Miltown SS

Chevrolet needs to stop making Volts alltogether until they perfect the technology and are able to sell a non subsidized car. On another note....This is UGLY

hyperv6

The picture is a show car shown in China about 2 years ago.

I would look for a SUV/crossover like Volt based car when the 2nd gen Volt arrives in a year or so.

Also look for the price of the next gen Volt to finally start to drop. The Volt with each gen will come down in price.

Either way they may use some of the ideas on this show car but much more of it will change. Chevy already is moving to the new Face of Chevy like the Impala and Traverse. The Cruze, Malibu and Nox are next to change and lose the center bar.

skyline26

i kind of like the Chevy Trax

hyperv6

The fact is if they stop builting and improving them the price will never come down and the advances will slow to a crawl.

The Volts goal was set to create a market for GM to sell new technology that most suppliers would not create unless they had some place to sell it. The first gen established the suppliers and compitition for better electric motora and batteries. The ICE engine keeps this a car that real world driver could live with as a daily driver and single car. Cars like the leaf you have to work around their range and charging times.

The next Gen Volt will drop a lot in price and increase in range. THe Cadillac ELR coupe will also help spread out the cost.

One must think of the Volt as like computers and other electronics like flat screens. I recall flat screens were sold for near $8,000 back in 1999. Now today they are cheap and much improved today. But if the first expensive ones were not brought to market they never would have gotten cheaper in the short time they have.

The first gen Volt is only a stepping stone to the future.

They did sell nearly 25,000 this year and I expect they will continue grow sales. They are the one electric car that you see often here in the cold Ohio climate. Not so much leafs.

87z16

doesnt look all that bad. i just dont like the premis and why my $ goes to something that isnt wanted.

Tominator

The Volt is a failure. Ask any used car salesman how much he'll give you on trade.....he will laugh and shake his head. GM basically gave them away to corporations and state institutions just to get them off their lots. Now a few are turning up used. No one wants them!

The first big screen TVs sold fast and the manufacturers made money selling them. Profit leads to advancements in technology and not failures!

hyperv6

Well I took another Volt for a spin yesterday and it is a pretty sweet car for what it is.

The only real issue is price and it will be addressed soon..

Hammer it from 20-80 MPH and it is not much of a disappointment vs. my HHR SS.

It is like many cars you have to really drive one to get it. Too many people spout off on things like this and never even have sat in one.

The prime issue is price and GM will have a lower cost starting soon with the second gen.

It is not a car for everyone but there is a growing segment that GM needs to be apart of or get left behind.

Snoopy

Wait until you see the Cadillac variant of the Volt, if you haven't already. Slick 2 door styling and really upscale interior. Saw a recent test mule and was impressed. But again, like the Volt, the price is ridiculous......suggestions sitting at between $60,000-$70,000. First year production prediction will be in the area of 1500.

The capture of other models to the battery drive should reduce costs across the board....the economies of scale principle. But, GM is having real troubles of creating buyers for the Volt.......mostly because of cost, according to their consumer marketing"clinics". They have reduced production several times from original projections because of, essentially, lack of interest.

GM has predicted 40,000 units of the Volt for 2014. THAT remains to be seen.

hyperv6

The ELR is sweet! Too bad they do not have just a RWD gas version.

Yes the Voltec system will continue to get cheaper with more versions and each generation. GM recently stated the 2nd gen Volt will improve in performance and drop thousands in price. They are already well on the way to completing the 3rd gen too.

The economy of scale is part of this but the reality is GM has created a market for the car and many MFG's are now willing to spend their own money to develop new and better motors, batteries etc. If no market were created the cost of things would never get cheaper and the performance would never improve. It is the Chicken vs. egg scenario.

GM's goal is to grow this segment and also set the standards others would need to meet. If they can win the hearts and dollars away from the Prius they can cost Toyota and others billions to redesign their systems. This is similar to the Westinghouse vs. Edison fight years ago over AC and DC current. Everyone expected Edison to win and Westinghouse finally set the standard we still use today.

The Volt sold 25K-30K units last year and it is expected to continue to grow. This is not a car for everyone but it is a car that many will come to love once they are able to afford it.

Of all the electric cars I have tried it is the only one that feels like a normal car and has no limits. The only thing that drove close to this was the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Equinox I drove a couple years ago.

Gas is here for the long foreseen future but we will see more and more variations offered in the electric segment.

When the Volt gets to around $27-$30K loaded it should do well. Note the average price of a car is now over $30K to keep things in perspective.

Snoopy

Are you sure about those sales numbers for the Volt? I'm seeing numbers considerably different. I THINK maybe you are using projected sales....which they did not meet.