Even though the NHTSA investigation concluded that the Chevy Volt is just as safe as any other gasoline powered car, several dealers nationwide remain skeptical, or so it seems.
In the New York City market alone, GM allocated a total of 104 Volts to dealerships last month, and dealers decided to order just 31 of them. These same dealers ordered over 90 percent of the other vehicles they were eligible for. This, however, could be the dealers’ recognition of NYC’s infrastructure currently being sub-par when it comes to EV support, rather than not standing behind GM’s products.
General Motors has admitted that “dealer ordering is down” for the Volt, mostly due to the NHTSA hoopla and general misinformation from the overall media, which we have observed for ourselves. What’s more, GM executives said they backed away from the ambitious 60,000-unit sales target set for 2012, and instead plan to build as many as customers want, which could mean anything.
On the flip side, Ourisman Rockmont Chevrolet near Washington, D.C. — which sold 19 Volts last year has another 18 en route to its lot.
Comments
There’s lots of speculation regarding this phenomenon. Most say it’s due to uncertaintly over the NHTSA’s ruling. Others say dealers in California are holding off until the HOV lane capable units are rolling off the line.
I think some of the trepidation of dealers to take their full Volt allotment is due to low profit margin, and the fear the NHTSA investigation tainted it’s halo – ness. GM has long said Volt is a halo for customers to gawk at, then sign on the dotted line for a Cruze or Malibu Eco. Hopefully with the NHTSA’s nonsense over – the Volt will recover.
I think the Volt’s future is bright. CNN reported that January’s gas prices reached record levels and they projected a possible $5.00 per gallon or worse scenario for Spring/Summer. We all know Iran is threatening cutting off oil supply lanes, and the general tumultuousness in the Middle East is not good for gas prices.
Hybrids, EVs and gas-stingy subcompacts are going to fly off the shelves this year and this is good for Volt. Also, Toyota plans on selling it’s Prius P ( “PIP, or Plug In Prius” ) in a limited number of states this year. At $32,000 for the base model, and $39.500 for the “Advanced Package” Prius P, this should bring up many comparisons between it and Volt. Volt goes 40+ miles all electric in moderate climates without having to baby the throttle. Prius P acts like a standard hybrid Prius in that if you get on the gas, or go up a hill the gas engine kicks in. Also, Prius P only goes 12-15 miles all electric.
Look for the good Volt karma to kick in when gas prices go through the roof.
Agreed. The Volt will start flying off shelves when high gas prices make people reconsider their choice of vehicle. I just hope it’s not too expensive to be out of the price of most consumers.
This is our dream car, our 2012 Volt. In this cold weather in Michigan it runs the gas engine for a minute or two now and then to make sure the cabin is warm enough. So far, since August it has used 3.3 gallons of gas. It is sporty and useful, it handles well, it seems to look after us by telling us when to put more air in the tires and if icing conditions exist, it is happy to unlock and run if you just have the key in your pocket, it tells us the rate at which we are using up the batteries but not to worry because we have a gas generator which will recharge them, if need be. It only takes electricity from the grid between 2:00AM and 6:00AM when it is half price because there is a terrific surplus capacity at the power company at that time. It recharges the battery when you brake, It will go 100mph if you want it to, but is so much fun to be in you find yourself taking the back roads and not being in any hurry to get where you are going. You can put it in normal, sport or mountain mode and it will deliver the performance you ask of it. You can program when you want it to draw power and it is happy with either 110 or 220 volt power supplies.
I am looking forward to the next generation of larger plug-ins like diesel electric trucks or even gas electric trucks. Imagine Semis with natural gas generators and batteries, we could keep all our money in this country instead of blowing it out our tailpipes to foreign countries as we pollute the planet and deprive future generations of a clean, green Earth.
Issue with Volt is primarily the $40k price. Just too expensive to be a prime time player.
When gas starts to get over $4.50 again and people start to think twice about buying a large CUV/SUV the hybrids/electrics/small cars will sell. Note that buyers have no problem paying $40k+ for a compact BMW 3 series or huge SUV’s they may not really need as their primary vehicle.
The Volt and all the other electrics/hybrids coming out (and every OEM will have them in the next 2 years) will not sell in volume until the price drops on the vehicles. And that will happen as batteries get cheaper and OEM’s figure out how to build them with less cost.
I feel that Volt.2 should have half the capacity of the current one. Drops the cost by $5k and increases MPG when using the engine (less weight) and still keeps a 20+ mile electric only range. To me this is a better sweet spot to be in. And with the Volt.2 there could be an additional $3k price drop due to normal engineering improvements with 2nd gen. technology. Gets the price down to closer to $32k which is right around the current ATP (average transaction price) of all vehicles sold in the US.
@ Jarrett
Congratulations on your Volt. Your experience is awesome and well-thought-out. It’s refreshing to hear some good things about a Volt as opposed to all the negative stuff. I wish you & your family continued happiness with your Volt, and would like to personally extend an offer to your friends, family, neighbors and anyone else to come see me, drive a Volt yourself, and see just how amazing the vehicle is.
You should seriously on the Chevy Voltage site and let the company know of your experience.
Remember,
Chevy Runs Deep
Some dealers still think they can charge more than MSRP and then they wonder why the cars aren’t selling. Any dealer still trying to charge more than MSRP should pull their head out of their @ss. The car is already fairly expensive, the dealer still makes a decent profit at MSRP, and with the recent negative publicity the car could really use the help of an instant tax rebate, not one that you have to wait up to a year for. I think the tax rebate thing is huge, it’s not going to seem like a $33K purchase without some kind of instant rebate. I actually plan on purchasing or leasing a Volt, but I’m waiting till spring…or maybe till the 2013 models become available.
Okay..I did some math. If Jarrett got the Volt on August 15 of last year, drives 20 miles a day, 5 days a week that would mean about 715 miles per gallon! Give or take. Amazing. Now if GM would just build this car with the diesel engine I’m sure owners like Jarrett could see 1000mpg with it.
And that would add $3000 to the price of the Volt and add hardly save any more money in fuel cost since this is primarily an electric car.