GM Volt's price induces some sticker shock

[westwall]

Still takes 8 hours charge. And wait till you see the jump in your light bill.

Yep. It costs a electric car around 120 bucks to travel four hundred miles. Costs me 48 bucks.....and I don't have to wait 20 hours.

Yeah, none of those things are true (at least about the Tesla).

The Tesla costs about a penny a mile on your electric bill, can go 250 miles on a single charge, and takes 3.5 hours to charge fully.

And it goes from 0 - 60 in 3.7 seconds.

Maybe, they havn't built one yet. When they have one on the road I will certainly look at it but at 110,000 bucks I would rather have a race prepped Nissan Skyline GT-R. It will eat a Tesla for breakfast.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Yep. It costs a electric car around 120 bucks to travel four hundred miles. Costs me 48 bucks.....and I don't have to wait 20 hours.

Yeah, none of those things are true (at least about the Tesla).

The Tesla costs about a penny a mile on your electric bill, can go 250 miles on a single charge, and takes 3.5 hours to charge fully.

And it goes from 0 - 60 in 3.7 seconds.

Maybe, they havn't built one yet. When they have one on the road I will certainly look at it but at 110,000 bucks I would rather have a race prepped Nissan Skyline GT-R. It will eat a Tesla for breakfast.

What are you talking about? My neighbor has one. They've already sold about 1,200 worldwide.

 

[westwall]

Yeah, none of those things are true (at least about the Tesla).

The Tesla costs about a penny a mile on your electric bill, can go 250 miles on a single charge, and takes 3.5 hours to charge fully.

And it goes from 0 - 60 in 3.7 seconds.

Maybe, they havn't built one yet. When they have one on the road I will certainly look at it but at 110,000 bucks I would rather have a race prepped Nissan Skyline GT-R. It will eat a Tesla for breakfast.

What are you talking about? My neighbor has one. They've already sold about 1,200 worldwide.

I am sorry you are correct the Roadster is indeed available. It's the S that won't be available till 2012. BTW that is the one that has the fast recharge, the roadster requires a
3.5 hour charge.

 

[Oddball]

Nah, I think I'd rather have one of these:

I could buy a small airplane and a decent low mileage used car for that price.

 

[Jarhead]

Putting aside the price of one of those environmentally friendly cars, does anyone know how much it will cost to recharge them if and when cap and trade is passed?

 

[Douger]

Putting aside the price of one of those environmentally friendly cars, does anyone know how much it will cost to recharge them if and when cap and trade is passed?

Nothing if you buy yourself a windmill and/or some solar panels.

 

[PoliticalChic]

I wonder how many liberals on this board are going to go buy one of these...

GM Volt's price induces some sticker shock

"The Trabant is an automobile that was produced by former East German auto maker VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau in Zwickau, Sachsen. It was the most common vehicle in East Germany, and was also exported to countries both inside and outside the communist bloc. The main selling point was that it had room for four adults and luggage in a compact, light and durable shell.

Despite its mediocre performance and smoky two-stroke engine, the car is regarded with derisive affection as a symbol of the failed former East Germany and of the fall of communism (in former West Germany, as many East Germans streamed into West Berlin and West Germany in their Trabants after the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989).

For advocates of capitalism it is often cited as an example of the disadvantages of centralized planning as even refueling the car required lifting the hood, filling the tank with gasoline (only 24 litres[1]), then adding two-stroke oil and shaking it back and forth to mix. It was in production without any significant changes for nearly 30 years with 3,096,099 Trabants produced in total."
Trabant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Baruch Menachem]

One of the big advantages to the Trabant from the time it was first introduced was that it was made of recycled materials, and very light weight.

According to that wiki article, folks like to put modern engines into the things, and it is really funny the looks they get as the Trabi speeds by the more powerful cars with bigger engines. The chassis weighs only 750KG (about 1500lbs) A more powerful engine really does wonders for its performance. It also corners better.

Most folks who owned one abandoned it as soon as they could get anything better. And the great thing was, there was never a need to upgrade. the whole production run from 1958 to 1990 only had four model changes.

As for the Volt, I would be very surprised about every single sale they make.

 

[Navy1960]

First of all if you want an all electric car may I make a suggestion? EZ-Go Golf Carts, they are cheaper and go a lot more miles on a charge than the Volt and here in Arizona you can drive them to and from work. While I'm sure GM is all gung-ho about the Volt you would think from an engineering standpoint and price wise they would have thought this out a little better. As a GM stockholder like the rest of my fellow Amsericans I would have liked to seen those that work for me produce something a little less expensive and a little less green perhaps. and maybe they might consider just buying the golf cart company I mentioned. On a side note. Tesla is a great looking car, but few people have a 100K laying around for a car like that.

 

[westwall]

Putting aside the price of one of those environmentally friendly cars, does anyone know how much it will cost to recharge them if and when cap and trade is passed?

