The Chevy Volt has a battery replacement cost of $8,000. Now, proponents will argue that large scale manufacturing will bring this cost down; I argue the opposite. IMHO, the Chevy Volt is being REJECTED by the consumer, thus the replacement battery will not be a common part - it will be on par with a "collector's item", far exceeding the $8,000 price tag of today. Even if the price were to remain constant, and this part was available - given the overall reliability and depreciation of Chevy vehicles, my question is this "Will an $8,000 battery replacment exceed the value of the car?". I submit that the cost of the replacement battery will effectively "total" the car out. It will be most cost effective to scrap the car, than replace the battery.
Or, in simple terms - for $8,000 you can basically rebuild the engine, transmission and still do substancial body and interior work on the Toyota Camry. Essentially, if you put $8,000 into your 8 yr old Camry, you will have a very well restored car. New engine, new transmission, new interior, new paint, new tires, new exhaust. If you put that same $8,000 into the Volt - you get a new battery. Same worn paint, body, exhaust, engine, transmission, seats, carpet, etc.
I just see no justification for the Volt at all.
I completely agree, and it's not just the battery but the systems technology that go along with it, the cooling system, generator, computer interface, etc.
Did I read the product review correctly? 30 miles in the winter eats an entire battery charge?