How To: Make Sure The Electric Car Fails Again
 

GM sets $41,000 price for electric Chevy Volt - Jul 2010
Sticker price is $5,000 higher than the top-selling Cadillac sedan

http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/MSNBC/C...t.grid-6x2.jpg
[LINKHOTTED]
GM said Tuesday it has begun taking orders for the electric-powered Chevrolet Volt at a $41,000 starting price before tax credits.

DETROIT ? General Motors Co said Tuesday it has begun taking orders for the electric-powered Chevrolet Volt at a $41,000 starting price before tax credits, a sticker price $5,000 higher than the top-selling sedan from its luxury Cadillac brand. GM also said it would lease the much-anticipated Volt at $350 per month for three years with $2,500 as a down payment and promote that lease rate as the vehicle launches in a handful of U.S. markets starting with California. GM launched the Volt development project four years ago, in part to shake an association with gas-guzzling trucks and to show it could compete with the likes of Toyota Motor Corp on hybrid technology.

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:2 cents: More catering to the rich. A $41k electric car does absolutely fucking nothing for the average person, who won't be buying it. Way to go GM.

I would expect the government to come out with some tax break, or incentives when this is launched to lower the sticker or push some sales since they own 60% of GM. Time will tell, but I would bet there will be some sort of 'green' thing to push sales.
:2 cents:

This just occurred to you?! ;-)

Jesus.

If they would only make a fucking cheap ass barebones electric car without a bunch of "frills" and sell it for a couple of grand, they'd move them like hotcakes and change everything. Then they could introduce the high priced "fancy" models, and those would sell too.

Obviously, they aren't in any hurry to anger their oil bosses.

Well, being as GM announced it was taking pre-orders today at that price, my answer is yes. They just announced it, I just read it, therefore it just occurred to me.

They will use low sales numbers to make their case that "no one wants electric and they prefer 10 mpg SUVs". Obviously the plan GM is following has been orchestrated by big oil. (again).

Nope. They never will be. Which is why i think the general usage of such cars will never fully take off... :2 cents:

Tesla isn't any better, but at least their cars don't look like a fucking Neon.

come on, lets make cheap electric car up to 15k, i am not rich to buy just to be in trend...

We do not have enough power to supply electricity to electric cars. Until we start building power plants and/or power plants for homes and make electricity cheap electric cars are just for fantasy.

But it's not the first time they've given a price tag. Wall Street is smarter than this.

They're ensuring that Nissan wins the electric war already.

I saw a report yesterday that Ford is going to charge more for a hybrid 4 cylinder upgrade to a car that comes standard with a gasoline 6 cylinder engine.

The Nissan Leaf's GPS system includes a range radius that adjusts depending on battery power. So you can turn it on and be assured you wont get stuck with no power.

It's amazing how many people are so opposed to electric cars that they dump on them for any reason they can think of. It's almost as if people are AFRAID of electric cars. WTF? $41,000 is not expensive for this car (or any car). If it were a $15k car, it would be dumped on for being cheap-assed looking. Give me a break.

Go to http://www.gm.ca/gm/english/vehicles...t/feature-volt and learn more about this car. It looks pretty nice to me, and the fact that it's PLUG-IN electric instead of a BS "Hybrid' is a big selling point too.

What I don't like is the weak 64 Mile battery life, especially compared to Tesla's 275 Mile battery life. Then again, I live less than 8 miles from the city and rarely take extra-long car trips so a car like this is perfect for me.

Yes the Government is full of shit for not awarding higher tax credits for people who buy these cars, but at least they offer something.

What people need to do is to start embracing new technology like this as a way to save money and save the planet. Why the hell do you want to pay $300 a month or more on gas when you could pay $5 to the Electric company instead? Electric is Sexy because its clean, efficient, quiet, high tech and smart - 5 words that do not come to mind when you think Gasoline. I don't care what kind of Gas powered car you drive now, but that "technology" you've got under the hood is over 100 years old.

Go Go Tesla and Chevy Volt!

Easy there moneybags. It is very obviously a premium price. Not as absurd as Tesla, but still beyond the reach of most people even before Great Depression 2.0 and most certainly now.

it only costs a dollar for a full charge vs how ever much youd be spending per month on gas. either way i feel like youd break about even

Electric is Sexy because YOU want a Tesla.

