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

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211–220 of 291 posts

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

#211
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…

> it is my only vehicle, which is why I went the hybrid rather than full electric route. At least in the US, I think you'd be underestimating how much one can rely on a proper fully electric vehicle (i.e. a Tesla, and perhaps Bolt?). I doubt a Model 3 LR holder would ever need a second sedan.

If I had a full electric vehicle my second car would be a cheap old off road truck. My major 'use' of the car when I leave town is to go deep in the wilderness for backpacking or camping. Even with the TM3 (which, honestly I wouldn't buy a Tesla) the range would be pushing it for the places I prefer to go.

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

#212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you’d buy a Prius (a wildly successful vehicle) instead of a PHEV (and still realize a drastic reduction in gasoline usage over the life of the vehicle, while still realizing a high level of reliability). There is a reason the Prius was often put into service as a taxi. I’ve driven my Tesla from the west coast to the east coast with minimal hassle (using only Superchargers), and with newer EVs having longer r…

The Volt has an excellent track record for reliability, easily better than that of the Model 3, and earlier Model S (haven’t kept up with if they ever sorted out the issues from back when I wanted to buy one) It also has better fit and finish despite costing less. The Volt was an all around better car than the Model S I test drove and that’s why I have one (and two other cars in a similar price bracket so that is cle…

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

#213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

See page 42 of the source report. UBS and Munro predict a 33% reduction in battery costs due to broader industry pricing trends, with a further reduction of 10-25% on powertrain components due to economies of scale and technology improvements. The report argues that the Bolt is already profitable on a contribution basis (sale price - cost of goods sold), meaning that GM make money on every Bolt they sell. What makes…

> high fuel costs mean that pure EVs already have a lower TCO than ICE vehicles

As much as really really want that to be true, it just isn't for most people.

An electric car is ~£30k, but most people pay much less for petrol cars because there is a great second hand market. I'd say typical is ~£5k.

Most people do something like 150k miles on a car. Assuming 40 mpg (8.8 miles per litre) which is fairly typical for motorway driving. The price of petrol has been around 120p/L for several years. That puts the total cost of the petrol car at: about £25k. Still less than the purchase price of an electric car.

Maybe it will change when electric cars with a good range have been around for 20 years so there is a decent second hand market, but at the moment it just isn't true. Sorry.

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

#214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See page 42 of the source report. UBS and Munro predict a 33% reduction in battery costs due to broader industry pricing trends, with a further reduction of 10-25% on powertrain components due to economies of scale and technology improvements. The report argues that the Bolt is already profitable on a contribution basis (sale price - cost of goods sold), meaning that GM make money on every Bolt they sell. What makes…

> high fuel costs mean that pure EVs already have a lower TCO than ICE vehicle Got a source for this claim? I bought a new ICE vehicle six months ago, in round figures it cost me $13,800 (that's the on the road price of the base model, including a couple of minor extras and all applicable taxes). The electric version of that exact same vehicle has a list price of $31,300. No, that isn't a typo. The salesman seemed fa…

It's kind of looking like lithium battery prices have been and will continue to act like solar panel prices. Very slow and steady improvement in cost, but nothing massively drastic over a period of 5-ish years.

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

#215

Disclosure: im an automotive engine mechanic by trade. The Volt was a political nightmare. trade rags beat this car night and day for being a fake. but honestly its a damn good car. it was never going to see tesla style torque or mileage but the people driving it werent the whole foods kind of crowd anyway. the hybrid electric was borne out of the need to create something that couldnt be patent-struck by toyota, whos…

+1. Have a chevy volt. Something like 90% of my driving is on electric, but you are still able to make long distance drives.

What killed it was lack of marketing it as a better hybrid & the smaller size. If I had kids I'm not sure I'd of bought the car.

I wonder if they put the volt drive train on a crossover how it'd sell. EV Range for the groceries, gas for the long distance road trip.

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

#216

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.

The volt was ~20-23k all in. I do think GM did a snafu by not advertising the fact you get State & Fed tax credits, and unlike tesla the price is negotiable.

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

#217
post #41

PHEVs were such a misconceived idea. So many more parts to wear out for such little benefit.

I'm fairly sure that the volt is more reliable and requires less maitenance than teslas & many other gas cars.

Its a very reliable car.

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

#218
A shame. The Volt's been my dream car since I saw the concept vehicle in Popular Science when I was in high school but I was never able to afford one. The cheap daily commute of an electric car combined with the instant fill-up and range of a gas vehicle. Not to mention since the battery pack is much smaller than an all-electric it would be much cheaper to replace once it eventually wears out. Seems I'll never get one, now.

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

#219
post #156
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a GM employee but I think the number of people who mess with their clock is bigger than we think. People are weird. They set their clock five minutes ahead or whatever. I also think an optional cellular/GPS based time update would be nice though.

This is true but you could allow the user to set an offset.

This is the approach that the Apple Watch engineers used, and it remains the only device I've seen with this option.

Does anyone here with an Apple Watch use the time offset feature?

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

#220
post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And now you’ve added 2 configuration options that need to be tested, documented, and supported for probably 20 Of your customers This is exactly the hidden complexity that HN users love to add to products that adds no real value and sells no extra product

2? It’s pulling time from gps so it’s 1 config option for time offset, defaulting to 0. Anyways, android and iOS and Mac and windows and etc all have the ability to fetch time or use gps to set time with a user override to do their own tricks. We all woke up today so I think the world survived.

There’s also daylight savings time.
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