Since early this month GM of Canada has been ramping up its Volt marketing activities, creating interest, and taking pre-orders for the first deliveries expected in the third quarter of this year.
The Canadian roll-out is happening a little later than GM predicted it would when last April Lyle reported on the subject.
This past weekend, the “all-new 2012 Chevrolet Volt” was included in GM’s National Test Drive Tour along with other GM cars at London, Ontario. The Volt will be on tour every single weekend through to its launch, said GM of Canada Corporate Communications Manager, Jason P. Easton.
Canadians are expected to welcome the award winning car on about the same scale as the Americans.
The first regions in Canada were selected for the same reasons that initial regions in the U.S. were – they are progressive areas where hybrid cars previously were well received.
These are Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto, Oshawa, Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal, and Quebec City.
In Canadian dollars, the Volt has an MSRP starting at $41,545, and reactions to the first test drives have GM’s people hopeful the car will be received as well as it has been in the U.S., Easton said.
“We put our first Volts into those [test] fleets this weekend and got tremendous response in London, Ontario so we’re very excited to get going with it,” Easton said, “Outside of the seven launch markets we will be expanding our rollout in the spring of 2012 to a number of secondary markets. Essentially the next wave of urban centers which include places like Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg. There’s a bunch of major cites in the prairies as well as some on the Atlantic which will start seeing the Volt in the spring of 2012 and within 12 months of our initial launch it will be available at dealers across the country.”
The car will be outfitted essentially the same as in the U.S. This will include one very well equipped standard trim level, as well as two option packages: a Premium Trim Package and a Rear Camera and Park Assist Package.
Aside from this, Easton said, minor changes to meet Canadian safety regulations were made.
It won’t be long before Canadians are driving their own Volts.
“In general, the option packages are exactly the same but there are some slight regulatory differences – from bumper standards, some variation of seat belt standards,” Easton said, “There’s about 28 different safety regulations that are just slightly different, but in general they are the same spec of vehicle.”
As for consumer incentives, Easton said Ontario rules were changed a bit since Lyle reported last July on subsidies that upset Toyota.
Unfortunately, Canadian incentive plans are still spotty with some buyers eligible, and others not.
“There are no federal government subsidies in Canada. Traditionally it has been the provinces that have taken leadership in this area,” Easton said, “We saw that with hybrid credits so currently there are only two jurisdictions in Canada that have incentives for plug-in electric vehicles.”
Ontario will have a subsidy and Quebec will as well, Easton said. Both will offer a sliding scale based on battery sizes ranging from 4 kWh to 17 kWh.
This means the Volt’s 16 kWh battery is close, but not at the top.
Despite changes, Ontario was the first province to put incentives in place. It scaled them down however from an initially reported $10,000 cap.
Don’t you believe it. This photo was from last year, and was a premature celebration in Ontario by GM that had Toyota angry for perceived favoritism. Subsidies are a little less than the sign reads now, and Quebec also has similar subsidies.
“When they finalized that incentive they actually reduced the range so it came in finalized as an incentive between $5,000 and $8,500,” Easton said of Ontario.
The Volt is eligible for $8,230 in Ontario and a few hundred dollars less in Quebec, Easton said.
“The other jurisdiction with incentives is Quebec. And Quebec, which would come through the markets of Montreal, Quebec City, as well as Gatineau,” Easton said. “The Ottawa-Gatineau area is our national capital region but it straddles two provinces. So Ottawa falls on the Ontario side, and Gatineau falls on the Quebec side.
“But in Quebec they recently announced a scaled incentive. The maximum on their incentive is $8,000, but again they put a maximum battery capacity on theirs at 17 kWh, so the Volt will actually qualify for $7769,” Easton said, “Additionally Quebec also implemented a credit for home charging installations for 240-volt home charging installations where they would provide a rebates for 50 percent of the cost up to a maximum o $1,000.”
We asked if there were any loopholes or ways consumers from outside the eligible areas might try to game the system to get an incentive on a Volt.
Easton said GM’s analysis has led it to believe the process is fairly robust.
