04-09-2012, 11:15 AM
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#61 (permalink)
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home of the odd vehicles
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GRU
It's just so much better and easier to buy a small, simple gasoline car with a small engine. If they could only build cars like a 92 civic or a geo metro again, that's all people need.
I just don't believe it's worth buying a hybrid or a ev unless it can be made cheap, with easily available parts.
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I agree but our government and car interests need to keep it difficult for any joe to bring a new car to market.
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04-09-2012, 07:41 PM
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#62 (permalink)
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(:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rmay635703
Suzuki already did and it weighs more and gets less FE.
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I know! They wrecked it! I was thinking of what VW USED to do; something along the lines of build it the way it was except add some rust protection, maybe upgrade the EFI, maybe tweak the interior... |
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04-09-2012, 09:03 PM
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#63 (permalink)
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EcoModding Apprentice
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The Corvette was designed to make a profit from day one. It didn't, and GM almost cancelled it as a result. The Corvette didn't have the benefit of a government-supplied 20% rebate either. I love the Volt. If I could afford one I would have one. I appreciate what GM has done. The Volt and the 'Vette do share one thing besides the Bowtie badge (well, a Corvette doesn't really have one, but I digress): they are extreme performance vehicles. The problem is that extremes of go/stop/turn have appealed to man since the invention of the wheel. Extremes of efficiency, however, are most often a means to the end of saving money. And the Volt doesn't do that very well overall right now. Until it does...
Last edited by payne171; 04-09-2012 at 11:43 PM..
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04-09-2012, 11:23 PM
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#64 (permalink)
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EcoModding Apprentice
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Wow, I have something to think about. I always like to use Edmunds's True Cost to Own as a gauge of the total expense of owning a car. So I did some calculations based on current incentives, etc. Looking at autotrader.com got me to conclude that there are Volts in my area whose Internet price is about MSRP. So a base Volt is 39k plus another 1k for a charger. I have an old Saturn JUST new enough to qualify for $1500 on GM's loyalty program. I also have $1000 on an old GM rewards credit card. Add that to the Volt's current 0% financing. I basically customized the numbers to compare the Volt to my wife's 2009 Nissan Cube (which is a pretty economical car really), and the Volt is competitive. The only downside is that Edmunds assumes you will trade it in. If you dont, it doesnt pay. But still...
Last edited by payne171; 04-09-2012 at 11:44 PM..
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05-01-2012, 12:30 PM
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#65 (permalink)
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Batman Junior
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1,462 Volt sales for April.
A point of comparison: GM sold 1676 Avalanches last month, and announced they are cancelling (not suspending) production. Obviously different considerations, but still interesting.
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06-01-2012, 11:29 AM
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#66 (permalink)
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Batman Junior
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More grist for the mill:
1680 - Volt deliveries in May 2012
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06-02-2012, 01:04 AM
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#67 (permalink)
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EcoModding Lurker
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It seems like everything is slow right now. People are not buying across the board, not just cars. Appliances, whatever, its slow from what I hear and see.
So how do you think that figures in to the Volt being slow? What about GM's other vehicles sales? Are they slow also?
And remember I looked seriously at a Volt, Im not knocking it. I even test drove one. I figure it will pick up sales when the economy starts moving again.
__________________
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I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure .
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06-02-2012, 10:08 AM
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#68 (permalink)
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Master EcoModder
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The Vette had a tough time early on because Ford came along right on it's heels with the T'bird which kicked its ass, sales wise. Fortunately for GM, Ford did what they did with most things back and the day and turned it into a barge, leaving the sports car market to GM all by itself.
As for the disdain some of us feel towards the volt, I think a lot of it comes from the gubmint heavily subsidizing it allegedly because they care so much about the environment, then, turning around and over-regulating the crap out of the industry to keep REAL green vehicles from ever seeing the light of day.
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The Following User Says Thank You to pete c For This Useful Post:
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09-04-2012, 12:40 PM
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#70 (permalink)
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Master EcoModder
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That is only because the availability of the Spark is very poor. My brother ordered a base spark with a stick 6 weeks ago and is still waiting for delivery. They gave him a loaner last week to drive until his car comes in.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG
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