Chevy Volt Makes "Worst Product Flops of 2011" List
 

Not saying whether I agree or disagree (frankly I have mixed feelings), but I thought this article might be of interest to the community:
The Worst Product Flops of 2011 - Yahoo! Finance

The Chevy Volt made the list of "Worst Product Flops of 2011". I've quoted the section on the Volt below:

I see the Fiat 500 made the list too...

Obviously efficiency is not the done thing for the USA masses at the moment..

This is clearly a biased article from a "journalist" with an agenda. They choose to list sales for July, when the plant was shut down and when the volt had very very limited availability (7 states). The volt did not go full national until November. First year sales were grater than that of the US launch of the Prius.. The fires are mostly media hysteria but clearly there is an agenda here to bash efficient cars.

In comparison US new just ranked he 2012 volt the #1 upscale midsize car

Best Upscale Midsize Cars Rankings | U.S. News Best Cars

(The volt moved up from #2 position in 2011.)


Also ran across this, article last week.
IIHS Sticks By Volt Safety Rating: No Pack Issues After Crash Tests
IIHS Sticks By Volt Safety Rating: No Pack Issues After Crash Tests

Together these may help reduce some of the silly hysteria and negative articles, though the FUD does seem organized and relentless.

And to put things into perspective here are some of the Volt's other awards

Vehicle awards

• 2009 Green Car Vision Award by the Green Car Journal
• 2011 North American Car of the Year at the 2011 North American International Auto Show.
• Motor Trend 2011 Car of the Year
• Automobile Magazine 2011 Automobile of the Year
• MotorWeek 2011 Driver’s Choice Best of the Year
• Car and Driver 10 Best for 2011
• 2011 Edison Award
• Highest-rated compact for 2011 J.D. Powers and Associates APEAL Study
• 2012 Car of the Year in Denmark
• Consumer Reports rates Volt #1 in Owner Satisfaction
• Named “2011 Collectible Car of the Future” by Friends of the National Automotive History Collection (NAHC)[/li]

Environmental awards

• 2009 Environmental Grand Prize awarded at the 2009 Festival International Automobile
• 2011 World Green Car announced at the 2011 New York Auto Show
• 2011 Green Car of the Year awarded by Green Car Journal
• MotorWeek 2011 Best Eco-Friendly
• Chicago Auto Show Best Green Vehicle[/li]

Technology awards

• Ward’s AutoWorld 10 Best Engines for 2011
• SAE 2011 Best Engineered Vehicle
• Top Michigan Innovation in 2011
• Edmunds 2011 Green Car Breakthrough Award
• Poplistar Mechanics 2010 Breakthrough Technology
• Poplistar Mechanics Top 10 Vehicles Award for Technology
• Poplistar Mechanics Editor’s Choice Award for OnStar MyLink for Volt[/li]

Mobile Application awards

• Poplistar Science Best of What’s New 2010
• Consumer Electronics Show’s “Top Products” Award for OnStar MyLink for Volt Mobile Application[/li]

Safety acknowledgements

• Top Safety Pick by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Five-star overall vehicle score
• Euro NCAP Five stars (out of five) in all categories[/li]

I agree, horrible journalism and/or agenda based writing. As mentioned the Volt was not only not for sale in the vast majority of the states for nearly the whole year, but it was also restricted by manufacturing capacity for part of that too.

I thought that part of the reason that the Volt was sold out was that some of the parts (like the transmission) are sourced from Japan and Japan had that little natural disaster that shut down exports.
I'm glad to the media has latched on to the Volt starting on fire too, oh right, it only caught on fire after being run in to and flipped over in crash testing then improperly put in to storage for 2 months! number that caught on fire in normal use due to a fault of the car? zero.

The Volt seems to be rather polarizing. Most people either love it or hate it. I think a big part of it is the US government involvement in both GM in general and the Volt in particular. Those who disagree potically with the government involvement tend to have a very negative view of the Volt. And, conversely, I think those who are fans of the Volt tend to have a more positive view of the government involvement. I think it's really hard to be objective about it.

Note: I'm NOT trying to start a discussion about the politics of the government involvement--just pointing out that it certainly affects people objectivity concerning the vehicle.

Well, at lest they didn't rate is worse than the padded bra for 8 year olds. :P

I can imagine the marketoids going: "Hmm, no one could possibly need padding more than those who have no tits at all!"