Ontario will probably have a mail-in process in place to apply for the subsidy, Easton said, and Quebec is supposed to be at point of purchase.
A nice clear map of our neighbors’ country to the north.
“But we actually won’t have a good sense of that until we see people actually starting to buy these vehicles,” he said, “Both jurisdictions actually announced an intention to be point of sale but Ontario at this point has not yet demonstrated the ability to do a point of sale, so at this point we believe it’s going to be a mail in.”
Canada only has a population of around 32 million, so the allocation will be slimmed proportionally to about one-tenth what the U.S initially received, or maybe 1,000 units, although Easton would not specify the number.
On the somewhat positive side, the initial launch will be a to significantly higher proportion of the entire country’s population compared to the seven states in the U.S. in which GM launched the Volt. Easton estimated a good one-third of the country or more will have access to the limited supply on the initial roll out.
As it is, GM expects strong demand, and a waiting list is likely.
To better enable potential customers to sample the Volt in advance, the company has a Web site with the test drive schedule listed. Over the summer months, GM will make three times the number of Volt demonstrators available.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 at 5:55 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
May 17th, 2011 (7:05 am)Will the Volts sold in Canada be counted toward the 200,000 units that are supposed to get the tax credit in the USA?
+5
May 17th, 2011 (7:30 am)It is good new to read that Canada, the best American neighbor, is receiving its share of Chevy Volts soon. My two GM vehicles were both assembled in Canada (my 1995 Buick Regal came from Ottawa), so I know that Canadian GM workers did excellent jobs building my vehicles. Another Volt assembly plant should open in Canada by 2015 to increase the volume (increase the Voltage!).
Even if the photo was true, I don’t care if Toyota gets angry over perceived favoritism, because Japan does it worse by applying tariffs on American and Canadian cars. So if Canada never buys again from Japan, that nation can buy American cars with discounts and save both economies.
Raymond
+2
May 17th, 2011 (8:39 am)“There’s about 28 different safety regulations that are just slightly different, but in general they are the same spec of vehicle.”
—————–
I deal with this quite a bit. It’s a pain in the a55, and just adds another flavor of a product. Seems like Canada & the US could consolidate their safety specs. Its not the metric system that’s the problem
+7
May 17th, 2011 (9:43 am)OT – It took some work with the lender on the GM Lease Program, but we finally got the deal done on a VOLT that will ship out in the morning to Indianapolis, IN. My finance manager hates jumping through hoops, but he got it done, so now I have to bring donuts to work today. The customer is happy… no dealer markup! Look for a Silver Ice VOLT running around the Brickyard this weekend.
+5
May 17th, 2011 (10:33 am)No, two different countries, two different governments.
+1
May 17th, 2011 (10:39 am)If the US wants to update their safety specs to the level of those in Canada, I have no problem with that
For example, DSL is customary in Canada. Has been since the ’90s. I don’t think it is customary in the US yet.
+1
May 17th, 2011 (10:49 am)I guess the Volt will be NA wide not just US wide. Great news. This is only possible with an EREV or something like it. At this point pure EVs are just not well suited for our frozen northern neighbors — statik notwithstanding — the cold just absolutely kills range.
Good luck and happy motoring for all you Canadians!
+1
May 17th, 2011 (10:51 am)Yes. We spend a lot of time talking about unnecessary regulations but for the car industry it seems that there are some easy gains to be made by making the standards consistent, especially given that I doubt there is really that much of a difference in the first place.
+4
May 17th, 2011 (10:52 am)In Québec, the rebate will come as a credit on your income tax for the remaining of this year. Starting in January 2012, the rebate will be at point of purchase, applied directly on the price of the car.
Since the cars will not be available until september, those who will buy in the last months of 2011 will have to wait until tax time before getting their money back.
Expect a boom in sales in the first quarter of 2012, when the credit will be an instant rebate.
As for me, I will watch the tour and find a date to take a ride and then, if the car suits my needs in interior space, it will become a matter of when I can have enough money for my trade-in to cover what is left to pay for it (2008 Altima).