It's not clean you still have to generate the electricity somewhere

Not really any more efficient than a modern diesel in real world driving

Quiet, yes. But wouldn't you rather be listening to the burble of a v8 compared to the hum of your tyres.

High tech and smart is the salesman massaging your ego to get you to part with 3x the price of a Lotus Elise.

10 out of 10 for snappy comeback!

Cracked me up...

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

someone posted this on Huffpost-

"I just happen to have $50 k that is burning a hole in my pocket right now.
I was wondering what to do, buy a Porsche Boxster or a Chevy Volt??
any opinions?"

:1orglaugh

they are just doing this so they can bring back the hummer.

I just read that it will qualify for a $7500 tax credit which brings the price down to $33,500. This is still too expensive. However, they will be offering a three year lease for $350 per month and $2,500 due at signing. That isn't too terrible.

There is already a 7,500 tax credit on this. So the real price is more like 34,000, plus you can take off another 3k cause only idiots pay sticker price. So really it is about 31k.

Fuck yeah, give me a stripped out Honda CRX sized electric car that makes 300lb/ft of torque at 1rpm all the way to 12,000 rpm. I dont need or want a radio, air conditioning, or heated electric seats. Infact, I only want two seats. No back seats, please.

Seriously, if they'd get rid of all these stupid ass frills and fancy features, gas mileage would go up because the cars wouldn't weigh as much as tanks. The same goes for the Volt, it would travel a longer distance on one charge if it wasn't such a fat bastard.
A guy I know drives a Mitsubishi GTO (sold in NA as the 3000GT and the Dodge Stealth). One of the front seats weighs 100 pounds because of all the fancy electronic shit, heaters and coolers they put in it. What's the goddam point? The other seat weighs the same.

By comparison, the drivers seat in my car weighs about 12 pounds, because it's a carbon fiber bucket. It is more comfy than the fancy "comfy" seats in his Mitsu GTO. What I am saying is that cars could be getting insanely good fuel economy, if modern car buyers were not such a big group of dumbasses.

It's goes far beyond big oil. Most Detroit execs and engineers view electric cars as blasphemy or alien. They love oil burners and most dont understand much about electricity or electric motors. They look for any excuse they can to cancel electric vehicles.

GM is the company which designed electric and hybrid cars in the late 1990's and then cancelled them because they thought they would be losers.

Toyota came in later and proved that hybrids can sell. GM never even made a serious effort to sell electric or hybrid cars until someone else (toyota) did it.

The solution to the problem is to let GM die and let less thick-headed people (non-Detroiters) make cars. I'm from Detroit area - automotive background. And I'm serious.

I say, let Californians build electric cars.

http://www.aptera.com/

In response to the problem of not enough electricty (which is a serious problem),

start building mass solar arrays. on your roof and anywhere else. plug your array into the electrical grid.

I thought this car was about to be $20K?

Actually I'd say the stumbling block is 'range anxiety' Americans like the freedom of cars and if that freedom is limited to 100 miles, eh that's not going to sell. Not enough recharging stations either

Who is the ahole responsible for doing price and market research behind this abomination?
Doesn't sound like they updated their data since the EV1 fiasco. By the way, for anyone who never watched it, you should take in the 2006 PBS documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" You can probably find it on YouTube.

At least Tesla Motors is working to keep bringing the price down. Everything they've said they would do they have which includes continually lowering the cost and producing their new sedan... They've also said once their sedan is in production their next goal is an even more affordable model...

Well, I'll give them credit for a slick design.

I think it can sell for this price.

Also, I consider this fact : When something is priced very low this can make a lot of
people avoid it because, for one, it's "cheap shit", for two, "if it's too good to be true..."

Almost there.

http://cr-z.honda.com/

:1orglaugh :thumbsup

you all have no idea how cheap cars are for you - we have to pay between 25% and 40% more for exactly the same cars over here. and in countries like denmark or the netherlands due to taxes even more than 100% more.

"boohoo - the car costs more than $20k!!! booohooo - the gas is almost $3 per gallon!!!"

jesus, i wish you all had to pay the same as we do for car mobility, then at least the whining would be justified.

[/rant]

Someone has to pay for the R&D... then it can get cheaper down the road

Besides the market for these cars are those money to blow worrying about electric cars till prices come down and technology becomes stable.

