New Chevy Volt value proposition: use gas station restrooms

[smilingbee]

See, if you buy a Volt you can put gas in it at a gas station. That way you can use their restroom guilt-free. Isn't that better than an all electric car?

/sarcasm

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDyZu6zOC6Y[/youtube]

 

[TomT]

Cute commercial. I like it.

See, if you buy a Volt you can put gas in it at a gas station. That way you can use their restroom guilt-free. Isn't that better than an all electric car?

 

[EVDRIVER]

Seems people only thought it would do 40 miles. I don't see this wining new customers and now they need to indirectly hint it uses gas because they painted it as a 40 mile EV. I guess you get what you ask for.

 

[smkettner]

I can hold it for 100 miles and avoiding service station restrooms has always been high on my priority list.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I can hold it for 100 miles and avoiding service station restrooms has always been high on my priority list.

He has less than 40 miles actual range and he needs to stop before arriving home? Interesting.

 

[surfingslovak]

Cute commercial. I like it.

+1

Here is the second part:


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nQbsrQXA7s[/youtube]

 

[smilingbee]

I'm surprised at the positive reactions. Maybe I'm so dismayed by the positioning statement Chevy is using ("More car than electric") that I didn't appreciate the cuteness in this spot.

And this is from someone who actually likes the Volt. I've never driven one, but saw one up close and thought it was better built and better looking than my LEAF.

 

[Herm]

Thats an excellent commercial on many levels. Chevy is gearing up production, lets see how sales do.. the price that Toyota announced for the PIP has taken a lot of the complaints about the cost of the Volt away.

 

[adric22]

I think it is a good commercial. I have met a lot of people online who thought that the Chevy Volt was only a 40 mile EV and didn't understand that it could also run on gas.

Then again, I've met a lot of people in real life and online who that that a regular old Toyota Prius had to plug in... so just goes to show you have to educate the masses.

 

[mitch672]

..snip...Then again, I've met a lot of people in real life and online who that that a regular old Toyota Prius had to plug in... so just goes to show you have to educate the masses.

Oh the Plug in Prius is REALLY going to confuse them!

 

[davewill]

Oh the Plug in Prius is REALLY going to confuse them!

Probably not. I think everyone pretty much understands the Prius doesn't plug in by now, and calling the plug in version the "Plug-in Prius" should do a nice job of setting it apart.

 

[kovalb]

I think this commercial will confuse most people. They also seem to be be subtly putting down EV owners while trying to sell a plug in. :? They imply that EV owners are smug. This makes me wonder about GM's commitment to EVs in general.

The conclusion of this commercial seems to be that the only reason to buy a Volt over a true BEV, like LEAF, is so you can use gas station rest rooms in really bad neighborhoods (maybe as in Detroit). :lol:

 

[SanDust]

He has less than 40 miles actual range and he needs to stop before arriving home? Interesting.

Double espresso and bad traffic. Or a bad burrito.

 

[TEG]

Yes, as usual, GM seems to have their message mixed up.

They call the car the "Volt"... As in electric.
The call it an electric car with a range extender.
They make fun of the LEAF because it is, um, an electric car...
"Our electric car is better because it, uh, can use gas too..."

You get all those benefits of gas like extended range, noxious emissions, greenhouse gasses, high cost per mile, complex power-train, more power-train maintenance, etc...

The LEAF dealer sent me a discount coupon for reduced price oil change. Darn... I don't even need one. If only I had a Volt, I could go in and get an oil change on the ICE just to get value for my coupon! And use the restroom while I am there.

 

[dpodoll]

I think this commercial will confuse most people. They also seem to be be subtly putting down EV owners while trying to sell a plug in. :? They imply that EV owners are smug. This makes me wonder about GM's commitment to EVs in general.

The conclusion of this commercial seems to be that the only reason to buy a Volt over a true BEV, like LEAF, is so you can use gas station rest rooms in really bad neighborhoods (maybe as in Detroit). :lol:

I thought the ads are great; but I think they are Nissan ads

 

[GPowers]

Oh the Plug in Prius is REALLY going to confuse them!

Probably not. I think everyone pretty much understands the Prius doesn't plug in by now, and calling the plug in version the "Plug-in Prius" should do a nice job of setting it apart.

Plug-in-Prius is good for 10 to 15 miles of EV driving. My Guess-o-meter can go through 10 miles before I leave the parking lot.

 

[TRONZ]

OMG. This is clearly the work of a marketing team in need of a direction. Any direction! They clearly don't know which way to run, just like the guy in the commercial.

I actually think this is the most honest ad GM has made for the Volt yet. The resignation of just putting gas in it shows that they have given up trying to attract EV buyers. This was clearly an appeal to the masses for help. My guess is we may be seeing some disappointing Volt sales numbers soon.

IMHO, GM has given up. The Volts days are now numbered.

 

[Train]

They imply that EV owners are smug.

I'm truly shocked. I wonder how they got that impression?

 

[mitch672]

IMHO, GM has given up. The Volts days are now numbered.

GM "gave up" in 2002 with the dismantling and crushing of the EV1, after lobbying CARB hard to get the ZEV mandates pushed back, so they wouldn't have to be "bothered" with all of these pesky emissions laws.

Turns out they where wrong, and the Toyota Prius became a huge success, for the last 10 years (not an EV, but a high mileage car using some EV tech). Now the patents they also bought up to kill the large format batteries are pretty much expired, and new battery technology is again here, and look, other companies are making EVs again.

They can't be left out, so they created the Volt. They are just waiting to call it a failure, so they can again focus on selling those pickup trucks and SUVs, this PHEV / EV stuff is HARD, and no one wants to buy them

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[mitch672]

I also just received this email, from the EAA, posting the text here, as it applies to the Volt

Hello My name is Grant Kenney and I work with the Chevrolet Volt team. We wanted to let you and the other members of your electric vehicle group know that we will be hosting a webchat on Volt ownership tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. EDT. It will include Joe Wiesenfelder of Cars.com, Chevrolet Volt Marketing Director Cristi Landy and Volt owner Patrick Wang. Joe just hit 10,000 miles with his Volt and Patrick owns Volt with VIN#10. The chat is open to everybody and can be accessed through this link on ChevroletVoltAge.com, our social network for the Volt. http://www.chevroletvoltage.com/index.php/volt-blog/18-volt/2505-webchat-on-chevrolet-volt-ownership.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; The group will answer as many questions as they can during the hour. We hope you can join us. Thanks.