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Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

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Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#21

Post by rootusrootus »

femto113 wrote: post #6
felipemnoa wrote: post #2

>>Sales averaged less than 20,000 per year, not enough to sustain the costly undertaking. That to me sounds like a decent number. I guess they were selling them at a loss.

For comparison consider that Tesla is selling about that many cars in a month, or that GM sold over 2,000,000 cars last year, so the Volt was only about 1% of their volume. Little sad though because it had some truly innovative engineering.

I was interested in the Volt myself but after sitting in one decided it was too small. It is essentially a Chevy Cruze body with the Voltec drivetrain. I was banging my head into the roof getting in, while on a similarly small vehicle (Prius) I had ample room. The Volt it sleeker and much better on the eyes than a Prius, but I need my daily driver to have good utility.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#22

Post by cmrdporcupine »

Best car I've ever owned from a reliability and fun-to-drive perspective.

A bit cramped, but it's my commuter car, so don't care.

I drive 100+km a day and charge at both ends, and most weeks use no gas. But still have the flexibility to take very long road trips without the hassle of stopping at DC fast charge stations every couple hundred km.

When this one dies someday, I'll probably buy another used one if I can find one in good condition. The 2019 model is the best, with 7kw charging, power seats, and a new head unit.

Very sad to see it go.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#23

Post by chaostheory »

I've had both the 1st gen and 2nd gen Volt. It is truly a great car that's versatile. You can use it on both a commute and road trip with no issues.

This is a classic short sighted GM move. I hope that at the very least they somehow sell the Volt to another major manufacturer. I'm not transitioning to the Bolt.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#24

Post by rossdavidh »

Somehow, I am kind of reminded of GM's Saturn division. 1) make a concept 2) consumers like it 3) but GM can't make it cheaply enough, or sell it at a price that reflects it's cost 4) so they end the model and close the plant

I have the impression that what is wrong with GM is not the Volt, or the old Saturn for that matter, but rather the people who run the company.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#25

Post by clouddrover »

CydeWeys wrote: post #16
bsder wrote: post #7

It's a true shame, as GM finally got the little details right on both how the engine was put together as well as the interior fit and finish on the 2017 model. However, it was probably inevitable once batteries got good enough. Removing the combustion engine and replacing it with more batteries probably saves far too much money. The current problem I have with electric vehicles is simply that right now they are "5 ye…

Realistically speaking, how important is it that a car last 20 years? If it only lasts 10 years, which current EVs seem on track for, so what? You're not actually out that much on an annualized basis. And don't forget that years 11 through 20 on an ICE car are quite a bit more expensive maintenance-wise. Depending on how much you drive, two electric cars over 20 years might well be cheaper than one gasoline car lasti…

> how important is it that a car last 20 years?

It's important for the used car market. I've bought all of my cars used and because I picked cars that had been well maintained I've never had any major issue. The same wouldn't be possible with cars that were at the end of their life at 10 years.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#26

Post by username223 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #13
organsnyder wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Yes, there are more components than either a pure ICE or pure EV, but that doesn't translate to "twice the maintenance expense". In my experience (we own a Pacifica PHEV), a PHEV means less expense than a 100% ICE vehicle, but more than a pure EV.

Is it twice the expense? Probably not. Plug in hybrids are simply the worst of both worlds. You still need an engine and everything that goes with it, and your all electric range is anemic. Why would I buy a Volt when I could buy a Model 3, a Leaf, or another EV? Electricity is cheap, no need for fuel or oil changes, and the driving experience is better (at least in Teslas with quick 0-60 times). You also are still e…

> Why would I buy a Volt when I could buy a Model 3, a Leaf, or another EV?

Because you could commute on pure battery, but still drive anywhere an ICE can go without having to plan your route around charging stations and kill time while your vehicle charges. Seems like a reasonable use case to me...

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#27

Post by chrisseaton »

avs733 wrote: post #18

>It's a true shame, as GM finally got the little details right on both how the engine was put together as well as the interior fit and finish on the 2017 model. Completely agree. I leased a first gen and am now leasing a second gen volt. I'm actually considering buying my current car at the end of the lease. As a bike commuter, it is my only vehicle, which is why I went the hybrid rather than full electric route. The…

> the shifter physical design was moronic

The gear shifter? I thought electric cars didn't have those? I thought they were push-pedal-and-go like a go-kart?

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#28

Post by ilikehurdles »

jaytaylor wrote: post #12
dmix wrote: post #4

Even the Bolt that is replacing the Volt as their go-to-EV is still losing money per car sold (for now): > An unnamed source cited by Bloomberg News estimates that General Motors is expected to take a loss of between US$8,000 and US$9,000 per Bolt sold. A GM spokesman first declined to comment on the expected profitability.[20] Opel refuted that in December 2016 and states that GM has battery cell costs of $130/kWh,…

I wonder what will change between now and 2025 to enable profitability on Bolts?

A military conflict or global crisis driving up the price of gasoline.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#29

Post by toomuchtodo »

username223 wrote: post #26
toomuchtodo wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it twice the expense? Probably not. Plug in hybrids are simply the worst of both worlds. You still need an engine and everything that goes with it, and your all electric range is anemic. Why would I buy a Volt when I could buy a Model 3, a Leaf, or another EV? Electricity is cheap, no need for fuel or oil changes, and the driving experience is better (at least in Teslas with quick 0-60 times). You also are still e…

> Why would I buy a Volt when I could buy a Model 3, a Leaf, or another EV? Because you could commute on pure battery, but still drive anywhere an ICE can go without having to plan your route around charging stations and kill time while your vehicle charges. Seems like a reasonable use case to me...

Tesla sells ~25k vehicles a month to customers (enough that they’ve cannablized sales from BMW in California) who don’t mind stopping at fast DC charging stations. The market has spoken (wrt EV vs PHEV).

While the Volt had a niche, it seems it wasn’t competitive enough versus newer market competitors.

Re: Chevy Volt discontinued: Chevrolet's last Volt rolls off the assembly line

#30

Post by chrisseaton »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #17
bsder wrote: post #7

It's a true shame, as GM finally got the little details right on both how the engine was put together as well as the interior fit and finish on the 2017 model. However, it was probably inevitable once batteries got good enough. Removing the combustion engine and replacing it with more batteries probably saves far too much money. The current problem I have with electric vehicles is simply that right now they are "5 ye…

"customers prefer SUVs" means "customers prefer lifted station wagons branded as SUVs"

I don't understand these naming conventions either! Someone told me the Model X was an SUV - I thought it was a hatchback! I mean it's the same outline as something like a Volkswagen Golf isn't it? Why is one an SUV and the other a hatchback?
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