[electrostrong]

Wow.

Chevy was really ahead of its time with the Volt. Always loved the Gen 1 styling. Finally picked one up to try it out. The attention to the power train system and how everything works in concert is impressive.

Got 35 electric miles today in -10 F° weather and was comfortable.

Great little sprinter to take care of the local needs. Wish I would have taken the leap earlier and picked one up sooner!

 

[ddm2k]

Wow.

Chevy was really ahead of its time with the Volt. Always loved the Gen 1 styling. Finally picked one up to try it out. The attention to the power train system and how everything works in concert is impressive.

Got 35 electric miles today in -10 F° weather and was comfortable.

Great little sprinter to take care of the local needs. Wish I would have taken the leap earlier and picked one up sooner!

It’s truly becomes a favorite for whomever sits in it. Loved mine.


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[Steverino]

We were thrilled the day we drove our 2011 Volt home. That was over 10 years ago and we are still driving it. The experience has been so good, we bought a Bolt in 2017. That car is really fun to drive. So now we are basically all EV, except for the occasional Fuel Maintenance Mode on the Volt. I'm pretty much done with gas cars.

Enjoy your '13!

 

[Cloudnine]

We were thrilled the day we drove our 2011 Volt home.

Did you ever imagine you would be here with the 2011, 10+ years later?

 

[Steverino]

Did you ever imagine you would be here with the 2011, 10+ years later?

Yes, it's still a bit amazing to me that I'm driving an EV. That I've had the car over 10 years, wow, time flies.

I still remember many at the time saying the car would not last more than 3 years before needing replacement, it would explode, yadda, yadda. In one infamous news segment the talking heads said the test car they had been given "broke down" in the Lincoln Tunnel because it switched to gas! Even while the car was clearly still moving. Idiots.

I took a test drive in October 2010 when GM was doing local roadshows prior to the December 2010 deliveries to early buyers. My wife just sat in the back during the test drive, zero interest in driving it herself. Because the car was only being sold in 7 states at the time (and IL was not one of them), I bought the car from a Long Island Chevy dealer. After the car was built and delivered to the dealer, my wife and I took a cheap Southwest flight to Long Island signed the remaining paperwork and drove our new Volt back to Illinois. We read the entire Owners Manual during the drive back. Fun times, haha.

My wife is not into cars, but was OK with the purchase. But about two weeks after we'd been driving it, she said we should get a second Volt for her, We still had a second car in good shape with many years left on it, so that desire was put on hold until the Bolt came out 6 years later. The Volt experience helped make the Bolt purchase easy. We knew from driving the Volt that the Bolt's range would be more than adequate for her 70 mile commute, even in winter, even accounting for potential hours long backups. The Bolt is like our Volt but with a 200 mile range extender in the form of extra battery instead of a gas tank.

To me, the Volt is on par with getting a Graphical User Interface Mac back when the rest of the world was still using command line DOS computers. Many denigrated Macs as toys. "Real" computers used DOS. Today of course, basically everyone uses a GUI-based computer. In a similar way, many regard EV's as an oddity. "Real" cars use gas. I think range anxiety is still a real thing and cars like the Volt address that completely. I think GM should have continued with a Gen 3 Volt as it's a great transition vehicle to ease people into the EV side. That said, I've been there, done that and my future is 100% EV.

 

[hellsop]

It’s truly becomes a favorite for whomever sits in it.

At least as long as they're in the front seats....

 

[ddm2k]

At least as long as they're in the front seats....

OOF, forgot about that part! 5’4” people hitting their heads


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[Fred_B]

I think GM should have continued with a Gen 3 Volt as it's a great transition vehicle to ease people into the EV side.

I completely agree. The phrase Chevrolet used back then was "Electric when you want it, gas when you need it", but I think that left most people confused about how the car works. It might have been better to say something like "the only EV with no range anxiety", which would make people wonder how that could be true, and they would want to learn more.

 

[ElectricCow15]

I think GM should have continued with a Gen 3 Volt

Yeah me too, but I know they would mess it up and have it look like a bolt, sonic or (the new) trailblazer.

 

[Cloudnine]

I think GM should have continued with a Gen 3 Volt as it's a great transition vehicle to ease people into the EV side.