Here, gas prices are in the range of 4.89$ to 5.24$ a gallon, depending on the day of the week (no kidding). This price includes hefty taxes. On the other hand, electricity is on the cheap side. I would save > 160$ a month with the Volt on fuel ( + electricity – oil).
The Volt is making a lot of sense here.
+2
May 17th, 2011 (10:58 am)I believe the point is that the standard would be pushed upward to gain consistency. Since every safety feature adds to the price of a car, that would mean a raise in the price because of the unique standard.
JMHO
+2
May 17th, 2011 (11:21 am)If GM is serious about the environment, then start shipping (or, better yet, building) Volts up here in Canada far sooner and in greater numbers, because most of our electricity to power them comes from Hydro and nuclear, not coal.
You have a monopoly on the best balance for electric cars using current technology, so y’all should strike while the iron is hot. In other words, build ‘em as fast as you can!
+2
May 17th, 2011 (11:21 am)About time! Canada is as much the United States as can be without being an intregal tax paying member. Many from Canada probably help build it, more so than many of us Americans in the United States.
Keep up the good work GM and, get the roof solar panel charging system installed ASAP!
+1
May 17th, 2011 (11:33 am)I just hear the phrase “world car” tossed around a lot, and there is no such thing. Every car has to be customized for each country/region. I can understand moving the steering wheel to the other side, or other languages, but it seems like there are so many other trivial things that add up to a lot of engineering time and customization. It would be simpler to have just 1 product that you could sell.
If there’s an internationl standard for the plug, why can’t we have an international standard for the complete car?
May 17th, 2011 (11:50 am)That’s what I’m talking about! We need umpteen different versions of hardly anything, including the Volt. The unneeded huge variety just bumps the cost up. Just ask Ford. Hopefully this government fin’l crisis will lead to streamlining there, too, as it finally dawns on them that adding staff to ensure election victory is no longer affordable. Then they can use that mindset in their dealings with the private sector–common standards, e.g. Time for the positive spiral to start swirling.
But this just in…the Mexican Volt will have an “armor me up” option. lol
+1
May 17th, 2011 (12:02 pm)Yes, speaking of Statik, if you are reading this, are you intending to be in line for one of these Volts as soon as available?
+2
May 17th, 2011 (12:15 pm)Oh Canada, I am happy for you! The Volt is going to look great in all those picture perfect locations. May you enjoy your electric driving adventures as much as we have in our Volts.
+2
May 17th, 2011 (12:23 pm)If you meant the 120 VAC plug, there are different international standards for that, too. Most European nations use the 220 VAC outlet, so plugging in a Volt charge will be simpler. and charge time will be lesser.
Raymond
+3
May 17th, 2011 (12:30 pm)Mexico is also a part of North America which includes all the smaller Spanish-speaking nations down to Panama. Maybe GM should start up the “North America Safety Standards” and have all these nations participate to set up a true “NA car” so GM can manufacturer and sell the Volt anywhere in this continent. The only mandatory option is that all the publications must be printed in the three major languages (and I master two of them).
Raymond
May 17th, 2011 (12:34 pm)I’ve heard GM Canada will be adding more dates and locations to the GM Test Drive Tour so folks like us in Ottawa will be able to see/drive the Volt. Locations will be added to the site on an ongoing basis once the dates and venues are confirmed.
May 17th, 2011 (12:35 pm)No, i was talking about the SAE J2847/1 standard
-1
May 17th, 2011 (12:36 pm)I live not the far from Canada… and it gets cold in the winter like parts of Canada.. but commutes are generally shorter.. my commute is only 10 miles each was .. as is the majority of commutes in PA. I will still be in easy all electric range in the winter… and I do hear Prius gets 26mpg in the cold months here… I get almost that in my Buick in the winter.
May 17th, 2011 (12:52 pm)Speaking of standard & plug…
“CARB says U.S. is leaning towards non-CHAdeMO quick-charge standard”
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/05/16/report-carb-says-u-s-is-leaning-towards-non-chademo-quick-char/
They want to keep the same SAE J1772 connector for the LeveL 3 “Fast Charger” connection. Problem is, the J1772 connector is only SAE “Certified” at ~30A. Electrically it’s rated at 80A. (19.2KW).
