While at the Chevrolet Volt launch event I attended a presentation by Volt marketing director Tony DiSalle.
He advised us that Chevrolet Volt television commercials were in production and would soon appear. One is in fact scheduled to make its debut during the world series.
He played two commercials 30 second commercials for us which were still rough.
The first was called socket. It showed a lonely wall socket in a garage who was told to relax and was promised he would soon become involved in some very important thing. Namely, charging the Chevrolet Volt. “A big step up from a weed whacker,” was the closing line. It was cute and just a tiny bit touching.
The second commercial was called “Anthem” and is the one that will be shown at the World Series. It showed how the Volt could allows drivers to engage in “spontaneous acts of freedom.”
Both could do no more than pique a person’s interest to look into the car further. Not much more could be expected from 30 seconds.
DiSalle also unveiled the official advertising tag line for the Volt: “It’s more car than electric”
This tag line was played in both commercials.
DiSalle expects to emphasize the freedom the Volt can provide customers:
1. Freedom to drive gas or tailpipe emissions-free
2. Freedom to drive whenever and wherever
3. Freedom to charge at home.
The next year or two will be very interesting to see how many Volts GM will actually be able to sell. Lets hope very, very many.
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:28 am)It appears to me that GM marketers do not understand the Volt’s potential market very well.
+18
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:29 am)A L E R T – POSTS 238 & 240 ON YESTERDAY’S TOPIC ARE SLANDEROUSLY & WRONGFULLY CLAIMING TO BE AUTHORED BY Mike-o-Matic (#238) AND BY nasaman (#240) – PLEASE VOTE MINUSES ON BOTH OF THESE BOGUS, FALSE POSTS UNTIL THEIR COMMENTS DISAPPEAR [Only posts with my unique Space Shuttle avatar (or Mike's unique avatar as in his post #27 yesterday) are legitimate]
PS: I suggest everyone who posts here frequently set up their own avatar to help prevent this. Thanks!
+8
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:29 am)Some recent commercials are strange in that you don’t remember the product at all!
I’m more of the old school:
- tell me what it is
- tell me what it does for me
- ask me to buy it, and tell me where and how
I’m definitely not in marketing, but, it seems that the message and product are lost in some commercials. The ones with the very fast talking disclosures/caveats at the end are really annoying.
“It’s more car than electric.” seems a little hokey as well. Why wouldn’t you show the differences rather than the similarities?
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:38 am)My avatar seems to come and go for no apparent reason.
+5
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:40 am)They need to show it doing some fancy driving to show people its not a golf cart.
Then once they’ve peaked peoples interest, show that it can be plugged in.
People need to see that electric cars can be fun to drive.
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:46 am)I thought user names were unique. Can anybody just re-use user names?
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:50 am)Roy H: Ques – I thought user names were unique. Can anybody just re-use user names? Ans – Apparently, if they invent a new passcode
For instructions on getting an avatar set up for this (and other) web sites go to:
http://en.gravatar.com/
+22
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:52 am)Marketing is a really tough thing to do right.
You have techie-geeks, soccer moms, young, and old.
That is why they do many different types of ads.
But advertising a car that people can’t buy, is the one area where they really have to be careful!!!
And with the low quantities being produced, a large ad campaign could backfire on GM. If they start to tell people about how great this car is, and then tell them they have to wait two years to get one, it will not make for happy customers, IMHO.
Really successful ad campaigns build up demand for a specific launch date, and then prospective customers go and purchase the product. With the majority of the first year’s production run probably sold, what do they have to sell????
Or am I missing something?
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:55 am)“Its more car than electric” or
“It’s more car than electric”
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:00 am)Ah. The email address field is case sensitive.
+4
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:02 am)I too have been confused by this. Either they think that they are playing up the “Halo” effect, and I agree this will back-fire, or they will increase production to meet demand.
-2
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:06 am)Suuuweeet! I’d really been missing your baby face! (Hey, am I starting to sound like Tagamet?) Seriously, thnx for telling us what the problem had been with your avatar!
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:07 am)Everyone can -1 my #239 as well.
thanks
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:09 am)# 8 Jim I,
Or am I missing something?
___________________________
Hopefully we’re all missing something:
Correct price and availability.
I’m available if GM wants to put a traveling tech through a crash training program.
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:11 am)OUCH, Dave! That thief stole your avatar too! I minus one’d him!
LYLE: Any suggestions about this matter? —we should try to ‘nip it in the bud’ with the trolls swarming like they are recently.
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:12 am)# 8 Jim I,
Hopefully we’ve all been missing something,
Correct price and availability.
I’m available if GM wants to adjust these and train a traveling tech.
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:13 am)Hey where has Rashiid been lately? LauraM was gone for a while too, but I saw she posted the other day a few times.
Seems like we’ve lost a few regulars.
join thE REVolution
+5
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:14 am)The brand and GM as a whole. They can also sell the near future to those thinking of perhaps buying in the next 6 months to a year. But overall, I think your point is well made. Not sure about GM’s primary marketing focus of trying to divert potential BEV buyers and convincing everyone that the Volt is not a BEV. After his past week, I think they will have more difficulty convincing people that the Volt actually is primarily an EV. I think a tag line such as “A go-anywhere electric car” would be more productive.
+9
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:14 am)GM, don’t be shy in using the words “American” and “Proud” in marketing the Volt.
During my families Sunday demo drive in Manhattan Beach. My wife, a Japanese car driver, had a question for one of the GM reps. After checking out the styling and quiet nature of the Volt she was impressed and asked, “Where is this car made?”. The GM rep proudly replied, “Michigan”. I backed him up by saying, “Detroit”.
=D-Volt
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:17 am)However, Lyle’s topics are so excellent the number of posts is remaining high. But yeah, I have to wonder if the ‘trolls haven’t sometimes taken a toll’ —they’re certainly nerve wracking, to say the least!
+20
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:25 am)Advertising a product that sells itself on its own merits is a waste of money. How many Porsche 911 or Ferrari commercials do you see on TV? I’m not saying the Volt is like a Porsche or Ferrari performance wise, but for the moment it is as unique since no other car can do what it does.
VOLT – The first true dual fuel vehicle!
NPNS!
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:30 am)# 20 Nelson,
That post should be framed. Can’t sum it up any better than that.
+6
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:35 am)Finally, back on topic: I truly believe GM should begin devoting considerable effort into creating ads that get people to go test drive a Volt at their dealers. Tony DiSalle said a while back they’re mandating every dealer keep at least one Volt on hand for this purpose, and he’s absolutely right about that. So when most dealers have their own ‘test driving’ Volt, GM must then follow through vigorously with ads motivating people to DO IT! Contests, prizes, incentives, whatever it takes to get them to do a test drive, should remain an all-important, over-riding, persistent Volt marketing theme!
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:37 am)We can only hope that if the ad campaign generates that much interest, that they may up production numbers yet again.
[also finally took the time to set up an avatar, lol]
+5
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:53 am)I think the Cadillac CTS-V commercials on the Nürburgring are a good idea.
For the Volt, show shots of the dash displays, smart phone connectivity, OnStar, plugging in at the end of the day and charging overnight, starting/conditioning car from smart phone while getting ready for work in the morning…and finally a shot of the car driving across the open plains of the midwest going toward the mountains, then cresting the mountains with the ocean in the background…..
“All in a Day’s Work”
+4
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:56 am)Hey ClarksonCote. I’m here. I just don’t post too much these days. The topics are definitely getting more interesting though, don’t you think?
+4
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:00 am)“The next year or two will be very interesting to see how many Volts GM will actually be able to sell. Lets hope very, very many.”
Doesn’t GM have an incentive to sell as many volts out of North America as they can? They have the 200,000 car limit on their $7500 credit so unfortunately I expect them to fill foreign demand first. Especially after the first year and they are confident the bugs are worked out.
If the goal is to sell as many volts as possible, I think the following 2 issues should be of primary concern (the car is already excellant, and price can only be dropped with higher volumes).
1) Lobbying is needed to change the EV Credit from number of cars per manufacuter (which will lead more deals like Ford Transit to license technology to other companies to make the car) to just any car (I wish made in America), but with yearly declining credits to really incentivize these companies to make as many as possible.
2011 $10,000
2012 $9000
2013 $8000
2014 $7000
2015 $6000
2) The other thing that would lead to HUGE adoption of these cars is Legislation to require parking lots of a certain size to have charging stations. This cost is not as high as you think when amortized over 20 years, it is small compared to other costs like lighting, re-paving, snow plowing etc.
The Volt becomes a great value if you can charge in parking lots. My own analysis shows I would achieve 11,000 yearly AER without charing in parking lots and 18,000 AER charging in parking lots. And this is not a peak demand issue because most charging in parking lots to top off batteries would be done in the morning before peak AC.
The Volt becomes the perfect car if you can charge it while it sits in parking lots – Unlimited range and not having to carry more battery then you need.
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:05 am)Just FYI that a troll has taken my name- comment 37 from yesterday is not mine.
I would never post disparaging comments.
There has to be a way to prevent this, since I have seen it happen to other people as well a number of times.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:08 am)nasaman,
And quote 37 from me. This is the worst trolling tactic.
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:12 am)Dave K.,
Rep South Bay! Hopefully I see you driving along sometime (I live and work very close by).
+9
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:17 am)It’s the information age. People are constantly being inundated with information via their smartphones, iPads, computers and various media outlets. I must say GM has been posting pics of Volt with nationwide ad teases for years. It already has visual recognition nearly everywhere. GM has nearly flooded the cyber world with information about every aspect of the Volt. It begs the question: What will nationwide mass marketing during the World Series do? Shouldn’t the new ad campaign only roll out in markets where Volt can be purchased? There is a tipping point, I believe, where there’s too much info and the public has waited so long – that they just get pissed off. Hey, here’s a tease again from GM – BUT YOU CANNOT BUY ONE IN YOUR AREA, AND NOBODY KNOWS WHEN YOU CAN!!! We can all try and use humor and suggest a new ad slogan like: “Volt – you can look – but don’t touch!”, or “Volt – a new kind of car you can’t have – STAY TUNED! “, or “Volt, It’s more vaporware than reality” or perhaps, “Chevrolet Volt, ssssssssslowwwwwwly coming to a town near you – be patient and drool”.
