GM: No Volt Variations Until 2015

"The whole point of the Volt is it can be driven on electricty indefinitely." Yeah, as long as you don't exceed the 40 miles (at best) before the low-battery circuit starts the gas engine. Add AC and possibly lights to the power drain and the range diminishes drastically. That may be OK if you dive in the inner cities and don't go far, and you can top off your battery at a charging station, but where I live it is 52 miles roundtrip to and from the nearest town and there are NO charging stations. If people want to buy a 'fun-to-drive' EV they should buy a Tesla Roadster. I have been a passenger in a Prius on several occasions when accompanying a friend and the Prius was not a penalty box IMO. Opinions do differ and I understand that. I am also not a candidate for EV ownership. ICEs works fine for me. Plenty of gas around. I don't worry about the price of gas. Never have. Prefer to drive. I believe in choice and I think that the Volt should be available for those who want to buy one and can afford to do so. I also believe that every other EV manufacturer should be represented in the market place. And until the Volt is as widely accepted as the Prius I remain skeptical of its success. Like I said, I want GM to succeed at something so that it can pay back the bail out bucks owed to the tax payers. I do not believe that broadening the family of Volt vehicles at this point will sell any more, or any less, of them. They're way overpriced for the majority of the demographic they're hoping to cater to. Maybe if they were made in China? And then imported to the US? That could possibly work.

@highdesertcat The initial reports from owners are claiming an average 42 Mile all electric range when using accessories, though of course at this point they haven't been sold or used where there will be sub-zero temps for the daytime high. Though many (relatively speaking) have been sold where the AC demand could be fairly high.

@highdesertcat In my area the summer temperatures get to be in the three digits and last winter we had a cold snap of 19-below. Since my cars are parked out in the open car port the temps really get to the battery. You guessed it, I replaced the battery in my wife's 2008 Highlander because my load-tester showed it only had 50% capacity at full charge. Ain't cheap. A Wal-Mart battery cost me $110. But it is better than to have the old gal stranded somewhere with a dead battery.

@highdesertcat If you got ~3 years out of a factory Toyota battery in those conditions you did extremely well. 3 years is average life in a much less harsh environment for the crappy OE batteries Toyota has been supplying for the last decade or 2. That and suppling tires that only have 8/32" of tread when new instead of the replacement and most other OEM tires 10/32" standard is one of the many ways Toyota has been cutting costs for some time.

@highdesertcat Well, our Highlander was built in Japan and was the last Limited 4X4 available at our El Paso, TX, dealership before the new, built in America Highlanders went on sale. That's why we got such a great deal on it. But you are right, I've been told that when Toyota started building them in the US, using the same suppliers as the domestics, their quality tanked as compared to what it was when they were built in Japan and imported to the USA. This one retired AF buddy of mine whose wife still drives that '87 Camry V6 swears by his, but won't buy another one if it is made in the US. Can't blame him. Deck is stacked against him. And whether or not Ray LaHood fairly or unfairly singled out Toyota for criticism during the SUA debacle, Akio Toyoda himself admitted that Toyota had lost focus and Toyota quality had tanked. This is something that the dealers already knew. Besides sawing off chunks of the gas pedals and tying down errant floor mats they also had to contend with reprogramming software and a host of other nit-noy quality items and shortcuts taken by the American suppliers. I won't go there. Suffice it to say that Toyota dealers know all too well about quality problems and did their best to address them as quietly as possible with the minimum of fanfare and bad PR. After all, the customer is king, and always right. Quite frankly, I have to admit to being amazed that my 2011 Tundra, made in America, by Americans, for Americans is holding up as well as it has these past 9 months and 18K+ miles. No problems! My last F150 had been back to the dealer TWICE in the same 9-month time period, with fewer miles on it.

@highdesertcat The battery issue is on the Japanese built versions, not so much the USA built versions that have the Johnson Controls built batteries. The thin tires issue doesn't matter where it was built. PCH yes US built Toyotas use JC supplied batteries but only the US built versions. Even though they are JC supplied they are built to Toyota specs just like the tires. For an excelent example go to tire rack and look up reviews for the BFG Rugged Trail T/A. Ford and Toyota trucks and SUVs both used tires carrying that name on the sidewall. The report from Toyota owners usually say they are the worst tire they have ever owned and note they needed replacement in as little as 20K. While Ford owners report that they are amazed at how many miles they can get out of them 80K or more. The difference is that the Toyota spec tires left the factory with tread that was 8/32" while the Ford spec tires left the factory with the All-Terrain/mud + snow tire standard of 13/32".

