Live Event Tomorrow at 4pm Eastern: Editor-in-Chief Niedermeyer Answers Your Volt Questions

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: October 26th, 2010

Live Chat: Ask Editor-in-Chief Ed Niedermeyer about the Chevy Volt

The truth tends to be a more subtle animal than many imagine, and nowhere is this more true than with the Chevy Volt. Although today’s review was long by any standard, a number of key issues were under-addressed, and on the whole it seems to raise more questions than answers. Accordingly, I will take to Coveritlive tomorrow at 4pm Eastern (1pm Pacific) to answer as many questions about driving the Volt and touring its production facilities as I can manage. No need to create a new account, just check in on TTAC tomorrow at 4 pm Eastern and join in the conversation immediately. I won’t be able to explain exactly how the Volt’s drive unit operates at all times, and I can’t tell you exactly how well it will sell, but if you’re looking for closure on a persistent Volt question, stop by and ask it. Every question of relevance that I’m not able to answer will get forwarded on to GM for official reply, so we should all be able to end the week with a much better understanding of this enigmatic automobile.

#AskTheBestAndBrightest #ChevroletVolt #NewCars

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6 of 11 comments

Cirats on Oct 26, 2010

Ed - Thanks for doing this. A really great event/feature! I'm the one who asked about comparable cars and didn't really get my question answered, which is probaby my fault for not phrasing it clearly enough, so let me try again in hopes that you'll read comments and answer a few more: Let's say I'm not specifically in the market for a Leaf, Prius or any other EV or super-fuel efficient vehicle and have never even driven or been in any such cars. My points of comparison are "regular" cars: non-hybrid versions of the Accord, Camry and Fusion, for instance. From the Toyota Corolla to the BMW 5-series, pretend I've been in them all. What "regular" cars is the Volt most comparable to in terms of how nice it is and how well it drives - putting aside its price and the fact that it's a hybrid? Part of the point of the question is that my experience with super fuel-efficient cars is in fact very limited (though I've been in a Prius and hated it) and I'm simply interested in how the Volt stacks up to other regular cars. However, part of the point is also that if it's a "better car" than a Prius or Leaf, then they aren't really the fair points of comparison, especially when trying to figure out questions like how long it takes "to get your money back," because people are presumably willing to pay for that extra "niceness" or "driver involvement" (after all, why does anyone fork up for a luxury car, BMW, etc.?). I know the Volt probably isn't a luxury car or a sports car, but about where does it slot in, in terms of regular cars??

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- Edward Niedermeyer on Oct 26, 2010
  
  This is a really tough question. I think what it comes down to is whether you want what its drivetrain can do or you don't. Otherwise, it's not all that dissimilar from any other C-segment sedan except for the styling, the center stack and the big screens. Certain mainstream compact offerings have more space, nicer (in my opinion) interiors, better performance and similar gas mileage for way less money... they just don't have that 40 mile EV range.
  
  If you're comfortable with the basic packaging of a Corolla, Cruze, Civic, etc you probably won't find any deal-breakers in the Volt... unless you really want a fifth seat in the middle of the back bench. The driving experience has to be experienced firsthand, but I sincerely doubt that many commuters will dismiss it on the basis of power or power delivery (although some might find it a bit pokey).
  
  Ultimately, it comes down to paying $40k for 40 miles of EV range. There's not much I can say that will convince anyone that this is a worthwhile use of their money or not... that's between you, your values system and your personal budget.
  
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- TrailerTrash on Oct 27, 2010
  
  Ed... Very well said. This is the entire question, and answer, in a few words. It is a car for the city/around town travel and nothing more. Yes, costly at that but again simply a question of a person's taste. The future of this technology may become something, but as of today, it's limited to short driving patterns and social image. That ain't a bad thing...not just for my life. I just hate public money being used for this. It is not a large enough PUBLIC GOOD being addressed. It's not a war. It's not a highway system. It's a small niche and attempt to move consumer purchase patterns. This is NOT the role our government should have. I do wish you could address my concerns with the rear window/hatch spoiler. Why do the Prius/Crosstour and now the Volt have this intruding bar cutting across the rear glass? It hurts my view and if a spoiler...give me a break. Did you have any issues with rear vision or blind spot monitoring while on the road? I hate super big blind spots. I think this is going to be an issue with the new Juke. I saw one yesterday at a Nissan dealer and that small rear window matched with a 2 foot C pillar seemed dangerously difficult to deal with.
  
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Obbop on Oct 26, 2010

Will the icon of the gas pump on the dashboard indicate via the nozzle/hose placement upon the icon which side of the car the gas tank filling point is located or will/does the icon emulate the icon on my 2004 Silverado and the icon shows the gas pump nozzle on the opposite side of where the gas filling portal for the truck is actually located?

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Kjs on Oct 27, 2010

Thanks for providing the chat, Ed. It seems there's a lot still to learn about this car. Time will tell.

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Advo on Oct 30, 2010

Speaking of icons, I can't help but feel that the Chevy symbol (er, sorry, "Chevrolet") will somehow become synonymous with volt. Who knows? Maybe physics textbooks will eventually use a bent-cross as the symbol for electricity and voltage.

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