Seriously, “It’s More Car Than Electric” isn’t bad, IMO, because there are so many taglines they could have chosen – I’m sure it was very hard to choose just one for intro. GM has this percieved “burden” to convey to the masses what Volt is and what it does – and I think they may be right from what I saw at the Unplugged tour where techies standing in line knew all about Volt, but the Best Buy shoppers and casual observers could be heard saying, “Hey, I think that’s the Volt, that Chevy Electric car!”, or “What’s that? Is it electric?”…etc.. I myself answered several questions feeling like a GM ambassador armed with knowledge from all my years of GM-Volt.com readership. Sadly the PR people GM hired to staff the Volt Unplugged tour fit largely into two categories: Nice and friendly ( ladies ) but completely clueless as to the Volt, or rude and terse and not remotely interested in being GM reps ( men staffing sign up ).
Nissan has taken a different tack. Saturday or Sunday I’ll drive a Leaf for the first time, and from what I’ve seen online, Nissan will roll out a moving show to introduce the Leaf to the public with cutaway battery packs, flat screens with historical videos, mapping according to venue locale, Q & A sessions, trained staff in Nissan garb giving detailed dialogue….glass porticos filled with various and sundry displays, etc.. To me, if you ( a corporation ) feel your product is SO NEW AND GROUNDBREAKING that it needs mass public education, don’t use cutesie semi-ambiguous taglines – but spend your advertising dollar where it’ll do the most good, as Nissan is doing. Making a first impression is crucial.
Many walked away from the Volt drive a bit puzzled in the cheapness and disorganization of the event – but jazzed that 4 real-live Volts were there for the seeing and driving. Kind of a mixed bag for one of the world’s largest companies. VOLT IS GROUNDBREAKING. So GM shouldn’t be shy about introducing it to the world in media straight up – Built in America by Americans in this world of MADE IN CHINA and 10% unemployment. It all begs the question Jim I fronted – Is GM missing something?
PUMP OUT THE VOLTS! ( in all 50 states ),
James
+10
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:20 am)“It’s more car than electric.”
On the CorvetteGuy scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is best:
“It’s more 2 than a 10.” in the recent light of the bad press whether the Volt is a true ‘electric car’ or not, this slogan may be accurate but poses a negative to the early adopters who regularly visit here.
“DiSalle expects to emphasize the freedom the Volt can provide customers:
1. Freedom to drive gas or tailpipe emissions-free
2. Freedom to drive whenever and wherever
3. Freedom to charge at home.”
If the commercial uses these 3 lines, then “Freedom” or “Let Freedom ring” would be more appropriate. Guys, if it is “more care than electric” it does not set up a desire to buy when they learn the price. People understand technology comes with a price.
Just stick with “The Electric Car with Extended Range”. Please.
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:23 am)I see a commercial where two co-workers are going to their cottages for the weekend in the same area. One has an all-electric car and is a braggart who enjoys ribbing the other (who owns a Volt) about needing gas after 40 miles. The cottages are say about say 95 miles away. On the way to the cottage the Volt owner runs across the all electric car owner who has run out of charge and picks him/her up to complete the trip to the cottage while a tow truck follows. Other ideas…
+5
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:28 am)I like the idea in the wall socket commercial. A lot of Priuses were sold because people wanted to be part of the “green” movement. By anthropomorphizing a wall socket they can convey the idea that the Volt is not just a new car. It is “An Important Thing” and you can be a part of something really big that is going to revolutionize the world. The wall socket is the viewer, of course, and he has wanted to do something important for awhile. Everybody wants to buy a new car but to help same the planet by buying a new car is really cool. “Finally, I can do my part”.
+5
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:32 am)“DiSalle expects to emphasize the freedom the Volt can provide customers:
1. Freedom to drive gas or tailpipe emissions-free
2. Freedom to drive whenever and wherever
3. Freedom to charge at home.”
I like it. Simple to the point. If you think about it, this realy is what the Volt is all about.
“Freedoooom” William Wallace (bravehart)
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:36 am)Roy, you’ve probably figured it out by now, but the “Name” used to post here is not unique. What is unique here is the email address. “User Name” is unique when you log into the forum. (That’s why I have a little problem. I always use “Michael” to post here, but my user name is “Sojourner.” I started that all two years ago before I figured out what was what.)
+19
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:37 am)I recommend everyone who wishes to comment here regularly, please register and set up an account in the forum:
http://gm-volt.com/forum/
Soon, comments will require this registration, and we will also be porting new forum posts to the frontpage of GM-Volt.com. This way everyone can start their own threads whenever and wherever they want. The forum allows banning, ignoring, etc. and many robust features.
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:37 am)Sorry to quote myself but the edit did not work.
I wanted to say
“Freedoooom” William Wallace (bravehart) Use this at the end of the ad.
+6
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:38 am)========================
But nasaman, therein lies the problem:
I go and take a test drive, and I am truly impressed. I look at the sales rep and say, “I’ll take it!”. Then the sales rep looks at me and says, “Sorry, not until 2012 or 2013. How about a Cruze instead???”.
So how does that help the Volt????
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:43 am)Great!!! and done
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:43 am)Lyle, #36
So, when that happens (comments will require this registration) will I have to give up my split personality and post here as “Sojourner?” (The person registered as “Michael” in the forum doesn’t post much here or in the forum, as far as I can tell. Oops, I see he is posting in the forum now, and is apparently getting a Volt soon.) Just asking.
+9
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:52 am)Sorry, but I have to relay a couple more bits of info re: The Volt Unplugged Tour .
GM is attempting to be net savvy and appeal to the young, sure. But where and how GM markets and displays the Volt are telling and provide more questions than answers.
GM shows up with a Hybrid Tahoe loaded with a card table, Chevrolet labeled tent/sunshade and several plastic banners that they prop up against a brick wall at Best Buy touting Volt’s possibilities and tech. They line up the test drivers who they’ve pre-registered online and who are tech people that truly know every single fact listed on their little banners and tons more. The general public not able to walk past, or peruse the signs.
Enter one woman with spikey gelled punk hairdo roaming about who spoke with a couple people who were early arrivers for the Volt drive – who is a blogger paid by GM who supposedly is there to put a Facebook, Twitter social networking face on the event – to somehow publish it and….um….make it more “exciting” to cyberspace…or something?!!!! For one, this girl does not …and I repeat, obviously, not represent the buying demographic for this car ( it’s $44,000 decked out ) , and seems like she more represents the “Scion Xb” crowd, if you know what I mean. Go to this person’s blog and it’s neither a) interestin b) enlightening c ) educational, or c) IMO, useful in any way, shape or form. It is, simply put — lame.
Top this all off with a Mexican taco truck parked in the Best Buy parking lot, to which Volt test drivers are given a ticket for a taco – and told – “these are supposedly the best tacos around!!! “…. I’m not John Stossell, but GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had to vent – because this is how GM professionals decided was appropriate to introduce Volt to America in person. A card table – Some PR hires who had zero clue about the car. An “engineer” whome I was pointed to for any questions ( every single question I had, he answered wrongly including ” I guarantee you Volt never has a mechanical connection to the drive wheels from the genset”….etc etc…. and a punk rocker-haired blogger girl who spent most the three-plus hours talking to the aforementioned PR staff and standing around!
As I said b4, the die-hard Volt and EV fans there really could care less about any of this because 4 Volts were there and we got to drive and touch them….But seriosly GM….. When Nissan is pulling out all the stops to demonstrate the Leaf. Is this the best you can do?!!!! Truly, it was pathetic.
PUMP OUT THE VOLTS! ( in all 50 states ),
James
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:55 am)“The next year or two will be very interesting to see how many Volts GM will actually be able to sell. Lets hope very, very many.”
The other question is “How many Volts will GM sell in 2011 and 2012. And lets hope very many more than what is currently slated for production.
Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.>\
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:01 am)Nice problem to have for GM.
I opine that lack of Volts will not be a problem after about spring of 2011. Yeah the first and gotta-have-the-new-thing-right-now must wait, but, anybody test driving and ordering later next year won’t have an issue.
Starting with 2012s (MY – or later 2011 year), you’ll probably have a choice of Volts already on the lot. Just look at recent history with Camaro.
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:07 am)# 31 CorvetteGuy Said:
“It’s more car than electric.”
On the CorvetteGuy scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is best:
“It’s more 2 than a 10.” in the recent light of the bad press whether the Volt is a true ‘electric car’ or not, this slogan may be accurate but poses a negative to the early adopters who regularly visit here.
Sorry CG, if GM completely ignored the *10s of thousands* of early adopters and people who post here, in order to appeal to the *millions* of everyday car buyers, I, for one, would be pleased as punch.
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:11 am)We have moved from trolling to hacking/cracking at this point. imho.
Looks like admin is on it. With a required registration rather than anonymous posts it should cut down on the irritation.
Signed: Loboc
+9
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:13 am)Here is a vote for CorvetteGuy’s ad “The electric car with extended range”
Keep the message simple and show the car performing. These ad guys lose perspective and feel they must be creative I guess.
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:18 am)I think they can do a password sign-in (like the forums) and an anonymous sign-in at the same time. That way the name cannot be re-used and nobody, without the password, can pretend to be a NASA employee.
+5
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:24 am)I’m 26 and a complete geek/nerd/facebook kid. I’m leasing a Volt.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:27 am)Good to see you’re still around Rashiid. I guess I don’t really post much either, but I’m always reading.
Agree with both you and Nasaman that the topics have been great, and things are certainly getting exciting as we get closer to real Volt wheels on the road, and in paying customer’s hands!
join thE REVolution
+11
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:27 am)Exactly!!!!
+1000
For those whipping out the -1s for my opinion post #30 – I’m wondering why humor isn’t accepted by early morning east coast readers – as by the
indicator – my first paragraph is H-U-M-O-R – slogans we could recite while GM takes years to rollout Volt in more than 7 markets. Notice I then say “Seriously…” and comment… Is this so difficult to determine I am not “Volt bashing”…being a “troll”…..or ?
