Chevy’s new ad campaign for the Volt continues, this time starring Volt owner Elissa.
Elissa — from Westland, MI — is totally in love with her Volt… which is the first car she’s been in love with. On a daily basis, Elissa usually isn’t using any gas (with a round-trip of about 40 miles to and from work) and describes the extended-range electric car as her dream vehicle. In fact, she’s taking the savings by not filling up at a gas station and going on a trip to Hawaii:
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A black volt parks near me at work everyday; I have got to say wow, to me this is one of the better looking cars on the road. Very stream lined, looks stunning, the right amount of chromed pieces… Beautiful…
…And, she’s saving a CRAPLOAD!!! LOL ( thanks , Priya! )
Adjust the trip to Hawaii with the $40-44,000 she paid for the Volt ( unless she leased ).With new/clean tech, we pay up front, and save in the long haul – same with solar panels and the like. But hey – that’s still a great way to go since here ( Washington State ) gas is still $4.39 per gallon last I checked this morning! Why so high in the Pacific NW? Hey – that’s what we’re all asking. Our per gallon price is as high as Los Angeles, which is usually the second highest in the nation – behind Hawaii. Today – our news is telling us that we’re paying so much due to a local refinery fire and that BP is working diligently to get it up and running…But they can’t pull the wool over our eyes. It’s like the mob up here – there’s two major distributors in Western Washington who’ve banded together to set prices to keep the price of gas high in the NW. I had to Google like a madman to discover this because everyone here askes the same ?: “Why the h*ll is gas so much here when we’re so close to the Alaska pipeline?!!” Plus we’re a major West Coast port – so what gives? Thing is, nobody has written about this that I could find since the mid nineties! We just go ahead year-after-year takin’ it in the shorts, and I’m no conspiracy theorist. 83% of our electricity here is clean energy ( hydropower ) and the states of Oregon and Washington are home to huge wind energy projects. Nice to know the “but you’re filling your Volt with coal!…” guys can just take a hike!
Read an article yesterday in USA Today that oil prices would be coming down, and nearly 100% domestic-sourced by 2025….Yeah right! Buried in the article was the fact that they believed this information was biased and a bit too optimistic…. YA THINK?!!!
We’re being had —- ALL OF US…. Price control, gov’mt oil subsidies, false information re: peak oil from Mexico and Saudi Arabia… Not only is the Chevrolet Volt slick and not hard on the eyes… It’s seriously the best answer out there to ween us off dino juice.
I really like this ad campaign much better than GM’s former attempts because when you just go by price – the Volt doesn’t seem like such a great deal. But when you factor in some of the things I mention – plus giving your kids a world with air we can breathe…plus those factors only those who’ve actually driven a Volt can tell you – like the eery luxury of a smooth, silent drive; it’s low center of gravity and planted feel; Volt’s prodigious tech gizmos onboard and the fact that it’s AMERICAN MADE AND ENGINEERED – and one cannot wipe the smile off their face even when thinking of the car. In Volt forums, they call it: “The Volt Smile”.
Volt. It’s not a car, it’s a REVOLUTION.
Joy Of Volt – Oh, did I mention 100% torque from zero rpm WITH NO SHIFTING?!!
Had a Chevy dealer tell me the Volt was a CVT….er…..NOT! It’s a direct-drive planetary gear setup – and from stoplight to stoplight, the Volt really astounds.
Earlier I mentioned the $40-44k price. Look around at other cars selling for much more. Check this one out – yesterday I read about BMW introducing it’s 1 Series ( tiny car ) performance edition – are you holding onto something? — STARTING @ $52,000 MSRP!!!!! OK, this thing is tiny, it sucks gas like a hillbilly on moonshine and did I mention it’s tiny? The BMW’s straight six engine is serious 19th century tech! Straight sixes were fantastic in their time – my 1957 Chevy pickup has one – they’ll go 300,000+ miles….But Beaver Cleaver is now an old guy and is a speeding ticket and zero-60 worth bending over to Arabs and oil tycoons for?
Volt’s lease makes sense because the federal EV tax credit is baked in, so you take advantage of the $7500 tax break previously only available to the well off… Plus you have lots of security if battery technology takes off and makes your 3 year old Volt look like a 3 year old Prius ( ok, not THAT bad! ).
Its a nice car but I am still wondering if the battery still will do its job after 5 to 10 Years from now . Or does GM hopes everyone can buy a new one after 5 Years.
@CruzeBe:
GM warrantees the battery for 8 years/100,000 miles. That’s amazing when you think about it. If you live in CA, GM warrantees it for 10 years ( to fulfill CA’s HOV sticker requirement ).
