Here is the link to a NY Times article about the Volt. Yikes is all I can say: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/1-volt-or-2-priuses/index.html?hp. Jim
It sounds to me like GM will lose this battle to Toyota and Honda too. I guess the only good thing is that Wagoner and Bob Lutz won't get bonuses in 2008. Maybe that savings will help them make money at $30,000. If not, at least it is closer to what they are worth.$27,949.42
That's what GM needs to beat in order to remain competitive with the Prius. If they can't do that, it will remain a niche car. But I do believe they could sell at least 5,000 per year even at $45,000.
The reality is the Volt will be an overpriced car. We won't see a competitively priced EREV until 2016 at the earliest, unless the Japanese release something before then.
Heh people...
................................HEV Prius.....PHEV Prius
Cost ........................22k.............32k
Proj Mont Payment...400..............581
Gal / Month...............43.25 .........19.58
Fuel / Mon ($4gal)*...173.............95
Total Cost / Month.....573.............676
I'm still down $100 / month with the PHEV. Another way to look at it is I save $88 / month on fuel which would take 113 months (9 years, 5 months) to pay for what it cost to do the upgrade.
And that's for a PHEV Prius which is $32k not $35k-$48k like the Volt should be.
BTW, I figured the break even point on a monthly basis for the PHEV Prius would be about $26,840. That means it would have to cost $4840 for the upgrade which would require a $5160 tax rebate.
*Assumes 70 cents per 'electric gallon'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2008 Prius =~ 22,000
A123 PHEV upgrade =~ 10,000
-----------------------------------
2008 PHEV Prius =~ 32,000
That's the target price, IMO. Why would someone buy a Volt for 48k when they could have a PHEV Prius for 32k.
There was a sequence of issues that caused that...but the main problem was faulty installation, one bolt was not tightened down completely.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I can think of two good reasons. No warranty for PHEV Prius and it catches on fire:
http://gizmodo.com/5018111/aftermarket-plug+in-prius-battery-causes-balls-of-fire-explosion
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/06/18/converted-plug-in-prius-destroyed-by-fire/
That fits perfectly with my prediction of an "early release".Recently if you picked up the Sept edition of Motortrend magazine, it lists the Volt in there as a 2010 model. It has n/a for price and other specs.... but at least it does acknowledge it, so the word will get around more. It says "look out Prius, this is a game changer!".
Don't go cunfusing the issue with facts. Just remember who mentioned it (g).Early release??? I hope you are right but they just decided on the plant for the ICE and haven't announced the battery contract yet and just redesigned the layout of the engine and stuff.