Re: My vent re: Volt Unplugged Tour. For all GM fans here – don’t you want GM to prosper and succeed? Don’t you want Volt to be the good news spread from sea to shining sea? Nissan spends the big bucks and actually trains employees to adequately, professionally demonstrate and explain Leaf’s features, characteristics and content – while GM shows up with 4 charge depleted Volts ( they drove 40 miles to the Unplugged event in Seattle so testers had CS mode only test drives ) and completely appeared as if the whole event was planned and thrown together in an hour between coffee breaks in Detroit.
I was overtly pleased with Volt and told everyone I could grab there I would buy the car that day and whip out my checkbook. I believe Jim I and I are saying GM lacks wisdom in their marketing approach as they’re still teasing 43 states Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands with poorly organized events and 30 second teaser spots with cute slogans.
We’re frustrated – and not whiners. And we think GM’s approach is questionable. That’s it.
It’s nothing to do with “trolls” — rants —- or critiques of Volt…..
Got it?
We’re all in this together. And we’re all obliged our opinions as it should be.
PUMP OUT THE VOLTS!
RECHARGE!
James
+5
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:27 am)I think a good tag line for the Volt would have been ….
“Chevy Volt … the best of both worlds … the no compromise electric car. The fusion of 21st technology and the automobile”
Something like that. Heck Van Halen even had a song called “The Best of Both Worlds” in the 80s that they could use as background music.
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:28 am)Well apparently when I posted the site quoted Nasaman twice instead instead of each of you once as I had intended to do. My previous comment applies to both of you though!
join thE REVolution
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:31 am)join thE REVolution
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:32 am)Fiction alert!
Somewhere in Detroit, high up in a dark glass tower around a polished ebony table very important looking people in dark expensive suits are having a discussion.
Tony the marketing director says “We already have it set where we’re going to have this animated wall socket, kind of like WallE who is just kind of hopeful, sitting by himself, waiting to do something important, then the Volt shows up and he gets really happy like a dog when his master comes home.”
The man at the head of the table, his brow wrinkled with 30 years of deep concern sat with a puzzled look on his face. “We’re missing something here.”
A junior member of the marketing team, a balding slightly overweight man in his late 30s says: “We should emphasize the sportiness with an aerial shot of a Volt speeding up a verdant mountain mixed with ground shots of it fishtailing through the tight hairpin switchbacks.”
Just then, the tall man with dark hair who wears a suit the way it was meant to be worn, the person the boss’s admin had been furtively glancing at the whole meeting, who had been quiet the whole meeting, began speaking, slowly and deliberately. “Who is going to buy this car? It’s going to be successful educated men. Who is going to stop them from buy this car? Their soccer mom wife that wants another SUV for him to haul around the kids. We’ve got to get to her. Make her feel like she wants to see her man in this car. Make her feel proud that her man looks good in this car. Make her feel like this car makes her man a great man.”
“Umm, excuse me, but aren’t women going to drive this car too?” says the thin older woman with the Versace water tumbler.
The dark haired man waited a moment before continuing, he looked deeply at the thin older women, there eyes connected, “In the woman’s mind, she wants …” and then he is interrupted by the 40ish technical guy in the open collared shirt. “Wait, you aren’t hitting the green aspect at all!”
The dark haired man suddenly not so hypnotic anymore, quickly sits back in his chair. “Man, nobody interrupts Don Draper when he does the slow pitch on Mad Men!”
to be continued …
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:34 am)I agree. It may be many of us get bored by the hype and just want to get the answers to the questions you posted above. :+] Guess I am not an “adv” guy or “madmen” either.
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:35 am)Thanks for the heads-up NM! And we’re not the only persons that were impersonated, it seems.
How sad it must be to have to resort to such tactics, because your own perspectives and ideas are so ridiculously flaccid.
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:36 am)bookdabook,
LOL !!!!!!! Good one.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:36 am)Oh yeah, thanks for this link Nasaman. I was going to wait for my daughter to get home from college for Txgiving to set it up but this is very simple. I like my new avatar.
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:39 am)GM Volt Fan,
Not sure “fusion” of the 21st would ever appear in a VOLT ad. :+] Ford might smile but GM will not. good idea … just slightly different words.
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:39 am)James,
Those that are voting -1 to comment #40 probably haven’t seen the “one woman with spikey gelled punk hairdo” that GM put in charge of promoting the Volt Unplugged promotion. On September 29, they posted a 30 second video clip of her promoting the tour. All I could say at the time was, “you’ve got to be kidding!” I see they have pulled the clip now and I can’t find it anywhere, or I would give you the link.
+4
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:42 am)The Chevy Cruze ads feature: “Get used to more.”
In the same style with the scrolling text:
More aerodynamic than a Corvette.
More quiet than a C-Class.
More fuel savings than a Prius.
More worry-free range than a Leaf.
More Freedom than you ever thought possible.
-or-
More Freedom to Drive.
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:50 am)Dude, The San Diego event was nothing like that. First off it was at the Center for Sustainable Energy. There were Center officials giving speeches at the beginning about the whole new renewable energy frontier etc. The food truck was gourmet burgers, pork sandwiches and a lentil sandwich with quality salad or fries. Sure the crowd was mostly tech oriented. Who else was going to know about this. Overall the event was low key but appealed to the niche group of early adopters here in SD.
It sounds like your Best Buy event was ill conceived.
The Leaf event earlier this week was better promoted but I think a lot of people there were not going to buy that car. They were just curious. A lot of people at the SD Volt event were seriously thinking about buying it.
The Volt marketing is slow on this car as is the production. There are multiple reasons, linking expensive technology to an affordable car (read oxymoron) is only done over a period of time. Early adopters don’t need a heavy handed marketing campaign.
-Book
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:52 am)The new ads will be successful. They just need some time.
Remember, most people still have no idea what the Volt is yet. They will need to see some on the road first before they really understand its no different than any other car.
And that there’s nothing to worry about when driving it.
+7
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:53 am)Eco_Turbo,
You’re right that it must appeal to millions, but 10% of regulars and 100% of trolls on this site still don’t see the overall benefit of Voltec-EREV. Saying that it is “more car than electric” does not support the extensive amount of technology that went in to the design. A Prius is more conventional car than electric. The tag line / slogan should support why the Volt is different and better. Not everyone here will agree with me, but I have to sell the things and the slogan should be more distinctive. How about “A better electric car.”
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:56 am)I have the same problem, Michael. I sure wish I’d known this was going to be an issue, before I registered on the Forum way-back-when. Guess I’m gonna have to give up my “seniority” there and re-register.
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:01 am)Mike-o-Matic,
Good news Mike-o-Matic.
Lyle can change your user name on the forum. He can make it what you want, if it is still available. 
I am now “MichaelH” on the forum and will change here as well. 
So, if you see a “Michael” posting here in the future (with a different gravatar or no gravatar), it will not be me.
I assume you won’t have to give up your “seniority” there or re-register, you’ll just start logging in with the new user name.
- Michael
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:02 am)Petty good description. Just from looking at the crowd you’re talking 40-60 white male buyers. A demographic closer to the Buick buyer than the Scion buyer. They did not however say anything about how good the truck was, just gave out the tickets. (I appreciated the gesture).
Surprised you gave it a 2. I dunno, emphasizing the “sameness” of new technology just isn’t intuitive to me. With Apple everything is “insanely great”, “the best ever”, and “totally revolutionary”. Would an early adopter be willing to fork over $35K for a car described like that or one whose tag line was “same old same old”? Put another way, do you want to buy a completely cool technologically innovative ELECTRIC car priced less than 1/3rd that of previous products in the category (Tesla Roadster) or a $41K Cruze? GM marketing apparently thinks people want the $41K Cruze.
I’m beginning to miss the Volt dancers …
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:08 am)We’re preaching to each other on this one but your point about the Prius and the Volt tagline is SO COMPLETELY RIGHT ON that it deserves more attention. Yes, the Prius is better described as “More Car than Electric” than the Volt. That’s why I don’t want a Prius. It’s not revolutionary.
Not sure about “Better Electric Car”. I’m not good at this but even “The First Electric Car for Everyone” seems like it would be better.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:09 am)Mike-o-Matic,
Mike, I just logged in with my new user name, MichaelH, and my profile is intact.
Thanks again Lyle.
+6
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:10 am)This is perfect.
Start out with Americans being inventors.
Electric light, Taking a man to the moon. ( In the side lines you say 95% of the products made in china and japan were invented in America)
Then American again reinvented the car.
” The only electric car in the world that has no range limitation because it has a range extender”
The Chevy Volt ( it truly is electric)
+4
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:13 am)Indeed, my experience at the San Diego Volt Unplugged was NOT good:
Pre-registration was possible through both a Chevy site and the Center for Sustainable Energy site. I did both, never heard from CSE, but got a response from the Chevy site affiliate that my appointment was for 1:30.
I get there and fill out the paperwork and am told they’re running behind. Why? Well, we got a late start because of the media attention, and also because the CSE allowed people to register without assigning them a time(!!!). So, basically, a poorly planned event meant long waiting times for people that registered. Woman running the event was completely unapologetic for the “miscommunication” and kept repeating my drive would “only” be a half hour late.
They had four Volts running and 12 people in front of me in the “registered for a specific time” line. But there were also about 9 people in the separate “registered without a specific time” line. At about 10 minutes per test drive cycle, a quick calculation led me to conclude my test drive would be at least an hour late. Since I work for a living, I couldn’t afford to waste that much time.
The storm cloud’s silver lining was that there was also a very short “passenger” line, so I cut my losses and took a ride as a passenger. My observations from that drive are listed below:
- There was plenty of headroom
- The driver of my car was tall – I’ll guess 6′ 2″. When he adjusted his seat backward to be comfortable, it was right up against my shins. I had to move to the other rear seat, behind the less tall GM representative. The Volt will NOT comfortably accommodate 3 or 4 tall people
- Because it had been giving tours since 10 am, the battery was pretty depleted, but this was a good thing as I got to experience the smooth transition between battery and ICE-assisted driving.
- Center console display was cool. Saw it showing the energy source and also asked to see the navigation
- Acceleration was peppy and quiet. Braking was smooth.
- Handling was fine, although the 1.5 mile (too short!) test drive on city streets did not afford the driver much in the way of opportunities to test handling
- Ride was smooth and comfortable
- Heard trim rattling from the back, which the GM rep said was just because this wasn’t a production model
- Interior design and trim appearance were nice. Seat was comfortable.