I can’t speak for a lithium battery except for the fact I know lithium batteries are much better than NIMH batteries in everything I’ve ever used. My Prius has NIMH batteries and recently a Vancouver Prius Taxi owner put over 1,000,000 miles on his taxi, and Toyota bought it back to disassemble it for study. This bodes well for battery longevity in cars.
Here’s some interesting facts about Volt’s battery: GM engineered in a large buffer in their pack so it never is fully discharged or over taxed in any way. Volt’s battery is also coddled by having a cooling and warming system in place which Nissan LEAF’s pack does not have ( it’s air cooled ). Since the LEAF and Ford FocusEV rely on their pack for it’s entire fuel source, they have a small buffer and use most the packs energy most the time. Focus EV uses 75% of it’s usable energy, LEAF even more. You may hear in upcoming months – more stories of LEAF owners being disappointed re: declining AER ( All Electric Range ) due to battery decline as years progress. I feel this will deter many from EVs since they don’t do the research to determine the differences between them.
As I’ve stated, this is one reason to lease a Volt rather than purchase one – but I’m again leaning towards purchase as I’m ever becoming more confident that GM over engineered the car. GM is working with a battery recycler as Toyota does, so that used packs out of cars will end up as backup power for commercial and home energy systems. Since I’m interested in solar and wind power – I like the idea of powering up my house with my used Volt battery when it’s replacement time comes!
From Wikipedia: The Volt’s battery is guaranteed by General Motors for eight years or 100,000 miles (160,000 km), and will cover all 161 battery components.[59][60] GM estimates that the Volt batteries will degrade by 10 to 30% after 8 years or 100,000 miles.[61] GM has filed for a patent that may allow technicians to quickly and cheaply recover some of the performance of degraded battery packs.[62] The Volt’s battery management system runs more than 500 diagnostics at 10 times per second, allowing it to keep track of the Volt’s battery pack in real-time, 85% of which ensure the battery pack is operating safely and 15% monitor battery performance and life.
I feel many people don’t realize the amazing work GM has done on the Volt. Remember, unlike a dedicated EV – Even if you own the car 15 years and the original battery pack is at 30-50% of it’s original capacity…You still have a gas car that returns 35-40 mpg! GM says that Volt’s battery pack should last the entire life of the car, and I tend to believe them based on the fact that 65% of the battery is ever being used due to the large buffer engineered inside. Mountain mode decreases that to 45% so that the Volt driver has stored-up power reserve for sustained climbs ( like up Pikes Peak ).
Bob Lutz and John Lauckner’s vision of Volt was to leapfrog Prius, and to that end, they did an outstanding job. Today, with the onset of PiPrius, the comparisons are laugable. Can the PiPrius drive like a “normal” car? Answer: No. Does the PiPrius stay in all-electric mode up to 100 mph or for 40-50 miles or when negotiating a hill or swift acceleration? No.
Volt is a wonder car.
@James interesting… Oké what will the resale value be after 8 years or 100000 miles ? compared to a car of the same new value but with a normal gas or diesel engine ? With gas or diesel engines you can drive a lot more miles and if You take care of Your car You can drive it more than 20 Years with relative low maintenance cost , I don’t think You will be able to do that with the Volt because of the electronics and batteries…. not ? How much cost a full battery pack change of the volt ? The problem is , there no Volt today of more than 10 years old so everything is based on theoretical numbers… so only time will tell if the Volt is such a amazing wonderful car …. ( sorry but i am a born skeptical ).
Don’t misunderstand me I like the volt and I like the concept of it but still I don’t think batteries are so a great solution , (and I don’t even mention the environmental problem for producing them ).
My wife bought a new Toyota Matrix (produced by the Pontiac Vibe assembly line) in 2006 and it sold me on “the hatchback form factor”. Has GM ever considered a Volt hatchback ? If GM hasn’t, they should do it now. Design it to be driven around the city and across the country economically and comfortably. At least do the market research. Reframing the Volt to include a hatchback deserves at least some consideration…NOTE: My dad was employed as a mechanic, body man and squeaks, rattles and water leaks technician at a GM dealership for his entire career. Mom stayed home to raise six kids.Thanks, GM…now for the Volt hatchback…adb
First, the Vibe was made on a Toyota assembly line (not the other way around); the old NUMMI plant in California.
Also, reguarding your Volt hatch, there is the old Volt MPV5 concept from 2010. I’ve not heard anything about it since then, and I assume that the next gen Voltec system may allow for different bodystyles.
