For several misplaced reasons, the Chevrolet Volt has been a whipping boy for many people fearful that their beloved automotive way of life is about to be destroyed, or for folks who have issues with the government bailout. To the rest of the population, though, the Volt leaves them scratching their collective heads in confusion. Still.
Three years into the Volt’s tenure, people still have no real understanding of what it is. Is it a conventional car? Is it a hybrid like the Prius? Is it something else? According to CNET, Chevrolet admits that the Volt’s drivetrain may still be a little confusing to the general consumer who is used to regular vehicles or even hybrids like the Prius.
Of course, what differentiates the Volt from the Prius is that the latter is a gas car with electric assist, while the Volt is the inverse. Chevy admits that car shoppers looking for personal transportation likely have not have given the Volt’s powertrain proper consideration because they don’t understand it. The way gas mileage is reported for alternative-fuel vehicles certainly doesn’t help car shoppers—translating the benefits in an easy-to-understand manner is one of the challenges. “One of our key messages is that our owners … on average, go 900 miles between each fill-up,” Volt Marketing Manager Dora Norwicki told CNET. That’s certainly easier to understand than “98 MPGe.”
Notably, the Prius also experienced a public that was confused on the benefits of a hybrid vehicle, but over time it became familiar—especially in California. The Volt likely will experience a similar familiarity curve.
Comments
GM really dropped the ball on Marketing here.
They started out great as they developed the car but after It was out it almost vanished.
They really needed to show how people use this car how it works in their lives. This is a car for the average person that would like to have an electric car but not have to have 2 or three cars to live with it.
They can show how most people can drive to work for months on battery and if they need to take a trip or make a drive even after the charge is gone they just keep on driving not looking for a charging station and killing several hours.
Get people who own these cars like Jay Leno show how after a year he still had not filled up the car and drove it regularly.
This is not a car for the people who want a full electric this is a electric car that you can get the average car buyer to consider as he does not have to adjust his or hers daily lifestyle to fit the cars range or charging time.
GM really need to show what their advantages are to the average car buyer as that is who will be looking to this car.
The fact is not everyone can afford a Tesla and not as many love the Prius as they once did. The leaf is somewhat a forgotten ugly little car with charging time issues.
GM needs to do the hard sell on just what this car is to the non gearhead people to teach them just what it will do and just what they do not have to give up in their life to live with it.
Honestly, its GM’s fault. first they muddled up the initial advertising campaign, then they tried to explain something that only engineers or enthusiast care to know about in their adds and to the general car media.
GM should have relentlessly pushed that it’s an electric car with the bonus of a on-board generator, so you never get stranded. Next follow up with a down home ‘customer testimonial’ add campaign that had customers stating over and about their 80-100mpg driving adventures.
and the volt would have cinched they hybrid/hyper “eco” market along time ago. But sometimes old habits die hard. GM did what it’s been notorious for doing during the last 30+ years and f#cked up the media blitz on a excellent product.
It doesn’t help that the American news media has a habit of crapping on anything domestic when ever they get the chance and turned the non news of ” hey the volt can actually be powered by the engine in extreme situations” into a “GM sucks and LIED to us!!” multi-month long tirade – As well as crapping all over the initial mpg claims.
GM means “Godawful Marketing” and what part of this can NOT the idiot who ruins (I mean RUNS) marketing and advertising NOT figure out?
My niece was visiting us two years ago shortly after I bought my 2012 Volt and while watching television, a commercial came on of a young woman about her same age – and whom was standing inside a studio by a Volt, when she exclaimed “Sometimes I forget where the gas cap is on my Volt.” My niece (has a Master’s Degree from Purdue) says to me, “Do only idiots buy Volts?” I replied, “no, only GM produces idiotic TV commercials.” And since that viewing experience two years ago, I have seen one other commercial about this amazing car… and that commercial featured a small robotic dog riding in a Volt and tit stole the show. Nobody even noticed the Volt, but everyone and his brother wanted to rush down to ToyLand to buy a robotic dog.
What part of “let’s design and produce a very advanced car that runs on electric motors, and will be revolutionary and different than nearly anything on the road, and lets not really advertise or market this complicated car, and see if it sells” logic is this?
