Question: What’s the only thing that takes longer than charging a Chevy Volt? Answer: Selling all 10,000 Volts they’ve committed to build.
The latest sales figures tell a common liberal morality tale: They come up with some wacky socialist scheme and attempt to force it down the gaping gullets of the American people. In the unfortunate case of the Volt, it doesn’t look like even the most liberal of environmental lunatics will spend their own money on it.
The Washington San Francisco Examiner explains:
Peruse Chevrolet’s February sales release, and you’ll notice one number that’s blatantly missing: the number of Chevy Volts sold. The number — a very modest 281 — is available in the company’s detailed data, but it certainly isn’t something that GM wants to highlight, apparently. Keeping the number quiet is a bit understandable, since it’s lower than the 321 that Chevy sold in January.
Note that it’s also lower than the 326 that sold in December. There are about 9,200 left to sell.
326 sold in December. 321 sold in January. 281 sold in February. Please allow us to use those sales figures to extrapolate a projected sales chart for the rest of 2011.
Yes, you’re reading the chart correctly. At the rate sales are plummeting, zero Volts will be sold in September leaving Government Motors with about 7,000 oversized door stops.
Source: San Francisco Examiner
{ 176 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
@ David Bishop,
While there is electrical generation during braking, it is actually energy RECOVERY. You are partialy recovering the energy you used to attain the speed you are now slowing down from. Normaly, this energy is converted to thermal energy and the heat is dissapated to the atmosphere. The logic behind you comment indicates perpetual energy. That, sir, is a no go.
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
You ignored the post I was responding to. He said there is no “hybrid” vehicle that you didn’t have to occasionally charge.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
1 
11
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
1 
11
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
9 
0
Great until it catches on fire!
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
8 
0
Volt lover. What is the main source of your electricity? It’s a green source, of course? Wind, solar? Enquiring minds want to know.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
8 
0
Probably a coal-fired power plant.
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
Nice stats.. pricey vehicles though
Controversial. What do you think?
7 
1
So tell me, how did you determine the KW hours it took to charge your Volt? I would like to see the formula.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
2 
11
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Controversial. What do you think?
7 
1
Not many people keep a car seven years so the payback will not be realized in most cases. Battery disposal is still an unsolved long-term problem. Bottom line is you may like the Volt but the market rejected it. The market is rational.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
4 
9
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
11 
2
So, I guess you missed the story about the Volt catching on fire days after an accident? Or the stories about the toxic waste generated when manufacturing these batteries? How about the stories about the crash test statistics on small cars?
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
11 
1
I always like the big fact they all ignore…. IF we’re all on electricity to power our vehicles at the same time were getting rid of all our power plants….. Where does that leave us in 5 years? Paying more for electricity than we’re paying per gallon of gas atm.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
13 
2
Not to mention, that if you think California had rolling blackouts before, wait till they are all trying to charge their cars!
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
9 
0
TeeHee, they will be getting exactly what they asked for and are too dumb to know it.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
15 
2
Sunny, the people pushing this crap don’t believe they will be effected by things like rolling blackouts & massive energy price hikes. Yes, they don’t want to add real energy to our economy, & they are shutting down power plants, stopping new ones from being built, & pushing for fake green BS energy that will never happen. They won’t let us drill for oil, & want to stop natural gas production. That’s on top of our power grid needing a major overhaul in improvements as we are now. America cannot afford the Chevy Volt, & America does’nt want it. Now America needs to punish those who are trying to impose these pieces of crap on us. Get rid of anyone politically who has been pimping hard at all costs, & start investigating those who seem to be buying them for political purposes. I smell me some lawbraking here. Kickbacks, payoffs, whatever, something stinks, & it’s on all sides of the Volt.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
4 
9
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
14 
1
You are trying to compare watermellons to alfalfa seeds. There are literally 10′s of millions of Fords, Jeeps, Hondas and BMW’s on the highways and the very few fires reported have involved a crash or poor maintainence procedures.
