[NM Volt]

I don't get it. Companies want to sell their products ... I assume.
Then why doesn't Chev advertise the Volt? I watch too much TV and I have never seen an ad.
Anyone else have that experience?

And, along that with that, why doesn't Lyft advertise? I quit driving for them as they don't have enough business for it to be worth while... but, I have seen a couple ads on cable channels. Nothing on the "big 3" broadcasters though.

Anyone have an answer?

 

[Taser54]

TV ads are the old way. Embrace the new.

 

[mprowland]

I still have no idea. I went to a dealership in 2013 to look at purchasing a Volt. The salesman listened to me for a few seconds and then walked me over to a Cruz! I told him if I wanted a Cruz I would have asked for one. Needless to say I walked out that dealership and went to another where I purchased a 2013 Volt. I don't understand why any business would spend all this money on R&D and not try and push the product. I still get Chevy offers in the mail to this day, not one of them ever mentions a Volt!

 

[dhiller123]

I don't get it. Companies want to sell their products ... I assume.
Then why doesn't Chev advertise the Volt? I watch too much TV and I have never seen an ad.
Anyone else have that experience?

And, along that with that, why doesn't Lyft advertise? I quit driving for them as they don't have enough business for it to be worth while... but, I have seen a couple ads on cable channels. Nothing on the "big 3" broadcasters though.

Anyone have an answer?

Well, I have a Volt and my wife has a Ford Flex. You NEVER see a Flex in a commercial. It's like Ford is embarrassed of them.

Diller

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[Qinsp]

Why does that title make me hungry for a Box of Chocolates?

 

[saghost]

This has been the subject of much debate and numerous conspiracy theories over the years. GM made a few Volt ads, but aside from one very weird one at the superbowl in 2011? 2012?, they really haven't gotten much air time.

 

[freshcut]

I think a lot of the reason is finding a way to successfully market such a unique vehicle that allows the general public to really understand how it works. I've had mine for just short of a year and friends and family still don't quite get how it works even after I've explained and demonstrated to them with the biggest "turn off" being it "only" goes 40 miles on battery with them completely ignoring that it has a gas engine when you need to go further. Secondly, it's really not a high profit item for GM/Chevy. By comparison how many commercials do you see for the Spark or Sonic? Unfortunately like most companies that are profit driven, they promote their high ticket high profit products and hope to draw in customers that way.

As a side note, I had to laugh at people when I've commented about going to LA or Vegas and they ask me if it takes me 2 days to drive to Vegas because I have to keep charging every 40 miles suddenly understanding that I get 40 gas free miles, not just 40 miles.

 

[Mister Dave]

What do you see in the start of this Fidelity TV ad?

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/An3D/fidelity-investments-smart-investing

Volts have shown up in many a TV ad, from here to Kentucky Fried Chicken.

 

[jsmay311]

Companies want to sell their products ... I assume.
Then why doesn't Chev advertise the Volt?

Companies want to maximize their profit.

We don't know what's GM's profit margin is on the Volt, assuming there even is one.

And ads cost money.

So it's not hard to imagine why GM would prefer to steer their advertising dollars toward higher-volume, higher-profit vehicles.

 

[Rickoshay]

I only see those intelligence insulting "Real people, not actors" commercials with the metrosexual dude in skinny jeans. Mostly about trucks and how many awards Chevrolet has won.

2014 Volt Premium - "Gas? We don't need no stinkin' gas"

 

[canehdian]

Perhaps you're not in a market they want to sell volts in?

I've seen a few different commercials here over the years. Bolt has been in one, too.

 

[NM Volt]

Some good thoughts here... thanks. (I do identify with Forest Gump sometimes)
Seems like if it's not a high profit item then sell lots of them and get volume sales profit. I'm not in sales so....?
I was fueling up in AZ once at the Love's on I40 (hate hate hate that road) just west of Holbrook and a guy says "Hey, those things take gas?"....
Anyway.....

 

[DonC]

I agree that TV is likely not a great vehicle for selling EVs. Having said that, I don't see GM being great at marketing vehicles other than trucks. It's good at marketing trucks but there seems to be a formula for that: stick a he-man commercial on a live sports event.

Speculating, part of the problem may be that the advantages of electric drive trains are also disadvantages of ICE drive trains. If 99% of what you sell is ICE drive trains the incentive to highlight the differences may not be compelling.

 

[Eddycurrent]

If i see that stupid commercial with the dogs checking out the chevy cruze I'm going to be sick. All I see from GM is cruze and truck adds. Like is this all they make.

 

[Mister Dave]

 

[Steverino]

The Volt is supposed to be a "halo" car. Not sure how much glow that halo brings given few ever see a TV commercial about the car...

 

[saghost]

And yet I've never seen that before, on TV or anywhere else.

 

[Mister Dave]

And yet I've never seen that before, on TV or anywhere else.

It's pretty dull IMO. Makes my eyes glaze over.

 

[llninja]

Why does that title make me hungry for a Box of Chocolates?

Funny, it makes me want to go get some Bubba Gump shrimp.... I happen to be in a hotel about a thousand feet from one at the Mall of America. Too bad they don't open until lunchtime.

Back to topic, welcome to America's best kept automotive secret. The 70 MPG lifetime reading on my dashboard always puts a smile on my face.

 

[CYAOPEC]

They're advertised quite a bit in Southern California, where, at least with Gen 1, 50% of all Volts were sold. But to be honest, a Premium Volt is horribly expensive when you first look at it. Sure, with state and federal incentives it's in the mid to high 20s. But most people have no idea about that. Once the federal incentives expire next year it will be interesting to see if the Volt and Bolt have their price decreased by 7,500. If not green cars that sell close to 40k will be a very hard sell.

One thing GM should focus on is durability. The highest mileage Volt on Volt Stats has 376,000 miles. The dual electric/gas drivetrain pretty much blows everything else away.