Have you seen a Volt commercial” Have you heard anyone from GM doing talk shows explaining the virtues of the Volt? Have you seen a Volt on the highways (or could recognize one )? I live in the middle of Texas and I often get complements on my black Volt I named Dusty (I live on a ranch and must wash Dusty frequently) and when it is clean, people are always saying to me “Nice looking car, what is it?” and when I say a Volt, people often then say “What’s a Volt?” If that doesn’t suggest that Godawful Marketing os doing a lousy job of advertising, I don’t know what will.
GM is back on the road (pardon the pun) to making great cars again (I own a 2012 Volt, 2013 Malibu ECO and a 2012 GMC SIerra 2500HD 4×4) but GM is lost on the trail when it comes to advertising, marketing and storytelling… What can you expect from geeks and engineers I suppose?
+1
My Friend, you nail it in this comment and your follow up comment, Well stated!
Just for you I will link to a batch of Chevy Volt Extended Range Electric Vehicle Ads from the Ad Critic’s Show that either were in limited release or never aired. These are GREAT!
Enjoy.
Link Goes To YouTube, Ad Critics Channel- Volt Ad’s-
Best-
Thomas J. Thias
Twitter.com/AmazingChevVolt
Oh, and I forgot to add… I wish GM would have come out swinging when Fox News slandered the Volt (as well as Rush Limbaugh, Neil Cavuto, Sarah Palin (I want to kick him in the backside so bad, despite that I am a Republican) and the other “journalists” when they got all over the one Volt that caught on fire (weeks after) a crash test. They lies and misinformation spread by Fox News about the Volt is still hurting this car. A month after I bought my Volt, I pulled into a gas station (to buy green tea – not gas) and I parked my Volt next to a police motorcycle in Abilene, Texas. I come out and the policeman is about to put his helmet on and he says to me, “Hey my dad was in Vietnam in the Army” (as he sees my Vietnam Veteran baseball cap). Then he says “nice looking car” (as most people do) and I say “thanks, it’s a Volt.” The next words out of his mouth “I hear they catch on fire!”
I want so badly to kick a bunch of people in the rear end (mentioned above) that it would give this Texan much pleasure to wear out several pair of arse-kicking boots…
@n22Tango
Don’t you wish GM would notice their Ex Vice President and co-founder of Volt’s Bob Lutz ( former veteran ) working
for VIA Motors? I noticed you said you also owned a Sierra HD 4X4. VIA uses brand-new GM trucks, drives them 2
miles from GM’s Hermasillo truck factory in Mexico to it’s own facility where they add lithium ion batteries and
2 generators in an EREV setup nearly exactly like in our Volt. The battery packs fit between the frame rails thus
allowing any cab/seating configuration or use in Tahoe or the van. These trucks now have 40 mile all electric drive
capability before the V-6 engine kicks in. An added value as a commercial or home vehicle is that the truck also has
AC outlets to plug your house into in case of a power outage. They also can run a variety of pretty powerful power
tools on the jobsite. The cost for all this Voltlike EREV magic is around $88,000. Yes, that’s a lot, and the price forces
VIA to sell it’s Chevy trucks to fleets and contractors. Anybody knows that if GM made this truck themselves – they
could cut costs immensely due to the powers of economy of scale. You buy more lithium batteries and electric
motors, you get the wholesale deal. Thus – these trucks could make it into our garages and farms for near $50,000,
which surprisingly, many people already dish out for a Tahoe, Denali or well-equipped truck. Mr. Lutz recently told
the press that the Volt was the wrong first entry into the EREV/PHEV world for GM. Gee, thanks Bob, since you and
Mr. Laukner suggested Volt to, “leapfrog Prius”! But hindsight is 20/20 and I suppose we all have the right to
second guess our decisions after we see the results. Maximum Bob Lutz said that a full-sized truck was where GM
should have placed it’s EREV technology since they are the largest-selling of all vehicles in the USA and would
thusly also save the most gas and decrease the most pollution.
In my next post I will explain why GM or any infernal-combustion, 19th century explode and burn fossil fuel machine
maker cannot adequately advertise an electric car they sell alongside their big profit gas burners. It also explains
why GM nor Ford, nor RAM or Toyota will make such a truck unless literally forced to by government regulations.
Please read the post below. Thanks. Let GM know what you think – maybe , like the documentary film, “Who Killed
The Electric Car” ( And “Revenge Of The Electric Car” – both highly recommended on Netflix or wherever you can
find them ) which highlighted the rise and fall of the GM EV-1 – which was accredited with GM making Volt to
stem the tide of bad PR from the film.
