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[whatsinaname]

I've never head that. Isn't tax credit based off of the battery size or are you referring to something else?

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/your-money/getting-personal/tax-credit-and-tax-rebate

For EVs, it is a Tax Credit. So if you only owe $5,000 in federal income tax in the year you bought the car, you only get that $5,000 discount. Not the full $7,500.

With a tax rebate, you would have gotten all the money back. I don't think tax credits can be carried over to next year either.

 

[zashga]

50 miles is still an extremely limited electric range. They should've at least tried to get it to low-end all-electric range (~100 miles) this time around. I'm sure having a gas drive train on board doesn't do them any favors.

Still waiting for a good, economical electric car. Hope the Model 3 kicks ass when it finally arrives.

 

[Piggus]

Not that I want a volt, but that seems reasonable given Prius pricing.


Edit - guess not. I thought Priuses were more expensive an they are.

You get what you pay for. The Prius is a turd.

 

[onadesertedisland]

It's still a Chevy at a premium price. Perhaps if they sold it under a new premium brand, not Cadillac.

 

[scogoth]

Is the next gen less of a shit car. I had a first generation volt and hated it, big car but no space, no headroom in back, the worst controls on any car I have ever driven, never got anywhere close to rated range and horrible throttle sensitivity. I found it incredible that it could be released in the state it was. If anyone at GM actually drove it for a week before releasing it they would have realized how much work needed to be done to make it a decent car.

I would honestly get a leaf, i3, imiev, or any other real electric car over a volt

You get what you pay for. The Prius is a turd.

Had a Prius for 5 years before the volt and it was better in every conceivable way.

 

[SRG01]

It's still a Chevy at a premium price. Perhaps if they sold it under a new premium brand, not Cadillac.

The Chevys of late have been pretty good, IMO.

 

[lunchtoast]

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/your-money/getting-personal/tax-credit-and-tax-rebate

For EVs, it is a Tax Credit. So if you only owe $5,000 in federal income tax in the year you bought the car, you only get that $5,000 discount. Not the full $7,500.

With a tax rebate, you would have gotten all the money back. I don't think tax credits can be carried over to next year either.

Dang so I'd have to adjust my withholding and I still wouldn't get anywhere near 7500. Let's hope that instant rebate and increase to 10k incentive passes in the next budget (yeah right...)

 

[Sobriquet]

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/your-money/getting-personal/tax-credit-and-tax-rebate

For EVs, it is a Tax Credit. So if you only owe $5,000 in federal income tax in the year you bought the car, you only get that $5,000 discount. Not the full $7,500.

With a tax rebate, you would have gotten all the money back. I don't think tax credits can be carried over to next year either.

Well fuck.

 

[ascii42]

I want to save the atmosphere as much as the next guy but are we only at a point where we can only get 51miles from a single charge?

Chevy's Spark EV has a range of 82 miles, and the upcoming Bolt is supposed to have a range of 200 miles, so the 51 mile range is more to with what makes sense when pairing with a range extender. The Volt's range is intended to be sufficient for most people day-to-day, with the range extender getting duty on longer trips. For those people, more range would be increasing cost and weight for little actual benefit.

 

[whatsinaname]

Dang so I'd have to adjust my withholding and I still wouldn't get anywhere near 7500.

Withholding doesn't matter actually. It is the total federal tax you owe that you have to keep in mind.

Even if you withhold correctly and let your return be exactly zero, you might get a $7,500 return cheque that year if your total federal tax owed was greater than $7,500.

 

[GaimeGuy]

I am far more interested in this than a Prius because the distance limit with current electric cars is playing with fire imo.

No one needs to drive more than 300m at once... until they do.

Not sure I understand what you mean. Priuses use a hybrid gas/electric design where the electricity is used for startup, crusing speeds, and residential zones. the gas is used mostly for acceleration, and for recharging the battery (when the brakes areen't transfering enough energy to the battery).

I get 600+ miles to the tank on mine (12 gallons)

 

[Dusk Soldier]

I am far more interested in this than a Prius because the distance limit with current electric cars is playing with fire imo.

No one needs to drive more than 300m at once... until they do.

The abbreviation for miles is mi not m.

 

[Calm Killer]

If you have to get somewhere more than 300 miles that fast maybe flying is a better alternative. At least you know the roads may not be in poor conditions.

My nearest airport is 2.5 hours away at minimum. Flying is not the best option for us on any long trips.

 

[Warm Machine]

My nearest airport is 2.5 hours away at minimum. Flying is not the best option for us on any long trips.

Then to get an electric vehicle you are going to have to wait until Tesla drops a more affordable EV I guess. They have models with 300+ mile range.