That’s ok though, I’m sure I will love electric cars. We are installing electrical outlets in our gas station so folks can charge the batteries, for a small fee of $5.00 per minute. Buy the gas, it’s 60 miles to the next station, or pay for the power, either way I’ll make a buck and nobody can say we are not a “green” friendly service station.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
13 
0
$5 a minute? but….but…..but…. that’s more expensive than gas per minute…… That cant be right. /snark if you couldn’t tell
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
12 
0
Or, to quote the punk-ass in chief:
“Under my administration, energy prices would necessarily skyrocket”
The only true statement he ever made.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
0 
14
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
13 
0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlTxGHn4sH4
Skip to 30 seconds in or so to get to the quote. right from the horse’s ass.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
11 
0
Typical libtard. Asks for proof and when he gets it, he runs and hides because he looks like a fool!
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
11 
0
All too easy.
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
I have people deny that he said that all the time. I love rubbing their ignorant little noses in it.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
10 
0
Libtards HATE the truth , while conservatives hate being lied to. Works evertime . Pretty basic.
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
That is truth.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
14 
0
Chevy Volt, the Ford Pinto of the new millenium.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
2 
14
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
12 
0
Run away little boy, you’re outclassed here.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
7 
0
Actually the sales were dismal long before the fires made the news. They have always been dismal. You’re free to make up facts but we will continue to point out the fallacies.
Like or Dislike:
5 
0
“Yes, a battery leaking three weeks after a crash test is exactly like a gas tank being poorly designed so that impacts from behind would break the gas tank and spill the fuel.”
The difference is that gasoline doesn’t automatically burn when it is combined with its oxidizer like the lithium ion battery does.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
1 
11
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
9 
0
Thank you for freeing up the gas. We are so appreciative that you are allowing us a surplus of fuel with which we can oppress the peoples of Tibet and build up our country. We hope that Obama will not work to cut gax taxes, fees and government intervention that has driven up American’s costs so high so that we can continue our path to world domination through the well meaning efforts of useful fools like you. We hope that the hypergolic reaction that occurs when the lithium ion in your battery and the air around it come together do not blow up in your face. If we are to build a strong empire it will be largely through the help of useful idiots like you.
Sincerely yours
China
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
9 
0
I seriously doubt that. they are looking at the clown who spent $40K ($35K with government subsidy) on a car that would be $25K without the batteries and electric motor. What they are really doing is laughing their asses off while they calculate how long it will take for you to recover the premium you paid through gas savings.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
9 
0
First thing you gotta do is decide if you’re getting the 130 mpg your name implies or the 150 mpg your comment claims.
Second thing you gotta do is realize that people are looking at you more intently now because they didn’t know morons could get drivers licenses.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
9 
0
Where are these gas lines of which he speaks?
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
9 
0
At the taco trucks?
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
8 
0
COSTCO
always a damn line at costco (yes, a first world problem)
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
11 
0
I don’t know of any gas lines but there are plenty of unemployment lines around the nation.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
9 
0
The reason people are staring at you is that they are hoping your car bursts into flames after you are out of range of the gas pumps.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
0 
11
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
11 
0
You probably used to get 150 mpg, but then they started selling 10% ethanol in all gas stations and that explains the nearly 15% drop in fuel economy. (150-15%=127.5)
What the government forgot to tell you is that the 10% greenhouse gas reduction from using ethanol, when you factor in the 15% reduction in mileage, equals a net 5% INCREASE in greenhouse gasses, and the gas costs more.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
10 
0
Psssst, ask Volt Boy what he’s going to do with all of those toxic batteries.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
0 
13
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
11 
0
Thanks for destroying me with your racist hate machine of imperialist oppression. Everytime one of those batteries are made to run your douchebag car a small little piece of me dies. Also it kills the tax payer a good deal too when they have to subsidize the cost of your $250,000.00 go cart with the forty mile range. So rage on at the expense of the environment, the tax payers and the people of Tibet. Dudebra.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
9 
0
Gee mr Volt lover, what a great car you have!
Look at the list of the 12 greenest cars for 2012, the Volt didn’t make the list!!!
http://www.greenercars.org/highlights_greenest.htm
BTW, talk about fuel economy, the Stupid (Smart) Car only uses premium gas according to this chart! Nice and economical, isn’t it?
