Financially Volt is no angel. It drives GM to the brink of bankruptcy. Without it, the investors of the new GM could make more money. The owners do not have good resale value.
Calculate
how much you save in 5 years and estimate how many miles you drive a
year. Most likely it will not pay back the extra investment /
maintenance (two drive trains) / reliability (you may want to consider
life insurance in case of battery explosion), minus the extra
electricity bills, minus the inconvenience of charging (your time as a
Volt's driver must be more expensive than a Corolla's.), finding a
qualified mechanic (except from the dealer who will charge the sucker a
bundle), minus tickets for driving too slowly...
Why folks buy it
besides the rebates from the government (at least at one time)? It is
the same as folks camping in line to buy the new iPhone to replace the
one just they bought several months ago. Don't tell me the iPhone would
improve the productivity after they have wasted one night camping in the cold.
They want to be the first one in their town to own a Volt and
show the world they're green conscious (that is debatable). It boosts
their social standing and 'prestige' to some, It is not for me even if I
had the money. Well, it could save them money of seeing a psychiatrist who could help them to boost their ego.
There is a very small handful of folks buying the car for the good of the environment. It is debatable as I said before. There is no convincing figure that it will reduce carbon dioxide emission significantly even with 10% of cars are electric. However, I have to thank the electric car owners and government rebates. Without them, we will never have a truly usable and affordable electric car in the future.
The battery technology is evolving. It may take at least 10 years for M.I.T. and the professor to deliver the next breakthrough to a commercial product. I also wonder how long it takes to drive an electric car from Boston to Wash., D.C. (including the time to charge)?
It is one of the 90 articles in my new book, Debunk the Myths of Buffett. Click here for details.
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My experience in buying a car.
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I just bought the basic edition of CR-V for about $23,500. They have a nice switch between 4WD and 2WD. Very functional with a lot of features over-killed (like cruise control that I never used in my older car) and under-killed (like no panic switch that could cost them more not to put in my model). I drive about 5,000 miles a year so the switch will not help me, not to mention the cost difference between a Volt and my CR-V. Compare to a Volt, I'll have all the problems of new technology and none of the saving for my usage.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have to thank for these owners like Mike, so we'll have a truly economical car in the future. Even if I will not buy one, the air I breath will be fresher with more electric cars. Here is my humble summary (the above) and thanks for a good debate and education.