Yup, every time I saw Volt, I am the one passing. They do drive slow (to beat EPA 35 miles EV range?).
4 times so far (that I could remember). 2 times, I was in the HOV lane (Volt doesn't qualify). The other 2 times after the HOV lane ended. I don't drive "fast". I do have to drive above the speed limit in order to not piss off drivers in the HOV lane. That means 10 to 15 mph above the 55 limit. Once the HOV lane end, the traffic congestion is 15-40 mph. That's when my MPG gets boosted. I am averaging 52 MPG. My 2006 has 153k miles on it.
Even at its most inefficient, it is still more efficient than a volt. And better looking than the one I saw... Yeesh.
my first Volt sighting in the wild at Olympic Gateway Park, 14th and Jefferson in downtown Olympia using one of the 8 blink chargers there
You trade the Prius because with the short supply you and the dealer will or did get top dollar on the exchange and resell. The Prius might have also been the only car in the house and you don't need two. Of the 350 traded for the Volt how many were older Gen II's? What's being traded in for the Prius v is just as important as it will easily out sell the other two. I can see people moving from SUV/van and Prius to Prius v and Volt/Leaf with the Leaf being preferred for price and range.
Oh boy. The Volt isn't the most attractive car ever but we'll just have to agree to disagree on that point.
Ironically, whenever I see a prius ahead I always make a point of getting up next to him, letting him get a good look, then shooting off for the horizon. Yeah I know its petty, but its fun.
I'd say the Ampera is miles above the Volt in terms of overall styling, but my comment was directed more at the idiot dealer (I hope GM didn't do this themselves) who put giant vinyl stripes across it sideways. It looked awful. Similarly I wouldn't want to be in a PiP with all the vinyl "hey look at me I'm a plugin" promo stuff.
Ah. Missed that. The demos have giant "VOLT" graphics on them. The only Tesla Roadster I've seen had a plug/cord graphic on the rear quarter panel. I thought that looked terrible too. The Ampera picture you posted is the only one I've seen that I actually liked. I don't think those wheels (they look like 18") are offered though. The Volt grill continues to assault my eyes and I have considered buying a new insert and painting it something darker to be less prominent. BMW is the only company who manages to pull off "corporate beak" IMHO. Everyone else should just let it go... A production Ampera:
GM lets dealers sell demo Chevy Volts to meet 2011 sale’s targets! GM lets dealers sell demo Chevy Volts to meet 2011 sale’s targets - Hybrid Cars and Plug-in Vehicles - Hybridcarblog
Still not sure they will hit 10K, but this is confirmation that GM has not been able to produce as many volts as they want to make. Confirmation of production problems. They may get it ramped up in december or january, we will see.
It could well just mean - some dealers are cribbing that they can't sell the demo. Trust marketing to put a +ve spin on everything.
I live in one of the initial cities. They are selling a lot of volts here, and people have come from far away. The demo vehicles have big ugly stickers on them. GM was successfully used them to draw people in to buy other cars. If they didn't have production problems I'm sure they would want to keep that demo on the lot to draw people in to switch, but getting numbers for the volt up at the end of the year seems more important. I still don't think they will hit 10K.
FWIW, I live in the SF Bay Area which is one of the initial launch markets and I've seen a whopping 1 Volt the whole time since I moved back here in late July 2011. I don't see Leafs that often here but I see them WAY more often than I see Volts.
There were two driving to work from my neighborhood, just on my morning run today. Leaf's are rare here, but the first one made it, and there were 5 I think they brought in for the livestrong event. I have only seen one local one other than Lance's that Nissan gave him. I'm sure it will sell here, but nissan hasn't allocated.
Need some perspective? 40,640 Prius were sold last month, US & Japan combined. Think about what will happen next year when the new models become commonly available. .
