What the f*** happened?

That's major changes from the Concept.

Still isn't bad looking, just doesn't look as much like a sports car as it once upon a time did. Looks like they decided to go more family oriented than two person sports car.

Do you not realize that the concept Volt was created without the aerodynamics of the body as a consideration in the design? The concept was as aerodynamic as a brick and when your trying to get 40 miles on pure electric you can't have that. If you honestly believed that the final version would look like the concept then you have only yourself to blame because very rarely does a production car look like its original concept stage design where all the practical considerations aren't being factored in.

The very narrow window space in the concept car looks like a distorted caricature of a car. Thin strip of glass above a very wide (tall) body.

The doors had to be modified to be transparent at the top to compensate for what I imagine would otherwise be an obstruction to vision. Clear plastic? Scratches and fog/hazing from UV exposure. Glass? No way. Expensive, certainly.

While the concept looks more aggressive with its squarer front fascia, the more flowing rounded production model is likely more aerodynamic and gets rid of the problematic transparent door sections.

Less of a "WTF?" moment than a more practical build.

If you look closely at the concept, it's not a 2 person sports car, it's a 4 door sedan.

Better picture of the concept car:

Dude you do realize that the appeal of the Volt was probably the styling alone. Now that it's become a Chevy-esque Civic this thread might as well be merged with the "ugliest car" thread.



Camero concept is pretty much par with the production. Another thing though, they completely restyled the Volt, took some elements on the concept and slabbed it on an ordinary frame.

Just my opinion anyways.

Well I always knew that those glass doors or whatever that is never had a chance of being in the production car.

Apparently sundayx didn't. The styling needed to be much more aerodynamic to get the range that people would want demand, too.

The concept Volt now looks like a Malibu Volt production car.... So I would say it's a drastic change.

But everybody was in love with the concept car, even pledging to buy one when it's out (both for look and economic reasons). But now, with the final look, I wonder if it will sell as much. It's going to be a $40K Malibu....

I agree that the concept's look was nice and aggressive, but at a larger expense and with reduced mileage per charge due to poorer aerodynamics.

And cost and traveling distance are more important than "uber cool" looks, imo.

It depends on how much money you have and your amount of concern for the environment. Look at most of the celebrities out there, driving their ub3r c00l hummer limos that get 1 mpg just because they can.

Plus, I like the new design, more than the brick-ish concept. The concept certainly looks "futuristic", but that's on purpose to get people hyped about it.

The original design was only two doors, I hadn't seen the actual concept car, so my apologies

The reasons for the change: "The Volt ... had to be redesigned from the ground up to accommodate the hybrid gasoline-electric propulsion system, as well as for aerodynamic reasons, pedestrian safety and other concerns, GM President Rick Wagoner said as the Volt made its much-anticipated debut."

I suspect they heard a lot of complaints about it only getting 40 miles to the single charge, so they added in a flex fuel system which would allow it to act a standard hybrid vehicle after the 40 miles are up. This is an incredible decision because it actually makes this car more practical.

I did. I know the difference between a concept and a production model, and as everyone know, there are many things in concepts that do not go into production. The moulded glass is not my concern, nor the slit windows that does not give any visibility.

I just want to say is, by giving us an absolutely stunning EV concept that supposedly revolutionizes the auto-industry, then giving us a production model that is of no promise, I'm just deeply heart-broken. You know the brick like form is not an aerodynamic concern, they could at least followed a justifyable form from the concept. The Camaro is boxy, the Mustang is boxy, but the fact is they are beautiful and offer good performance.

Anyways simply put, IMO the concept is beautiful and the production Volt is fubar.

I actually like the newer version better... I hear the new cobalt (won't be named that) is going to take on a similar apperance.

Me too.

The Camaro and the Mustang are not concerned with fuel or energy efficiency either. Part of what makes a hybrid car efficient is that they are (usually) very aerodynamic as well. Want an electric sports car? Buy a Tesla.

So you're saying they completely ruined the only selling point of this car? You're also saying they added their ridiculous flex fuel system (face it the mileage on those engines are terrible), also adding weight, which would have the same effect on the electric running distance the old shape had.

Way to go you idiots. I keep hoping the american car industry will pull itself up, but things like this reafirm to me it won't.

What did you imagine to be the "only selling point"? Was it the look? Or was it the electric? The glass on the doors?

The Volt is still 100% electric for short commutes (more than I drive back and forth to work). It has the capability to burn gas to give you a longer range. Both sound like solid sell points. It has E85 "flex" capability. You can use ethanol gas, or regular (if you are opposed to E85).

I guess the choice of criticism would be "short range electric only", or "adding extra weight to allow extended driving over the rated 40 miles". Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

The look was the only real selling point to the volt. The flex fuel engines are VERY inefficient for both ethanol gas and regular gas. Why not just stick in a regular gas engine? It'll get better mileage than the flex. Not to mention the fact the engine seals aren't holding up very well for people who switch between ethanol and regular gas...

It still looks better than the Prius, IMO.

It's not in the same league. The Volt is closer to the Toyota Camry in size.

I like the design too. I think this is a huge step toward environment friendly vehicles.

-Spenser

Ahh, Chevy, while Honda preps its next generation Civic, they're still copying the current gen.

haha wow does that look like an Acura!

Still a nice car though wish it success

What? The current gen Civic Hybrid is 100% electric (for about 40 miles) with the gas engine only there to recharge the battery?

Did not know that....

I've never been a huge fan of American cars...but I'm actually digging this design. Moreso, the interior electronics seem pretty ahead of their time. Pity the rest of the console is cheap plastic...but I suppose they need to reap some sort of healthy profit margin on these

Props to Chevy for trying out some real innovation.