@CruzeBe:
It seems you may have a clear case of “battery anxiety”. The lithium drive batteries in today’s cars benefitted greatly from the Dell computer battery debacle of years past. Car manufacturers were placed in a position to guarantee that the pack in their car was dead safe, so they uber-engineered them to run cool and not be overtaxed. We benefit by having battery packs that are not only safe, but last a long long time. Diesel emissions are the most harmful to your lungs and heart, much more so than regular ICE exhaust. It’s the tiny oil particulates diesel vehicles emit that are so harmful. Mercedes and VW have utilized BlueTec to create “clean diesel”. You pay for this, of course – through the nose as price increases of these vehicles reflect the expense of development. Still, you do not have a quiet car , nor a clean one. Imagine a Volt turned on in your garage – AND YOU CAN BREATHE! – Amazing! Electricity is clean.
Depends upon which country you live also.
Diesel is fine for Europe because the lion’s share of the crude oil they import is refined into it. In fact, it’s surprising to some that the U.K. actually imports a bit of refined gasoline to America because – frankly, they have little use for it. Here in the ‘States, we have the opposite situation. Most of our imported oil is refined into gasoline and only a small percentage is refined into diesel. Most of our diesel is used for commercial purposes, trucking, shipping, etc. and this is why it’s not found at every gasoline station around. My brother-in-law drives a diesel and always purchases gas from the same station – but what happens when you’re in parts unknown? For him, he carries a five gallon can of diesel in his trunk, a rather inelegant solution if you ask me. Also, during the 2008 gasoline price disaster, I found diesel near my area selling for $5.28 per gal. – one dollar per gallon more than regular unleaded!
One friend makes his own biodiesel from used cooking oil he gets for free from local restaurants. This is great if you’re a DIY type with money for the processing equipment + time and motivation. When it’s not great is again – during gas crisis like 2008 or this summer when prices are again supposed to skyrocket. During these times restaurants have to lock up their used cooking oil – and it’s first-come-first-serve…so my friend was out of luck. Instead it’s off to Costco or Sam’s Club where cooking oil in bulk costs about the same as a gallon of gasoline.
As of this writing, there are no diesel-electric hybrids – which, again, for the ‘States is probably not such a good thing anyway ( for passenger cars ). One could say hybrid cars are not proven tech, since the infernal combusted engine is truly nineteenth century technology that’s basically unchanged since it’s inception – just massaged over the decades to what it’s become today. Nobody would have an ICE car if no one would have purchased them in the first place. This is why ( unless we have the stance to let other poor bastards be early adopters, and I’ll benefit from their efforts ) we need to buy electric cars.
It stymies me how we balk at EVs when it’s no bother to go out and purchase an iPad or the next latest electronic gadget. Of course, our automobile is a much larger investment. But it’s a very complex investment with hundreds of moving parts, all of which can go wrong. I’ve owned many cars in my life, and after 70,000 miles even Mercedes start falling apart. The replacement parts industry thrives because we bought such expensive, complex machines. Look at the electric car : 1 moving part in it’s powerplant! Hybrids, PHEVs and EV’s brakes also last a lot longer – the driver uses regen to slow or stop the car using the brakes a whole lot less. Oil changes – one Volt forum member said he was going to go get his oil changed for the first time in 12 months just to get the original oil out. He’s actually driven on electricity 95% of the time so the engine oil change is really not a necessity.
EVs have too many pluses to list – the least of which is telling oil importing countrys that despise our freedoms and way of life ( and us too, I might add ) to go take a long walk off a short pier. It’s a way to keep our boys home and stop spending billions each month to secure our access to foreign crude. Buying an EV is also a smart way to tell politicians and oil execs that we’re not blind. That no matter the party ( Obama opened up coastal oil drilling two weeks before the BP Gulf crisis ) , they cow down to oil.
I will not.
I prefer American made energy I can fill up conveniently right in my garage or driveway.
Volt makes more than sense when you commute 5 days per week on pure AC, and gives you the freedom to travel any distance without range anxiety. Resale of hybrids is a study in itself. I bought mine in late April. I’d been perusing used ones to check the market and they were all over – even on Craigslist. One month later, as gas prices began to rise you could not find a Prius to save your life! It’s this way each year as short-memory folks remember how much gas prices limit them in the spring and summer months. My family members chided me about the “hybrid premium” I paid for my car. “Why didn’t you just buy a small ICE car and save that extra money?” , they all said. Come 2008 when they all had to stay home or ride the bus – they heralded me the genius in the family to have such foresight!
Statistics say Americans have a 3 month memory re: the price of oil, and I’ve found this to be true. Soon after an oil price disaster, they’re back in their fullsized trucks and SUVs dishing out their hard-earned pay to oil execs, politicians and unfriendly countrys.
The first hybrid sold in the United States was the 2 seat Honda Insight. I wanted one to convert to a lithium battery, or perhaps a full-out EV commuter. I was astounded at how well they’ve retained their value. Used Prii are the same. I drive my cars many years so I share your concern about resale value. I just checked the resale value of my ICE pickup truck and it’s horrible. I think if you kept your Volt a standard number of years and then resold it – it would garner a price that was not below average. Then we have to add up those other benefits and you’ll come out much better than that “battery anxiety” has lead to believe.
