Some days the Volt-specific news we might be able to find and post here is unfortunately limited.
Today is not one of those days!
In fact, just for fun, I’ll fold in three stories as it’s kind of novel to have GM EREV-related stories from the U.S, Australia and UK.
US News: Love your new Volt or get your money back
Were you thinking about buying a Volt or another economical car in Chevrolet’s line-up but were not quite sure whether you’d have buyer’s remorse later?
Taking a strategy out of the playbook of retailers of less-high-priced consumer goods, beginning yesterday through Sept. 4, Chevrolet says it is offering a “Love it or return it” money back guaranty.
The deal actually applies to all 2012 or 2013 Chevrolets, but yesterday Chevrolet spokesperson Afaf Farah said it definitely includes the Volt.
According to Farah, the offer is a repeat of a similar company wide program GM ran in 2009, and is being offered again in light of Chevrolet having a number of new and improved models, and the company wants to woo buyers back to the brand with a bold offer that shows it really has confidence in its lineup.
You can read the fine print here, but in short, if you buy an eligible vehicle, and hold onto it from at least 31 up to 60 days, drive fewer than 4,000 miles, and decide the vehicle is really not for you, then no worries.
Chevrolet will take the vehicle back for the full actual selling price plus the sales tax you paid – but you will forfeit registration fee, title fee, or municipal and other miscellaneous fees as applicable.
The “Buyback Price” will be fully disclosed prior to taking delivery, and the intent is to avoid unwanted surprises – so, while there are terms and conditions, there will be no haggling, a restocking fee, or other penalties if you decide not to keep your 31-60-day-old Chevy.
Other caveats include this does not apply to leasing, but purchases only, and if you return it, it must be through the same participating dealer. Also the vehicle must not have incurred damage or non-warranted repairs in excess of $300, regardless of whether such damage has been repaired. And furthermore, it must not have been subject to any liens or other security interests other than a lien for the original financing used to purchase it.
OK, but it still sounds like a pretty liberal deal. And someone might ask, what happens if some person tries to game the system? In other words, could this deal become like a relatively minimal cost 31-60 day rental if someone was willing to put out the upfront costs and go through the trouble of buying the car?
The short answer is, yes. But Farah said the last time GM did this, it had around a 1-percent return rate while seeing an incremental increase in sales.
So, not unlike an offer at a bookstore that lets you read the whole book then return it for money back, Chevrolet is taking the chance that most people won’t take the option out, and it will sell more vehicles.
What do you think? Is this a good offer? Is it good enough to make you buy that now-discounted Volt you were thinking about in light of 2013 models being just around the corner?
Full details and limitations can be found at chevyconfidence.com.
News from Oz: Better Place and Holden team up on charging
We more often hear of Better Place as offering EV battery switching stations for Renaults, but yesterday for the Volt in Australia, Holden announced Better Place would be its “preferred partner for renewable energy and faster charging.”
For those of you less familiar, the “long range Holden Volt” is the Australian re-badged version of the Chevy Volt.
Holden says Better Place will enable effectively reduced emissions by making available a number of membership packages for Volt customers.
Central in this is a “Charging Spot” recharger unit and ability to purchase renewable energy or 100-percent government certified renewable energy certificates.
Ordinarily plugging into 240-volt, 10-amp house current in Australia is said to require a bit less than six hours for a full recharge. With the Better Place unit pushing 15 amps from a dedicated line, time is said to be decreased to under four hours.
While offered to consumers, Holden Energy and Environment Director, Richard Marshall noted the Better Place option is likely to be especially popular with fleets wanting to run their Volts predominantly on the initial battery charge.
For its part, Better Place said the partnership gives Volt motorists a complete recharging solution for their electric driving.
“The partnership between Better Place and Holden means Volt drivers can choose an all-inclusive service that delivers complete peace of mind and makes driving an electric car easy, convenient and reliable,” said Better Place Head of Strategy and Marketing, Ben Keneally. “We look after everything a Volt driver needs – including installing personal charging spots at home or work, delivering shorter charging times, and providing ongoing management, maintenance, and 24-hour customer care.”
Better Place will also install a Volt Charge Spot at the limited number of Volt dealers for demonstration purposes when the 2013 Volt is released in a fully optioned single specification level at $59,990 Australian dollars ($61,118 USD) – plus dealer delivery, road registration and associated taxes – in the fourth quarter of this year.
This morning Holden spokesperson Andrea Matthews said also that charger pricing is still pending.
“Better Place have not yet announced pricing for the charger but it will vary as there will be a number of different membership packages available,” she said, answering also a question about projected numbers. “We won’t speculate on sales volume of any of our vehicle lines but our expectation is that this will be a niche model for us.”