Fast charging is more in the 300V – 600V in the “hundreds of Amps” per Wiki.
/hmmm……did the SAE paint themselves in a corner?….lol
+1
May 17th, 2011 (1:11 pm)But I need to know the LEASE price in Canada. What is the latest word – if any – on that… I would jump at the 350.00 per month deal that you guys have in the States…
May 17th, 2011 (1:15 pm)No word on leasing or financing at the moment for Canada says my contacts at GM. I’m sure they have a good idea but are not saying. They probably will release these details closer to summer.
+1
May 17th, 2011 (1:34 pm)Too bad that Ottawa is not on the list for a test drive this summer.
May 17th, 2011 (1:42 pm)Just use 2 plugs
(also, not sure what is a “quick” charge, but 12.4KWH in 15 minutes at 600V = 83A. 30minutes it would be 1/2 that. and what is the limit for DC voltage? More voltage = less amps)
May 17th, 2011 (2:18 pm)lol……that too damn logical man, How dare you!!!!
I dunno, 15 minutes to full up a 24KWh batt pack?
There’s a limit on how much DC voltage you can apply to a Li batt pack. I can only speak of A123 cells in that they allow .7VDC above HVC on their ANR26650 cells. That allows their cells to charge at ~10C from 0% SOC. TS & CALB recommends only 1C fast charge. For the LG chem cells in the Volt, who knows. Besides, the Volt doesn’t really need a fast charge, just the BEV’s.
I don’t see the SAE J1772 connector capable of fast charging.
IMHO, I think the fast charging is a DC to DC charge directly into the battery.
Personally I wouldn’t ever charge a pack over the max charge voltage per cell. Take for instance commodity LiFePO4 cells. Their max charge voltage is 3.65VDC. If you have 100 cells in series you have a max voltage of 365VDC. No way you would apply more voltage to drive more current into the pack. That’s pack murder…..and voids warranty.
Simply raising the Voltage to charge will also raise current draw and at max 80A for SAE J1772 connector you’ll most likely exceed that even if the pack was drained to 35% SOC when you charged.
+2
May 17th, 2011 (2:26 pm)What, no test drive in quebec??? that’s a shame. i was really hopping to test one as i reserved one last january but after the incentives with the new provincial budget here in quebec, i opted to wait till january to take delivery of my volt…I had to pass on beeing the first one to get a volt on the south shore of Montreal cause i cannot afford to ditch that 8000$ incentive and, from what i read here, blue color (and keyless entry?? taught this was already available) will be available from january anyway… so they have my down payment and my order is postponned to probably october or november…it is gonna be a long wait but if things unfold as they may, i will be waking up at the dealers door on the 2nd of january 2012 to get my new years present and begin a new adventure (35 years in the making since i first wanted an electric car).
does anybody know what kind of blue it will be? same as my 2001 montana or more in your face, brighter mazda like kinda blue?? U.S. says Topaz Blue Metallic and here in Canada it says Luxo Blue, anybody Knows??
May 17th, 2011 (2:28 pm)I don’t drive much but when gas is $1.40+ per Litre the Volt can make sense in a hurry alright. Alas, BC doesn’t have any consumer incentives
I’m certainly going to get my butt down for a test drive though 
May 17th, 2011 (2:53 pm)Driverguy01,
There will be test drives in Quebec, GM says. The schedule on the GM Website only goes to July but drives extend into the fall.
Regarding the Quebec incentive, the government was implementing a boost to the existing $3,000 income tax credit to bring it in consistent with the $7769 purchase incentive that begins Jan. 1. So one doesn’t necessarily have to wait.
May 17th, 2011 (3:37 pm)Tks Jeff, unless i and my dealer got the wrong info, to get the 7769$ rebate, i will have to wait for 2012 to take delivery of my volt, if i order it now, i will only get 2500$ tax credit coming next april so, it doesnt seem like i have a choice. anyways, i want a blue one and those wont be available till mid production year so i guess i’ll have to wait…..