My hope was that the Volt powertrain would be eased into the mainstream Chevy lineup. Think "Malibu". At the same time, my concern was that carmakers weren't planning to stay in the sedan business. Further complicating the situation, The Volt form factor is basically a Chevy Cruze that uses the same engine that most people would run anyway in the Volt, at 1/2 the base price of the Volt.

EVs, to many, are a solution in search of a problem. What will draw the mainstream buyer, who can't afford a $100k Silverado that will be a brick in around 10 years, into the showroom? Carmakers have a big lift ahead, to meet a 55 mpg fleet average in 2026.

 

[Steverino]

What will draw the mainstream buyer, who can't afford a $100k Silverado that will be a brick in around 10 years

Saying it will be a brick in 10 years is pure opinion based on what? Volt battery replacements? The Silverado uses Ultium batteries that address shortcomings of the Volt's 12 year old battery tech.

What draws people today? It's a mix of price, performance, features, type of vehicle. EV's will reach price parity with ICE's within the next 10 years if not sooner if battery tech keeps moving the price point down. Then the choice will be, do you want to stand at gas station or sleep in bed while the car refuels? Do you want VTOOM, VROOM or quiet? Do you like maintaining a gas engine or have a virtually maintenance free vehicle for 8-10 years? Do you like replacing brake pads? Do you want high torque without all the big gas engine stuff? The list goes on.

One commenter on the Silverado asked, "Why would you replace a proven 100 year old technology?" I'm thinking, because there is something better? LED lights, flat screen TV's, Cell phones, computers, there's a whole lot of new tech that has replaced 100 year old tech.

I also think robo-taxi's will be a reason for many not to buy a car and the associated parking, insurance, maintenance hassles.

BTW, the Silderado EV will have Ultra Cruise available, a step above Super Cruise, it will reportedly work on city streets. It's not Level 5 automation of course (no one but Cruise, Waymo, and maybe a few others are approaching that).

 

[ddm2k]

Saying it will be a brick in 10 years is pure opinion based on what? Volt battery replacements? The Silverado uses Ultium batteries that address shortcomings of the Volt's 12 year old battery tech.

What draws people today? It's a mix of price, performance, features, type of vehicle. EV's will reach price parity with ICE's within the next 10 years if not sooner if battery tech keeps moving the price point down. Then the choice will be, do you want to stand at gas station or sleep in bed while the car refuels? Do you want VTOOM, VROOM or quiet? Do you like maintaining a gas engine or have a virtually maintenance free vehicle for 8-10 years? Do you like replacing brake pads? Do you want high torque without all the big gas engine stuff? The list goes on.

One commenter on the Silverado asked, "Why would you replace a proven 100 year old technology?" I'm thinking, because there is something better? LED lights, flat screen TV's, Cell phones, computers, there's a whole lot of new tech that has replaced 100 year old tech.

I also think robo-taxi's will be a reason for many not to buy a car and the associated parking, insurance, maintenance hassles.

BTW, the Silderado EV will have Ultra Cruise available, a step above Super Cruise, it will reportedly work on city streets. It's not Level 5 automation of course (no one but Cruise, Waymo, and maybe a few others are approaching that).

I don’t think it’s just the battery he was referring to. Even if he was, there’s Volts 10+ years old with 200k+ miles. There’s Priuses (Prii?) 20+ years old with 300k+ miles.

Now, I will say there’s a chance for ANY modern vehicle, - ICE, hybrid, or EV - to be rendered a brick due to PARTS AVAILABILITY. A brick in the sense that, after an accident, there is no date on the horizon that repair parts will be available.

I WOULD see that as a possibility.


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[SkipperHugh]

Wow.

Chevy was really ahead of its time with the Volt. Always loved the Gen 1 styling. Finally picked one up to try it out. The attention to the power train system and how everything works in concert is impressive.

Got 35 electric miles today in -10 F° weather and was comfortable.

Great little sprinter to take care of the local needs. Wish I would have taken the leap earlier and picked one up sooner!

In -10 weather????????? You are my guru!

 

[Steverino]

There’s Priuses (Prii?) 20+ years old.

Judge: "You are hereby sentenced to drive a Prius for the next 20 years." But I should talk, I drove a VW Beetle for 15, haha. I also kept a Volvo 240 wagon for over 21 years. And another for 17 years. For most, 10-15 years and they are ready for a new car. I keep mine for as long as possible but you do start paying more and more for maintenance. And eventually the body starts to rust.