Cost and demands placed on the owner are two issues facing the Chevrolet Volt, launched officially on Tuesday, according to Edmunds.com.
“There’s no denying the awareness and image boost the Volt has provided to GM over the past few weeks, and given the automaker’s recent history that alone may justify the car’s US$1bn investment,” said senior analyst Karl Brauer.
“It doesn’t take a feature film to understand why GM’s EV1 failed. It can be explained in three words: Nobody wanted one. The Chevy Volt provides a far more capable and practical automotive package than the EV1 but it is plagued by the same two issues: what it costs and what it demands of its owner. Those issues put the Volt at a disadvantage when shopped against cars like the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Toyota Prius or Volkswagen Jetta TDI.”
”One could argue the Toyota Prius was as advanced when it debuted in 2001 as the Volt is for 2011, but understanding and optimising the Volt’s technology will require a much higher degree of driver commitment. Keep in mind that the average USdriver has never even touched, let alone read, his vehicle owner’s manual. Now this same group of buyers is expected to both understand how the Volt works while actively maximising the car’s potential energy efficiency by plugging it in, carefully considering daily driving needs and even engaging specific driving modes for specific circumstances (eg ‘mountain mode’ when scaling a steep pass).
“For technically savvy drivers, these activities will be part of the appeal in owning a Volt. Yet for every driver who revels in the car’s complexities there will likely be thousands who are simply overwhelmed by them.”
“Applied to a broader base of vehicles, the Volt’s technology can have a tremendous impact on US fuel consumption. I’m just not sure that the Volt is that car that will introduce the technology to many people once the early adopters, green-at-any-cost contingent and fleet buyers with big green mandates and incentives are satisfied,” added senior editor John O’Dell.
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By GlobalData“People who are interested should go ahead and give it a try – but as a lease, not a purchase. The $350 monthly lease price makes the Volt a much more manageable item and lets you either get rid of it after three years if you don’t like it or – the more likely scenario – lets you step up to the next iteration. There will be many more models in the market by 2014-2015 when those first leases are up.”