Nothing if you buy yourself a windmill and/or some solar panels.

Windmills are illegal in most neighborhoods. Solar panels are definately coming along but when it is dark out the batteries that you have charged are going to be running your house.
Apartment dwellers are the folks who will be hardest hit however. For the most part they are poor enough that they could NEVER afford an electric car in the first place and even if they could there are usually no power outlets in the garage or carport to charge them up in the first place.

No, electric cars are the trendy pennance of the wealthy to show they care without really having to do anything constructive. Perception and all that you know.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

I can't wait to run across some idiot in one of these in my '94 Bronco.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

I will NEVER by GM.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

I wonder if these morons understand that just because they're electric, it doesn't mean they don't use energy?

 

[boedicca]

Me neither. I will never purchase a GM or Chrysler product.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

.... watching the electric meter spin off the dial as the batteries charge for hours....

Fucking hillarious.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Me neither. I will never purchase a GM or Chrysler product.

Yup... they're already getting my money... FOR NOTHING.

 

[PoliticalChic]

One of the big advantages to the Trabant from the time it was first introduced was that it was made of recycled materials, and very light weight.

According to that wiki article, folks like to put modern engines into the things, and it is really funny the looks they get as the Trabi speeds by the more powerful cars with bigger engines. The chassis weighs only 750KG (about 1500lbs) A more powerful engine really does wonders for its performance. It also corners better.

Most folks who owned one abandoned it as soon as they could get anything better. And the great thing was, there was never a need to upgrade. the whole production run from 1958 to 1990 only had four model changes.

As for the Volt, I would be very surprised about every single sale they make.

Clearly I didn't do a good job of making my point, which was to compare one government sponsored car with another.

The free market does it best.

Let me try again..
do you know the one about the man who goes to buy a car in Moscow, pays for it, and is told by the salesman that he can collect it on a particular date in 10 years' time. The buyer thinks for a moment and then asks: 'Morning or afternoon?' The salesman, astonished by the question, asks: 'What difference does it make?' And the buyer answers: 'Well, the plumber is coming in the morning.'

 

[asterism]

The GM Volt Math - it's not pretty:

Assume you can get the $7,500 tax rebate, so your actual price is $35,000, plus applicable local taxes. And suppose that a comparably equipped vehicle of similar size, in a non-hybrid flavor, can be had for $25,000 (a premium compact like a VW Jetta, Volvo C30, or a Subaru Impreza).

For $8,500 premium, you get a 40mile all electric range. That represents 80% of the 16KWh battery, or about 13kWh. At 12c/kWh, if you can drive all electric, 15,000mi/year will cost you about $585. Very nice.

If your premium compact gas car gets an average of just 30mpg, 15,000mi at $3.00/gal will cost you $1,500.

Under these assumptions, best case (all electric Volt miles), you save $915/year driving the Volt. To gain back your $10,000 price premium, you will have to drive the Volt for 9.3 years, 1.3 year longer than the battery warranty.

Now suppose you can't run your Volt 100% electric, but you need to rely on the gas generator engine for just 33% of your mileage. 10,000 miles electric will cost you $390, and 5,000 miles at 40mpg (assume) will cost you $375. Running a Volt 66/33 electric/gas will cost you $765. The payback time for your $10,000 premium is now over 11.1 years, 3 years longer than the battery warranty.

My point here is that at $41,000 MSRP, the Volt is not a great deal, except for people who are passionate about not using much gasoline. In order to even come close to making sense for the average consumer, the Volt needs to be priced for a payback of about 5 years, or about $29,000 out-the-door, or $36,500 MSRP, with the $7,500 tax credit.

The Auto Prophet: Some Volt Math

I'm told by liberals that still drive gas Audis and have no electric aircraft that it would still be the best thing to do, "saturate the market" and all that. "Think of the environmental damage," I'm told.

"Your batteries are going to cause a big problem in the landfills and I'm still gonna be driving this old truck that doesn't drain on the environment that doesn't require all the logistics to change models."

"Conspicuous consumer!"

"You're the one with the new car, not me."

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Exactly... if electric cars were such a great idea and in demand... they wouldn't need the taxpayer's $$ to prop it up.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Exactly... if electric cars were such a great idea and in demand... they wouldn't need the taxpayer's $$ to prop it up.

But our friends on the left don't believe in the invisible hand of the free market...

perhaps they have a different reason for buying such a vehicle:


‘In fact, more than half of the Prius buyers surveyed this spring by CNW Marketing Research of Bandon, Ore., said the main reason they purchased their car was that “it makes a statement about me.” ‘http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/business/04hybrid.html


But, even with all the ‘green’ hype, the best-selling vehicles of 2008 were the Ford F-150 and the Chevrolet Silverado, big trucks with big engines. The Year's Best- And Worst-Selling Cars - Forbes.com