+1
May 17th, 2011 (4:01 pm)Canada is getting the Volt prior to the largest section of the U.S. getting it the last quarter of this year. Good for them, bad for us. Well, no worse for us since we are last on the list to get the Volt in our area of the U.S. Good luck all you Canadians. Happy motoring!
May 17th, 2011 (4:27 pm)Not if you use a constant current supply. But i agree on your other points. Again.. until the batt. tech gets there, fast charge isn’t happening just yet. I still like the battery swap idea.. but that’s a different discussion.
May 17th, 2011 (4:34 pm)Don’t worry, the rest of the US will get the Volt on May 21 2012, then the world will end
Seriously though, what’s the closest city you can buy from currently?
+1
May 17th, 2011 (5:15 pm)Can someone from B.C. buy the car in Ontario and get the incentive? $8000+ goes a long way towards the long distance charges to a dealer and the freight to ship it out here. Or the plane ticket out, hotels & gas to drive it back. (just not sure I’d want to put 6 months of driving on it in the first 4 days)
You’d think the greenest province would be there with the others persuading / helping us to go green.
Ps. (just slightly ot) Go Canucks Go!
May 17th, 2011 (5:17 pm)I do wholeheartedly wish the $7500 “tax break” could be more realistic. Not that Volts are for sale yet in my state, but when I found out I don’t qualify for them since I don’t pay $7500 in taxes – it was quite a downer. It seems since I don’t have that hefty of income, I’ll have to just pay the full pop for the $44,000 Volt! I sure hope the instant rebate gains traction at some point.
My wife is a big Glenn Beck nut ( I know! I knowww! ). While I do agree with a portion of what he blurbs – I try to fact check everything, and when I find his “crack” research team is a bit incorrect ( or like today, completely out to lunch ) – I bring this to my wife and it instigates sometimes bitter discussion. Partisonship can be incredibly destructive, and it’s why, though conservative – I stay as independent as possible. Today Glenn Beck intro’d his show with a jab at GM and the government saying ( ..when govm’t and business partnership… ” We knew they’d do SOMETHING stupid like waste it all on a $50,000 electric car that doesn’t work and nobody really wants and nobody could afford”…
Yes the Volt is expensive – it would be a stretch to my budget to buy one, yet I will. But wouldn’t it be nice if Glenn Beck , FOX News and other bloviators would get their facts straight before they lambasted a groundbreaking car and it’s risk-taking pioneers before they used it as a bat to bash a government that does make some hair-brained decisions with our money more times than not?!!!*
* Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and funding Palestine ( Hamas ) with $500 million of our tax dollars?…etc etc
RECHARGE! James
Please email Glenn Beck and let him know the Volt is not even for sale yet nationwide, that it doesn’t cost $50K and that so many people want one because they work fantastically just as planned.
May 17th, 2011 (6:07 pm)Where is that famous Canadian Llama whisperer -AKA Statik- to weigh in on his next car purchase…
+1
May 17th, 2011 (7:23 pm)I hope Canada gets hold mode.
+1
May 17th, 2011 (7:54 pm)Maybe the EPA needs a budget reduction similar to NASA’s. Hey, Teaparty, you listening? Not that I thought NASA should have had their budget cut.
May 17th, 2011 (7:56 pm)Um… one word, asbestos
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/06/10/f-asbestos-safety.html
May 17th, 2011 (8:06 pm)Glenn who? Even Faux News realized he was a joke and cancelled his a55.
May 17th, 2011 (8:51 pm)Over at Motor Trend, a writer named Benson Kong has a very nice and concise writing style as he experiences Volt.
It’s really enjoyable to see an additional very clear technical writer and observer discuss the Volt experience. I really enjoyed his story.
May 17th, 2011 (9:19 pm)Keep in mind the credit is based on how much tax you owe not on how much you “pay” — the amounts withheld count. If you can’t take advantage of the tax credit the Rx is to lease. With a lease the lessor takes the credit and passes the reduction on to the consumer.
