[Number 3]

Originally Posted by Darth Martel

The Volt is a plug-in hybrid. It's marketed as an electric car but, it's really a plug-in hybrid.

No quite accurate either which is why it is so hard to classify the Volt. Even the new PHEV Prius can not do the things the Volt can do. It can't go full speed with out the engine, it won't have the range and it won't have the ability to opperate in EV while driving hard or up hills or with full passengers and cargo. PHEVs simply don't have the battery capacity.

So for the first 40 miles (+/-) the Volt is an EV. When the Volt is in charge sustaining mode it's a hybrid.

But as we always want to categorize a thing so we can understand it and compare it, it is easy to understand why some would want to over simplify the Volt as just a hybrid, because at times that is what it acts like.

Originally Posted by shawn18

The estimated annual fuel cost of my wifes 2010 Malibu is 1560.00 dollars. Now the cost of a Volt is what 40k or so? I paid 17k for my wifes car. So with a difference of 23k +/-. If I wouldn't have to buy one drop of gas at all for the Volt , it would take me 14.7 years to make up the differnce in cost. I understand this is purely hypothetical and based on avereages but still , I dont see the appeal to this car. It is a great car I am sure. I just dont see me buying one.

Originally Posted by Scruffage

Exactly the point I was trying to make. The battery is under warranty for 8yrs or 100,000 miles but what is the cost to replace it? Where do you dispose of it? You can buy a brand new chevy cruze for $17,000 that gets 36 mpg. The cost of owner ship for a Volt doesn't justify the cost of the car. I'm not hating on the Volt. I would love to have one if the price was under $20 grand. If they really plan to make an impact on reducing our reliance on petroleum they are going to have to get that price down where the average middle class person can justify buying it.

Actually it can.

I've posted this many times. Lets simply use the 40 mile range of mixed city and highway. And lets further assume you compare to the new Cruze LTZ which is the closest in content to the new Volt. The Volt is a very highly contented vehicle. So if simply look at the purchase price (less taxes), the Cruze LTZ will run you $26,000 and the Volt $32,500 after the tax incentive. so that's a difference of $6,500 in purchase price.

Now back to the 40 miles per day or 14,600 miles. If you are doing very well you will get 30 MPG combined schedule in the Cruze LTZ. At $3.25 per gallon, that's a fuel cost of $1582. For the Volt, that's a fraction if you are charging at home at night. So there you have paid back the difference in just over 4 years.

If you can recharge at work (which GM has made provisions for) you can double the range and the payoff is much faster.

Now the costs change if you are driving less or more miles than the ideal Volt customer, but to point out it will pay for itself.

And if you consider the $350 per month lease, it is very reasonable, IMO.

Originally Posted by meb885

I've seen at least 10 volts with normal non dealership license plates cruising around metro detroit already. (15 or so if you include the D and M (dealer and manufacturer) plates) but the majority are customer cars already.... MI seems to be in full swing delivering volts to early order customers.

All CTF cars have regular Michigan Plates. There have been hundreds of them out and about for months now.

Michigan just had it's first Volt delivery. A big article in the Free Press this week.