I understand the appeal in hybrid vehicles and in particular, the Chevy Volt. What I don't understand is why GM thinks anyone should buy this car at a price tag of $40,000. For instance:
Let's say one does buy the Chevy Volt at the price of $40,000. Exaggerate a little and assume the owner travels 40 miles a day and never uses a drop of gas in his/her life.
Now consider a car like the Chevy Aveo. A base price model is $11,965. Let's say the owner travels 40 miles a day in that (again, exaggerate). That would be 14,600 miles a year. Divide that by 30.5 mpg (27 city/34 highway) and multiply by an average price of around $2.75 per gallon of gas. That's an annual cost of $1,316.43.
So, simple math says:
$40,000 - $11,965 = $28,035
Take $28,035 and divide it by that annual cost of $1,316.43 for the Aveo and........... it takes 21.3 years to break even. A Chevy Volt, which by then, would have accumulated 313,900 miles. I don't see a car lasting and an owner driving it that long.
Call me out if my math is faulty but I'm pretty sure I tilted everything for the Chevy Volt. In reality the spread ought to be bigger than 21.3 years and the daily cost (supposedly $0.40/day) to charge the thing along w/ the price of a new battery probably every 3-4 years isn't figured in.
I think it's great we're investing into and building electric vehicles but the price on this car needs to be knocked down several grand to be plausible for "75% of daily commuters". This car can't compete with current hybrids or even small cars like the Aveo.
Input? Any eco-freaks have a reason anyone should waste this sum of money? Maybe there's something I'm not seeing.
Let's say one does buy the Chevy Volt at the price of $40,000. Exaggerate a little and assume the owner travels 40 miles a day and never uses a drop of gas in his/her life.
Now consider a car like the Chevy Aveo. A base price model is $11,965. Let's say the owner travels 40 miles a day in that (again, exaggerate). That would be 14,600 miles a year. Divide that by 30.5 mpg (27 city/34 highway) and multiply by an average price of around $2.75 per gallon of gas. That's an annual cost of $1,316.43.
So, simple math says:
$40,000 - $11,965 = $28,035
Take $28,035 and divide it by that annual cost of $1,316.43 for the Aveo and........... it takes 21.3 years to break even. A Chevy Volt, which by then, would have accumulated 313,900 miles. I don't see a car lasting and an owner driving it that long.
Call me out if my math is faulty but I'm pretty sure I tilted everything for the Chevy Volt. In reality the spread ought to be bigger than 21.3 years and the daily cost (supposedly $0.40/day) to charge the thing along w/ the price of a new battery probably every 3-4 years isn't figured in.
I think it's great we're investing into and building electric vehicles but the price on this car needs to be knocked down several grand to be plausible for "75% of daily commuters". This car can't compete with current hybrids or even small cars like the Aveo.
Input? Any eco-freaks have a reason anyone should waste this sum of money? Maybe there's something I'm not seeing.