May 17th, 2011 (10:12 pm)Wow, that was fast. Now full gassers are allowed extra time to get their engines started, get them warmed up, overrev with a clutch prior to the start, then get in gear and up to the correct rpms to maximize a narrow portion of their power band AND several seconds head start before the electrics get to cold launch from 0 rpm from way behind for the gassers to try to stay competitive with inexpensive bottom of the line full electrics:
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/762/9953/Motorcycle-Article/Zero-Motorcycles-Dominates-at-Minimoto-SX.aspx
The only way full gassers can stay in front now are truly desperate measures:
“While entertaining, the top electric motorcycle riders were so much faster than the majority of the combustion field that it caused hazards during passing that resulted in at least one incident.” DirtRider Mag. It refering to the slow and in the way combustion field of KLX140/ DRZ125/ CRF100F/ XR 100/ CRF150F (air cooled) and TT-R125 motorcycles. I’m afraid that electric dirt bikes have graduated from the playbike/minimoto race class up to something higher performance that requires full on serious race teams and sponsorships.
Meanwhile. Polaris is on a roll, having recently bought out Chrysler’s electric tech and upcoming products and adding a Suzuki/Husqvarna/Victory industry experienced American motocross Hall of Famer executive to an electric motorcycle company’s board of directors.
http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=44365
Just this weekend, at Infineon Raceway, the electric Brammo Empulse RR, with a smaller power pack than the Volt, cracked the 2 minute race lap times, making it race competitive with the Harley-Davidson XR 1200s, and the Zero Agni electric racebike placed first in its Formula 75 class. Why mention the F75 win? The team is named Volt, of course.
Good times, early days for electrics, consistent, rapid improvements year over year.
We have yet to see if Subaru Stella R1e/Stella electric motors will be showing up in inexpensive but high performance electric bikes any time soon.
It’s hard for me to reconcile blazing quick, agile, advanced technology electric supermoto bikes with cruiser and low rider tourer Victory bikes and recently aquired Indian bikes (1.7 liter engines).
Somehow, I think all of that is on topic.
May 17th, 2011 (11:13 pm)You need to make something like $46,000/year of taxible income
May 17th, 2011 (11:20 pm)EVO,
Let me know when I can buy this one in electric.
And not the gas version shown here:
http://youtu.be/2MpUrDNIDLY
May 17th, 2011 (11:27 pm)EVO,
In Race #2 Sunday, ace moto pilot Steve Rapp on the Mission Motors bike and the two Lightning bikes – including Michael Barnes who last year dominated later rounds – did not start. They might have gone faster.
In one year to develop improvements, and with a slickly engineered bike that sat out last year’s Infineon TTXGP, Brammo only went about 1.8 seconds faster than the best lap turned by last year’s Agni winner, which was basically the same bike that won the first TTXGP at Isle of Man in 2009.
http://www.motorcycle.com/events/first-us-ttxgp-at-infineon-raceway-89552.html
They will get there, but more needs to be done. The fastest gas bikes go over 20 seconds faster per lap at Infineon which is an eternity on that not-too-long track.
This bike looks promising –
http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/canadas-first-electric-superbike-amarok-racing-p1-90969.html
May 17th, 2011 (11:50 pm)Well that sucked.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/17/senate.oil.subsidies/
“Democratic bill to end oil subsidies is defeated in the Senate”
May 18th, 2011 (10:34 am)Jeff Cobb,
What’s an eternity is if you launch at the top of turn 2, get a tank slapper going on turn 3b, or slide out on turn 7.
Jeff, I agree that more can and must be done, especially getting the fields much bigger (20-30 bikes in each race) and mixed (gas versus electric is very interesting if they are properly matched (yet to happen)). We need many, many more teams, bikes and classes. The existing TT Zero, TTXGP/AMA/FIM and MinimotoSX and other standalone venues are not enough by a long shot. When are the electric Supermotos going to start racing? That’s the most real world it gets in racing, with mixed pavement and dirt, hops and rolling stops, and very, very accessible to spectators. 909 and 55 showed how to get it done at Infineon, though broken chains seemed the order of the day. Good thing that Zero went to belt drive.