Matthews said also she appreciated your checking in to see what Holden is doing – so feel free to keep clicking the links …
“By the way, I also look after the Holden blog and we’ve seen some good traffic from your site in the past week,” she said, “so thanks!”
News from Europe: UK man trades Leaf for Volt over range anxiety
By Huw Evans
In the United Kingdom, Dan Green (not his real name), decided, after 18 months of ownership that his Nissan Leaf was too stressful and so opted to trade it in for the British version of the Chevy Volt, a Vauxhall Ampera.
Asked why, Green cited the fact that he was tired of running out of charge, which doubled journey times and significantly increased his stress levels since he often worried if he would make it to his destination.
Part of the reason for his decision stems from the fact that in Green’s eyes, development of an EV infrastructure simply hasn’t been rapid enough to support the sales of the cars themselves, which means that the prospect of running out of range was a major concern.
“Although the tow truck drivers were friendly,” Green said, “being taken away on a flatbed truck turns a 1.5 hour journey into a 3.5 hour one. That’s okay if you’re on your own, but it doesn’t impress your passengers and doesn’t help the cause of electric cars.”
He also said that on busy motorways (freeways) or during rush hour, driving slower to maximize range endurance was also particularly stressful, not only irritating other motorists but also proving quite dangerous, especially considering that many drivers travel at speeds of 75-85 mph on motorways in the UK.
As a result, he decided enough was enough and went to a Vauxhall dealer to trade the Leaf in on a new Ampera. “They gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” he said, no doubt aided by the fact Green paid in cash, giving him extra bargaining power.
However, despite his new found motoring freedom, thanks to the Ampera’s onboard gasoline generator, Green does say there are some things he misses about the Leaf, namely its onboard CarWings telematics and satellite navigation system. “I really hate the satellite navigation in the Ampera,” he says, though “now I don’t have to worry about plugging in any more,” [getting 250 miles per gallon equivalent] is simply a much more enjoyable and relaxing experience.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 11th, 2012 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.
+17
Jul 11th, 2012 (6:37 am)Great move by Chevrolet! This should get some of those folks who have been fence sitting because the Volt is new technology to stand up.
+1
Jul 11th, 2012 (7:26 am)Not sure about the “Love It Or Return It” program. On the one hand it’s putting your money where you mouth is. On the other it’s putting money on the hood, which means it’s a form of rebate or discounting. Given how good he current lineup of Chevy products are, I’m unsure why this is necessary.
In the Forums the word is that the “Love It Or Return It” offer is worth $500. IOW you can get an additional $500 off the price if you forego the offer. I can see why someone might, just might, go for this on the Volt. It’s a new and potentially different car. But for other cars I don’t see the point. You can see it. You can sit in it. You can drive it. There isn’t going to be a mystery about it.
My overall impression is that GM hasn’t been able to convince people that their product is as good as it is, and that this is something of a gimmick to goose the product. It might work but it might also suggest the products need goosing, which is not what GM wants.
+10
Jul 11th, 2012 (7:48 am)DonC, I think this is a great move by GM. I’ve been following the volt for 5 years now but plenty of my family and friends still say they’d never want to own a GM product because of the 80′s and 90′s crap they put out. If the Volt is getting new customers in the door I think this offer is going to push a lot of other people over the edge and give GM a chance. As a consumer I see this as something only a confident car company would do.
As for the betterplace news, I’m glad this is being done with private investment because I just can’t see this company being around in 5 years unless their coffers are truely huge.
To “Dan Green”, congrats on a better ride. I hope the volt will be everything you wanted from your leaf and more.
Jul 11th, 2012 (8:33 am)No problems. I said I was of two minds! LOL If people think it’s only something a confident company would do then it works. If it smacks of desperation then it doesn’t. If you’re representative then it works.
BTW completely get the attitude based on the GM products from the 90s. Or the 80s. Awful stuff.
+3
Jul 11th, 2012 (8:39 am)I think this is the first time I have disagreed with you. The fact is that GM products need goosing. This is not a “gimmick” in my opinion, but an honest put your money where your mouth is promotion. GM is producing high quality products, but still has a lot of GM haters from bad products 20 years ago, the bailout problems (Government Motors), and burnt GM stockholders. I think GM should have reached out to stock holders and offered them some incentive on new stock (is it now too late to do that?). If this campaign brings some of these previously loyal GM customers back, then it will be a good thing.
Jul 11th, 2012 (9:23 am)I think the “return offer” is a good idea for GM, and potentially great idea for the Volt. As many of us have said, it is such a different vehicle that you really have to experience one to fully understand. If there is some anxiety out there with the purchase of a new technology, this can help get more people behind the wheel. And the experience of the Volt really sells the car. Maybe they should consider some version of this offer for the Volt, even after the Chevy-wide program ends.
