Battery Size Poll (Volt Lite)

[silvercorvette]

I am not rich but maybe if I didn't keep on buying so many cars I would be rich, and regardless of what you read about buyers being in the $173K range, I am retired with less than half that income

[Ladogaboy]

The poll and its results doesn't really delete the question. Remember, most Volt owners are rich. They aren't the backbone of a successful $35k (net cost) car. Thats a BMW 3 series. Many, many, most, 3 series owners AREN'T rich, they are kids with a job or people who are making a modest buck. Nowhere near what I've read the median Volt income is.

If you have money and you want a BMW, you don't get a 3 series (other than the M3). The 3 series BMWs are designed for "lower income" BMW buyers who want what comes with the BMW image/brand. In essence, posers. If your car budget tops out at $40,000 to $50,000, you shouldn't be buying a BMW because there are better offerings at just about every price point below that cutoff. At that point, you are just paying for the label.

[dsinned]

I picked what we already got, but an absolutely SENSATIONAL pick would be 60 miles for $4k LESS!

[saghost]

I picked what we already got, but an absolutely SENSATIONAL pick would be 60 miles for $4k LESS!

TANSTAAFL. We'd all love to have cars faster than a Ferrari for a few hundred dollars. The question was what people would buy that GM could realistically deliver in today's climate.

Maybe in a few years you can get what you're asking for - but if so, it'll be because of the investment made in Volts and Leafs and FFEs and PiPs this year.

[Joule Thief]

I think you folks may need to consider that the average Volt driver is quite well off, I read $173k median income somewhere. The average person finds a Prius (a relatively awful car) mcuh more in their price range.

Remember, most Volt owners are rich. They aren't the backbone of a successful $35k (net cost) car. Thats a BMW 3 series. Many, many, most, 3 series owners AREN'T rich, they are kids with a job or people who are making a modest buck. Nowhere near what I've read the median Volt income is.

You really believe most Volt owners are rich? We're talking about a $35k car after the tax credit which fits into a middle to upper-middle class budget. I spent $33k on my 2005 Ford Explorer I sold to buy my Volt. Do you also think Ford Explorer owners are all rich? If we were discussing a Tesla maybe you'd have a case. I can see why rich folks would be attracted to the Volt, but you don't have to be rich to get one.

Are you sure you read $173k median income, or did you read $175k household average - big difference. That was published a year ago when only about 4000 Volts had been sold, so unless you can cite a more recent study it's really a meaningless statistic. Taking an average is not a good robust measure since a few outliers (millionaires) can easily skew it. Jay Leno bought a Volt and his income is about $32M/yr, imagine how that skews the mean. There's a reason they don't use averages to measure housing prices.

I'd place more value in the income poll of Volt owners from this forum. 80% reported incomes <$170k. If you exclude the 20% who report making >$170k and look at the distribution of the remaining 80%, it makes a nice bell curve with most owners falling between $70-$110k (which is where I fall by the way). And that's household income which is combining both spouses in most cases. I would not consider this rich by a long shot.

As for the Prius comparison, it's funny you bring that up since a Plug in Prius is essentially the "Volt Lite" you think GM should build that would supposedly cost so much less. Yet a base model PiP is only $2k less than a base Volt after tax credits and a fully loaded PiP is $2k more than a fully loaded Volt. So when Walter suggests a Volt with a 20 mile range would only save you about $1500, he's probably not that far off. At current prices I personally can't see why anybody would choose a PiP over a Volt but they have sold 6000 PiPs in the US this year which goes to show the power of branding.

[dcsulkis]

Typically, it takes about $45,000 of income for a single person to qualify for the full $7,500 rebate (still depends on individual circumstances), but that's not what I would consider "rich." Less than $45,000, and you might want to question whether you should be spending more than $30,000 on a car in the first place.

Actually, a single person with $45,000 in income and no dependents taking the standard deduction would have owed about $5,000 in federal income tax in 2011. Takes about $55,000 in income for that person to owe $7,500.

And for a family of four, also taking the standard deduction, takes about $95,000 in income to owe $7,500.

Source: Turbotax, done quickly.

[emartin00]

Actually, a single person with $45,000 in income and no dependents taking the standard deduction would have owed about $5,000 in federal income tax in 2011. Takes about $55,000 in income for that person to owe $7,500.

And for a family of four, also taking the standard deduction, takes about $95,000 in income to owe $7,500.

Source: Turbotax, done quickly.

Glad I went with the lease! I'm around the $55k mark, but I also have student loans that I get deductions for, as well as mortgage interest. So I wouldn't be able to get the full $7500 it looks like.

[gieso]

After almost a year with my Volt, I am happy with the current range. When it gets cold, I have seen as little as 30 miles per charge and my daily commute is on the order of 22-30 miles, so the current size is just about optimal for me on a year round basis. I drive more in the evenings, but since I have a 240V EVSE, I can add juice and go farther without gas most times.

When the Volt 2.0's come out, I would recommend that GM provide about the same range but with a lower cost and less weight due to battery tech advances.

[Ladogaboy]

Glad I went with the lease! I'm around the $55k mark, but I also have student loans that I get deductions for, as well as mortgage interest. So I wouldn't be able to get the full $7500 it looks like.

For me, I only qualify for about $7,000, but that is after student loan deductions. Still, I drive too many miles for a lease to be a good option, and I'm going to be keeping this car for a while.