Chevy Volt. A GREAT car, lost in space...

[Billfred]

Buick has... what does buick have? It could use a little branding love!

What does Buick have? How about the 270-horsepower Buick Regal GS that won the 120-mph class at the Silver State Classic Challenge just this past weekend?



(Target time was 45 minutes to complete the 90-mile course of closed-off Nevada highway--the Buick engineers got it to within 0.019 seconds--most accurate rookies at the event. Granted, you're trying to hit a target time rather than trying to set the fastest time...but let's see you go through some of those sections of highway at triple-digit speeds.)

 

[Alex Snyder]

GM doesn't have Bob Lutz working there anymore. He's writing great books about how they screw up: Amazon.com: Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business (9781591844006): Bob Lutz: Books

Looks like I was wrong. GM did read the book: Bob Lutz heads back to General Motors as "Senior Advisor"

I wonder if it had anything to do with the Volt

 

[Avantir2]

$7500 Federal tax CREDIT, not deduction, puts this car right in up level mid size sedan category. Factor in the fuel savings and the car is less than a well equipped CRUZE. Somehow I believe, even in our own industry if it comes from GM the critics pile on.

Imagine getting stuck in traffic with your pure plug in electric when you calculated you had enough juice to get you home. Remember the feeling you get when the needle is bouncing on 'E' and the low fuel light is melting the instrument lens from being on so long and now compound that with the fact that even IF you had a place to plug in you are not going anywhere for quite a long time.

I drive 100 miles round trip to the dealer and spend close to $100 a week in fuel. With a VOLT I can get here with judicious driving with almost no gasoline use, I plug in here at work and drive home again using almost no fuel. I can easily justify the expense of a VOLT over some EGO massaging semi-luxury sedan. At today's fuel prices I save $22,360 in commuting costs over 5 years. Now I take net cost after tax credit and I've spent $11,500 for the CRUZE ( rough numbers ) and I haven't factored in resale value. Suddenly driving a Lexus/Camry or Infinti/Altima or any of the other pretend luxury cars out there I'm driving something that's comfortable, good looking and actually is impacting the environment in a positive way. That's the way a VOLT needs to and can be sold.

Time to get on board and look at the big picture with a car like this. Instead of thinking like a customer how about thinking like a dealer and sell the benefit and not the price.

 

[joe.pistell]

oops! I forgot to mention...

If you ever get a chance to drive the Volt, take that offer!

 

[joe.pistell]

...Time to get on board and look at the big picture with a car like this. Instead of thinking like a customer how about thinking like a dealer and sell the benefit and not the price.

Avantir2,
Marketing is not sales, sales is not marketing. Marketing assists sales.


We're talking marketing.

​

what is marketing - Google Search
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mar·ket·ing/ˈmärkitiNG/
​

1. Noun: The action or business of promoting and selling products or services.
   
   
   what is sales - Google Search
   sales (plural of sale)
   ​

1. Noun: The exchange of a commodity for money; the action of selling something.
   ​

 

[Avantir2]

My point was that the decision to market the VOLT through Chevrolet and get past the seemingly high price point, needs to be supported by selling. (BTW, the $46,000 number is higher than any VOLT I've seen in dealer inventory. Ours in $41,825.) Chevy is marketing this car as a competent automobile that happens to run on electricity not as an electric appliance that you can run errands in and not use any fuel. You could be a 1 car family and own a VOLT, be proud of its looks and enjoy driving it.

Even by the two definitions you posted, the line between the two is a little blurred but I understand what you mean. Let's face it there are plenty of vehicles in Chevy showrooms that exceed that $40+ range.

I say GM did the right thing. Starting at the top hasn't been real successful for them, Allante, XLR, Reatta, Catera. If Saturn were still around I bet there would have been a Saturn version. Suburban to Escalade, Volt to ??? Room for an upgrade not the other way around. IMHO of course.