Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesqf
You surely must realize that that's entirely irrelevant to the people who'll be buying the first Volts. It's not that we can't AFFORD the gas, it's what burning that gas does to the climate. (Plus the desire to be the first kid on the block with the new tech, etc.)
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No that thought never occurred to me. I don't know of a single person personally that buys a new car based on the climate. The people I know buy new cars based on cost, reliability, cost to drive, expected lifespan, looks, and how well it serves their needs (some need large 4x4 trucks to tow things for example) and many of them choose luxury cars for all of the cool options and the smooth ride, with very little road noise and that sort of stuff.
If your worried about the climate then one needs to factor in their electricity used, see if it's from COAL, and compare it to driving other fuel cars and see which is better. The Volt may very well be a good bet for the climate even if using coal generated electricity.
You make a good point about the customers that like to be the first kid on the block with new technology. That's a big one for sure.
But, at least where I live we have very clean air and nobody ever talks about the climate, (not in the context as you mean) and they certainly don't factor the climate into a new car purchases here (of all the people I have meet here). Thus the selling point with the people I live near would have to be the price/performance ratio, including all fuel and maintenance costs. Then would come the quality of the ride and how the car drives etc.