What we get...
Posted on 07/27/2010 12:04:22 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
DETROIT — The Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in car capable of driving about 40 miles at a time on battery power without using any gasoline, will have a sticker price of $41,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit, General Motors said Tuesday.
G.M. will also lease the Volt for $350 a month in the hopes of attracting consumers who want lower monthly payments or would hesitate to buy the vehicle until they are more comfortable with its technology.
The carmaker has begun taking orders for the Volt, using the Web site to direct consumers to a participating dealer. Dealers in selected states, including California, New York and Michigan, are scheduled to begin receiving the vehicle in November.
G.M. had kept the Volt’s price a secret since introducing the model as a concept more than three years ago, though executives had hinted that it would cost about $40,000. The price is considerably more than the Nissan Leaf, a pure electric car that goes on sale for $32,780 in December, but G.M. insists the Volt is a better value.
“You can drive it cross country, and our competition can’t do that,” Joel Ewanick, G.M.’s vice president for United States marketing, said. Nissan’s Leaf is expected to have a range of about 100 miles on a battery charge. The Volt has a small gasoline engine — which will require premium fuel, G.M. said Tuesday — that will give the car a total range of about 340 miles and allow drivers to fill up at a gas station if they cannot immediately charge the battery.
Both G.M. and Nissan are counting on the government’s $7,500 tax credit for plug-in cars to go a long way toward making their vehicles more affordable.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The credit, which buyers must claim when filing their tax return, begins to phase out after the manufacturer produces 200,000 qualifying vehicles.
In the case of leases, the leasing company is eligible to claim the credit. Nissan plans to lease the base model of the Leaf for $349 a month for three years with $1,999 because of delivery. The Volt’s $350-a-month lease is also for three years, with $2,500 due at delivery.
At those rates, lessees would pay $14,563 over three years for the Leaf and $15,100 for the Volt.
G.M. plans to build 10,000 Volts by the end of 2011 and 30,000 in 2012. The company has said it does not expect to earn a profit from early generations of the vehicle.
Not only would I not buy one of these useless things, I would not accept one as a gift.
No Volt for me. Stupid Idea anyway. Wonder what happens to the power bill when you plug it in.
Let me get this straight. It runs 40 miles, and costs $40k ??? Who, in their right mind, in this economy, would spend that money on that !??
I doubt that it will pull the boat or make it through a Minnesota winter......
Considering the price of electricity I think I’ll just keep my gasoline powered vehicle.
Exactly right.
A fool and his money...
Nope, I wouldn’t buy one. I’m going to drive my paid for 2005 Jeep Liberty for as many years as it will hold up and judging by how great a vehicle it’s been so far - I won’t need a new car for many years. :o) (knock on wood).
Even if this thing ran on nothing but air, it would still take 200,000 miles to make up the extra $20,000 it will cost you.
I’ll stick with my 2002 Z-28 convertible.
Would I buy a Volt? The answer is either “No” or “Hell No.”
And how do they generate electricity..nuclear power, or burn coal or oil...so???
The Volt is GM’s answer to a stupid question no one has asked.
During the winter time, a battery’s life drops substancially, add to that the power for electical heat - so when the battery is nearly dead during my commute, and I dare to heat my frozen toes - now what?
This does not even consider the world-famous reputation for Low Quality that GM leads the world in. How many of these cars are being sold are defective, with a re-call just a matter of weeks away?
Its never a good idea to be the first to buy a new model.
Let them work out the kinks first....
Drive across country in it? I’ve never been to a motel or rest area that had outlets available to the public. I would not want to leave the door cracked overnite at a motel so I could run an extension cord out to the parking lot.
What??
No Babe??
That sucks!
Wouldn’t buy any EV/car where there was even the slightest chance I was going to have to pay to replace the batteries in it, even far down the road Heck, I worry about the cost of the four AGM batteries in my electric scooter ($350).
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