come up in the past few months and that's how I found this. I don't come to ET much anymore as I am not actively trading right now. As you can see, I have been a member here for 5 years and comment on other threads. I don't comment as much as I read because generally I have more to learn than to contribute.