Like or Dislike:
5 
0
That doesn’t work for most of America, Mr. Voltlover.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
0 
11
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
0 
11
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
11 
0
Your mpg claim is flawed math. As soon as one depletes his charge he’s simply driving a government subsidized mid-sized Chevrolet sedan. Big deal.
For the record, I think you are full of shit and couldn’t afford any new car.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
10 
0
Thanks for saddling me with subsidizing the $250,000.00 price tag for your douche-bag go-cart with the 40 mile range. Hippie welfare . . . what is next? Am I going to have to buy your apple computer and Phish concert tickets for you as well. Maybe it is time I started hiding my money under the soap because that is probably the last place you’d look
Like or Dislike:
5 
0
Or under your work boots.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
0 
10
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
0 
10
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Like or Dislike:
4 
0
You give yourself too much credit. There are much more annoying libtards than you here.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
1 
10
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
7 
0
As a first responder, don’t count on us to help you in a crash, burning lithium kills quickly, drive carefully or you’ll be among the many dead volt lovers….been a few already
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
Have they come out with a chemical that puts out burning lithium?
Like or Dislike:
5 
0
Yes, but the chemical kills everything in sight, on contact. The EPA plans on mandating it’s use soon.
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
More flawed math.
34+9=43 that’s 7.5% more than the stated range of the vehicle from the manufacturer, which is generally an exaggeration.
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
Yeah, Rage on with the $250,000.00 subsidy you stole from me. D-bag!
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
Bye Bye Spark!!!
Chevy suspends production of the Volt just days after Obama talks about how great it is!
GM blames the media for low sales.
1300 workers laid off.
Billions of taxpayer dollars lost, AGAIN!
Let’s keep supporting green companies…….NOT!!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/03/business/gm-suspends-production-of-chevrolet-volt.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
http://news.yahoo.com/gm-suspends-production-electric-volt-233857613.html
http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/02/3779743/business-briefs-general-motors.html
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
0 
8
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Like or Dislike:
4 
0
And the delusion continues!
FOX news didn’t say they loved the car, some media guy from Texas that doesn’t work for FOX said it.
Doocey said it was a cool car. So what? The Yugo was a cool car when it first came out too.
One FOX personality saying it is a cool car doesn’t mean all FOX reporters and opinion people changed their minds.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/03/business/gm-suspends-production-of-chevrolet-volt.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
http://news.yahoo.com/gm-suspends-production-electric-volt-233857613.html
http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/02/3779743/business-briefs-general-motors.html
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
9 
0
From Bloomberg:
In March, GM sold 2,129 Volts to retail customers and 160 to fleet customers, Batey said yesterday during a conference call. Volt has a starting price of $39,145, not include a tax credit of $7,500, GM’s website said. The automaker is advertising monthly lease prices as low as $349 for 36 months.
I don’t hate the Volt per se. I object to a nationalized car company being picked as a “winner” by the BHO administration. The car is overpriced for a compact sedan. To offset that, I, as a tax payer, contribute to a $7500 subsidy for people who economically do not need one. Further, the market for the Volt is so weak despite high gas prices that they are tapping a hugely subvented lease payment in order to move them. $349 per month means that GM is buying down the rate and propping up the residual to arrive at that payment assuming a cap cost of $40,000.
I would not be ringing the bell on 2129 retail sales. That sucks!! How do I know? because according to Bloomberg, there is still a 61 days supply of cars on the ground despite several weeks of zero production.
Enjoy your car and remember you already spent a ton of money on gas when you overpaid for a compact sedan. That detail seems to escape your notice. I would argue that it will take several years to recoup $10,000 – $15,000 in price premium no matter how high gas goes.
Like or Dislike:
3 
2
Spieckerman makes some good points.. shifting to coal–via proxy of electricity–which we have in great abundance, is a sound component of an energy strategy..
Like or Dislike:
4 
0
Then Obama cuts electricity production, shutting down coal powered plants, the cost of electricity skyrockets, rolling brownouts, etc. Then what do you do with your electric powered brick?
Like or Dislike:
5 
0
That is a seriously under reported reality.
Like or Dislike:
1 
1
even WND says (just days ago) that existing coal plants aren’t affected by new emissions regulations, just new ones.