I’d love to see electrics start doing more off road enduros with power pack swapping – with enough multiple high quality support teams, you’d think the Baja 500 would be doable with luck, tough components and a kind to machines rider.
Chip Yates is showing what’s possible on a whole different level. I’m thinking that banked oval sprints (known in the real world as the daily exurban commute) is now a viable race venue for Swigz/Killacycle/OCC drag bike/Buckeye type vehicles.
@ kdawg
The picture and video link don’t show for me, so I can’t tell what it is. Any gasser, you can dump the engine and tank and toss on an electric motor, power pack, controller and good software. It’s called a conversion. It seems to me that the Brammo Empulse 10.0, out in Spring 2012 if they get enough preorders, exceeds your requirements (and your price point by a little, as advanced technology ain’t cheap at first).
May 18th, 2011 (11:46 am)It was my understanding that the gov. will not cut you a check if your total taxes owed were less than the $7500. I had only been reading other’s comments about the refund and hadn’t literally taken anything to my CPA, so if you guys are right – HALLELULIA! I’ll qualify! My taxable income is well over $46K. But this shows just how awful our tax code is when to buy a car I have to pay an accountant to figure out how the EV tax credit works! It still only makes sense to bake it into the price at the point of purchase, no?
I will admit the lease looks tempting due to battery pack issues. If I was a collector, yes, I’d want one of the first Volts… But as a collectible, the Volt will turn into a pure ICE someday as the battery diminishes – and we can only hope for affordable-ish lithium or substitute replacement batteries. So practically it doesn’t make sense as a long-term posession. Buying a car on hope is not really the way I roll. I would think for some, at the time when the Volt’s battery is a paperweight, removing it, and just using the car as a 44 mpg. ( without the weight ) battery-less vehicle may be the way to go. I’ll most probably be a 2012 Volt owner by the time we can buy one in Washington State – and that’s OK since many of the nitty bugs will be ironed out – and the MyLink will be a nice cherry on top.
Thanks for the input guys!
To call Fox News “Faux News” is a bit strong IMO, but not too far off because all cable and network “news” as we call it is really not. CNN hosts yesterday were literally chortling over Mike Huckabee’s announcement he would not run ( Thank God! )- it seems people just cannot be unbiased, so any “fair and balanced” tag on TV news is a farce. What we call broadcast news is more sensationalism based upon sketchy fact today than we sometimes think – and really it’s all about having some fluff in-between Mesothelioma/ambulance chaser attorney and Viagra commercials.
I personally like Bill O’ Reilly and Lou Dobbs – both now on Fox. Not that I agree with him 100% of the time, but he seems to get his facts together and doesn’t go off on 30 minute conspiracy theories the way Beck and Limbaugh do. O’Reilly usually tries to plainly state both sides of an issue and then give his op ed. Dobbs has always made sense to me – esp. on immigration issues.
RECHARGE! ,
James
May 18th, 2011 (3:04 pm)Google: Tron bike…. (i am keeping my eye on Brammo.. but I think buying a Volt will use up all my saved funds)
May 18th, 2011 (3:10 pm)That’s my plan as well. Hopefully they get the $7500 instant rebate at the dealer going, so I dont have to mess w/taxes.
I can’t watch any political news seriously. That’s why I pretty much just watch Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert make fun of them all. They are experts at pointing out irony and hypocrisy.
May 18th, 2011 (3:39 pm)kdawg,
Nope. I wouldn’t trade in my real world Zero S for a dozen retro-futuristic TRON bikes. Handling and human anatomy immediately come to mind. If you want fast in a straight line, see Buckeye Bullet at over 300 mph. A right angle turn on a TRON bike with that fat front tire and ridiculous neck stretching riding stance would sound like on its side scraping carbon fibre and diverging rider knee pucks – “sccccccccccccccccccccccccrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.” I already heard that sound this past weekend.
Trying to use Canadian spelling to match the colour and tone of the article, n’est pas?
May 19th, 2011 (12:35 am)That would be an excellent start.