- There is a cigarette lighter in the back – nice for running accessories
- The back seats don’t slide or tilt. Potentially uncomfortable on a long drive.
- The car’s exterior looked cool, but you all knew that already
- The hatchback area has only enough hidden storage for the charge cord. So plan to carry a blanket in the back to cover any store purchases if you’ll be parking in public
Overall, my experience was mixed. Engineering-wise, I liked everything about the car except the tight back seats. Marketing-wise it was a Charlie Foxtrot. Not respecting the time of prospective customers of a $41K product and providing a nearly useless test drive area are great ways to take Volt enthusiasts and piss them off.
My advice to GM: take some of those great engineers and put them to work planning your marketing events.
+8
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:20 am)With all due respect to CorvetteGuy(and a lot apparently is due), may I chime in with my own tag line that is a slight variation, but perhaps a bit plainer(as in comprehensible) to the average motorist who knows nothing about this car?
To wit:
“The Electric Car that Goes Farther”
-16
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:22 am)(click to show comment)
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:22 am)But what if you want to go “further”?
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:25 am)Why is it that you, CorvetteGuy, and others are all coming up with better taglines than marketing professionals? As I said in an earlier post, GM should take some of those brilliant engineers and start using them to help Marketing…
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:26 am)MichaelH (Michael),
Oops! I already reregistered. I’ll have to follow up later and untangle this minor mess.
Thanks for reporting your experiences, at least I know what is possible.
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:28 am)Question: Do you sincerely believe you represent the Volt demographic as a whole, or represent the exception to the rule?
God bless you and I’m truly and not sarcastically happy that you are three years out of average college age and can afford a $40k car.
But again, did you miss my point completely?
A 20-something blogger girl with 11″ high spiked hair and barely rudimentary knowledge of what a Volt is does not a representative of the Volt market make. Is hers a “fresh perspective”? You’ll have to go to her blog and judge for yourself.
RECHARGE!
James
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:29 am)LOL, I just want to go farther. Furthermore, i want to do it on volts, not petro-juice.
-2
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:34 am)Well done. I think I will go back through 3 years of gm-volt.com to lookup everyone’s great ideas and make a list. I think together we can save GM a lot of money.
One more thing… I have to say it before someone else does:
“Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose…”
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:36 am)James,
Considering the buzz the car is having with all of my friends, I’d say it is, if anything, an untapped potential market. I have 2 friends that are waiting to see how I do with the car, and want to buy one. One of them just purchased a Ford Fusion, but didn’t go with the hybrid model because of the jarring experience of having the gas engine turn on, etc.
Obviously a blogger with no knowledge of the car is not the best choice, but she was the best choice for her experience in the social media field [which I am in as well, I am the web content and community manager for an online game company]. That doesn’t mean every 20-something blogger type is the same way. It also doesn’t mean you just forget about that large audience.
Looking at some google searches of twitter and facebook statuses, many people who are posting pictures of the car are college aged, and got a glimpse of the car at their respective universities. I’d say that counts for something.
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:37 am)Well done. I think we should go back through three years of postings here to make a list of all the good ideas. Together we can save GM a lot of money on ad campaigns.
And I have to say it before someone else does:
Freedom’s just another word for “nothin’ left to lose”…
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:42 am)James,
That is a bit unfortunate and hopefully a one-off occurrence
-6
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:44 am)Take a look at FastLane, sometime. It used to be all about the cars. Now, there’s a lot of articles about blogging and twitting. Not an improvement, IMHO.
I’m not GM’s biggest fan (I’m sure you’re all shocked to learn this) but even I miss what FastLane used to be.
There was at least one comment about this on FastLane, recently; perhaps they’ll shift gears and get back to cars.
(I just looked… the 3 most recent articles that aren’t about blogging… maybe it’s on the upswing.)
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:48 am)It sounds like marketing is trying to back away from calling this an Extended Range Electric Vehicle as we’ve been told for the last 3 years.
Okay so the early adopters understand exactly what the Volt is, but is the general public going to buy a $41K car that is just a regular car, with some electric thrown in? In other words just a regular ole hybrid like every other hybrid out there.
I’m not saying that’s all the Volt is, but that’s what the tag line implies. Unless people are educated about what makes the Volt unique they are going to consider it an over-price Cruze Hybrid.
I’m afraid that GM doesn’t have a clue how to market this car. They say it’s for the masses but it’s priced like a luxury car so their brains short circuit and they have these failed marketing strategies.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:52 am)Americans are so weird. I’ve heard a lot of reasons for not buying a hybrid, but being jarred…
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:01 am)The early production models will probably have batteries manufactured in Korea or perhaps outsourced those to China. However, LG Chem is building a battery manufacturing plant in MI.
http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2010/03/hollands_lg_chem_battery_plant.html
A123 is also building a battery manufacturing plant in MI, which I believe is actually complete.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/a123-opens-michigan-battery-plant-with-federal-and-state-aid/
GM is building the battery packs in MI as well.
http://www.gm.com/corporate/responsibility/environment/news/2010/voltbattery_010710.jsp
Though the current motors are sourced to a supplier, GM is bringing electric motor manufacturing in-house.
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/10/01/gm-invests-23-5m-in-electric-vehicle-component-facility-in-balt/
-3
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:11 am)You are putting words in his mouth.
+6
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:12 am)BUY THE VOLT!
(obey the Hypnotoad)
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:12 am)I hope that “Enterprise Rent A Car” will offer the Volt as one of their cars at some point in the next year.
http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/10/21/85630/743/travel/Electric+Cars+Are+Coming+To+An+Enterprise+Rent-A-Car+Near+You
I bet you’d have a hard time renting one though. GM isn’t making very many Volts for 2011. I bet it would constantly be in demand. I’m sure Enterprise would make some money out of it. At least it would give people who are “on the fence” about buying one a chance to REALLY test drive it any way they want for a couple of days.
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:14 am)Everyone keeps saying it’s $41k. It’s $41k MINUS $7500 tax credit. $34k is an entirely different class than $41k. (And the $350 estimated lease payment is closer to a $28k car). A $28-$34k car is in the sweet spot for ‘the masses’.
GM’s dealers do not have to ‘sell’ this car at all. The first three years of production (and more) are pre-sold. Taking orders is not the same thing as selling.
As a matter of fact, they may be putting their second string marketing on this car since it doesn’t matter if they screw up for 2011. (or 2012 or 2013) Why do you need to market something that is pre-sold for the foreseeable future?
-Loboc
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:14 am)Here’s a tagline. Copy from that spanish soccer announcer that always screams….”Goooal!”
Instead of “Goooal!”
V( . y . )LT!!!!!
/lol…..that’s why i’m not in advertising,,,,,, teasing but not tising.
//back to my KAHLUA……and a little bitocoffee.
-13
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:16 am)(click to show comment)
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:19 am)……if you LEASE it.
For the well todo folks that will “Buy” it, they will be paying the full $41,000.00 + tax , license, destination blah blah blah….
For those folk, when they drive off the lot, like I always say, they will have paid 100% full price for the car. No -$7,500.00 ANYWHERE in the purchase document.
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:21 am)Ya know, I resent the fact that you think just because we see this imag—-ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD!
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:21 am)If I kiss the Frog will it turn into a Volt?
/if not I’ll just eat the legs…..
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:25 am)HEY!
Is the “Edit” feature acting funky for anyone else?
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:26 am)The Volt is an insanely great disruptive technological revolution that can change the world (yeah hyperbole but if Apple can say thins kind of stuff about the incremental products they it introduce with a straight face not an issue), so I’m not surprised that it has fans of many ages.
Unlike James I’m not critical of efforts to market to demographics which will not immediately be buyers. His point that not many very young buyers can afford this car is valid, but there will be a next generation Volt and the reality is that in a few years young people who may not be able to buy the car now may be able to buy it then, especially if GM succeeds in taking some of the costs out.
My objection is the mind numbingly stupid decision to position a truly innovative piece of technology as a standard product. Hard to fathom what genius came up with that one. My guess is GM marketing surveyed a bunch of people in focus groups who expressed fears about how different an electric car would be from their regular car, and decided the “solution” would be to position the Volt as “More Car Than Electric”.
+7
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:28 am)BRILLIANT!
/You better back off a little CG …unless you wanna move from sunny SoCal to frigid Detroit
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:31 am)Maan, I hope that the lithium ion battery industry gets huge in just a couple of years and they can crank out Volt batteries at HALF the current cost. Come on LGChem and everyone else … build them huge factories and get busy. Get ‘er done!
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-18/sanyo-electric-aims-to-slash-lithium-ion-car-battery-costs-by-about-half.html
I want to see a super competitive, highly innovative electric car components industry coming up with “new and improved” technology every year like Apple and their competitors do with smartphones. I want everyone to be able to buy or lease a Volt as soon as possible.
-10
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:34 am)(click to show comment)
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:34 am)OT, but I read somewhere that it is not the lack of materials used to make the cells but the lack of “Machinery” that is the bottleneck. It’s the machine that rolls and wraps the layers.
/murphy’s friggin law man, I cant remember or find the site now……sheesh!
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:40 am)Yes, seems to be acting strange since the latest site upgrade.
join thE REVolution
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:41 am)I’m not disputing that. I’m saying that the net price of the car is around $34k with the incentive. Ok, ya gotta pay taxes on an extra $7500 (about 600 bucks in Texas). I’m pretty sure that this won’t stop anybody. (Which is why I’m not so adamant about saying 33500.00 instead of 34k.)
There will probably be a tax form to use and the dealer will definitely make sure that the customer knows and understands this (or the sale may not go well).
With the low lease price, I’m sure a lot of buyers will become lessors until their lease is up. Then they can buy it out at their residual. This way they get the tax incentive up front. (I’m either going to do this, or, wait for 3 years until some are coming off lease, or, try to get a dealer demo.)
There is currently a bill in Congress to:
1. increase the incentive to 10-grand.
2. make the incentive available on the day of purchase.
Until the first few deals are actually done (signatures and all that), we won’t really know for sure how all this works out.
What I’m unsure of is dealer demos. I bought a dealer demo once and got a very good price because of the miles (it’s basically a used car at that point). My question is (CorvetteGuy?) do I still get the $7500, or, is the incentive taken off the price already since the dealer bought it first?
