Gen 1 GM Volt Plug-In Hybrid (2011-2015)

[evnow]

Do any AutoNation dealers have an allotment of Volts to sell?

All dealers who sell GM cars in the rollout areas and wanted allotments have allotments. I beleive in proportion to their sales ...

 

[lne937s]

Do any AutoNation dealers have an allotment of Volts to sell?

All dealers who sell GM cars in the rollout areas and wanted allotments have allotments. I beleive in proportion to their sales ...

If you are asking if they have cars on the lot- probably not till the end of November. I think if you are not already signed up with AutoNation, you are probably out of luck for next year, for a few reasons:
-GM is only planning to have total manufacturered 10,000 between now and the end of 2011. I would figure that only ~8000 will have been delivered by the end of next year.
-Volt Dealers are required to retain a demonstration vehicle on the lot available for test drives. If ~half of the 3000+ Chevy dealers sell the Volt, that takes away another ~1500 from the new vehicle supply (although if more dealers sell it, that would take away more new cars)
-Many of the Volts are designated for fleets. I would figure at least another 2000...

More than likely, there will less than 5000 Volts available for sale new to consumers in 2011. If you figure on ~1500 dealers selling it, it would average around 3 per dealer. GM will probably not back down on the demo vehicle requirement because they are using the Volt to generate dealer traffic to sell other cars. Due to the very short supply, dealers are able to charge a high markup and probably will not be willing to give away the pure profit associated with their allocation to another dealer who sells at MSRP.

However, due to the demonstration vehicle requirement, you may be able to get you hands on a low-mile used Volt in late 2011/2012.

 

[evchels]

There are currently ~600 Volt dealers, though some of them may not last as such. They are being given allocation according to traditional methods- bigger dealers will get more cars. The number of cars per dealer for all of 2011 I've heard so far has varied from 1 to maybe 15, with most dealers in the mid-high single digits.

 

[lne937s]

There are currently ~600 Volt dealers, though some of them may not last as such. They are being given allocation according to traditional methods- bigger dealers will get more cars. The number of cars per dealer for all of 2011 I've heard so far has varied from 1 to maybe 15, with most dealers in the mid-high single digits.

Wow- so less than 1/5th of Chevy dealers are selling the Volt. Do you know if that is just for initial launch markets? Or does that include all markets when it rolls out through the rest of the country next year?

 

[evchels]

Nope, that's nationwide. (And truly, based on the last gen EV experience, not all dealers should be PH/EV dealers for any of the OEMs.) And while many dealers won't see cars for a while, I'm told training is occurring for all of them specifically because GM knows that some people will go buy out of market and then bring them home, and they want at least some basic support to be in most places.

 

[TRONZ]

That's a first! May I please have the name and location of that dealer? Thanks!

All AutoNation dealers are selling for MSRP. Also one of the dealers who posts in gm-volt was saying there are dealers with plenty of allocated Volts not sold out - so my guess is they will sell at MSRP.

This is very good news for anyone holding out for a VOLT. How Nissan managed to keep dealers under control at or below MSRP is the benchmark here. It would seem that "competitive market conditions" have really helped VOLT fans on this important issue. Also, with VOLT allocations not yet sold out, it might not be such a stretch to imagine GM releasing a pure VOLT EV very soon... if they really want to compete with Nissan that is.

 

[evnow]

Also, with VOLT allocations not yet sold out, it might not be such a stretch to imagine GM releasing a pure VOLT EV very soon... if they really want to compete with Nissan that is.

There was some talk of GM releasing a pure EV 6 months after Volt release. GM hasn't confirmed that.

It makes for an interesting release considering all the FUD GM has been trying against BEVs.

 

[ColinSummers]

The dealer I spoke to was on Santa Monica Blvd here in Santa Monica, CA.

They are apparently not a large or important dealer and have not gotten the full Volt treatment yet. They were not great to talk to about the car, but it was interesting that they said they would sell it at MSRP.

 

[evnow]

http://gm-volt.com/2010/10/08/chevrolet-volt-uses-more-than-8-kwh-of-stored-battery-energy-to-achieve-ev-range/

Chevrolet Volt Uses More than 8 kwh of Stored Battery Energy to Achieve EV Range

Over time as the battery degrades the car’s electric range will gradually decline. The pack should reach about 70 to 75% of capacity after 8 years/100,000 miles. The car will gradually increase the usable state of charge band, however, to continue enabling the 25 to 50 miles of electric range.

