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The Volt is dead, long live the Volt!
- Thread starter StellarRat
- Start date
shrspeedblade
Rideshare Monkey
As my previous car was a 2nd gen Volt, I'm kind of bummed by this news.
It's a very good car that allows you to do the vast majority of your driving fully electric, and one some might consider who wouldn't consider a full EV-until after they owned the Volt for a while and craved more!
It would probably get annhilated by the $35k SR Model 3 next year. It's just not nearly as much car for the same price.
It's a very good car that allows you to do the vast majority of your driving fully electric, and one some might consider who wouldn't consider a full EV-until after they owned the Volt for a while and craved more!
It would probably get annhilated by the $35k SR Model 3 next year. It's just not nearly as much car for the same price.
I get that it hasn't been selling well. I'm not a fan of PHEVs. Still I thought it was a nice looking car with a decent amount of interior space and preferred the look of it to the Bolt many times over.
I was sorry to see today's GM announcement on factory closings and retiring some car models. One of the locations isn't far from my home town and I know shutting down the plant will affect many families there and the nearby communities. Bad news for many workers and their families at the holiday time.
I was sorry to see today's GM announcement on factory closings and retiring some car models. One of the locations isn't far from my home town and I know shutting down the plant will affect many families there and the nearby communities. Bad news for many workers and their families at the holiday time.
Kichwas
Member
Article mentions wondering who to blame, and I have to wonder if the answer isn’t Tesla.
GM’s issues seem to be the precursor of what all ICE makers will face as EVs take over.
Yes this is a PHEV, but it is just a part of what GM is shedding in an attempt to refocus away fron areas Tesla is dominanting.
Eventually Tesla will come for the SUV and Pickup markets as well, and plant closings of companies “long on ICE” will increase... and they will run out of PHEVs to shed and have to start shedding their main product lines as well...
GM’s issues seem to be the precursor of what all ICE makers will face as EVs take over.
Yes this is a PHEV, but it is just a part of what GM is shedding in an attempt to refocus away fron areas Tesla is dominanting.
Eventually Tesla will come for the SUV and Pickup markets as well, and plant closings of companies “long on ICE” will increase... and they will run out of PHEVs to shed and have to start shedding their main product lines as well...
Enjoyed ours 2nd gen as well. Changed my stereotypes of GM/domestic cars. It had its fair share of small build quality issues but the powerttain was solid. Still charges 100% after three years and 60k miles. Their LG battery tech is fantastic.
Glamisduner
Active Member
1. Not enough demand at current price.
2. Selling at a loss.
Unless you can reduce costs, the above pretty much guarantees a product that doesn't have a future -- unless it's propped up by incentives or funded by "marketing" like they do for halo cars.
2. Selling at a loss.
Unless you can reduce costs, the above pretty much guarantees a product that doesn't have a future -- unless it's propped up by incentives or funded by "marketing" like they do for halo cars.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
The Volt, like the EV1 before it, never had a good business case. It was born to win a bail-out and petered along for a while to satisfy CARB states. Now that PHEV credits have been diluted by CARB it has no good (internal to GM) arguments to continue. The Volt has always been the bastard child of GM. Any *EV GM makes carries the burden of its parentage in the sense that customers who are not GM fans are disinclined to purchase from them and GM fans have organic dementia from their years of embracing marketing exhaust.
There is a silver lining though: I don't have to listen any more to the fools who insist the Volt is profitable.
There is a silver lining though: I don't have to listen any more to the fools who insist the Volt is profitable.
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thebigbobowski
Member
Was really happy with my Volt lease, aside from the small battery. It helped me become fully submerged into the EV world.
That said, my Model 3 blows it out of the water in all aspects. So, again, really happy it was just a lease.
That said, my Model 3 blows it out of the water in all aspects. So, again, really happy it was just a lease.
Country Roads
Member
Sad. It's a great car for teenage kids - inexpensive when purchased used, serves as a nice introduction to environmentally responsive transport, and yet remains highly functional when they go off to college and don't have easy access on-campus electrical charging.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
I have a 2013 Volt. Probably the most reliable car I have ever owned. Hardly use gas, so the engine must be in pristine shape. Two oil changes have been the only maintenance costs, plus tires. No range loss that I can tell. Eventually I bought a Tesla Model S, and so my wife took the Volt. Then my daughter got her license, and now she drives the Volt. I have since sold the Tesla, but will most likely keep the Volt forever. I plan to get a 3 someday, which I hope will be another forever car.
Does it have something to do with the complexities of an EV added to the complexities of a gas vehicle giving the most complex type of car on the road? I assume once a Volt starts aging, it gets ugly.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
I'm sorry but when automakers decided to go with compliance vehicles and not even do much to market them or work on something that made more sense from the ground up, I don't fault Tesla for that. Heck the Roadster has been out there for quite some time and proved how exciting an EV could be. Elon even went so far to share Tesla patents and offered up the Superchargers if they were willing to pay for their share. No takers. So they are all getting caught with their pants down, some more than others. It wasn't that many months ago when even the major overseas manufacturers were saying no way to EVs. Couldn't hide from the Model 3s blow out success and the fact that yes even the average family who has only owned cars in the $20-40K range would buy a Model 3 at a higher price because it was so damn appealing, fun to drive and totally EV so non-polluting.
While I don't have much if any sympathy for these manufacturers, I do for the people they employ and the communities that will be affected. My dad spent the vast majority of his working career as a machinist for GM. Got a raw deal too after he retired and lost a lot in benefits. Spent many nights doing overtime work and holidays (triple pay) away from us so he could do his best to support us. I only wish he had been around to tour the Tesla plant with us when we bought our MS and took our tour. Would have loved to have given him a ride in either of our cars. I remember when I was a kid at home him commenting on how he was sure they had the technology to make more gas efficient car models that could have competed with the new Japanese models that were starting to infiltrate American driveways and garages. Was sure they were helping to support the oil companies. So the Japanese guys came in and the American manufacturers lost out to them in big numbers. European car manufacturers managed to get a good foothold in the American market as well. Kind of like history repeating itself again with EVs although at least Tesla is an American company, employing people here this time.