Jul 11th, 2012 (9:32 am)“You can read the fine print here, but in short, if you buy an eligible vehicle, and hold onto it from at least 31 up to 60 days, drive fewer than 4,000 miles, and decide the vehicle is really not for you, then no worries.”
—————–
So if you put 3,999 miles on it and return it, does the next guy to buy it have to pay full MSRP, or will it be some kind of used-car price?
+2
Jul 11th, 2012 (9:37 am)“I really hate the satellite navigation in the Ampera,” he says
—————–
Specifics please? Maybe Mr. Green just isn’t used to it yet? Any comments from current Volt owners on the Nav system? Currently I don’t plan to buy it, as my smartphone works just fine, but I was considering it. After comments like the one from Mr. Green, maybe not so much now.
Jul 11th, 2012 (9:39 am)Ok, the article for me was a given. Everything bar one thing I did not know. The big thing i got out of this article was Mr Green did not like the nav system. Any other volt owners feel this way? I have yet to see an on-board nav system out do a free standing purchased one. Why are they just so complicated to use?
+3
Jul 11th, 2012 (10:01 am)DonC and gsned57,
I am a GM customer since 1975 when bought my Chevy Vega Kammback, and I had it for ten years. Then in 1984 I bought a Olds Cutlass Ciera and had it for twenty-six years. Now I have a 1995 Buick Regal (bought in 1994) and a 2009 Chevy Equinox. All have given me great service. Maybe some of those 80′s and 90′s buyers got a “lemon” but my cars were “cherries”.
I have no doubt about GM quality and that the new offer is more proof that GM has excellent vehicles and as such can offer their “buy back” program.
One thing is for sure here in Puerto Rico. Most import buyers do so because of the “gimmicks” offered by the dealers, such as no down payment, free hotel stays, supposedly high trade-in values, and other cheap saleswork, yet are not convinced on GM quality or that Ally gives zero percent interest loans. I show them my paperwork and they are still not convinced! I am sad for their feeble minds and high monthly payments (with high interest) for a vehicle that isn’t worth half of what they are paying for. Then the same dealers convince them to trade-in every two years for another! No wonder that they are always in debt.
GM dealers are selling more truth with their vehicles, and it is an accepted truth that GM vehicles outlast all the imports. The local financial reports show import outselling the domestics, but they never show the domestics outlasting the imports.
Raymond
Jul 11th, 2012 (10:04 am)I love the heck out of my Volt, but the nav system is pretty poor. I wish it could be reprogrammed with Google Maps and Traffic. I’d pay for that.
+1
Jul 11th, 2012 (10:46 am)On our long ride home after picking up our Volt, I had a portable garmin or something my brother loaned me. We turned it off in favor of the Volt’s Nav which serves me well. The one thing I would like to do is zoom in and out as well as move the map (like you can do with Google maps). Zoom seems not to be possible and moving the map seems to play havoc with route guidance. I may simply need a training course
I still don’t see The Better Place value proposition. Seems like they just tie you into a mortgage. And I doubt I’d find the need for paying them a hefty fee to save 2 hours on a charge. YMMV
Jul 11th, 2012 (10:57 am)That’s what OEM incentives are industry-wide, goosing the products.
+2
Jul 11th, 2012 (11:02 am)The only thing I don’t like about the navigation system in my Volt is that it cannot be programmed with a destination while driving. I’m sure that’s because GM wants drivers to stay focused on the road and not be keying in addresses while driving, but my problem is that I usually have a passenger that will be entering the data in to the navigation while I’m driving. I realize a quick fix to my problem is by simply pressing the blue OnStar button and have them download the directions for me, but sometimes that takes longer than necessary when my passenger has the info already available and could do it much faster.
+1
Jul 11th, 2012 (11:13 am)Wow, nice smorgasbord!
GM Buy Back Program
I think the GM buy back is just a way GM is trying to coax buyers new or disenfranchised to give them a try or give them a try again. The new GM vehicles seem to have much better quality builds, so I doubt they are taking much of a risk.
Better Place
I knew (as most of us did) about the battery swapping system. But it is good to hear Better Place also is doing chargers. Even though I’m not sure about how they do it, there is nothing that necessarily works for everyone. I think the more competition in this space the better.
Leaf->Volt
Good to hear someone made a reasonable choice due to infrastructure. I think it would be wise for GM to reach out to this individual to see why they feel the onboard “CarWings telematics and satellite navigation system” is better than the Volt’s system.
+2
Jul 11th, 2012 (11:20 am)Regarding the buyback offer, I understand the +/- factor DonC refers to, my take is that, after years of product improvement, it is a positive move done without the air of desperation, but with an honest feeling of confidence in the products. The ad I saw was well done and touted quality in a believable way. To me, it’s about GM, for the first time in a while, honestly believing in and being proud about its own products enough to say to the world: we are ready for you now, so let us show you how good we are.
