Bye Bye Chevy Volt

[Jerry1]

I wouldn’t argue that GM makes the best cars, but they’re a LOT better than they were in the 80’s. I remember those Pontiac 6000’s and yes, they were a fine example of the crap GM was selling at the time. My FIL was a life time GM worker/retiree and because of that, I’ve always driven GM’s. They’re good cars. I’ve taken a few of them over 150,000 miles and had few issues and still got decent money for them at the end. Again, not trying to change anyone’s mind, but just stating my observation having driven GM’s now for over 30 years.

 

[aja8888]

I wouldn’t argue that GM makes the best cars, but they’re a LOT better than they were in the 80’s. I remember those Pontiac 6000’s and yes, they were a fine example of the crap GM was selling at the time. My FIL was a life time GM worker/retiree and because of that, I’ve always driven GM’s. They’re good cars. I’ve taken a few of them over 150,000 miles and had few issues and still got decent money for them at the end. Again, not trying to change anyone’s mind, but just stating my observation having driven GM’s now for over 30 years.

I've had several of their trucks going back to the 1960's. All were very well made and I drove a couple to over 200K miles with only normal wear items and a few rotating parts replaced.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

We like German build quality and reliability, closely followed by Japanese then Korean cars. Way better than any US made car we have owned or driven, IMHO of course (As an Engineer). We always buy new, and even though the replacement parts cost a lot more than US cars, we have never needed them. Owned German and Japanese cars for the last 20 years. Friends with US made cars of equal caliber are not so lucky. The last US made car we purchased was a costly mistake, never again. Then there is re-sale, US vehicles, especially the more luxury versions that we would like, are no comparison to German & Japanese equivalents. My Neighbor's Hyundai Genesis is an engineering piece of art, I must admit it beats my last Mercedes by leaps and bounds.

Shame diesels are going out of favor as I do prefer those too.

I’m with you. Here are my auto purchases:
1987 Mercedes 260E drove it until.....
2002 Mercedes 320E drove it until.....
2013 Mercedes C300 Sport.......going to leave it in Florida this April and buy a
GLE 400

 

[RAE]

I've had several of their trucks going back to the 1960's. All were very well made and I drove a couple to over 200K miles with only normal wear items and a few rotating parts replaced.

Everyone's experience is different, but my 2004 Chevy Silverado truck was a piece of junk. Soured me on buying any GM products in the future, for sure. By 2008 (and less than 50,000 miles), I had to replace 2 wheel bearings; had the power steering go out (while driving); had to fix a weird vibration issue with the steering column; had to replace brakes (including rotors/calipers) THREE times; and finally, all the electronics went out, including odometer/speedometer, gas gauge, etc.. I talked to the mechanic who fixed the brakes (after the third time), and he showed me the calipers he took off, which were basically rusted so bad there was nothing left of them. Yes, they do use a lot of salt on the roads here in Michigan, but he said that the cheap steel GM used (at that time, anyway) was prone to severe rust damage after just one year. The electronics problem was something they could not even really diagnose or fix properly......the mechanic got them working again temporarily, but he said they could go out again at any time. That was the final straw. I traded it in and got a Toyota Tundra, and have been very happy with it......no serious issues at all for many years now.

 

[aja8888]

Everyone's experience is different, but my 2004 Chevy Silverado truck was a piece of junk. Soured me on buying any GM products in the future, for sure. By 2008 (and less than 50,000 miles), I had to replace 2 wheel bearings; had the power steering go out (while driving); had to fix a weird vibration issue with the steering column; had to replace brakes (including rotors/calipers) THREE times; and finally, all the electronics went out, including odometer/speedometer, gas gauge, etc.. I talked to the mechanic who fixed the brakes (after the third time), and he showed me the calipers he took off, which were basically rusted so bad there was nothing left of them. Yes, they do use a lot of salt on the roads here in Michigan, but he said that the cheap steel GM used (at that time, anyway) was prone to severe rust damage after just one year. The electronics problem was something they could not even really diagnose or fix properly......the mechanic got them working again temporarily, but he said they could go out again at any time. That was the final straw. I traded it in and got a Toyota Tundra, and have been very happy with it......no serious issues at all for many years now.

Yep, there are lemons, for sure. And I agree about the use of less than "titanium quality" for many iron/carbon diagram components. There is built in obsolescence in all these vehicles (all makes). Some are better at lasting than others.