@highdesertcat Yup a whole lot of nothing but working in the industry owning and managing auto repair businesses, and seeing what happens in the real world.

@highdesertcat In the past I used Interstate replacement batteries and they seemed to last a good while - better than Diehard anyway, in my experience. But I have heard real good things from contractors and Post Office employees about the Wal-Mart batteries. I haven't been able to find out who makes them or where they are made. They've got some cryptic markings on the case but no clear identification of who makes them. It works good in my wife's Highlander so I have no complaints. Which brings us to the Prius battery pack. Does anyone know who makes them or where they are made? On the early models there was a 7-year warranty but I think Toyota nearly went broke replacing them before the 7-years expired. Is the battery pack for the Volt still made by LG in South Korea or was that just for the development mule so it could fit into that converted Malibu Lutz paraded around the track for the automotive press? This information is actually for a buddy of mine who owns a Prius and IS thinking of trading his old Prius for a plug-in Prius next year. But since the gas engine on his Prius seems to run all the time now, he doesn't want any pre-existing conditions like a lame battery pack stifle the deal on the trade-in. If he is going to get hammered by Toyota for trading a Prius with a lame battery pack he might actually get a better deal from GM because they would like to see Prius owners trade theirs for a Volt. Might be the way to go.

@highdesertcat The last time I checked the Wal-Mart batteries at least those sold in my area are made by Johnson Controls who makes the DieHard, Interstate, Costco, Napa as well as Motorcraft, Mopar, and USA built Toyota OE and replacement batteries. In all cases they are made to that customers specs and warranty rating. In the case of the units the sell to Sears and under the Interstate and possbiley other replacement batteries the specific chemistry varies depending on the climate they will be sold in. So a Diehard you purchase in AZ will not be the same as one you purchase in MN. In the case of the Prius HV battery pack it is just that a pack of multiple batteries. IIRC, it's been like 5 years since I took the course on the Prius, the 1st US gen cells were supplied by Panasonic. It has been my experience that unless there is an obvious issue with the HV battery pack it isn't going to make a difference on the trade in value. It is not normally the practice for most dealer ships to do anything more than a basic visual inspection and test drive unless it is displaying a CEL. But talking to your family would of course tell you what they would do when appraising a Prius for trade in.

@highdesertcat Scoutdude, thanks, I thought as much but I wasn't sure. The last Diehard I used was purchased in Connecticut and lasted all of two years in SouthCentral New Mexico. The replacement Interstate battery was purchased at a local oil-change joint in town owned by a retired AF guy I know and it lasted more than 8 years. Seriously, more than 8 years. Been with Interstate ever since until people told me about Wal-Mart's no-hasle policy of batteries recently. Thought I'd give them a try especially since the wife, grandkids and (former) daughter-in-law are on a road trip in the Highlander this weekend to Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival. My brothers sell Prius at their California dealerships, not in Tx or AZ. I did ask what they allow for trade value on an old Prius and they said batteries were no problem and that they give leeway to keep a Prius owner happy if they were happy with their previous Prius. Some owners trade every three to five years with the bulk of them around the three-year mark. But that is California, and the Hybrid Camry and Hybrid Fusion are also relatively good sellers there. I know them to be pretty conscientious when taking in trades and they profile both the customer and the vehicle. Over the years they have uncovered such odd things as catalytic converters missing, and junk yard engines in place of the OEM engines, swapped automatic transmissions, badly straightened unibody cars, swapped EEPROMs on the ECU (retired drift cars or modded cars), and on and on and on. In over 30 years I have never bought anything from my brothers, not because they wouldn't cut me an at-cost deal, but because I didn't want to be beholden to them or get into a pissing contest with them if the vehicle turned out to be a service bay queen. The '88 Silverado I bought locally was the first V8 automatic ExtCab Long Bed truck I ever owned and it enjoyed several warranty trips to the dealership in Alamogordo. They treated me alright but I was without wheels at a time when I was building my house here in the desert 26 miles further south. If my brothers had sold me that POS there would have been hard feelings. And the 1992 Towncar bought in El Paso was pretty much the same with several trips to the local Ford dealership during the warranty period. I didn't buy it there so I had to stand in line and wait my turn. At that time I still had a collection of old cars on my property that I had kept running so my wife always had a way to get to work up the mountain. But she wasn't happy. And when mama ain't happy...... Well, you know. My 2006 F150 was pretty much the same with several dealer visits during the warranty period. We never abused any of our vehicles but we did use them every day, and much of the time doing double duty commuting and hauling people or supplies and materiel. Like the time my wife hauled home many boxes of ceramic tile in the Towncar. Talk about dragging ass! That's why I'm tickled about the Highlander and Tundra having had no warranty calls so far. Didn't expect that. Would buy them again in a heartbeat. Good stuff.