When I first started reading this I assumed you were being sarcastic.

I guess I'm one of those "dumbasses" that want AC and back seats.
:helpme

Jesus, why dont you just go all the way and pick yourself up a Flintstone car.

They need to incentivize people to use this model. If not, China will be the country with the Green jobs.

And $350 a month lease isnt a "rich mans" car. Nor do you have to be a "moneybags" to own one.

Considering that the car is pretty high tech, that GM has all kinds of investments into new technology etc, I don't see it as that expensive at all, especially when compared to the Telsa $100k Roadster or their $50k'ish Sedan due in 2012.

Also, the $41k makes it leasable for about $300-$400 per month which is easy paid for vs the money saved on gas, and oil, and maintenance, etc.

m

Must. Get. This.

I think you'd better do some homework:

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/...00/#more-63774

"General Motors began taking orders for the long-awaited Chevrolet Volt on Tuesday, pricing the plug-in hybrid car at $41,000.

A federal tax credit can reduce the net cost of the Volt to $33,500, and a 36-month lease will be available for $350 a month with $2,500 due at the signing.

Production of the Volt will begin in September, and the car will initially be sold in California, New York, Michigan, Connecticut, Texas, New Jersey and the nation?s capital, G.M. said.

The car?s suggested starting price is $8,220 higher than that of the all-electric Nissan Leaf, which will also go on sale this year.

With the Volt ready for the assembly line, executives began a full-court press to persuade consumers that the car?s cutting-edge technology and features are worth a BMW price tag.

?It?s a real car ? it just happens to be electric,? Joel Ewanick, G.M.?s vice president for North America marketing, said at a dinner Monday night at the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, Calif. ?This car is designed for the majority of Americans. This is a car that the average person can drive on a daily basis. It?s not something that?s a unique little niche vehicle.?

?The marketing challenge is communicating how different this is than what they?re used to,? he added.

The Volt?s lithium-ion battery pack gives the car an emissions-free range of 40 miles. When the battery is depleted, a small gasoline engine kicks in to run a generator that supplies electricity to the motor, extending the Volt?s range by 300 miles.

Mr. Ewanick said that a Volt driven 15,000 miles a year would use 550 fewer gallons of gasoline than a comparable gas-only car.

G.M. executives, however, insist on calling the Volt an ?extended range electric vehicle,? underscoring the balancing act between promoting its green credibility and its utility as competitors roll out all-electric cars.

The Leaf will go up to 100 miles on a charge, according to Nissan, which has been touting the car as ?100 percent electric, zero emissions.? During a test drive in San Jose on Monday, a Nissan representative pointed out that the car?s interior is made of recycled water bottles and cited the availability of a solar panel that serves as a spoiler.

If Nissan appears to be targeting the Prius set, G.M. is emphasizing that the Volt comes packed with whiz bang technology that lets drivers use their smartphones to do things like turn on the car?s air-conditioner or control when the vehicle is charged. As a sweetener, OnStar, the G.M. subscription service that provides driving directions and allows cars to be remotely controlled, will be included free with the Volt for five years.

A fully loaded Volt, with specialized wheels, paint and other options, will cost $44,600 before tax credits.

Executives said the company plans to manufacture 10,000 Volts in the 2011 model year, with 30,000 cars produced the following year, when it will begin selling the plug-in hybrid nationwide.

G.M. chose the initial markets to show that the Volt can operate in a range of climates, from frigid Northeast winters to hot Texas summers, said Tony DiSalle, director of product marketing for the Volt.

In Texas, the Volt will first available only in Austin, and in New York, the car can only be bought in New York City for now, Mr. DiSalle said.

Beginning Tuesday, buyers can go to a Web site, getmyvolt.com, to find Volt dealers who can take orders. Those 600 dealers have received special training on handling Volt orders and customers.

?Lots of those will be people we haven?t seen in Chevrolet dealerships before,? Mr. DiSalle said."

"The Volt’s lithium-ion battery pack gives the car an emissions-free range of 40 miles. When the battery is depleted, a small gasoline engine kicks in to run a generator that supplies electricity to the motor, extending the Volt’s range by 300 miles."

:1orglaugh

http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/...9/aptera_6.jpg
These will be cheaper