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

[DaveinOlyWA]

Apparently GM is now offering a $5050 factory rebate,
presumably to boost sales as many Volts arrive at dealers.

LOL!! so fifty bucks more than Nissan??? omg :?

 

[scottf200]

Apparently GM is now offering a $5050 factory rebate, presumably to boost sales as many Volts arrive at dealers.

I've only heard of $2,500 for some large dealers that have moved a lot of cars. Please point out links to real articles/customers/dealers.

2012's need to be cleared out for the new 2013 model year.

 

[SanDust]

Maybe he's confusing lease cash with a factory rebate. The official Volt page has a two year lease at $249/month. That's an aggressive number and it has to have a bag of lease cash behind it. Doesn't matter though. At the end of the day you can lease a Leaf for $299/month or a Volt for $249/month. But that's not the point of the low lease number. The bigger picture is that once you take what you spend on gas into consideration $249/month for the Volt is a better deal than another car at $179/month.

 

[scottf200]

I have to believe that the Via Motors work/fleet truck will be a major hit and will reinforce the 'extended range' concept and understand to the public ... making the Volt more understood and appreciated. Video states that many fleet trucks have a low number of miles per day (<50) so this is perfect. All with a lot of torque and power to run tools.

This calculator resonates with the fleet managers!! http://www.viamotors.com/vtrux/life-cycle-savings-calculator/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5STy6HRZEQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5STy6HRZEQ[/youtube]

Via's extended range electric truck. With a 4.3-liter GM-sourced V6, it takes four hours to charge at 220, gets roughly 100 mpg with a full range of 300 miles - and you can run your power tools off it!

Check out the Official Jay Leno's Garage Site for more:
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The electric motor is rated at 300 kW (402 hp) and is powered by a 24.4 kWh, liquid cooled

 

[ztanos]

Maybe he's confusing lease cash with a factory rebate. The official Volt page has a two year lease at $249/month. That's an aggressive number and it has to have a bag of lease cash behind it. Doesn't matter though. At the end of the day you can lease a Leaf for $299/month or a Volt for $249/month. But that's not the point of the low lease number. The bigger picture is that once you take what you spend on gas into consideration $249/month for the Volt is a better deal than another car at $179/month.

Especially since I would spend $250/month in a 35mpg car.

 

[TomT]

As indicated elsewhere here in their own post, Fontana Nissan is giving $5,000 off on Leafs. Though with the decrease in CA rebate from $5K to $2.5K and the 2012 price increase, I'm still ahead overall on my 2011 with the $1K discount I got from them when I bought it...

I've only heard of $2,500 for some large dealers that have moved a lot of cars. Please point out links to real articles/customers/dealers.

 

[mwalsh]

Only seen one additional Volt since my last report. And not seen any in the HOV lane with green stickers yet. :?

 

[ebill3]

Apparently GM is now offering a $5050 factory rebate,
presumably to boost sales as many Volts arrive at dealers.

Any more details? I can't seem to find anything, and such a deal might get me back to a Volt dealer.

And, I see LEAFs stacked up at my local dealer.

 

[scottf200]

Apparently GM is now offering a $5050 factory rebate,
presumably to boost sales as many Volts arrive at dealers.

Any more details? I can't seem to find anything, and such a deal might get me back to a Volt dealer. And, I see LEAFs stacked up at my local dealer.

Better question for http://www.gm-volt.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I have to believe that the Via Motors work/fleet truck will be a major hit and will reinforce the 'extended range' concept and understand to the public ... making the Volt more understood and appreciated. Video states that many fleet trucks have a low number of miles per day (<50) so this is perfect. All with a lot of torque and power to run tools.

This calculator resonates with the fleet managers!! http://www.viamotors.com/vtrux/life-cycle-savings-calculator/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5STy6HRZEQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5STy6HRZEQ[/youtube]

Via's extended range electric truck. With a 4.3-liter GM-sourced V6, it takes four hours to charge at 220, gets roughly 100 mpg with a full range of 300 miles - and you can run your power tools off it!

Check out the Official Jay Leno's Garage Site for more:
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

nice video but Lutz is wrong. the biggest reason for the downfall of SUVs is the fact that Crew cab pickups provide all the amenitities, leather, power every thing, seating for 6, etc. that SUVs used to provide. so you can now have your truck and SUV all in one vehicle.

overall, i have to say Lutz has a hit.

 

[TomT]

If you are willing to drive something 30 feet long! :lol:

nice video but Lutz is wrong. the biggest reason for the downfall of SUVs is the fact that Crew cab pickups provide all the amenitities, leather, power every thing, seating for 6, etc. that SUVs used to provide. so you can now have your truck and SUV all in one vehicle.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

If you are willing to drive something 30 feet long! :lol:

nice video but Lutz is wrong. the biggest reason for the downfall of SUVs is the fact that Crew cab pickups provide all the amenitities, leather, power every thing, seating for 6, etc. that SUVs used to provide. so you can now have your truck and SUV all in one vehicle.

Ford sells over a half million trucks a year. 70+% are "crew cab" style with 4 full sized doors. not all have 8 ft beds (F-150 crew cabs can only have max 6½ ft beds due to size limitations. must go F-250 and higher for the 8 ft) but ya, i seen a lot of SUV drivers who acted like they were driving a bus!

 

[JeremyW]

Ford sells over a half million trucks a year. 70+% are "crew cab" style with 4 full sized doors. not all have 8 ft beds (F-150 crew cabs can only have max 6½ ft beds due to size limitations. must go F-250 and higher for the 8 ft) but ya, i seen a lot of SUV drivers who acted like they were driving a bus!