I think with such a large reserve, they have a lot of room to do quite a few things - like actually providing 40 miles of range, irrespective of driving conditions ... though, they aren't doing it.

 

[Boomer23]

At the CCSE $5k Calif rebate workshop in San Diego on Monday, Joel Pointon, EV manager for SDG&E mentioned that we should expect the Volt to get 5 miles/kWh and the Leaf to get 4 miles/kWh.

This was the first I had heard of such an estimate, and I'm surprised because I think that the Volt is heavier than the Leaf.

Has anyone heard data like this?

 

[evnow]

At the CCSE $5k Calif rebate workshop in San Diego on Monday, Joel Pointon, EV manager for SDG&E mentioned that we should expect the Volt to get 5 miles/kWh and the Leaf to get 4 miles/kWh.

He must have been using the much quoted 100 miles/24kwh for Leaf and 40miles/8kwh quoted for Volt.

The article I just linked shows that is not the case. If anything, I think Volt will be leff effficient than Leaf (heavier and with a larger motor with potential for speedier driving).

 

[Boomer23]

Ah, that makes sense, thanks.

We're going to have such fun watching the real-world numbers roll in. I can hear us obsessing already. :lol:

 

[AndyH]

From GM's September 10th, 2010 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission:

We have also announced that we plan to launch the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle with extended range in late 2010. On a fully charged battery and tank of gas, the Chevrolet Volt has a driving range of hundreds of miles. When powered only from electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery; the Chevrolet Volt has a typical range of 25-50 miles depending on terrain, driving technique, temperature and battery age.

 

[evnow]

Long review ....

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/alternative/1010_2011_chevrolet_volt_test/index.html

 

[Boomer23]

Long review ....

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/alternative/1010_2011_chevrolet_volt_test/index.html

Hmmm, first confirmation I've read that the gas engine does connect to the transmission, albeit above 70 mph. Interesting, at least, though maybe not terribly significant. It does seem to conflict with GM's most widely known statements that the electric motor always drives the wheels.

More interesting is that if you don't plan ahead and engage mountain mode, you'll be crawling up the mountains with the semis by the time you reach the peak. Also interesting that the engineers identified the highest, longest mountain passes in the US and then set up mountain mode to allow the Volt to climb the highest ones at 70 mph. I wonder how you decide when to engage mountain mode, given that most mountain pass climbs begin gradually rather than abruptly.

 

[garygid]

Use Mountain mode all the time when traveling into the unknown.

Turn it off if nearing a long downgrade, for more Regen e-storage.

Turn it off when on known flatland, and within perhaps 25 "miles" of "home" (an "end-point" recharging location).

 

[evnow]

http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2010/10/let_the_volt_reviews_begin_wha.html

Expect reviews to come fast and furious -- and in much greater detail -- in coming days. The Detroit News reports more than 150 auto critics will hit Metro Detroit this week to accept a unique offer from GM: Show up, and we'll hand you the keys.

 

[Azrich]

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/electric-road-trip

Alan Boyle, Science Editor for msnbc is taking an 800 mile road trip in a Volt form Seattle to San Francisco. He is reporting along the way every hour or so. Mileage so far has been about 42 to 50 mpg. He has some video blogs posted too.

 

[evnow]

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/electric-road-trip

Alan Boyle, Science Editor for msnbc is taking an 800 mile road trip in a Volt form Seattle to San Francisco. He is reporting along the way every hour or so. Mileage so far has been about 42 to 50 mpg. He has some video blogs posted too.

He is confused. Remove first 40 miles of EV drive and then recalculate the cs mileage. He is getting around 35/36 mpg, like popular mechanics reported.

 

[evnow]

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/10/12/5281724-after-800-miles-in-a-volt-its-just-ok

"It's OK."

That's how I replied to a text from my brother-in-law, also a car enthusiast, who knew I was driving a Chevy Volt from Seattle to San Francisco.

That's the problem with the Volt: It's just OK. And for me, just OK isn't enough for a car that costs over $40,000.
...
Speaking of the center stack, it's one of the worst features of the car. It's a mess of flush-mounted, touch-sensitive studs that are labeled with nothing more than white text on a glossy-body-colored surface.