Might as well burn as much coal as we can. I’d prefer that to bleeding billions out for foreign oil. If we could squeeze liquid fuel out of coal cheaply enough, i’d say go for it, but I’m thinking electricity wins out.
Sure they gotta bring the price of batteries down. I’d also like to see cost of securing our foreign oil supplies go down too
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
7 
0
Batteries are very expensive and very hard to properly dispose off after they have been exhausted. This is not the long-term answer to private transportation.
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
I view it as an engineering problem, like most others (even hydraulic fracturing falls in this category, given certain constraints: e.g. water tables, etc..)
My neighbor is a materials scientist and PhD candidate, and while his work involves nanoscale hydrolyzing membranes or some such shit, he is absolutely assured of some game changing development in auto battery tech within the decade..
The stuff his company is involved in is just beyond me (helps that he’s 10 years younger)–they are poised to ramp up hydrogen production efficiency by a whole order of magnitude. I point this out to counter charges that he’s locked in an ivory tower. He works and has kids to feed like i do.
My faith in R&D is absolutely f-king blind. However, my faith in our ability to subsidize the transaction cost of the global oil market is fraying. We hardly ever factor that in. We secure dangerous markets for China, Russia, et al.. at great cost to taxpayers
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
7 
0
I agree with every word of your post. My issue with the Volt is far more related to the government subsidization at the expense of tax payers and other auto manufacturers. The government does not innovate it eliminates competition. The battery problems will be solved but in the meantime millions of dirty expensive batteries are being produced and their disposal issues and costs are being aborbded by tax payers.
Like or Dislike:
4 
0
That is a fair point. It is a massive dirty battery experiment subsidized by taxpayers, with a bit of social engineering thrown in for good measure. I might argue that the calculation involves getting a fleet on the road–both in order to flush out issues, and to proselytize a larger number of consumers. Taken by itself, the Volt is an iteration which generally involves subsidizing the costs of those well-to-do who don’t really need the assistance. However i’m reminded of similar subsidies, at far greater scale, going to entire industries involving many more zeros (naked Oil subsidies being a tangled one, for instance).
The proselytism itself garners much variation in response, however. I can dig that. I’m willing to be creeped out to a certain degree, if we end up drastically reducing our need to buy (and secure) oil from otherwise hostile nations
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
I look at the Volt as being a government program, and I rarely see any of those working out well.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
1 
9
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
8 
0
“People like you…” In the case of Sidekick, you’re talking about someone makes a living working for auto manufacturers. I’d wager that he’s forgotten more about this stuff than you can ever hope to know.
Rated Awesome! What do you think?
7 
0
Yea, I think if I want facts about cars, I’d be asking sidekick instead of a libtard.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
0 
8
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
I agree poppa, and for an avionics tech, you ain’t too shabby yourself. I find it ironic as hell this came from the Green Lady herself;
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/business/energy-environment/for-hybrid-and-electric-cars-to-pay-off-owners-must-wait.html
I’m just a raging, bitter clinger here, but didn’t the NYT of all places just validate everything sidekick just said? 27 years?
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
That link came from google, shouldn’t be a log-in page, wuwt?
Like or Dislike:
5 
0
That is an article that will be ignored by dolt lover.
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
I’m still looking for the Dolt Lover to tell me how he expects his Dolt is going to last 27 years, and who’s going to subsidize the cost of his battery replacement, including disposal of the old ones.
Like or Dislike:
6 
0
It’s cheaper to do what I do, keep a car for about forever. Not only that it’s actually greener because power and resources aren’t being used to create a car, ship the car, the insurance is cheaper and I have a $0 car payment. My current ride has about 320,000 miles on it and frankly I haven’t spent a ton on it either. If gas goes up I’m still ahead, plus I didn’t suck off the government tit getting rebates, which is about the only way they can sell those shitpiles anyway.
Like or Dislike:
5 
0
I thought I was doing good with my truck at 205,000 miles.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0
And mine only has 174,000. Just getting started. I expect to die owning the same Ford I own now.
Like or Dislike:
4 
0
Here we go again!!!