 

[pinsomniac]

Model 3 is slated for 2017, right? What are the chances Tesla sells through enough cars to exhaust the federal tax credit before it's released?

 

[neogaffer1]

Does this support Android Auto yet?

 

[Wafflecakes]

The abbreviation for miles is mi not m.

You understood what I meant, so who gives a shit?

 

[aeolustl]

It looks much better than 1st Gen, Prius, and Leaf

 

[Ceebs]

Still ugly and made by Chevy.

 

[block tower]

any amount of money for a chevy is too much.

 

[Sobriquet]

Still ugly and made by Chevy.

any amount of money for a chevy is too much.

Huh. I'm interested because it's made by Chevy. To each his own.

 

[Dusk Soldier]

You understood what I meant, so who gives a shit?

Well to be honest, I didn't understand. I live in a country that uses the metric system, and I thought you were trying to make a really tacky joke.

(300 metres is the length of a typical city block, if you didn't know that.)

It wasn't until I read some of the responses to your post that I figured out what you meant.

 

[ClayKavalier]

Wow, big step up in looks compared to the current one. My wife and I bought a car last year and we were planning on getting a Volt until we test drove one, the interior looks and feels really cheap and plastic.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

You understood what I meant, so who gives a shit?

This is somewhat of an international message board, is it not?

 

[wachie]

Looking forward to the cheaper Tesla, hoping that will shake things up in this segment.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

You understood what I meant, so who gives a shit?

Because that shit gets confusing fast.

Have some respect for our (inferior) metric brothers.

And have respect for us, people who must properly label their units!

 

[TheAbsolution]

Does this support Android Auto yet?

If not this model year, it should either later this model year or the next one.

 

[KevinRo]

How the fuck do you people only drive 300 miles a month?

I drive that much in 5 days.

 

[hateradio]

That grill.

How the fuck do you people only drive 300 miles a month?

I drive that much in 5 days.

Yeah, it sucks.

 

[GSG Flash]

I have a first gen Volt and I love it. I love driving the car in electric, it's one of the smoothest drives of any car I've ever driven (that includes BMWs, Mercedes, Jaguars). It's not perfect, I would change things about the exterior styling (on both gen 1 and 2) and I hate the driver info panel and the colour scheme on the infotainment system(though gen 2 seems to have fixed both of those things), but the Volt is definitely a car you have to drive(long term) to appreciate. I can't even remember the last time I filled up.

There were these "GAS, POWER, TESTOSTERONE, FUCK THE ENVIRONMENT" morons at work who were hating on the Volt the other day, all I could do was chuckle at their dumbass ignorant reasonings for hating on the car. In the end, I'll be laughing all the way to the bank while they spend $60-$70+ every fill up.

 

[GaimeGuy]

I really don't understand the obsession with traditional combustion engines.

They're not loud because they're good. They're loud because, well, they're combustion engines.

It's weird how pretty much every other vehicle is praised for maneuverability and grace (hence the use of femnine pronouns to refer to boats and the like), yet for cars it's all thrown out the window

 

[duderon]

I really don't understand the obsession with traditional combustion engines.

They're not loud because they're good. They're loud because, well, they're combustion engines.

It's weird how pretty much every other vehicle is praised for maneuverability and grace (hence the use of femnine pronouns to refer to boats and the like), yet for cars it's all thrown out the window

People love cars and they REALLY love their own car. Change will happen regardless.

 

[Byakuya769]

Still ugly as THEE fuck

That's the biggest problem. Should have made it a luxury car instead of an overpriced mid-tier sedan.

 

[perfectchaos007]

They may sell well in San Francisco but not too many other places.

 

[J-Rzez]

Better looking than the old one. Too bad it's still a GM and I wouldn't trust a thing from that company for at least another 10 years. They're still recalling cars left and right. Their interiors are some of the cheapest feeling around. And they don't even have the price advantage. They charge a premium price at/around/more than it's direct competition like they think it's as good, but it's not. From this, to their caddy's like the A/CTS-V's, they have no clue.

If I had to buy American, it would be Ford then maybe a Dodge.

 

[Man God]

I really don't understand the obsession with traditional combustion engines.

They're not loud because they're good. They're loud because, well, they're combustion engines.

It's weird how pretty much every other vehicle is praised for maneuverability and grace (hence the use of femnine pronouns to refer to boats and the like), yet for cars it's all thrown out the window

...You been in a newer car recently? Even non hybrid/electric cars are quiet as fuck these days unless you are jamming it.

 

[Oppo]

I think it looks pretty good.

The Kia Soul electric model is a bit cheaper and had won a bunch of awards though.

 

[GSG Flash]

I really don't understand the obsession with traditional combustion engines.