I want to start a Facebook campaign to pressure GM into building high-mileage ( better than Tesla! ) electric
cars and trucks. I’m no Facebook guy – so it’ll be a stretch for me to put that out there – but we have to speak out
until GM hears us.
Thanks, everyone.
James:
I considered this VIA truck however I was advised by someone (probably who is close to VIA) that it would not be able to cope with the extreme forces and weight that I need in regard to hauling a gooseneck trailer with a farm tractor on the back. Additionally, some of the slop I drive through in 4 wheel drive and up gravel roads on steep inclines, might be too ambitious for the drive train on the VIA. However, I’m pretty excited how this pickup could work for a typical homeowner needing to haul smaller loads on errands to/from hardware stores or hauling plywood and lumber in the back.
The odd thing to me, is I use my Volt in a manner that GM probably never thought someone would. I use it to commute between two ranches that are 45 miles apart and it has worked out so perfectly on this commute (23,000 miles and about 22,500 electric and 500 gas) that a Volt would work well for a lot of people who live in the “boon docks” and not just people who live in large metropolitan areas needing to commute to an office 30 miles away. Part of my frustration in owning a Volt, is it has worked out so well for me (performing beyond my expectations) that I feel like I’ve discovered something as incredible as the Fountain of Youth and like Ponce de León. nobody is listening to me (well, nobody out here in the sticks and no folks on the right.) I haul feed in the back of my Volt rather than my GMC 2500HD because the Volt is so much fun to drive. Although when I show up at the feed store, I sure get a lot of stares from people… I’d rather make 5 trips in the Volt than one trip in the GMC, just for the sheer pleasure of driving my “Indy Car”…
Bottom line…
*The Volt is a hoot to drive. (No other car I’ve owned has been this much fun)
* No other vehicle I’ve owned is this affordable to operate (Including a bunch of rice-burners I’ve had 2-wheel and 4 wheel)
* As a war veteran and life long Republican, I’m excited that my Volt runs on an American fuel (and our military need not be burdened in the middle east protecting the oil flowing out of the Persian Gulf) And as I make this statement, I wonder what part of “taxpayer burden” Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and the others can’t figure out in regard to how much it costs us to keep a military presence in the Gulf region… But of course, Rush Limbaugh was a “chicken hawk” and hid behind his college deferment during Vietnam, while I postponed my degree and joined… Oh, Rush had a cyst on his arse too… http://www.examiner.com/article/rush-limbaugh-dodged-vietnam-draft-due-to-a-boil-on-his-rear-end. And any Republican who owns a Volt and thinks Rush Limbaugh is a hero… look at this
http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2010/11/rush_limbaugh_does_not_care_fo.html
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/12/06/regime_covered_up_chevy_volt_dangers
And the links go on and on for Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin in regard to their slamming of the Volt… Just Google them on your own.
Where was Limbaugh, Palin, Beck and the others when the Feds bailed out Harley Davidson? I wish it would have been President Obama sitting on a Harley rather than sitting in a Volt when that “famous” picture was made… http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/568/8613/Motorcycle-Article/Harley-Davidson-Loaned–2-3-Billion-from-Fed.aspx
I guess technically I can only be described as a “moderate” because I do not subscribe to the slander and libel that the far right has “flung” at the Volt. And, I can’t understand GM not doing a better job of advertising this remarkable car. I think the Volt is “RIGHT” for America.
James, you can start that kind of campaign right here on GMA. May I suggest the forums?
Here’s a refresher course for failed – and expensive ad campaigns GM tried with Volt.
1) We remember the Fall 2010 introduction ads voiced over by non other than “Tim The Toolman” Allen that
stated, “It’s More Car Than Electric”. GM subsequently ran that ad during the expensive Super Bowl the next
January. Nobody understood what it meant and the ad was a huge failure. GM had just fired it’s decades-old
New York ad agency and hired some new advertising blood. EPIC FAIL No. 1.
2) Since nobody got it – GM tried it’s next Volt EPIC FAIL with the, “Gee, why are you at a gas station with an
electric car” series with jerk burger boys at drive thru windows, and a dorky kid and parent at a convenience
store. They even ran another in the series with parking lot attendants – and again …Nearly nobody got it
that didn’t already know how a Volt operates. Another big miss – EPIC FAIL #2.