Let’s review: If you buy a Volt tomorrow and sell it in 10 years, you have kept it longer than the average American and then it will only go 20 miles on electric only, and then seemlessly convert to 35-40 mpg using gas. Todays Plug In Prius costs $32-42,000 and goes 11-13 miles all electric brand new. Hmmmm…I’m not really good at math, but that makes Volt look rather splendid, wouldn’t you say?
Bottom line: Before you go sink your money into a diesel – go drive a Volt, and tell the dealer you’d like to take it home for an evening or two. You may not buy it, but you’ll be far more educated on it’s attributes than you were before.
Beware! The “Volt Smile” is addictive.
@ Alan Bratus:
The Volt IS a hatchback. I think the Vibe and Matrix are kind of a hybrid/wagon “kammback”.
Chevy makes a Cruze wagon but it won’t make it across the pond. Don’t know why…I agree with you small wagons are very versatile. One thing I like about a hatch like the Volt or Prius is that they seriously haul a lot of stuff. I go to Costco and regularly put stuff in back I wouldn’t dare in a sedan with trunk. Fold the seats down and it gobbles up even more. I’ve had ladders, 2 x 4s , kid’s bikes in the rear cargo area. Wagons or small SUVs are taller but you also pay the penalty in car weight distribution and bulk.
James, Thanks for your note…you are right…recently we moved “everything” in my mother-in-laws home including a single bed mattress set, boxes and boxes of everything under the sun, dressers, coffee tables, tv’s…you get the picture…the only item we could not move was a hide-a-bed couch (donated to a recycle co.) in the end I couldn’t believe how much we had moved…We are not the only ones looking for a hybrid/wagon “kammback”. I’ve kept my dogs in top shape by putting their dog crates in the back of our “kammback” and transporting them to where we exercise and back safely, mostly, to swim in the sea, rivers and lakes around here. We are both saying that the “kammback” Volt form factor works for a lot of different reasons..I don’t believe that we are alone…I want to buy an Volt from GM because I believe that it could meet all of my needs.The Volt already has 97.5% of it there…a horizontal extension of the roof could house a sunroof/solar panel etc….thanks to GM Authority for providing an opportunity for reader commentary and POV…and thanks again for your reply…adb
James,
The GM Authority Team has kindly brought it to my attention that GM has considered a Volt hybrid/wagon “kammback’…take a look at :
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2010/04/chevrolet-volt-mpv5-concept/
Alan
@ Alan Bratus:
When I first read your post in my email I thought you may be referring to a bogus PhotoShop pic that circulated on April Fool’s Day a couple years back depicting a Volt with a station wagon back end. This was a prank and not an actual GM project ( see Google Images ).
The “Volt Kammback” you refer to is the MPV5 crossover which actually was/is? a GM project in consideration for production in China. It’s based on the Orlando with a Volt nose and rear treatment. The concept showed in Shanghai and Beijing and left everyone wondering ( like Orlando ) why GM was’nt showing it / hyping it here? Many would prefer MPV5 to Volt due to it’s three across seating in back and taller cargo profile.The MPV5 takes a hit in all-electric AER due to it’s larger frontal area and mass – still it’s 30 miles which is still very nice.
Why oh Why GM are you holding back MPV5 from us Americans who bailed you out? Why are you not giving us the Orlando? Gee – I think we need an explanation, don’t you?
Could someone PLEASE introduce Elissa to the word “infrequently.” Dear Lord, please make those commercials with her in them STOP!
Brendon — we just had a talk with Elissa. She will change her ways 😉
how stupid is this woman to forget how to put gas in her car? i know it is only an ad, but that doesn’t make it (or her) any less stupid
This commercial with Elissa annoys me, 1st of all she is a horrible actress!! WHO works SERIOUSLY ‘forget how to put gas in’ 2nd when she actually says it she isn’t looking at the camera, or the camera isnt pointing at her… & 3rd its completely unbelievable unless of course she drives to her mailbox and back everyday!!!
Come up with a better commercial & done WAYYYYYY better actors & actresses!!
What Elissa says is offensive to women and drivers alike. It’s not nice to tell lies, lady.
Ronny — which part, in particular, do you find offensive?
Elissa must be one of the most idiotic, no, dumbest people on the face of this planet if she is actually able to forget how to put gas in a car. Someone of such small intelligence probably doesn’t know how to calculate gas mileage in the first place. As a tax payer, and owner of GM, PLEASE stop running these idiotic commercials.
Seriously? As a taxpayer, and hence owner of GM? Really?
I greatly appreciate your response, you really put some thought into it. Did you forget how to put gas in your car as well??