No, more like stupidly designed ****boxes. The 500 is a stupid chick car with bad fuel economy and no interior space. The Volt is an overweight science experiment.

rofl

The 500 could easily get 60mpg+, especially city, if it used a more modern drivetrain as opposed to a revamped 1970's engine. Aeromod the rearend a tad and even more. The sad part is the 500 usually gets better MPG than the Mini cooper but no one bashes the Mini Pooper either which I fail to understand. (it too should get 50+)

US cars usually get crippled, at least in Europe you get a choice of engines and can get a 6sp manual.

The VOLT is a perfectly good car, its just too darn expensive, just like a good number of other new cars, what the heck is up with $60k suburbans?

Why should it? Its not any smaller than the average economy car, and its rated accordingly.

I don't agree with that statement, I haven't talked to anyone who likes the governments involvement in GM and I think I have more friends then most people who like electric cars and who have electric cars.
What I don't like is "news" stories that ignore facts, people who own the Volt seem to like it and feel that it was worth spending the money on and worth waiting for and from what I've read there aren't any reasons why people don't like it, aside from cost and fear mongering.

The VOLT is a perfectly good car, its just too darn expensive,

Really....lol..........may we can get the governemt to underwrite it..........oh, they already do......and It's stilll too expensive!

Then it'e not a perfectly good car........

Okay, but I know some folks who would agree with governemnt "sponsorship" of the Volt (incentives, subsidies, purchases, etc.) because they feel like EV's such as the Volt are an important step towards a cleaner environment as well as greater energy security. In addition, they feel like it's the government's role to promote those 2 things. That's what I meant by folks who like the Volt viewing the government involvment more positively.

Also, keep in mind that this article was in Yahoo Finance, so I think the designation of "Flop" had more to do with the business side of the car (cost, sales, marketing--including public perception, etc.) than the technical performance of it.

Well, it still out sold the number of Prius' when it first came out, and look where that lead. Hopefully we have another hit on our hands, but its not gonna happen in one year. To say it has failed is extremely short sighted.

Ever been in one? Ever drove one?

There's one in my family, it averages over 45mpg easily..

It drives well, and is a decent size, not a "stupidly designed . . box". As for interior space, again, ever been in one? They are not that small.

As for the Volt, i agree with you on that.

Really?

Batteries are heavy. Therefore, EVs are generally heavier. Nobody expected otherwise with the Volt.

Hybrids were a small stepping stone in the right direction. The Volt takes it one giant step further. Each step will get better, and I am looking forward to it.

At least with the people I talk to there is little argument that the only reason that electric vehicles should get any tax credits or any kind of government help is because big oil gets government help and if we are going to make gasoline cheap by dumping our tax dollars in to it then we should do the same with things that compete with crude oil based fuels, but most people that I talk to seem to agree the correct plan of action would be to cut off the government money that we are give oil companies so that everything is fair.

Exactly, nothing mini about a car that is the same width as a suburban.

Mini - Somewhere the point was lost.

My cobalt averages 45mpg easily as well, don't get me wrong, the 500 isn't a bad car, it just let down a lot of the folks looking for a true replacement to the original 500 FE and all.

We were hoping some Euro goodness would rain down, instead we get one motor choice and the choice between an obsolete 5sp and an auto.

The 500 and the Mini are cute novelty cars and place looks over utility.

I was in school (Automotive Tech) just before this car came out. We had a substitute for a week and he happened to be a master tech at the GM dealer across the road. When the GM reps brought the Volt to the dealership so the techs could see what they'd be working on soon, our sub decided to have it brough over to our tech college. I got a chance to drive the Volt around the parking lot for a bit (April 2011). I would not buy one out of personal preference, being that I hunt, fish, camp, buy/sell motorcycles all the time and it does not make sense for me to own 2 vehicles. However, unlike a Prius (which I hate, for other personal reasons) I love the Volt and think that at the very least it is a step forward for the US auto industry (unless it gets shot down).

Secondly, when I graduated last May, I went to work at a dealership that sold Fiats. Since all the mechanics thought they sucked, and I love the 500, I am now only one of 3 trained Fiat techs in the state. Except for a few computer flashes and a couple of sideskirts not sticking correctly, I have not had to do any major work on a 500. The sport in a manual is a fun little car and most of the ones that come in get between 35 and 40 mpg on our crappy American gas. I'm 5'11 and 280 lbs and have plenty of room to drive.

Same here. I like the idea of the technology, but a 4-door sedan just does not fit my lifestyle at all.