Topic: Chevy Volt Costing Taxpayers Up to $250K Per Vehicle

[rrocket]

I'm surprised more people are not warming up to it.

I'm not.  It's a mediocre electric vehicle (worse than Leaf) and a poor hybrid (much worse than Prius).  And more expensive than both in the long run.  Pretty easy to see why people aren't warming up to it.  Good car...but sorta falls into the mushy middle.

It's got longer range than the Leaf, and it's a better electric car than the Prius. All depends on if you're a glass half full or glass half empty kind of guy.

Or have a GM axe to grind.

I has less electric range than a Leaf and it has less gasoline range than a Prius.

The Volt is half empty.  

So I could commute all week on electric and drive to Saskatoon or Edmonton on the weekend in the Volt. This is a bad thing?
The Leaf couldn't make it to Moosejaw and back.

I know you work close enough to home where a Prius plug in would work also!    And be cheaper and get better MPG on the way to Saskatoon or Edmonton!

[EV Dan]

I understand that letting GM fail was never a real option, but one might think what if instead of wasting taxpayer money on perpetual losers, a small, determined and innovative start-up would get a cash shot of up to 250 grand per car? The one that would make a dream car and sell it at the similar 80% off its real taxpayer cost. Tesla Model S with a 300 mile range for under 20k? That would make the US car industry the world leader in the field, light years ahead of everyone else. But whatareyougonnado, now we have a fugly inefficient hybrid.

You could wish for a 600km range, seating for 7 and a 0-60 in 4 seconds for $10k. It's not terribly realistic.

What I mean is if Tesla is to sell the upcoming S for 60-80 grand and the car was developed using their own and privately invested money [and some gov-t loan] where would they be if they could get as much dough as GM did and invest in in production facilities to build everything in house. Would the output be scaled to a volume allowing to sell the cars at half the planned price tag?

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I understand that letting GM fail was never a real option, but one might think what if instead of wasting taxpayer money on perpetual losers, a small, determined and innovative start-up would get a cash shot of up to 250 grand per car? The one that would make a dream car and sell it at the similar 80% off its real taxpayer cost. Tesla Model S with a 300 mile range for under 20k? That would make the US car industry the world leader in the field, light years ahead of everyone else. But whatareyougonnado, now we have a fugly inefficient hybrid.

You could wish for a 600km range, seating for 7 and a 0-60 in 4 seconds for $10k. It's not terribly realistic.

What I mean is if Tesla is to sell the upcoming S for 60-80 grand and the car was developed using their own and privately invested money [and some gov-t loan] where would they be if they could get as much dough as GM did and invest in in production facilities to build everything in house. Would the output be scaled to a volume allowing to sell the cars at half the planned price tag?

Very unlikely. There are reasons why Mitsubishi charges over $30k for the iMiEV and Nissan's Leaf is $40k.

[johngenx]

Remember the first cell phones, VCR's and other new technology?  Was it cheap to start...?

[safristi]

trouble is Johnx...Electric vehicles were ONE OF THE FIRST ON THE ROAD....even before 2 tin cans and a piece of string PHONES.....WELL BEFORE like wot 100 years..... ...come up with a NEW REASON they will be the FOOTURE of Mobility please...............