GM: the Chevrolet Volt is dead. Cancelled as of 2019
 

https://ecomodder.com/imgs/volt-moon-discs.jpg

(Img from one of my favourite Volt threads: Photoshop fun: GM Volt with racing disc wheel covers (and fender skirts.. and more!) )

GM has announced the impending closure of a number of North American factories because they don't produce pickup trucks or SUV's.

(Just a matter of time before GM cancels all cars, like Ford has?)

Apparently the Volt is one of the casualties:

From: https://jalopnik.com/general-motors-...olt-1830653844


Here's the 2nd gen Volt:


https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1439675108


From thread: Spotted! 2016 Chevrolet Volt pre-production model. Spied (and sat in) in Toronto

What does ending production usually do to the used vehicle market for those models?

... and I read very positive reviews of it back when the gen II came out. The Prime is one of the best selling plug-in vehicles, so it will have even less competition when the Volt leaves.

Sad. The Volt was a decent car.

Nobody wants a small car. It was a test, plain and simple. The product proved itself as reliable and performed as expected.

Look for the Voltec drivetrain in several GM cars in the very near future.

Equinox primarily, since the buying public want SUV's and trucks more than anything. I am also bullish, perhaps hopeful more than anything, of an electric/hybrid camaro. Big electric power in a camaro that still gets 30+mpg in hybrid mode on the highway would be awesome.

One of my neighbours is basically waiting for GM to do a Volt-like drivetrain in an SUV body.

I hate people.

I wonder why I see all those small Japanese & Korean cars on the roads, then. Not to mention Minis.

I suppose that GM (and the other US automakers) have just switched to a different business model. Instead of simply building ^ selling cars & trucks, they use the uber-expensive trucks and SUVs to get the gullible hooked on 8 year loans. Then when the buyers want a new vehicle after say 5 years, and are under water on the first loan, the friendly dealer financing arm just rolls that into the new loan... And pretty soon they all owe their soul to GMAC :-)

I should rephrase, nobody wants an expensive small car.

They are going to make only trucks and SUVs, gas is going to go back over $3.50 a gallon, everyone is going to freak out, stop buying trucks and SUVs, flood the market with unwanted trucks and SUVs, GM will go bankrupt again.
If it happens while trump is in office, will will not go well for GM.

I have decided I like not buying gas so I'm sticking with electric as much as possible.

Debt is the American way. We've been deciding for a long time that it's better to have now and pay later/never/make someone else pay.

I saw regular gasoline at $3.50 at a station just yesterday (probably a Shell), and I paid $2.74. Probably close to $3.50 in CA now since they are always significantly more expensive.

Anyhow, hate to see the Volt go, but looking forward to whatever becomes of the technology.

Is the L.A. auto show on yet?

I figure the news of the Volt's demise will expedite an announcement about whichever crossover/SUV will be next to get the Volt's tech.

They've sunk billions into R&D of that drivetrain, so there's no way it'll go in the bin. It's just a matter of time to the announcement.

This sez MOAR evs… and those autonomous vehicles WE ARE ALL CLAMORING FOR:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...cid=spartanntp

The only question is: what model name will they give the impending PHEV SUV that rhymes with Volt and Bolt?


Dolt? Molt!

I'm not sure why there is some association between autonomous vehicles and EVs. There isn't a natural relationship between them, as ICE vehicles are equally capable of supporting autonomy.

Jolt!

Dolt! Love it! :thumbup:

The new Chevy Volt shown, it seats 8 has 900 hp and can tow 220,000 lbs
AWD standard

I don't want it unless it has the deployable escalator for the cab and Tommy Lift for the box options... then I'm ALL IN!!! :thumbup:

Maybe it is time to consider Volt running gear in an old Saturn L series car. They are very nice road cars and seat 5, plus they come in a wagon! I even have an extra set of Roadmaster tow bar brackets for one. I need to see if they can be flat towed behind a motorhome.

Maybe the Volt didn't become so much of an icon as the Prius became, and that's why GM is pulling the plug on it. Well, maybe the Voltec drivetrain might appear at least in a fleet version of the Equinox...

Err... Priced a Porsche lately? ($58K for the Boxster, $92K for the 911) Or a BMW Z4? ($49-66K) Mercedes SL? ($89K)

Those companies seem to be doing quite well, in spite of not building pickups. (Well, Mercedes does, but not AFAIK it's not sold in the US,)

Yeah but, low volume. What you really want is high margin, high volume.

Ever put your kids in the back of one of those? ....not quite the same class.