3) Let’s go down memory lane for pricey miss #3: During the Super Bowl 2012 Chevy brought us aliens
in some Volt owner’s suburban garage who lusted over the guy’s wife and took off in a spaceship! Oh boy –
I don’t have to tell you that this was perhaps GM’s biggest EPIC FAIL in an attempt to sell the Volt! Everyone
just said, “What the h*ll?! ”
4) It seemed GM gave up on it’s fancy new ad agency and just called in some current Volt owners to a
presentation in Detroit. One owner told me they didn’t tell them it was an ad shoot – that they stood in
front of a green screen and just were told to tell them why they loved their Volt so much! After they were
given a release form and some parting gifts! How’s THAT for low-budget?! In the end, these actually were
the most effective and direct efforts as women were endeared to the females ( women buy more new
cars each year in America than men, look it up ), and the guys also were able to express how they loved their
Volt ( J.D. Power best owner satisfaction wasn’t really conveyed – FAIL! ). One woman actually blurted, “I saved
a crapload on gas! ” – which was my favorite! Finally, GM saw a boost in sales with Volt seeing it’s best
months to date – even before they dropped the price!
5) The last two efforts I’ll combine because they both were brief and many did not even see one. There was that electric dog robot fiasco which featured other GM products along with the robot. Then there was the white room with a family in a white Volt running circles around and around and charging their cellphones. ONCE AGAIN – NOBODY PICKED UP ON THAT ONE EITHER!
So K.I.S.S. GM – list the benefits and make it simple. Hopefully Volt will not be this generation’s Corvair. Two
versions of Corvair were sold before GM axed it for poor sales. Some of the same attacks were responsible –
unfair for such a unique and economical car. Ralph Nader was the main culprit back then for misinformation,
and electric-car-hating Fox News and oil-rich politicians are big providers of cable television lies about Volt
today. I did some research and found Fox News is owned by News Corp Inc… owned primarily by media mogul
Rupert Murdoch and it’s largest public stockholder is AN ARAB OIL SHEIK!!! Now we see what interest Fox has
in dissing electric cars!
To end, I will share with you why established automakers who have made the lion’s share of their profits for
entire eras by building complex, oil-burning machines who’se basic tech has not changed for 100 years
cannot properly sell electric or PHEV/EREV cars and trucks. Why? Because to tell the public that electrics have
one moving part for their motor, and not the 400+ oily, complex parts that require servicing and replacement
would be a big conflict of their own interest. Why educate the people re: the savings of electrics when you
profit largely from your parts and service departments at every dealership? It would be like cutting off your foot
to spite your leg! They just cannot do it. This is why an automaker who only sells electrics, like Tesla is the
only hope of educating the masses. They don’t sell infernal combustion machines so they are not hurting
themselves by telling folks they are better, quieter, smoother, much cheaper to own, don’t require government-
required smog checks, mufflers, thermostats, spark plugs and dozens of other expensive parts and services.
They cannot tell you that you save big money over the ownership of a few years and don’t poison the air
you and your kids breathe. They just can’t.
This is why current automakers who sell some “compliance cars” ( SparkEV, FocusElectric, Fiat 500e, Honda FitEV,
– and the list goes on and on ) to satisfy government eco and mileage mandates – cannot rightly sell
their electric, or EREV models in such a way as to educate the masses.
Thanks for reading this.
I agree with you guys re: The misinformation parade.
I got a call from my internet-addicted sister after I bought my Volt. I’m a car guy for my entire life and can run down
every drop of Volt history from the 2007 concept to complex SAE descriptions of how the car works. -She says,
“why did you buy THAT – don’t you know they catch on fire?!” – Go figure.
I also agree with the Jay Leno comment. Celebrities gain big traction and attention in media. Instead of paying
Tim Allen or some other famous voiceover talent – hire a very popular – pop culture icon who’se demographic
matches the cost and market of your product. Jay Leno is a happy Volt owner who states he put 10,000 miles
on his Volt the first year commuting to work and with his wife using it as their main transportation machine. This
from a guy who owns over 200 mostly-priceless automobiles!
Reports surfaced stating Dodge sold out of all it’s Durangos for months after they started running those horrible
Anchorman2 plug ads. Will Ferrell actually taught NOTHING about the Durango and just schmaltzed and
ad-libbed some garbage for a minute each time, and each new ad skyrocketed the Chrysler gas pig higher
in record sales!
I think the problem was much more simple.
The Volt was started by one group and finished and promoted by those who came in to replace them. Lutz was gone as as many other involved with the car at the start. More importantly GM changed marking plans and firms also nearly monthly for a while.