Right now I drive a 1998 Ford F-150 Lariat extended cab pickup and because I now live in south Texas where no salt has ever seen a road surface, the truck has no rust or corrosion of any kind and the paint is still like new (garage kept though).

Like you mentioned, the Toyota trucks are very good. Much better at longevity than U.S. branded ones. In my 35 years in the oil business, I have ridden in all kinds of trucks, and the ones that had the most field miles (upwards of 350K miles) were Toyota Tundras. Just solid long lasting vehicles.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

Within another 10 years, self driving cars, electric most likely and for California mandatory, will be the standard. I imagine within 20 years all new cars will be electric and self driving. The gas powered car is on it's way to extinction.

I have bought 2 Tesla's this year. Range is 235 for one and the other is 310. I've owned 3 BMW's and a Prius. The Tesla's are far superior. I'll never buy an ICE car again.

Interestingly, the Volt had the 2nd highest customer satisfaction rating of all vehicles, per Consumer Reports, with the Tesla model S finishing first. Every Volt owner I ever talked to was very pleased with it.

Also, a comment above mentioned charging times and ranges. VW is installing chargers all around the USA capable of charging 4x faster than a Tesla supercharger. I believe a VW vehicle coming out in 2019 will be the first to be able to charge that quickly.

And as far as range, if Tesla's 310 isn't enough for you, a company called Rivian has 2 vehicles set to debut in late 2020 that have a range of 400 miles. One is a 7 person SUV and the other is a pickup truck.

I will pass on the self driving features however. I'll do the driving myself.

 

[skipro33]

Yea, that's a pretty cool pickup truck

And the Bollinger SUV ain't too bad either!

 

[DEC-1982]

You practically need a SUV if you are going to carry more than 5 passengers. Years ago, we packed 4 adults and 5 kids in a CJ-7. We'd probably be arrested if we tried something like that today.

What about a minivan? Or can't it be driven because it's not cool to be seen in one?

 

[JoeWras]

Just got back from an auto trip from Illinois to NC. In case you didn't notice, weather was bad. We had to time the trip such to allow the various DOTs to manage road preparation . Because of this, our normal lazy drive with long stops was not possible. We had to leave later in the morning (to allow DOT road clearing and accident clean up) and take very fast stops (5 min or less) in order to get home and limit night driving.

This would not have been possible with today's electrics, even superchargers.

This would be possible with a Volt.

I thought maybe my next car would by a hybrid. Maybe it will, but this trend is starting to concern me. Electric charging still has a long way to go. Hope it gets there soon.

 

[happy2bretired]

I’m thinking about what my next car will be. The internet apparently thinks I need a Honda Insight (hybrid) from the ads I keep seeing and in internet seems to know more than I do.[emoji23]

 

[Music Lover]

I'm one of the few people that have zero interest in an SUV. I drove trucks for years and then bought a Subaru Impreza. My current car is an Acura TLX and it's the perfect vehicle for me....it has AWD for our winters and a trunk big enough to keep my golf clubs or musical gear out of sight.

 

[Midpack]

And it's been like this for many years, presumably getting even worse (until the next oil crisis). Note volumes, not just % change...

 

[ShokWaveRider]

When I drive to a destination (Florida to Canada for example) I like to get a good 1st day of driving in. That is way over the ~300 mile limits of today's Electrics. I do like the Tesla, but it still cannot cut it. I miss my BMW 328d that averaged 47mpg to Canada. I went for a gas one this time (330i) and it really is nowhere near as good. I think I can get one more diesel lease in when this one runs out, before they get really hard to get and maintain.

 

[Red Badger]

And it's been like this for many years, presumably getting even worse (until the next oil crisis). Note volumes, not just % change...

There is a trade name for all those F-150's (and similar PU's) parked in the cities and burbs. Air haulers.

Owned trucks over the years, but once all of our gardens and decks were complete, last PU got swapped out for a Miata. Much more practical.

 

[misanman]

PU got swapped out for a Miata. Much more practical.

o

I have a Miata but there's no way I can relate to this statement!

 

[ncbill]

tl;dr

A recent CNN item pointed out that plugin EVs like the Volt haven't proved popular.

People are either buying pure EVs or non-plugin hybrids.