I'm not a fan of huge trucks, but pretty much everyone I know that owns a truck won't get rid of it because of the convenience of being able to haul stuff. They also pay a butt load in gas. I think these will sell really well. Heck, if I owned a PHEV, I'd like it to be a truck. :roll:

Jeremy

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Ford sells over a half million trucks a year. 70+% are "crew cab" style with 4 full sized doors. not all have 8 ft beds (F-150 crew cabs can only have max 6½ ft beds due to size limitations. must go F-250 and higher for the 8 ft) but ya, i seen a lot of SUV drivers who acted like they were driving a bus!

I'm not a fan of huge trucks, but pretty much everyone I know that owns a truck won't get rid of it because of the convenience of being able to haul stuff. They also pay a butt load in gas. I think these will sell really well. Heck, if I owned a PHEV, I'd like it to be a truck. :roll:

Jeremy

yep, know a bunch of them too. actually one guy who owns an F-350 turbodiesel actually uses his for work so he ok, but also have neighbor (mind you i live on street with 13 houses so all these neighbors i talk about come from a pool of 12) who traded in his Dodge for a F-150 Larriat Crew (didnt buy it from us but probably paid about $50,000 AFTER rebates) he rarely used his Dodge for anything other than single occupancy commuting (they also have an Escalade) so we see how this Ford fits into the family adventures

 

[IBELEAF]

Well I've been contemplating on "upgrading" to Volt for sometime. I recently had my first test drive and while I liked it, I wasn't blown away. Here are my brief thoughts about :

Handling is much better then Leaf
Acceleration is the same as Leaf
It feels small on the inside, but comfortable. (I am 5' 10")
A bit disappointed with the rear passenger space, especially when I'll have a rear facing car seat in there. I am yet to try this with a baby.
Visibility not great in the front and back, I can't see getting this car without a backup camera. As far as front you sit lower and front is not that visible when you are navigating in the sloped garage.
Gas engine doesn't turn on until the battery is depleted. I thought it was turning on whenever you accelerate past certain speed or quick acceleration. This is a good thing though and as far as I know 2013 model will have an option to force gas engine
Quieter then Leaf, at least in electric mode.
Feels just a bit heavy
It's low on the ground because every time I drive over sloped surface I am scraping something on the front. This might get annoying to me.
Oil changes were expected, but I didn't know I had to do it anyway even if I don't use the engine
I am concerned with the reliability of the American car in 5-10 years down the road (I still have more trust in Nissan quality)

What do I get for paying roughly $10k extra?
Flexibility of the gas engine and stress free driving
Nicer looks

 

[DaveEV]

Gas engine doesn't turn on until the battery is depleted. I thought it was turning on whenever you accelerate past certain speed or quick acceleration. This is a good thing though and as far as I know 2013 model will have an option to force gas engine

There is a "Hold" mode for 2013 which will cause the car to maintain battery SOC at the present level by running the engine if necessary. Also a "Mountain" mode which will run the engine if necessary to bring the battery SOC up to 40% (or something, don't recall exact %).

It's low on the ground because every time I drive over sloped surface I am scraping something on the front. This might get annoying to me.

That's an airdam used to improve aerodynamics. IIRC, there is an option to get one that doesn't hang quite as low, but you might lose a bit of efficiency.

Oil changes were expected, but I didn't know I had to do it anyway even if I don't use the engine

The engine will run periodically to burn off gas to keep it from going stale. I think you can go something like 2 years between oil changes if you don't use the engine much. The car watches how the engine is used and adjusts the OCI for you so they are generally a rare event. Even without running the engine much, the oil can accumulate water and stuff which you want to remove.

The 2013 will also have a few more miles of EV range - if you're not in a hurry and looking at a Volt, I certainly would opt to wait for the 2013 (just like I would opt to wait for a 2013 LEAF at this point if I were in the market. Expect to see some good prices on 2012 models as the 2013 models hit the lots, too.

The Volt isn't $10k more than the LEAF - the difference is much smaller unless you live somewhere where all-electric vehicles get a bigger rebate...

 

[scottf200]

Gas engine doesn't turn on until the battery is depleted. I thought it was turning on whenever you accelerate past certain speed or quick acceleration. This is a good thing though ...

Yes, the main difference between the Volt and other hybrids or plug-in hybrids. BEV for "40" and PHEV after that and hence the new tag of EREV they were pushing. Most other cars turn on the ice at ~62MPH/100KPH. You can put the accelerator to the floor in the Volt up to 100MPH and it will just use the battery power. That is how many of us are mainly using electricity even if we have highway driving.

chevy-volt-a-plug-in-hybrid-more-electric-than-you-think-owners-say
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1077653_chevy-volt-a-plug-in-hybrid-more-electric-than-you-think-owners-say" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[LKK]

If you don't like the front air dam scraping, GM has designed a shorter one in response to owner complaints. I'm told they will swap them at no charge. They are also doing a similar thing in response to owner complaints of wind buffeting. This involves a new mirror cover and window trim, again done at no cost.

 

[IBELEAF]

I brought Volt home to show to my wife. Surprisingly it fits our Uppa Baby stroller better then Leaf. I just lay it flat and it doesn't affect rear visibility that much. Other then that, it didn't pass WAF. Other then the "you don't need another car" she was complaining about middle gap primarily because she wanted to have our car seat in the middle. Anyway, I tend to agree that Volt is less of a family friendly car though.

The Volt isn't $10k more than the LEAF - the difference is much smaller unless you live somewhere where all-electric vehicles get a bigger rebate...

I was roughly estimating the difference it would cost to upgrade from Leaf if we sell it.

 

[mkjayakumar]

Does the gas engine in the Volt directly drive the wheels under any circumstances, or its purpose is only to put juice into the batterry ??

If it is the latter, can it charge at a rate faster than than the discharge while driving in highways ?

Jay