GM Lithium-Battery Explosion Sparks Fire at Company Test Lab
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-11/gm-lithium-battery-lab-explosion-injures-2-fire-department-says.html
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
1 
7
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Like or Dislike:
3 
0
I’m very happy for you, Dolt Lover. Living in such a LaLaLand must be very nice and peaceful. As a matter of fact, there ARE some people here at IHTM that DO know a few things about cars, most likely quite a bit more than you do. We already know how the E.P.A. estimates mileage, we don’t need you to tell us.
The Dolt DOESN’T sell for $29,000, it sells for $41,000. Your Idiot-in-Chief just managed to get the rest of to pay the difference.
Nobody here said that it was a Dolt battery that exploded, it was just another random battery in the quest to find a good one. Which hasn’t happened yet, but they seem to already be selling cars, (at least a few), regardless of the fact that they are NOT yet ready for public consumption.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
So, 2-1/2 hours later, after more news was available, you are correcting me with info that wasn’t available at the time of the original reports?
I never said that it was a Volt battery, learn to read.
From your article:
First off, reports indicated early on that there were two workers injured and while one was treated locally, the other received life-threatening injuries and was sent to a Detroit hospital. Now that the smoke has cleared, we have learned that there were actually five GM workers injured in the blast with four of them individuals being treated as the scene while the fifth made a trip to a local hospital. However, none of those injuries were life-threatening.
Poorly Rated. Do you Like or Dislike?
0 
3
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0
Car Of the Year awards are not a good basis for judging a vehicle’s worth. The 1991 Chevy Caprice, for example, was Motor Trend Car of the Year. Volt lover, you are twisting yourself into a pretzel defending your little subsidized car. You rationalize to the point of absurdity. Bringing up other subsidized things like foreign auto plants etcetera does not validate or legitimize anything, your tax credit is offset somewhere else – either added to the national debt or paid by others, and your claim of saving money is a farce since the payback time on your car’s price premium is almost 30 years.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
He’s hoping that by that time, it will be considered a classic and qualify for those cool “antique” plates!
Provided it doesn’t blow up, burn up, or fall apart before that.
Like or Dislike:
1 
1
It is a GM product chances are it won’t last 30 years. He probably won’t be able to afford the necessary battery replacements either. The car will become a static display illustrating the “power” of crony capitalism.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
OOPS!!!
Capitol Hill Chevy Volt Hearing: What About All the Other Fires?
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/01/26/Capitol-Hill-Chevy-Volt-Hearing–What-About-All-the-Other-Fires
Like or Dislike:
0 
2
You are so far behind the times! The house fire was put to rest by the fire marshal and the utility company. The Volt did not start the fire. The interior of the car was not burned. in fact, after the article that you allude to was written, it was revealed that the charging station was sending warning messages to Duke Energy.
The fire investigators proved the fire started in another location where gas was being stored. Duke Energy lifted the ban on charging as soon as the Fire Marshal made his report. That was almost a year ago! Catch up!
The two fires at the NHTSA were coolant fires that spread to the battery. Wow. Even Fox News dropped that one a while back.
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/crosstown/dont-blame-chevy-volt-or-home-charger-for-house-fire-duke-and-progress-say-0
That’s not even a nice try.
Payback time 30 years! I think I’ll trust The Kiplinger Investment Group. They’ve been comparing car operating costs long before the Volt came out. I’m already under $30,000 and subtracting $1,800 every year. And why you don’t hate all subsidies is beyond me. You just hate one. That makes you a hypocrite
The Car savvy Europeans named the Volt & Ampera cars of the hear. The first American car ever to receive that award. I am not rationalizing anything. I am pointing out FACTS that that you are not aware of.
Even if the tax credit was a subsidy, each tax payer’s share for my Volt is 4/1000 of a penny. I am spending $100 more every month in the economy. I bet the businesses I visit are happy to see me! If you want your 4/1000 of a penny, give me your address and I’ll try to shave off a fleck and mail it to you. Even if it costs me 11,500 times more to mail it to you.
I think just one carrier group keeping the Straits Of Hormuz open so you can buy your subsidized gas costs you more than my Volt.
← Previous Comments
{ 1 trackback }