They're not loud because they're good. They're loud because, well, they're combustion engines.

It's weird how pretty much every other vehicle is praised for maneuverability and grace (hence the use of femnine pronouns to refer to boats and the like), yet for cars it's all thrown out the window

Yup, I don't understand it either.

Driving in electric is honestly bliss. It's such a massive upgrade over ICE cars, so much so that I don't think I can ever go back to an ICE only car ever again. I hate it when my combustion engine fires up.

That's the biggest problem. Should have made it a luxury car instead of an overpriced mid-tier sedan.

I disagree that it looks ugly(that award goes to cars like the Prius, Fit, Leaf, Juke etc.), but I do think it looks boring at worst. The first gen, in particular, looks a little chubbier than I would prefer.

The Cadillac ELR(the Cadillac version of the Volt) is a beautiful car though, too bad it's massively overpriced.

 

[Enron]

I really don't understand the obsession with traditional combustion engines.

Because many drivers love the noise, the feel. Many like the "connection" with a car that has a manual transmission, not just one giant gear like EVs. It also doesn't help that all of these cars are non-fun econoboreboxes except for one.


Back to the Volt - why can't designers make an APPEALING hybrid or EV? Why do all of them look like bland boring nothings(minus the Tesla, of course)? The Volt reminds of the Cavalier (not in a good way). How fucking hard is it to design something pleasing to look at?

 

[TheAbsolution]

How the fuck do you people only drive 300 miles a month?

I drive that much in 5 days.

I drive that in a week and a half.

 

[ascii42]

I really don't understand the obsession with traditional combustion engines.

They're not loud because they're good. They're loud because, well, they're combustion engines.

It's weird how pretty much every other vehicle is praised for maneuverability and grace (hence the use of femnine pronouns to refer to boats and the like), yet for cars it's all thrown out the window

I don't understand the last statement. What does it have to do with combustion engines? And are you just talking about American muscle cars? Because maneuverability is generally considered an important part of most other types of sports cars.

 

[m_shortpants]

I still don't see the logic in this. You can get a decent small sedan with good mileage at half that cost. What little you save in gas is lost on all the extra money you paid for the car itself.

If you drive less than the electric range you don't even need to use gas. Many volt owners go months without filling up. But if you do ever need to go past the range, it allows you to.

 

[Enron]

I don't understand the last statement. What does it have to do with combustion engines? And are you just talking about American muscle cars? Because maneuverability is generally considered an important part of most other types of sports cars.

I think the poster is just trying hard to get in a dig on ICE fans.

 

[Currygan]

looks like Franklin's cheaparse GTA V default car, so, ugly

 

[TheAbsolution]

I think the poster is just trying hard to get in a dig on ICE fans.

Pretty much.
I mean I like electric cars and alternative fuel cars and I want them to succeed as much as the next guy.
But I love the sound of a good engine. Nothing can compete.

 

[HocusPocus]

I like my 45 mpg clean diesel VW Passat more.

 

[Warm Machine]

Pretty much.
I mean I like electric cars and alternative fuel cars and I want them to succeed as much as the next guy.
But I love the sound of a good engine. Nothing can compete.

I'd rather hear the quiet whir. The feel of a car is mostly the contact between the tires and the ground. Some people have been praising the quiet ride on electric motorcycles and that is a segment that usually loves noise.

 

[ascii42]

looks like Franklin's cheaparse GTA V default car, so, ugly

I believe Franklin's car was based on the Dodge Charger. Interestingly, GTA V does have a first gen Volt rip-off, though.

 

[mingoguaya]

So my commute is 65 miles round trip daily. In a perfect world I will recharge nightly and only spend gas for 15 miles on a daily basis... On a full tank of gas I would have to fill up once a month? I wish I could get one of those in Puerto Rico. :"(

 

[GaimeGuy]

I think the poster is just trying hard to get in a dig on ICE fans.

I'm not trying to get in a dig. I legitimately don't understand ICE fans and the way they hate on hybrids/EVs.

Maybe it's because I'm a software engineer and both computer software and electrical systems are less visually-observable than mechanically-engineered parts held together by screws and bolts, but none seem more "relatable" than the others. Even ceding this point: So what if the ICE is more relatable? It's also louder, less environmentally friendly, less efficient at energy conversion, less efficient at mileage, shorter-lasting, more difficult to maintain, more expensive, and has more failure points (because of how complex it is and how many different parts are involved). So when I hear people rag on hybrids or EVs because of how cool or complex or relatable the ICE is, it's like hearing someone say "I like the color of the sky in winter so I drive a convertible with the roof open during a wind chill advisory." Okay, great, you like the sky, but aren't there more pressing matters?