Also, let's not forget the Malibu is not much bigger than the cruze/volt and that hybrid is pretty good.

Not sure if I would ever consider the X-Class a real Mercedes-Benz at all, but anyway, sometimes I think a rumble-seat into some modern roadster would be quite cool, even though not so comfortable to be used regularly.

It's a shame to see the Volt go since it's an awesome vehicle. I've owned both generations and love both, and I'll probably drive this new one til it drops. A couple of weeks in and I haven't used a drop of gas since the drive home from the dealership.

I wonder if the original owners of G1 Insights felt this way when they stopped production :(

Did GM just pass some kind of milestone where they don't have to care any more about their bail-out and/or the environment any more or something?

They are about 10,000 cars away from losing their full rebate and incentive

I've read they have already entered the phase out period, or at least will any day now. It's looking like they won't make it to January to game the phase out rules like Tesla did.

Don't know what the comment about the environment is about. Mary has stated that they are committed to EVs going forward. Not only that, but they are a business, not a government environmental agency. Their job isn't to plant trees and save the polar bears, but to earn a profit for shareholders.

I* don't have kids. Why should I buy a car that can carry around the kids I don't have?

*And if you look at demographics, at any given point in time, the majority don't have kids that need ferrying around. Either they're young and haven't had kids yet, or the kids are grown.

So you'd like to argue that Toyota doesn't make a profit on the Prius? It does: https://www.ft.com/content/146ad23c-...b-00144feab49a Now it may have taken them a decade or more for that profit to show up, but I think that just highlights a major problem with most US companies, not just automakers. They're too focussed on next quarter's results rather than long-term profit.

The comment was specifically about GM, and their Volt. I don't have an opinion on whether they should have continued production of the Volt or end it, as I don't have the relevant data to form such an opinion. However, I tend to think if they want to end production, it isn't profitable. I'm struggling to see how any of that is relevant to the environment, their responsibility to the environment, or repayment of TARP funds. As far as I'm aware, GM has already repaid their obligation to the government for the bail out.

That's my point: GM probably wants to kill the Volt because it's not profitable NOW - short term thinking, in other words. Toyota was willing to spend a decade or more producing an unprofitable_this_quarter Prius because they saw that it (and the continuously-improved technology) was likely be profitable in the long term.

So Toyota can sell the Prius & derivatives profitably now, and when the next gas price hike comes (and it is a case of when, not if), they'll be positioned to take advantage of the increased demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. But GM switches to building big trucks and SUVs because they're more profitable now, so when the price hike hits, their business implodes.

GM already engineered and tested the Voltec drivetrain. Now it can go back on the shelf until it's ready for a vehicle that can turn a profit. That technology is probably pretty close to as good as it gets for now.

Bingo. Proved the technology out and now is poised to be copied into camaro/equinox/malibu/traverse. Aka, GM's money makers. High volume sellers that are very inexpensive to build.

Aaaaaaand, gm has already built a hybrid truck so if/when gas gets expensive again it will take minimal engineering to get a reliable system built into the truck line where literally half of GM's cash flow comes from.

Despite all the talk of failure and low sales GM still did better than the other brands

https://insideevs.com/chevrolet-volt...FwaniZiGYW0hk0

Yeah, it's #3 top selling in the US for a plug-in vehicle currently. Still, I'm not sure if it turns a profit, and if it does, it's very slim. The Prime is outselling despite half the EV range. I wonder which is the better vehicle?

Can you say Volt range anxiety which the prime doesn't have?

It is interesting, however; that they have cancelled the Volt from presumably low profitability. But.... has anyone EVER seen advertising for the Volt?

Having something on the shelf is not the same thing as having it in everyday use, with production lines set up. And "as good as it gets for now" might be pretty antiquated in 5 or 10 years.

Since when does the Volt have range anxiety? Surely the point of the Volt (vs the pure-electric Bolt) is that you can switch to gas when you run out of battery?

What, does the Prime go another 10 miles further than the Volt?

Electric motors don't really get much better over time. Maybe they will go from 95% efficient to 96% efficient with great difficulty, but there isn't much room for improvement.

Batteries are probably nearing a plateau, except perhaps in economies of scale.

That's the thing with EV technology; it's dead simple. The Volt did the difficult thing of perfecting how to blend an ICE engine with electric motors, and it's about as good as you could make it. Pull that off the shelf in 10 years, and you've got just about as good as anything.

The first time gas hit $4 everyone (in my area at least) ran out and bought new Silverados.