Why does Nissan LEAF have HID headlamps standard and Volt doesn't even offer it????

[ShannonVolt]

How come the Leaf offers "range anxiety" but the Volt does not?

[vdiv]

Call me old/fashioned, but I like incandescent/halogen lamps:
I like the continuous full spectrum of the black body radiation/light.
I like the gradual intensity increase/decrease when powering them on/off especially in the turn signals.
I like the emitted heat that nicely de-ices the lenses in the winter.
I like the simplicity.
I like the cost.
The HIR projector headlights on the Volt are sufficiently bright, illuminate uniformly, and allow the car to be perceived as "familiar" and "normal". If people have difficulty seeing at night I'd recommend a few things:

1. Take off the sunglasses, it's dark, no one can see how cool you look;
2. Turn down the brightness of the displays/dashboard. I have mine at a 1/4 and I can see them perfectly fine;
3. Do not stare at the oncoming headlights, look to the right;
4. When stopped at a red light especially with other cars waiting in the opposite direction, do them a favor, turn off your headlights and leave the parking/marker lights on. DO NOT forget to turn the headlights back on when the stoplight turns green.

[Nick D]

Letter to GM:
That is one reason keeping me from getting a Volt.

Really man - you can get an aftermarket set for like $40 that is just as good - except when the aftermarket lights go bad the only cost $20 to replace, but when OEM HID's go bad they cost hundreds to replace. I have had HID's in my last 4 vehicles and they were aftermarket setups in each one. The first time I bought the $200 HID kit and it lasted about 8 months, I replaced it with a $35 kit which lasted 2 years and still worked when I traded in the car. I have bought $30-40 conversion kits ever since and have had no issues.

If you were smart and bought a $40k car, what is an additional $50 to perfect it? If your dealer was smart they would offer to put in a conversion kit for $300 and they would pocket about $250 more from you and still sell a car.

[GM-4-LIFE]

When you are used to Cadillac type luxuries like HID headlamps, power seats, and such, you are disappointed with halogen headlamps. If we were talking about a car that costs $20K like the Malibu, I would say fine, but a fully loaded Volt stickers at $45K!!!

I am in a 2011 CTS-V Coupe right now and I haven't test driven a Volt as of yet. I plan on doing that very soon. My dad is ordering his 2013 Volt this week and I am thinking of going with a Volt as it would save me hundreds of dollars per month over my CTS-V Coupe. My CTS-V lease is up in 6 months, so I am hoping that 2013 lease deals will be as good as 2012 lease deals are now. They are almost giving them away if you want to lease them.

I understand what you guys are saying. I would never dream on getting a Leaf. Not only are they ugly, I don't buy non GM-vehicles. I have had an extensive amount of GM vehicles in my lifetime and would never want an import.

If I do get a 2013 Volt, I would definitely get whatever HID kits are out there that you guys have had great luck with.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

[islander]

HID and LED a side...

Take a look at the picture of the Volt in today's feature article. There is a distinct blue hue to the front lights in that picture and many others I have seen. Does the real Volt have that blue electric look in real life? I like the look but fear its Photoshop. I do not have a Volt yet so I appreciate your indulgence.
Thanks.

[GM-4-LIFE]

I sat in a Volt last night at my local dealer. They must have had 100 Volts on the ground. Salesperson told me they were HIDs factory on the 2012 HOV California Volts. I looked at him funny. GM would have published that data if the Volt had HIDs. I was like dude, you are full of it and I walked away.

[adric22]

I have also wondered about the halogen lights on the Volt and here's my thoughts.

Obviously the LED lights of the Leaf use less power, which is good for battery life.

However, the halogen lights are cheaper.

In the case of the Leaf, since it has no backup range extender, they need to get every bit of efficiency out of the car. With the Volt, they probably figured the half-a-mile extra range you might get at night would probably not be worth the extra cost.

[Zod]

Regular headlights are bright enough and I think it's entirely selfish to want brighter ones at the expense of other drivers. I'm probably offending some of you as many people like to believe that they magically don't blind other drivers, but brighter lights are brighter lights. Sure, if installed correctly and with good cutoffs, they might be acceptable in perfect conditions, but they're still brighter than normal lights in the same configuration. And what about all the non ideal situations:

- wet road
- bumps
- hills
- dirt on lens cover
- becomes mis-aligned
- Too much weight in the back

Are you telling me none of these situations ever happen? Come on. All you have to do is pay attention to what lights blind you more than others when you're driving. The blueish hue gives them all away.

You're also doing yourself a disservice by ruining your dark adaptation with more blue end light. This reduces your sensitivity to anything not illuminated directly by your headlights (e.g. distant, high, and/or side things, things in your car, or anything independently illuminated). That means despite brighter lights at the expense of fellow drivers, you actually see some things less well (and potentially ruin the dark adaptation of others as well).

[vdiv]

Does the real Volt have that blue electric look in real life? I like the look but fear its Photoshop.

The production prototype Volt in that picture had HID headlights that are bluish.

The serial production Volt that is currently sold has Halogen Infrared Reflective (HIR) headlights that do not look bluish, they look like conventional lights.

The HIR bulbs can be replaced with other halogen blue-tinted bulbs to accomplish the bluish hint if so desired, however those bulbs generally do not last very long, have the nasty habit of burning out in the coldest day of the winter, and are a bit of a pain to replace.

That picture is photoshopped to replace the Chevrolet logo with a Holden one in the center of the grille. If you look carefully you will see that the steering wheel is on the left-hand side, whereas Holden sold in Australia/New Zealand has to have right-hand steering.

[Fulgerite]

Did you know that those HID & LED's with higher color temperatures like 5000K - 6500K lamps work WORSE in the fog? Blue light bounces right back in your face. Yellow light does not. This is why fog lights are tinted yellow.

The 4500K HIR lamps in the Volt work BETTER in the fog than the brighter bluer HID lamps. That is a FACT.