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:44 am)Yes. With FireFox (3.6.11 on XP Pro SP3), I have to back-page or reload.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:47 am)Sure – I agree it was a privelage to actually see, touch and drive Volts. The test course we got partly made up for the poor execution since that is all us Volt nuts care about anyway. We got 4.5 miles of mixed driving ( more than some Unplugged cities I’ve heard ) plus many who hung around all day like us got to drive or ride in a Volt more than once! So regardless of how my tone sounded , I was appreciative and grateful for the experience, even though it made me lust after the day when I can write a check for my first gen Volt in Seattle – whenever or if ever that day will come.
My comments weren’t a rant, only observations hopefully that will get back to GM so they can have feedback on the Unplugged campaign. Some there in Seattle made snide remarks that GM’s presentation rang of the phrase: “Good Enough For Government Work” …
! as it had a kind of “thrown together feel about it”. Hey, some folks did say the tacos were pretty good and most of all we all really enjoyed that some real live Volt assembly line employees were on hand to chat with. It was eye opening on several fronts as some of them gave my 2nd gen Prius a once-over, commenting they’d never seen one up close before! THAT was unexpected. Those guys are truly “rock stars” in my book. True American heros no less than veterans of foreign wars – part of the effort to ease our addiction to foreign oil.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Thanks, Don for reminding me to be thankful. I may not be able to buy a Volt any time soon, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my appreciation Volts and plant workers came across the country – a couple miles from my home, at all*.
PUMP OUT THE VOLTS! ( in all 50 states ),
James
* and offered us some free grub
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:49 am)Aw see….
Now I have to go on my “I hate trim levels….” rant.
I h8 having to buy another “Package” of sh|t just to get one friggin item.
GM needs to sell a bare bones “Stripper” model…..as a matter of fact, Toyota should sell their Prius 1 and PHV Prius 1 to the general public too. EricLG, tell them to sell those models to the general public man!
They should call this trim “BAM”!
(B)roke
(A)zz
(M)ofo
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:50 am)The ‘Dealership Demo’ is put into service. So when time comes for it to be resold, it is a used car. There is no federal tax credit for a used car that I know of. The Dealership is required to keep the Demo in service for a minimum of 6 months. It is unclear if they have to buy another demo to replace it if they sell it. At my dealership, I already have first dibs on the demo car when it goes up for sale. I am very curious as to what the ‘used car price’ will be. If I can’t get my wife the Volt with the lease program, the used one will be my second choice.
+5
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:55 am)OT: I try to not cross-link from the other little corner of the interweb, but the first LEAF (Job 1) rolls off the production line tonight (7:30EDT10:30PDT), and I just thought it might still be something of interest to the wider community.
http://nissan-leaf.net/2010/10/21/watch-as-nissan-celebrates-job-1-as-first-production-leaf-rolls-off-the-line-today/#comments
(You can also watch it live from there and later on loop) if you care too)
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:56 am)OK…lol and here I was trying to make local internet security setting for “Trusted” sites….whew.
+7
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:57 am)THREAD JACKER!!!
/nuttin but love for ya homie!
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (12:18 pm)kdawg,
Cool hypno-post. I like it a lot.
RE; Leaf.
The thing about a Leaf in the high heat or deep cold, is the range reduction, of course.
Another thing about range anxiety: Did you know that the in-tank fuel sending unit float, when sending the signal for the maximum or minimum, is not in the true maximum or minimum positions relative to what is actually in the gas tank? This is because in part, any constant touching of the float to the top and bottom of the tank would far more quickly wear out the sending unit potentiometer.
The effect of this is that, as we generally know, the gas gauge does not immediately decrease its reading for the first few dozen or two miles. Nor does it tend to indicate the absolute empty condition when it is on “E” in most cases.
(The expansion and contraction of the fuel itself is also a misleading situation to accuracy).
These quantity buffers both at the top of the tank and the bottom of the tank tend to reduce
lack-of-confidence concerns.)
I think GM is really totally accurate in the anticipation of range anxiety, *far* more than most people would suppose at this time.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (12:24 pm)Hey guys,
FYI, I registered in the forum under the name, “T 1″. I was fka “Timaaayyy!!!”. Hope that name didn’t offend anyone except the guy a year or two ago, known as Tim, who used to steer every thread into his extreme political views. Timaaayyy!!! was my way of having fun with him.
Maybe it worked, I don’t know. That guy’s been gone for awhile. So it’s time to move on.
Regarding today’s topic, obviously GM isn’t going for immediate sales because that’s not possible with such limited current supply. So what ARE they after? Halo effect? Although GM has rarely done that on TV–almost no TV ads for Corvette nor SSR, e.g., this time is more important–green cred is very valuable (in itself and as cover for selling high-profit SUVs, which are starting to sell better again), as is “we’re not your father’s Olds company” (to borrow a phrase), in that we’re innovating and vigorous again. Image matters for GM. A LOT. With GM’s tainted product history and partial government ownership, especially. Time to show that they’re back.
And if it helps get a bit better IPO price, the Volt might be worth a lot of its development cost right there.
+12
Oct 21st, 2010 (12:25 pm)I must admit, after all of the buildup I had mixed feelings after the whole experience. I was a little numb after I returned to work. Maybe it was like the post Xmas depression or maybe the feeling you would get if you found out what your present was going to be before you actually got it and it was not quite the super-car from outer-space you had created in your mind.
I went to both the Leaf and Volt events in SD. I registered early for both since I learned about them on this site and reg’d immediately and got an early drive time for the Volt (11:15) and my choice for the Leaf (4PM Sat). My actual drive times were about 30-45 min late for both.
I drove the Leaf twice. I drove the Volt once and did 3 ride-alongs in the Volt.
Volt had swag, t-shirts, bags and food. Leaf had none but took your pic in front of the car or filmed you for a contest.
Leaf had lectures about the tech. the range, how it fits most users etc. The Volt event, at least here, had speeches from environmentalists and political looking people (can’t say much about them, I was fiddling with the interior of the car sitting next to the podium so I didn’t hear what they were saying). To be fair, in each car the shotgun person was an engineer to answer anything you wanted. Sometimes these engineers were out in the crowd so you could find one if you asked around.
The drive for both was fairly short. On speed, I got the Leaf up to 60 on a short straightaway on Rosecrans. I got the Volt up to 70 on a longer stretch. I thanked the Volt engineer with me for providing that stretch as part of the drive. I got both cars to fishtail out of a right turn, i.e. applied torque is immediate in both. The brakes on the Volt were smoother. The leaf brakes had a little whiplash effect in sharp stops. The sport and mtn mode in the Volt set it apart. The sport definitely gives you a porsche-like feel of jump off the gun.
Noise levels were different. The Leaf is obviously quieter since it doesn’t have a gas engine but you do hear a whirring noise but have to pay attn to hear that. We all drove the Volts in ER mode, i.e. the electric had been depleted on their drives down from LA. So I did not get a sense of the noise level in the Volt on pure electric. The ICE in the Volt is noticible. It is VERY noticible in mtn mode. I’d say because of the noise, this is the least desirable feature of the car. The rpms run extremely high and you have to raise your voice inside the car to talk over this noise. I’m not sure how necessary this will be for anything other than saving a few pennies on gas when climbing a steep grade. From what I have read (see the MT review), there is no loss in power going up a grade when in ER mode.
The Leaf horn was a small car beep, not very manly. The Volt has a normal “honk”. The pedestrian alert on the Volt sounds like when you feather a normal horn so that it is not loud. So it seems they tried to duplicate that effect. You know where you don’t want to offend someone but you want them to get moving or get out of the way.
The interior depth of both would hold my 7 ft 8 in surfboard with the back seat collapsed … a key selling point for my niche demographic (haha). Seriously the Leaf had more headroom and back seat space but pays for that with it’s bubble shape on the outside. The Volt outside look is sleek but it pays for that by giving up head and leg room. The interior of the Leaf is discount with high tech plastic and synthetic fabrics. The leather of the Volt is great and all the buttons and gadgets everywhere seem solid and responsive but there is that issue of the wasted space between the 2 backseats. I kept finding myself wanting to sink into that space with my elbow when I did ride alongs. PLEASE PLEASE GM put an armrest there like most respectable cars.
The software in the Leaf was like Microsoft to the Volt’s (not quite but close) Apple. It seemed more intuitive in the Volt as I fiddled with both in parked cars. The animated graphic of energy transfer in the Volt is kind of cool but could get old after time. the Volt’s green ball of eco-consciousness was better than the Leaf’s arcing white ball of reinforcement.
Both sound systems were good when directly plugged into my iPod. (I played Neil Young’s “Long May You Run” in both to wish them both well). However the Leaf had 3 settings for quality and the top setting was the best so the 1st 2 are a waste.
Useful info found at each:
The Leaf powers down all non-essential systems like heat and radio when it has 10% battery remaining and hypermiles on its own when down to 5% to remind you to find a place to charge.
The Volt black center stack and dashboard are being made with the first run. On one of my ride alongs the Line Production Chief was riding shotgun and he told me all variations of interiors and exteriors were being produced with the first and every run. This conflicted with another engineer who seemed to think the black ones were not being installed until Feb. I have to go with the line chief. He was a big burley authoritative dude!
SD delivery on Volts should be early. CA is maybe the biggest first receiver of cars. I gotta hope.
I asked (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) if there was a graphic representation when the ICE engaged the wheels to improve fuel economy in ER mode going 30-100 mph. I opened that by asking the engineer about the recent reveal of this hybrid nature of wheel engagement. He was quick to say that was a “misunderstanding” -must be a company-line. He said no, there was no such graphic and countered with what purpose would it serve. I countered with maybe it could be used to teach drivers to be more efficient … in reality I just wanted to get a rise out of him and did.
Sorry for the long winded-ness and thanks to anyone who actually read this whole thing. I am obviously biased toward the Volt. I can see the usefulness of the Leaf but I just want to be able to drive for distance if I want to. Since that will be rare, I will be doing my part not using gas for most of my driving.
Gotta actually do some real work today. Adios,
-Book
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (12:27 pm)Lyle: Profiles; Settings; Edit Avartar: Re IMPORTING of an existing avatar
My AVATAR on another website (an international chess website) is a Peanuts character. Maybe not all that apropos here. That came about by that site posting a number of available topic-related avatars. (Which I selected from that group.) Maybe your webmaster has a source to simplify selection.