 

[Caskem]

Now that SUVs and trucks are getting the mileage the sedans do, it's a no-brainer. Even my "toy" car, a V6 convertible, gets 27 MPG, which is what my Subaru gets.

 

[Music Lover]

Now that SUVs and trucks are getting the mileage the sedans do, it's a no-brainer. Even my "toy" car, a V6 convertible, gets 27 MPG, which is what my Subaru gets.

Mileage is good these days. My 2015 V6 Acura with 290 HP gets 40 US mpg on the highway, although it's a lot less if you're heavy on the throttle in the city.

 

[Koolau]

Within another 10 years, self driving cars, electric most likely and for California mandatory, will be the standard. I imagine within 20 years all new cars will be electric and self driving. The gas powered car is on it's way to extinction.

I wouldn't dispute this (and most likely will not be here to confirm/deny) but if this is correct (all cars full electric in 20 years) then our electrical infrastructure will have to change dramatically. IIRC, the US uses something like 9 million bbl of oil a day just for gasoline. ERD50 (and others) could probably give you a back-of-the-envelope conversion to Megawatts on that but it's a heck of a lot. Imagine the number of windmills, solar panels and carbon-based power plants that would require to produce. I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying I don't think it's going to happen in time unless we start the change now. YMMV

 

[REWahoo]

Within another 10 years, self driving cars, electric most likely and for California mandatory, will be the standard. I imagine within 20 years all new cars will be electric and self driving. The gas powered car is on it's way to extinction.

This reminds me of the prognostications of the coming "paperless society" that were popular in the late 1970's. Pundits were forecasting the demise of printed material before the end of the century, saving the lives of millions of trees. Forty years have passed and while we may have reached the "less paper" society, we are nowhere near paperless.

I suspect a similar future for ICE powered cars - they will decline but it will take far longer than a decade or two for them to disappear entirely.

 

[gstillson]

There is a trade name for all those F-150's (and similar PU's) parked in the cities and burbs. Air haulers.

Owned trucks over the years, but once all of our gardens and decks were complete, last PU got swapped out for a Miata. Much more practical.

If we meet head on, I would rather you be in the Miata and me in the pickup truck.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

This reminds me of the prognostications of the coming "paperless society" that were popular in the late 1970's. Pundits were forecasting the demise of printed material before the end of the century, saving the lives of millions of trees. Forty years have passed and while we may have reached the "less paper" society, we are nowhere near paperless.

I suspect a similar future for ICE powered cars - they will decline but it will take far longer than a decade or two for them to disappear entirely.

Disappear entirely will take awhile, if ever. But between consumers gradually converting, car companies eliminating ICE production ( Volkswagen just announced their schedule, becoming the 3rd to do so) and governments offering tax credits and banning ICE cars purchases (6 nations so far), would you agree its pretty obvious what the future holds for vehicular transportation?

 

[REWahoo]

...would you agree its pretty obvious what the future holds for vehicular transportation?

No, I don't think I can agree. While it may appear obvious, the future has a sneaky way of turning out differently than we foresee. Who knows what new technologies will be available in a few years?

 

[Sunset]

Disappear entirely will take awhile, if ever. But between consumers gradually converting, car companies eliminating ICE production ( Volkswagen just announced their schedule, becoming the 3rd to do so) and governments offering tax credits and banning ICE cars purchases (6 nations so far), would you agree its pretty obvious what the future holds for vehicular transportation?

It will be bicycles for places with arbitrary rules set by govt.

All those gov'ts will back track once everyone realizes you need to build thousands of nuke power plants to generate enough electricity for the increase in electric cars.

As more people switch over to pure E cars, (which is attractive at the right price and driving range), the demand for oil will drop, leading to a surplus inducing environment, so the cost of gas will drop or stay very low, possibly lower than today.
This will reduce the demand for E cars.

 

[Music Lover]

Disappear entirely will take awhile, if ever. But between consumers gradually converting, car companies eliminating ICE production ( Volkswagen just announced their schedule, becoming the 3rd to do so) and governments offering tax credits and banning ICE cars purchases (6 nations so far), would you agree its pretty obvious what the future holds for vehicular transportation?

The demise of ICE cars has been predicted for decades and the best electrics can do even with massive subsidies is a tiny percentage. End the subsidies and their market share will plummet.

It doesn't matter what California decrees or what Volkswagen announces...the vast majority of people will continue to buy ICE until they determine that it's advantageous to buy an alternative.