+1
Jul 11th, 2012 (12:00 pm)I think GM needs to switch advertisers… their advertising is not equal to their products’ quality.
+3
Jul 11th, 2012 (12:41 pm)The Holden Volt and Ampera are looking good!
No Plug, No Sale!
Jul 11th, 2012 (1:17 pm)In my mind, it’s obviously a used car. How much depreciation do apply is open to debate. What do you think ?
In the case of the Volt, how does it work with the tax credit ? If you buy it used, do the credit apply ?
Is this program available in Canada ? I’d rather have access to my GM Card points for the Volt, as far as I’m concern. At this moment, no points can be applied to the Volt in Canada.
+2
Jul 11th, 2012 (1:34 pm)Not sure how much to depreciate, but you always here things like “the value of a new car drops $5K as soon as you drive it off the lot”.
I don’t know how the tax credit would work either if you returned the car. Seems like a way for people to scam $7500 from Uncle Sam. This would also prevent the next owner from claiming it since the VIN # is already registered.
+1
Jul 11th, 2012 (2:27 pm)kdawg,
I was wondering the same thing! Is he specifically talking about the UK version of the OnStar service? I am not particularly enamored with OnStar but the integrated Nav console in my wife’s Volt I think is awesome! Even though this is not new I am particular fond of the traffic alerts as it helps me plan around all the summer construction now happening around my town, to choose more favorable routes and not get stuck in traffic!
Jul 11th, 2012 (2:57 pm)#10
I put 430K HARD miles on my 1985 Suburban before I sold it in 2004 because it just wasn’t big enough to haul all of our race stuff any more. And it was running fine when it left. It was on its second engine and about its 4th transmission, but still I loved it. +1
Jul 11th, 2012 (3:07 pm)As to PBP, the less said the better IMHO.
As to Mr. Green, nice to see that he has now grasped the whole underlying concept of the Volt, born out of GM’s bitter experience with the EV1 IMHO. Range anxiety is real. Hello?
As to the nav system, I’m pretty OK with it. On the few trips I have taken it has done a really good job of finding points of interest. I like to scroll ahead on my old Magellan to be able to plan my moves farther in advance and not just wait for the cues from the box and I haven’t been able to figure out how to do that with the Volt system yet, so that’s a bit of an irritant. But maybe that’s just me being too lazy to study the manual enough, LOL.
+1
Jul 11th, 2012 (3:09 pm)#18
Oh wait a minute, is there a car in that photo LOL? +1
Jul 11th, 2012 (5:05 pm)Dave K.,
When was that photo taken? I see SAAB still in existence in the background.
Some interesting info on SAAB from Wiki:
———————
National Electric Vehicle Sweden (2012-)
On 13 June 2012, a press conference was held announcing that Saab Automobile AB and its subsidiaries Saab Automobile Powertrain AB and Saab Automobile Tools AB as well as the Saab factory had been acquired by the Chinese-Japanese consortium National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS).[92] Saab Automobile Parts AB was not included in the deal and the Swedish National Debt Office will continue as an owner of that company.[93] NEVS plan is to build pure (and only pure) electric vehicles with an electric version of the current 9-3 model available in 2013/2014 as well as to continue development of the replacement to the 9-3, the Phoenix. GM has continued to refuse licensing of the technology in the Saab 9-5 and 9-4X and these models will therefore not be produced. The rights to use of the name Saab has not yet been granted by Saab AB and Scania AB and negotiations on that matter will continue.
Jul 11th, 2012 (5:13 pm)The question about how this program will affect the $7500 tax credit really does need to be answered ASAP. If people are allowed to keep the tax credit; even though they returned the car, it would give the EV tax credit incentive program a huge black eye and would have to be sold to the second buyer at a huge discount to make-up for the tax credit and depreciation which will result in a lose for the Dealer or GM.
+1
Jul 11th, 2012 (8:30 pm)Dave K.,
I don’t think she needs a plug. Oh, you meant the car, sorry.
Jul 11th, 2012 (10:50 pm)I think this is a great way to get people who would otherwise never consider a Chevy, or any American car into the showroom. But the best thing GM could do for the Volt is lower the price by at least $5,000.
+1
Jul 12th, 2012 (2:23 am)Nav is easier in my Volt. I just call OnStar, tell them to find a restaurant, or give them a location, such as “Department of Motor Vehicle” Lakewood CO, and a minute later, the download with turn by turn is downloaded. Very nice. Just have to be willing to use the OnStar service.
Jul 12th, 2012 (3:35 am)Why Volt is twice expensive in Australia????? Who would afford it?