What's the actual retail on this supposed to be...last I heard it was like $40k for the initial release? Is that correct?

According to this Business Week article:So I guess $40k falls in that category. But so does $140k

Toyota Unhappy About Proposed $7,500 Tax Credit for Chevy Volt

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=12980


SO, now that GM is able to put out a better vehicle than the Prius, Toyota is not happy about the tax credit proposed....

Interesting, but it seems that (from the article you posted) the committee has plans to offer a $7,500 tax credit for light-duty plug-in electric vehicles that feature a 6 kWh or larger battery for propulsion.

The Chevy Volt has a 16 kWh battery pack. The Prius, 1.3 kWh.

It looks like Chevy well exceeds the point planned by the government, and the Prius is well under it.

have you seen the interior?
looks like a cheap ipod chinese plastic thing! (the centre console i mean)
for a company thats betting everything, you think they would have spent some time on the interior

This is the best inside photo I can find of the Volt...


Got any better pics, 'cause that pic isn't good enough to judge IMO.

the appeal of an electric car is not the style.

the Prius proves that point so much




either way, 40K is to much, sucks that all the manufactures put the price point of the hybrids/electric's out of reach of the common person. why i personally dont see US comming off its dependancy on oil, not many monetarily viable options

To the majority non-environmentally conscious public, the style should be it's appeal. Would you buy a Prius or a Tesla Roaster disregarding it's environmental performance?

It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being environmentally friendly. Some people also care about their wallets and with gas prices, driving back and forth to work without using an ounce of gas can be huge savings.

From where I live to work is about 10 miles, so I'd only use 20 miles a day of the 40 miles on a single charge. So if I didn't go anywhere else in that car, I'd never have to fill up. I spend roughly $720-1000 on gas right now, if I needed a larger car for a family then I'd be spending the average most likely (which is $1500-2000).

Grant it, this car, when it first comes out, will not allow people to save much (first adopters will probably only be eco-nuts and the rich), but as the price drops, people aren't going to care about the looks as long as they're saving money.

Look at how many people have a Prius now days. Most people think the Prius is ugly, yet it is the top selling Hybrid. The Camry is much better looking and it comes in a Hybrid (and isn't much more than a Prius). Why do people flock to it? Because it gets 50+ MPG (based on personal driving styles, but I get on average 52MPG).

Regardless, I don't see what's wrong with the production ready Volt? It looks like any other modern day car.

Exactly. More up-front, yielding savings longer-term.

To look just at the sticker is a bit myopic, in my opinion.

It's 40K because its got a 10000-15000 battery pack + an turbo charged 1.3L engine + the rest of the car...

Given time... those battery packs will become cheaper. Its the first step in getting a completely electric car mass produced... and just like with everything else... manufacturing becomes more efficent and less costly.. in time

I bet in 5-10 more years this technology will make it into other cars that are more people can afford.

I take it back about the engine... looks like its a 1.4L N/A 4-Cyl instead of the 1.0L 3Cyl Turbo

@ wikipeida

The volt is not worth it. It will Not save you any money when it costs $40,000. That car is the price of two corollas. You could save more money buy buying a yaris or honda fit and using the rest of your money for the gas.

I don't have anything against it.... I just don't like look of these environmentally friendly vehicles, Prius for one, Volt for another. I thought the concept Volt would have a turn-around, guess not. Perosnal opinion.

IMO these cars need to happen.. as shocks said with time everything comes down in price and the technology increases 2-3 fold at the same time.

The only question I have about this car me being a Japanese auto buff. Is the reliability..

Yeah because the Yaris and Fit are of the same size and comfort level than the Volt. Tons of people pay $40K for their cars right now. I would not mind having a $40K car that don't use any gas when I go to work. For me, it's a nice saving. And I don't really care about the environment, I care a little bit more about my wallet. I admit, the prototype Volt looked much better than the production, but if you compare it to the Toyota Camry or even the Chevrolet Malibu, the Volt look really nice.

What's the price of the Toyota Camry Hybrid? Yeah, close to $40K and still drink gas to run....

The first picture is a really good looking car, the second one looks FAR too much like the Honda Civic weird bubble s***ty thing (The Type-R)

In all fairness to Toyota, the Camry Hybrid starts at $26K, so not close to $40K.

To all the people saying it will come down in price after a while: No, it won't. It might actually get more expensive unless they find something better than the lithium batteries. Why? The majority of the world's lithium is in the salt flats in Bolivya, which will NOT get mined.

People also seem to think that running on electricity is free gas. We save ~$40 a month in our 2 bedroom apartment from just switching to compact fluorescent lighting from incandescent (yes the woman's bad at leaving lights on, she can sleep with them on...). I would hate to see the electricity bill from charging a car every day. I bet it would cost more than the gas I would use actually...

Not according to Wikipedia: "Chile is currently the leading lithium metal producer in the world, with Argentina next. Both countries recover the lithium from brine pools. In the United States lithium is similarly recovered from brine pools in Nevada."

According to an estimate, lithium is the 33rd most abundant element.

The price will come down.

It will still be cheaper than gasoline. Those batteries will auto charge themselves when pressure isn't applied to the gas pedal as it does in Toyota's hybrid vehicles, so most likely you won't actually have to charge as much as you think. Of course that depends on your driving style.

yes, largest PRODUCING, not HAS THE LARGEST QUANTITY.

In a car as gutless as this will be, I'd be pedal to the metal.

OK, typing in large letters really is intimidating.

So Bolivia has 2,700,000 tonnes in reserve.

Argentina, Chile, China has 3.6 million tonnes in reserve.

And no one knows for sure how much is really out there. Some have put the number at 35 million tonnes.

I Like the Production version better