The reality is this is not their primary concern car at the moment as they have many other higher profit brands and models to worry about like the Cruze and others that are paying the bills. Unfortunately it take time and money away from the Volt.
I really think it got to the point they dropped things till they get to their new plan to offer two models and the more advance technology. One it hits the marketing will be put forward again and hopefully not dropped after 6 months.
I believe better marketing using the web would be the most effective way to reach buyers as the primary buyers will be people who are on the web often not the traditional buyers.
As for the Volt not being the right first car that is Monday morning quarterbacking. A more expensive vehicle would have been easier to make a profit on but few people other than Tesla though anyone would pay that much for a car like that. This has caught many off guard. Also the automaker need a volume car to do well as a high end limited volume car is not going to help much for what they need this to do. Even Tesla has not been able to build a cheap volume car to this point either.
As for the EV-1 that is just a bunch of BS. If you had driven or been in one they were very crude and limited and only a small segment of people would have accepted them and few could have afforded to pay the real price.
It was a prototype much like the Turbine cars Chrysler had back in the 60’s that was neat but far from ready for prime time. If GM has put them on the market and sold them for the price they would have had to sold them at it may have set back the whole EV industry because of issues and poor performance.
The whole Volt ICE part came from the fact the test people kept worrying about running out of power before they could finish their runs. They also used trailers to power the cars with extra batteries so they had a usable test range.
I just think if GM gets the facts of daily life with the Volt out and show real people like Leno and other average owners on how they use the car and how little gas it uses while not having to worry about finding a charging station it would send the real message of what this car is all about.
Right now there is no message and no message leads to no sales.
Indeed, the marketing for the Volt has been terrible. Boring ads and too much emphasis on the Volt’s technology than basic car attributes. The Volt should be wiping out sales of the Toyota Prius. GM should simply position the Volt as the EVolution of hybrids, stressing incredible gas mileage, high customer satisfaction, Motor Trend Car of the Year – and also that it’s a cool, zippy car that’s really fun to drive!
Lloyd… exactly and having rented a Prius in San Francisco prior to buying or considering a Volt, I was impressed with it but WOW, it can not come close to the 2012 Volt I purchased nearly two years ago and I am so glad that even though I considered a Leaf and went to the Nissan dealership and came close to buying one, I’m glad I went with the Volt.
I tell people who ask me about my Volt, that it out-handles a 240-Z I had in my youth… My Volt is more fun to drive than anything I’ve ever owned (and I have owned a mess of cars) and as a senior citizen, I can say the smile on my face is much wider now than when I drove as a senior in high school in my new Camaro. Who would ever think that someone in their 60s could be driving a car as an “old-timer” and having much more fun when they were a care-free teenager?
And few people outside of Volt owners themselves have any idea of how affordable a Volt can be to drive. My 1970 Camaro when I was a senior in high school could get me down the road 14 miles when gasoline was 37 cents per gallon 44 years ago. Fast forward to 2014 and the same 37 cents (of electricity) can get my Volt typically 20 miles down the road, although I do admit now that I am a senior citizen and not a senior in high school, I am a little lighter on the “gas” peddle, but I hold no records in a Volt for “fuel” economy… Other Volt owners do better than me.
I agree that all the silliness we have seen in the sparse advertising for the Volt, do not lead to sales, do not contribute to John Q Public wanting to rush out to a Chevy dealership to learn more. GM indeed needs to get the message out about how enjoyable it is to own this car and let people know that they are liberating in regard to the little service they require.
Old timers like me, know that GM has a track record of “bailing out” of a commitment to certain cars. They started with the Corvair. As mentioned by James (above) a “leftist” loon (Ralph Nader) lambasted the Corvair and GM threw in the towel. Now, right-wing loons are bashing the Volt, and it isn’t just one loon doing all the damage.
GM gave up on several other cars too, one being the Chevette (I owned one and after 4 months I started calling it my Shitvette) and it was the worst car I’ve ever had and what the Hell was GM thinking when they made that pile of poopoo? Doing away with that car was a service to mankind, however as some of us who own Volts, we are loosing confidence in GM’s commitment to the Volt because of their lackluster advertising and marketing.
Despite my concern about how long the Volt might be around, or how porked-out GM might make the Volt to accommodate people who want to “giant-size” it, I plan on ordering my second Volt in May. It is a remarkable vehicle as is, and with less than 60,000 sold since it became available as a 2011 model, it’s clearly obvious that the car is NOT a failure but General Motors has failed to tell the story and get the message out.