On GM’s VOLT ad venture. I don’t care much for the body engraving-piercing/shaving-skin/artificial hair color – actors in car ads. Which is why the Howie Long ads do (or did) so well. As retro in vogue, a “See the USA” … “in your Chevrolet” recast as “See the USA … “with an electric Chevrolet” showing a traditional American main-street family driving a VOLT. Clean cut family ads made GM and Chevy number one. Doesn’t that pretty much ID the statistical VOLT buyer in the first place!!??
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (12:28 pm)1. gotta pay taxes anyway (7.5k or not)
2. gotta pay fees if you’re not smart anyway (7.5k or not)
3. gotta pay upgrade trim if you order it. (7.5k or not)
4. dealer gotta make money (7.5k or not)
5. it’s not a compact car. It’s a mid-size car (SAE J1100-EPA class)
6. The average cost of buying a new car has increased by $950 to $27,950 since the first business quarter of 2010
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2010/08/are-cars-becoming-less-affordable-for-the-average-american-family.html
Begone with your FUD, troll.
-1
Oct 21st, 2010 (12:30 pm)Sorry about that, Captain. It’s like old times, (=
Oct 21st, 2010 (12:45 pm)Lol. CJS calls it a ‘stripper’. Only strippers I see are at “Baby Dolls” not Chevy dealers. However, with those, the less you get the more it costs!
Hmmm…. maybe if they had strippers at Chevy dealers… Naw.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (12:49 pm)I did, and it was fine! Thanks for the extensive report!
Oct 21st, 2010 (12:52 pm)Agreed.
Back when I was hoping Volt would become a reality and not just a PR tool, the videos of Volts being taken to high schools, technical schools and universities really buoyed my sense that GM was going to follow through after all.
YouTube, Tweets and Facebook show that the young are talking and dreaming about EVs. I’m blown away how many teens-to-20′s are pumped about the Tesla roadster and Model S. They “get it”, and aren’t offput that it doesn’t blow smoke and flames and sound like stampeding buffalo while laying it’s patch in 3.9 seconds from 0-60. Younger people adapt more quickly to new technology and many see Volt and Leaf as evolution to where we need to be heading. It’s alot of us square-headed Baby Boomers, and gen X-ers who’re more set in their ways already, and can be harder to convince.
Indeed you make a great point. Planting seeds in Scion Xb buyers is not a waste of time, and forwarding the discussion is vital.
GM just could’ve used a more interested and informed “blogger rep” IMO.
PUMP OUT THE VOLTS!
James
Volt SS – the auto “wet dream” of the future car buyer.
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:06 pm)I think I’ve been there. Isn’t that the one with “hundreds of sexy girls and one ugly one”..?
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:12 pm)OT: (Hey, if Statik can do it, so can I)
At the link below, the authors visit the Detroit Hamtramck plant where they are ALREADY building Volts.
Some interesting excerpts:
“As with all vehicles on the line, at this point the Volt is on a hoist approximately six feet off of the ground. Once the Volt is in the programmed position, the automated vehicle maneuvers itself under the car and awaits two assembly workers to guide the battery pack inside the Volt’s undercarriage.
During the entire process the line never stops moving. The automated vehicle packing the battery constantly moves forward with the line until assembly line workers command the vehicle it can leave. Once that command is given, the Volt’s battery pack has been successfully installed.”
And..
“At any rate, the Volt seems to work well at Detroit-Hamtramck. According to plant management they will end up building around 500 Volts before regular production starts in two to three weeks. While we were there Volts were constantly rolling down the assembly line and could be found in abundance in the holding lots outside – right alongside its H and K-Body brothers (or grandfathers?).”
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f12/gmi-goes-inside-gm-detroit-hamtramck-assembly-96772/
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:13 pm)Aw man…
A few Long Island IT and a Fog Cutter and they’ll ALL look like Katy Perry in the clouds!!!
Yeeeeehaw, let’s gitterdone boys!!!
GO VOLT!
GO EV!
GO TO HELL OPEC!!!
The ICEAge is over, Embrace the VoltAge!!!
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:16 pm)Ya gotta pay taxes and dealers anyway. Incentive or not.
Also, Volt is a mid-size car (SAE J1100-EPA class).
Also, the average price paid for a car in Q2 in the US was around $28k. 25-30k is a car price for most folks.
Begone with your FUD, troll.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:27 pm)Great comment !
Its important that this car was designed by American Engineers not where the parts are made.
Keeps technology at home.
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:28 pm)Maybe. It’s on a road we call ‘fuzzy butt’ road because of all the strip joints and the road’s real name is ‘Harry Hines Blvd.’. (ie. hairy hiney = fuzzy butt).
Once 2am rolls around and they turn the work lights on, they’re all fairly plain chicks (and some were chicks when Dallas was a prairie).
But, we’re getting WAY off topic now.
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:31 pm)WAY off topic:
At the one I’m thinking of, you would never order a mixed drink. Stick with bottle beer and make sure you see them open it.
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:40 pm)Bookdabook said “Volt had swag, t-shirts, bags and food. Leaf had none but took your pic in front of the car or filmed you for a contest.”
Jeez, all the swag was gone when I was there at 1:30. And no Katy Perry either…
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:42 pm)Really? ABG keeps calling it “The Volt is a four-passenger, compact hatchback.”.
I can never tell where the diff is.
So which is it? Compact or Mid-Size?
/need to put this one to rest before I end up telling folks the wrong thing again.
+4
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:47 pm)Check out this big pic they had displayed at the Paris Auto show for the Fisker Karma. Oh Paris.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:50 pm)You say that like it’s a *bad* thing (lol).
I agree with Jim I’s concern regarding advertising a product that has very limited availability. Even if they confine the ads to areas where they are selling the Volts, aren’t *those* pretty well sold already? I guess if GM is going to have a problem with the Volt, that’s the one we’d choose (because, to a large degree, it’s remediable pretty easily).
I also like the idea that they should lean *hard* on the performance qualities of the Volt. There are soooo many misconceptions that need to be debunked. Maybe they could sponsor an episode of Mythbusters. Belief: Electric cars perform like golf carts. Between the Volt, Tesla, and Killacycle, it should be a cool episode.
Be well and believe,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The VOLTS ‘ Wheels On The Road!!****NPNS
/back from the mines…
Oct 21st, 2010 (1:59 pm)lol!
Oct 21st, 2010 (2:26 pm)lol…
Is that Katy Perry in the “Cheshire Car”?
Oct 21st, 2010 (3:12 pm)Great news! I just got a call from a Volt Advisor, April, telling me my order is scheduled to go into production in late November/December! She also said I would have an advisor assigned to me for the duration of my ownership of the vehicle. Man do I feel special. There is actual potential to get it in 2010 but more likely I’ll get it in January which is fine.
She asked about my test drive and I told her everything was great but that I thought Mtn mode was loud and I didn’t think I was going to use it much because of that. I also asked if she could suggest they put an armrest in the middle of the 2 backseats. She definitely “got” that and said she would talk to engineers and get back to me later with their response. So I’m feeling pretty cool about that, finishing my lunch with a colleague and the phone buzzes again and it’s April again and I told her I thought she was going to tell me the armrest will be in my unit. We both laughed. She just wanted to confirm my email.
Anyway busy day, with all of these posts. I’ve got a Lakers/Warriors game here in SD tonight so have to leave early. I better get back to work. Don’t want to miss any Kobe time.
-Book
Oct 21st, 2010 (3:12 pm)Ummm… I think regulars here know my feelings about the front end of the Leaf —let me just say I feel precisely the opposite about the YUMMY rear end in (no, I mean “of”) that Karma!
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (3:18 pm)A quickie…Talk about ad ventures: Today GM sold out 100 gorgeous 2011 Neiman Marcus Edition SS Camaro Convertibles. At $75,000 a copy … in THREE minutes!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.minyanville.com/dailyfeed/special-edition-neiman-marcus-camaro/?camp=syndication&medium=portals&from=yahoo
I’m not all that big on muscle cars – but this SS Camaro absolutely stands toe to toe with just any Euro.
Now GM how about dressing up say a hundred SS VOLT editions ….now!
Oct 21st, 2010 (3:24 pm)Congrats, bookdabook! And just in case, let me remind you hand-made Persian rugs are highly
coveted —and I hear that hand-sewn Persian pillows are often found in Rolls-Royce Phantoms, so you might look into one (a soft Persian pillow is far better than a leather-bound arm rest as a chic magnet!). It should fit very nicely between those two rear bucket seats!
Oct 21st, 2010 (3:25 pm)NM! I’m shocked, aghast, and in complete agreement with you.
Oct 21st, 2010 (3:31 pm)Who did I bet a beer about the first Volt being delivered by Nov 20th? Was it Dave K?
If Lyle gets his Volt in 5 days, are you going to email me that beer?
Oct 21st, 2010 (3:32 pm)They need the “Dude your gettin a Dell” guy back to do “Dude – you got a VOLT!”
They need this to be moderately edgy and not GM toned-down.
The thing is – why advertise at all – aren’t the 15K or so VOLTs actually going to sell-out without advertising?
Oct 21st, 2010 (3:38 pm)PS to my post # 137: For a $20 Persian pillow I’d love to wedge in between my Volt’s rear seats:
http://www.cafepress.com/+persian_shield_throw_pillow,399757652
Oct 21st, 2010 (3:41 pm)*Somebody* “up there” is really looking after you (and I don’t mean at GM). Right when you were a bit conflicted about your first Volt experience, you get a second, more pleasant Volt experience! That’s totally cool (and yes, I hate you)(g).
Be well and believe,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The VOLTS ‘ Wheels On The Road!!****NPNS
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (3:44 pm)Cool. 3 minutes to sell out. At an estimated $35k more than the regular convertibles on sale next year. Good for GM.
My favorite: the “ghosted” rally stripes:
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/sitelets/christmasbook/fantasy.jhtml?cid=CBF10_O4836&r=cat33500731
-1
Oct 21st, 2010 (3:56 pm)Dave K.,
Why would it matter if she’s hung on Japanese cars? Sure, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc have plants here in the states, but where are these companies headquarted?
