JRP3
Hyperactive Member
As I remember one of the Volts involved in a garage fire still had charge in the pack after the fire. The Volt was not the cause of the fire, which of course did not stop certain people from blaming it.
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GM Chevy Volt
- Thread starter vfx
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JRP3
Hyperactive Member
The link I posted previously for 2010 showed 310 deaths for 215,500 vehicle fires.
NigelM
Recovering Member
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stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
There are probably plenty of dealers that don't want more than one or two in stock (and perhaps want none) because there are plenty of areas in the country where even just the one in stock will sit there rotting on the lot (with perhaps one or two curious people who would take a look but would never buy one). The demand for plug-ins at this point is only concentrated in a few specific areas in the US. I don't think even internet ordering is the issue, because demand must be rare enough that the dealer sees no need to keep any in stock. For areas with good demand, usually people go to the dealer and put in a "pre-order" or at least express that they want to buy.
As for the current situation, I think the most relevant part of the demand picture is the HOV sticker situation. Give it a couple of months and the picture will probably become clearer. But I think GM is probably worried about not being able to sell 45k by the end of the year at the current sales rate in the US (they have to average 3750/month, they are less than 2000/month at this point).
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
I completely agree. Many looking at EV problems in CA in the 90's blame the automakers; while they certainly did plenty of things I don't think they should have, I think much of the reason was pressure from the dealers. It doesn't matter what you build if your sales channel won't sell it.
It's not that dealers hate America. It's just that they make their living selling gas cars; and most of the profit comes from servicing gas cars. Now automakers are giving them high-price, low-margin, low-volume cars that they have to spend time learning about, and then educate the consumers about, and then make less money on service. I have personally gone to dealers to try to drum up interest, and gotten a lot of very blank stares. The frank ones come right out and tell me that EVs waste their time; as they can make more money for less work by selling gas cars.
Tesla got around this by having stores, rather than dealers. Nissan got around this by selling direct, with the dealers largely being a delivery point. GM tried to get around this by including a gas engine, so dealer service revenues should stay flat. But even though the Volt can be driven exactly like a gas car, dealers and consumers are wary and feel there is a lot to learn, so there is still a lot of resistance from dealers on the Volt. (Not at all dealerships, of course; I have seen exceptions. But very few).
Chevy Volt is 10th best selling out of over 55 clean-energy vehicles sold in the US
Thought this was interesting:
Thought this was interesting:
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
I don't know how he did his search, but I found 93 Volts in stock within 30 miles of Manhattan on cars.com. Perhaps he has direct inventory access, but I doubt only 1 car was available out of 93. 93 is comparable to the numbers for the Avalanche (92) and Colorado (94); only the Covette is lower at 51.
http://www.cars.com/for-sale/search...05&searchSource=GEO_SEARCH&pgId=2102&zc=10153
I don't think anyone can characterize Volt stock as really ample, but at the same time it's not non-existent either (as with the Leaf, only 33 available within 30 miles of Manhattan; only two cars lower are the Titan and 370Z).
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He was looking for listings, I think, in New York City itself, not suburbs, etc. I didn't see a single Volt listed on the link you provided that was actually in one of the five boroughs.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
But is it even realistic/logical to expect NYC dealers to carry much more stock of the Volt as compared to other areas? It wouldn't seem like a stock issue to me if you can easily get a car within 30 miles.
But it needs to be recharged after 27 miles!!! You might get stranded in the Holland tunnel.!!1!!!
:biggrin::scared:
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
The Volt is rated for 35 miles AER by the EPA; I can make the trip in a single charge and have range to spare :tongue:!But it needs to be recharged after 27 miles!!! You might get stranded in the Holland tunnel.!!1!!!
:biggrin::scared:
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
I just checked up on that. If you sort the listings by distance, there is one Volt offered by Potamkin GM, which is in Manhattan (perhaps he is referring to that; but Potamkin GM appears to the only Chevy dealer in Manhattan, so that is about as anecdotal as you can get). There's also 14 offered by Major Chevrolet located in Long Island City 3 miles away (which is in the Queens borough in NYC).
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