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:02 pm)Lyle,
Great, so the trolls can go set up some bogus e-mail, and set it up that way… Your fighting a “Very” uphill battle.
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:17 pm)That’d definitely get me off my arse and into the dealer to order!
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:27 pm)Well, if done correctly, it can be a ‘free’ email address, but, you would need access to it to verify your account.
Other measures can be taken to limit anonymous troll attacks such as not allowing comments until after a waiting period. Using moderators (such as Tag and others) that are senior members or super users works well also.
You’ll still get some dickweeds no matter what you do. Even if you charge for the privilege.
+20
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:27 pm)I have a new, more descriptive term for them: “TrollBabies”.
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:32 pm)+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:39 pm)Uncontested.
Be well and believe,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The VOLTS ‘ Wheels On The Road!!****NPNS
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:40 pm)I’m sorry but you are wrong. The MSRP is of the Chevy Volt is $40,280. When Corvetteguy or anyone else sells you a Volt you will pay the MSRP plus TAX on that amount and all the other standard and customary charges associated with a new car purchase. And THAT is the amount that you will have to finance… not $34K.
THEN the following year, you may depending on your tax situation file your tax return for a tax credit which you may or may not qualify for.
What if I’m independently wealthy and I don’t pay taxes? Then a tax credit is worthless to me. Unlikley, but a tax credit is not the same as a lower MSRP.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:42 pm)At least GM will get people to think about an electric car with their ad. It takes people awhile to catch on to things, but to really speed the process – get people to see the movie, Revenge of the Electric Car.
http://revengeoftheelectriccar.com/faq/
(The red VOLT avatar arrived today, the day GM called!)
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:48 pm)I just tried an old old password on the forum, and got “in” (I had been concerned that I might not be able to). Could be I’m not the only one who got into the forums early, then never again?
I came up with a name for them the other day:
“The Priinut Gallery.”
Tagamet,
Look at your avatar! Your cat has reproduced by fission!!
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:49 pm)Advertising products that “sell themselves” is not a waste if money. Think of it as a necessary evil. Why do you think we see ads everyday for tooth brushes, breakfast cereal, laundry soap, and such…? Those will sell themselves every day without tv ads too. It is only necessary as ‘a reminder’ to the consumer that “you want it” or “you need it”.
When the time comes for Joe Consumer to shop for an electric car, in the back if his mind he will be wanting the one “with extended range” because the tv ad told him so.
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:54 pm)The wager is with JEC.
A 2011 Volt will be owned and in a home garage by someone not involved with GM by the middle of November 2010. Not Project Driveway or leased.
This wager was started because the possibility of lease only was still on the table a year ago. This is also why I am buying and not leasing. Recent news is Volt production to start the 3rd week of November. And the first salable to be delivered a week or 2 later.
=D-Volt
Oct 21st, 2010 (4:55 pm)There are generally multiple competing sources for tooth brushes, breakfast cereal and laundry soap. What is the competition for the Volt: LEAF? Prius? The Model S and Karma I’ll believe in when I see them; but even if they appear they’ll be in a whole other price category.
Just sayin’.
I think the current status of Volt as something known by word of mouth adds a kind of “mystique.” While I’m not saying GM shouldn’t advertise it at all, I think it would be a mistake to start flooding the airwaves with “normal-car/presentation-like-always” commercials.
Oct 21st, 2010 (5:21 pm)Yes interesting timing indeed. Also yesterday when I was still feeling the melancholy of the Volt test drive being over, on my ride home from work, I saw a huge rainbow arcing over a major intersection that I was in. A sign perhaps …
And Mr. NASA dude, the website Persian pillow doesn’t work for me but it’s a good suggestion. Maybe I’ll find something like that, that perfectly fits that spot between the backseats as a stopgap measure.
-Book
-3
Oct 21st, 2010 (5:23 pm)A: A through D. They’re all my little babies.
-8
Oct 21st, 2010 (5:28 pm)CorvetteGuy,
What pictures comes to mind when you hear Chevrolet car salesperson AND Corvette owner?
Hope your comments represent your PERSONAL OPINION and don’t poorly reflect on your dealership in which you hope to get hybrid customer who want to “upgrade to the Volt”. Must be nice being the GM of your dealership.
Oct 21st, 2010 (5:36 pm)The point being the mind shift away from the zombie habit of buying cars from Japan. When I first told my wife of my interest in the Chevrolet Volt she asked, “Why not a Lexus?”. I replied, “The mpg isn’t very good and Toyota has several quality issues”.
If we weren’t getting the 2011 Volt. We would have bought a Honda. Maybe the Crosstour. This vehicle cost the same as the Volt. Has the same 0-60 acceleration with it’s 6 cylinder engine. But delivers only 21 mpg compared to the triple digit mpg for the Volt. She doesn’t care for the styling of the Toyota hybrids. And has not mentioned one or pushed to purchase one.
=D-Volt
photo: The 2012 plug-in Prius with charge cord above. And below is the 2011 Plug-in Volt with charge cord.
Is she right? You make the call.
Plug-in 2012 Toyota review: http://video.aol.com/video/translogic-72-plug-in-hybrid-toyota-prius-phv/2167112173
Plug-in 2011 Chevy review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK63kMy4-XU
Oct 21st, 2010 (5:38 pm)Hmmmm…I cannot recall the bet, but I tend to forget a lot of things, especially when I lose.
So, proof needs to be a photo of the delivery taken with daily paper showing clearly the date. Also, the person must submit a signed copy of the invoice to me. And, that person shall also be required to perform amazing feats of athletic ability…then you win!
Oct 21st, 2010 (5:42 pm)“The first was called socket. It showed a lonely wall socket in a garage who was told to relax and was promised he would soon become involved in some very important thing. Namely, charging the Chevrolet Volt. “A big step up from a weed whacker,” was the closing line. It was cute and just a tiny bit touching.”
http://www.metacars.com/chevy-dealers-demand-lawnmower-to-compete-with-honda-live-up-to-tv-ads/
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (5:43 pm)Who knows. Maybe GM will give the Volt to Lyle outright. If this happens before November 20th, then I’m buying.
NPNS
Oct 21st, 2010 (5:49 pm)Toyota Hit Again, Recalling 1.53 Million Cars:
Toyota is recalling 1.53 million Lexus, Avalon and other models, mostly in the U.S. and Japan, for brake fluid and fuel pump problems, the latest in a string of quality problems for the world’s No. 1 automaker.
Over the past year, Toyota has recalled more than 10 million cars and trucks worldwide for a variety of problems, from faulty gas pedals and floor mats that can trap accelerators, to braking problems in its Prius hybrid. In August, Toyota called back 1.33 million Corolla sedans and Matrix hatchbacks in the U.S. and Canada because their engines may stall.
The majority of vehicles this time around need to be fixed for a problem with the brake master cylinder, which could lead to weaker braking power, said spokesman Paul Nolasco in Tokyo.
Oct 21st, 2010 (5:55 pm)10,000 comedians out of work, and I come *here* (lol).
And yes, that cat fission was a real *mess*.
Be well and believe,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The VOLTS ‘ Wheels On The Road!!****NPNS
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:05 pm)#90 GM Volt Fan
Enterprise Rent A Car…
A little late response, but Enterprise has over 6000 locations, if they decided to put 2 in each location, that would be hard for GM to turn down, I think. And of course Hertz and Avis would need to keep up, plus the others.
More places to go and get on a waiting list.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:07 pm)My problem with it is that it is condescending to the “electric” part of the equation. THAT is the important part, that is why it is not just another $33.5K sedan and shouldn’t be compared as such. THAT is where the value is. There are plenty of cars that offer all of the Volt’s non-electric features and then some. It is the electric part that makes it valuable. IT’S ELECTRIC AND MORE!!!! The subdued negativaty to the electric part is counterproductive, IMO.
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:08 pm)That alone would put a big hurt on the production quota!
Be well and believe,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The VOLTS ‘ Wheels On The Road!!****NPNS
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:14 pm)But how does that appeal to them? How does that convince them of the value add of ELECTRIC? GM, for the long run success of Voltec, needs to convince people that it is worth more, that it has more value than a comparable ICE vehicle because it will always cost more on the sticker.
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:21 pm)Volt Tastic,
I have much uglier shirts than that guy!!! And, I’m a cat person, not a dog person.
I’ll give you a +1 for an attempt at humor.
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:24 pm)Hi 169 Koz,
I’m just saying if they want to gear advertising to that group, it won’t offend me in the least. If GM thinks they can sell to that group, have at it. I’ll want one no matter what they do.
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:33 pm)“The next year or two will be very interesting……”
There is no shortage of interesting technology developing … I just hope we have a economy to support it. It seems the present government is bent on treating symptoms and not fixing problems.
-11
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:37 pm)(click to show comment)
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:41 pm)The following year can be 1 day later if you time it right. Account for the time value of money and taxes but the rest comes off your end of day net cost. That is the way any rational person will see it and that is what value should be compared until the tax credit is no more. Of course, I’m all with CJS lobbying because it would be a lot better if they change the credit to be realized at the time of purchase. There is talk about doing this. Hopefully, they can make it so.
-4
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:45 pm)And a couple hundred odd other cars.
You say Volt, Wifey says SUV. Wifey wins.
+2
Oct 21st, 2010 (6:46 pm)true – true – true. Therefore I believe the lease may be the better option for Gen 1 VOLT. Reasons = cost, advancing technology, future price drop, and more options in 3 years. My bet is the Volt plus 3 years will still be the game changer and the best innovative option electric-hybrid vehicle.
-11
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:01 pm)(click to show comment)
+4
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:09 pm)Your argument that ‘it must’ be the same price as a regular ICE car could not be more wrong. “Price” is not the sole reason for buying ANYTHING. By your poorly phrased argument, Mercedes, Lexus, Porsche, Range Rover, Bugatti should all be out of business because their cars are all priced more than a Prius. At the auto center I work at, they are doing just fine, and we have 15% unemployment in this town.
If ANY CAR fills the “wants AND needs AND desires” of the buyer, they will find a way to get one. It does NOT have to be comparable to an ICE car. Your problem is that YOU want it to have a certain price. That is fine for YOU. But stop wasting your breath and everyone’s time trying to convince us that just because YOU don’t like the price of a Volt, that NOBODY will. I have a stack of orders in progress that already proves you are wrong. VALUE, my friend, is in the wallet of the beholder.
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:09 pm)Someone is “selling” their Chevy Volt at eBay. Take a look:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250714595507&viewitem=
Raymond
+3
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:15 pm)jscott1,
You are correct about the pricing on the Volt. No argument there. People who qualify for a tax credit do NOT have to take it, especially if they are wealthy. If they do not take the credit, the American People should say thank you. But even if you do not qualify for the credit on a ‘purchase’, you will still get full benefit of the credit on a ‘lease’. Wealthy people get that way by knowing what the better deal is. Think about it.
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:21 pm)I hope he makes $100 for his place in line. Wonder if anyone will actually take delivery and sell new (shipping included) to locations in North America with a reserve of $42k. If no one buys you get to keep an awesome car.
Total out-the-door cost after tax credit w/ leather and camera is under $40k. Shipping is under $1000.
=D-Volt
Standard features include 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic headlights, heated mirrors, keyless ignition, remote ignition, automatic climate control, cruise control, auto-dimming rearview mirror, six-way manual front seats, tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, cloth upholstery, Bluetooth, OnStar, a navigation system with touchscreen, voice controls and real-time traffic, and a six-speaker Bose stereo with CD/DVD player, auxiliary audio jack, iPod/USB interface and 30GB of digital music storage.
The Premium Trim package adds leather upholstery, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and heated front seats. The Rear Camera and Park Assist package adds a rearview camera and front and rear parking sensors.
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:24 pm)Dave K.,
Definitely the VOLT… The Prius is older technology trying to catch up and the Volt looks much better.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:32 pm)Oh man! Is it the low quality parts or an assembly line issue? This may be a good chance to buy Toyota stock on the dip.
NPNS
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:55 pm)
Oct 21st, 2010 (7:56 pm)I am not amused by the impostor but your TollBabies picture was good +1
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:04 pm)I nominate Tag again for moderator
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:06 pm)Voltastic,
Is everyone’s avatar/name being hijacked today? What gives?
So now we can’t tell the players without a scorecard?
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:13 pm)Our resident troll is a mixed blessing. Two weeks ago he was busy and didn’t have time to throw darts for one day. I believe gm volt dot com totaled less than 100 posts. But when he’s attacking American workers, battery power, and value for technology. We easily total 200 posts for the day. Have you hugged your resident troll today?
C’ mere little guy.
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:24 pm)Lol. They’re selling their place in line at the dealership, not the car.
“I/we are not selling a car -only the opportunity to buy the car. “
Oct 21st, 2010 (8:40 pm)http://garfwod.250free.com/Volt_REM_OrangeCrush.mp3
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:12 pm)I greatly appreciate the kind words, but, moderate??? Seriously, MODERATE? MOI??? OK, maybe by temperament, I’m moderate. The problem is that some days I only get here late, so I definitely couldn’t do the job by myself (two part-time Volt $ jobs keep me hopping). I’m *always* willing to do anything I can to help though.
It may be that an *ignore button* is somehow difficult to implement, *or* it isn’t a good fit for Lyle, but that seems the more elegant solution to me. I’m thinking that an ignore button would only hide a particular poster’s comments *from me*. I think that a moderator would need to be able to “give someone the boot”, thereby hiding their posts from everyone – and permanently. That seems a lot more sweeping (an ignore button would be less dramatic). In effect, an ignore button would make it each person’s choice as to what they see. JMO.
Be well and believe,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The VOLTS ‘ Wheels On The Road!!****NPNS
-1
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:21 pm)Dude… you need to learn grammar!!!
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:29 pm)If the Plug-in Prius ends up costing $8000 less than a Volt after tax credits, you might be adding my name to that list.
The Volt is better, but not that much better.
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:35 pm)If you can’t use the AER, you’re probably right. The Volt wouldn’t be a good fit if you only need 10 miles AER.
Be well and believe,
Tagamet
Let’s Just Get The VOLTS ‘ Wheels On The Road!!****NPNS
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (9:41 pm)The reason people here present Toyota in a less than a desirable light is that this isn’t a Toyota site. We are responding to the continual attacks against the Volt made by a rogue fanatic Toyota dealer.
We are taking the high road. One option is to all hop over to the Toyota site and post the plug-in Toyota review each hour or two. Instead we deal with him here on this Volt site.
If you eventually choose the Toyota plug-in over the Volt or Leaf. We wish you the best with your purchase and driving experience.
NPNS
Here is a recent review of the Toyota plug-in for all interested in seeing the latest Toyota tech.
http://video.aol.com/video/translogic-72-plug-in-hybrid-toyota-prius-phv/2167112173
* October 21, 2010, 11:30 AM ET
Toyota Recalling 740,000 Vehicles In The U.S. To Fix Brakes
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:30 pm)Not sure how you got that from my comment. I was basically saying the same thing you are. The Volt has more value and GM should be trying to raise awareness of the higher because the price will always be higher. The higher value lies in the electric part of the Volt, which is why I think this tag is so poor since it appears subtly negative towards electrics.
Oct 21st, 2010 (10:47 pm)I don’t have any issue with GM gearing Volt advertising for any particular group that they reasonably identify as a good target. I just don’t see how this tag line can help.
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:06 pm)Which ever way GM goes with marketing. It’s best to mention that dealers offer demo drives as of December 2010. And that product availability is limited. Whether it be from T battery supply line rate. Or from unknown internal issues. Be fully up front with delivery status. GM will do well to sacrifice some of the early production to supply major car rental agencies.
=D-Volt
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:11 pm)Do you know what percentage of people pay taxes in the USA? About 53%. That means that 47% of the people cannot take advantage of this tax credit.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nearly-half-of-US-households-apf-1105567323.html?x=0
There are many reasons why people don’t owe any taxes…the Tax code is so full of deductions already that many people just don’t owe anything.
The Volt is a great car, and I get to drive one on Sunday! but the benefit of the tax credit to Volt purchasers have been oversold in my opinion. Congress could repeal the tax credit at any moment. Who knows they might get serious about balancing the budget after the election.
+1
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:26 pm)Has everyone noticed the much lower incidence of postings by trolls today? Who knows what all the reasons may be, but I’ve noticed more regular gm-volt folks have taken a minute (that’s all it takes!) to get their own avatar — which certainly may have helped. And hey, we’ve just gone over 200 posts too! I truly believe our readers from GM marketing will appreciate some of the excellent Volt advertising suggestions today!
For instructions and help on getting an avatar set up for this (and other) web sites go to:
http://en.gravatar.com/
Oct 21st, 2010 (11:26 pm)Any idea how many people in the USA who pay no taxes, could afford a $30K Volt? Not many would be my guess. The people earning the most are the people who, on average A) can best afford a Volt and B) would be eligible for the tax credit. Please understand that I’m on record as wishing that the Volt’s merits would be sufficient for it to be successful without govt intervention. JMO.
Be well and believe,
Tagamet
/night all
Let’s Just Get The VOLTS ‘ Wheels On The Road!!****NPNS
Oct 22nd, 2010 (12:04 am)Dream away Bud. Not gonna happen. You can’t seriously think the Republicans who blew up the budget — the pharma credit costs more than TARP AND the Health Care AND The Stimulus — are going to do anything to reduce the budget deficit. Yeah, these guys are goin to balance the budget. NOT.
Here’s a budget expert’s take on what is likely to happen:
Republicans controlled the White House and Congress for much of 2001 to 2006, and they turned a big surplus into a big deficit. In the last two years, they have opposed several Obama administration plans for reducing the deficit, including cuts to Medicare, weapons programs and farm subsidies, as well as tax increases on the affluent. Given this history, my colleague Ross Douthat concluded that the pledge “might create a larger deficit than the Obama alternative.”
In short, the pledge imagines a world without tough choices, where we can have low taxes, big government and a balanced budget. And therein lies the path to ever larger deficits.
All you ever get from Republicans at the national level is the Kool Aid Narrative where all the voters get something for nothing. Tax cuts for all and benefit increases for some. The only people more pathetic than these guys are the people who drink the Kook Aid and vote from them.
-2
Oct 22nd, 2010 (12:25 am)koz,
Sorry if I went overboard. With trolls taking over everyone’s screen names and bitchin’ about price, it just makes me a bit punchie… The price argument is so old, inaccurate, and boring, I just can’t take it anymore. If the Prius turds still refuse to consider a Volt because they can’t afford it, then fine. I swear I will never try to sell them one. They just need to go away and peddle their pathetic gripes to someone who cares.
Oct 22nd, 2010 (1:08 am)I found you have to click on the back arrow and the edited text will show.
Happy trails to you ’til we meet again.
Oct 22nd, 2010 (1:16 am)After reading through the 2011 Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual that arrived today, i agree: “It’s more car than electric.”
Oct 22nd, 2010 (6:24 am)Mark, one of our regular posters here who is buying a Volt asked on my FB page what the Volt’s engine oil spec is —I told him I thought GM was using 5W-30 synthetic in all engines now. Could you please look it up in your new manual? I’ll also let him know on Facebook.
/PS: It would also be interesting to know any of the Volt’s key service intervals
Oct 22nd, 2010 (7:56 am)So now I see that I am a pioneer in the use of synthetic oil, especially the Mobil 1 5W-30 grade, in all of my cars since 1981 and still using it in my 1995 Regal. Thanks, GM, for proving my point, and realizing that Mobil was right all the way since their synthetic oil was first offered in 1974. I read first the Popular Science article about it, then decided to buy it for my cars. It was relatively expensive in 1981 ($23 for oil and filter) but my engines laster longer than all others, and I have resold my older cars in runing conditions.
Raymond
Oct 22nd, 2010 (1:32 pm)I like the alternate fuel angle theme. Maybe some tag lines like…
“Say goodbye to OPEC. Electricity is your new fuel.”
“Electricity is your new fuel … at one fifth the price.”
“Electricity is your new fuel … made in the USA.”
Etc.
Oct 22nd, 2010 (1:35 pm)The real Chevy Volt story needs a more potent message than “It’s more car than electric.” We need a Chevy Volt that’s a hero for America!
Check out Volt power stories that work:
http://www.misselectric.com/?p=1460