Highdesertcat, I hear you about dealing with family and that it could lead to hard feelings. It sounds like your brother's used car buyers are much more through than the ones I've dealt with. Though as you mentioned they may have sized up me and the type of vehicle I was trading in and a guy with a Wife and kids in tow trading in a minivan is less likely than a young single guy trading in a sporty/performance car. For the most part they've did a once over looking for body damage, excessive wear or stains in the interior, looked under the hood to make sure there was nothing funky under there and literally just drove it around the block. The last vehicle I traded in they didn't even drive it, just looked at it for all of 2 minutes. PCH I don't resent Toyota and Honda, they and the outrageous amounts that their dealers charge for "routine" maintenance has brought me many customers over the years that were very profitable even undercutting the dealer heavily. You turn a 30K service the dealer quoted $600 for what basically is just an oil change, filters, tire rotation and an inspection of belts, hoses, brakes, suspension, steering and exhaust into a $300 job, you earn a faithful customer that will bring all their friends.

@pch101- No doubt, data is good. Scoutdude is bringing the word on the street based on his experience in the world. Seems like he might be closer to it than most. It is true that folks in the repair business only see the ones that come in for repair! I am curious as to your claim to fame, why you spin his comments as just another mechanic hostile toward TMC and Honda because they are too good to need repairs. Are you a TMC employee?

@highdesertcat Scoutdude, your word is good enough for me. I've read your posts for years and have learned a lot from your comments and the comments of other rational contributors, like Dr Olds (and even Mikey). In fact, I have even quoted some of your (scoutdude) comments in the past as the basis of a recommendation I gave with relevance to grass roots opinions. None are better than those of the hands-on guys (and gals). There are a few gals, too. There is no better place to get and exchange information than ttac. This is a fact and I personally know who some of the people are that comment on this forum, by their 'handle'. But I can also tell you that a lot more people read ttac articles and never choose to comment (aka benign neglect to defend their turf). These people who read ttac are affiliated with the auto industry not only from the manufacturing and retail side of the game, but bankers, financiers, suppliers and even wholesalers try to get a little reading in on the topics of their interests. The Volt is one such hot topic. It is current and relevant. At the last NADA conference I attended one speaker who worked for the largest auto wholesaler on the planet mentioned feedback resources like ttac 7 times in her address, and how valuable they are to the industry. So the word is out there. But, of course, open forums like ttac also invite comments from many individuals who fancy themselves as experts, or people who want to advance their own agenda. Free speech and freedom of expression are among the values we hold dearly in America, but there is nothing that forces us to respond to anyone's comments. Freedom is as freedom does, right? I have to admit that I have on occasion posted comments designed to elicit rhetorical feedback from readers to get an idea how people really feel deep down inside when your strip away their convictions and beliefs. But there is nothing that says I have to reply to them. I had already achieved what I set out to do with my comments. So, rest assured, many of us who rely on ttac to get us useful info on the US auto industry, mechanics included, will treasure the comments from those who know what they're talking about and suffer those empowered by freedom of expression to post their self-centered argumentative rhetoric.

Living in Maryland and Virginia, I've changed batteries preemptively at 4 1/2 to 5 years and never had one fail before then in 30 years of car ownership.

Most of the batteries sold here are made by Johnson Controls, Delphi or Exide. The various brands that consumers know are almost always slapped onto products manufactured by one of these three companies. Their products aren't that different from each other, as battery technology isn't particularly complex or cutting edge. So I'd expect them all to perform similarly to each other, all things being equal. 3-7 years sounds about right; I would expect that the rare car that manages to fry a battery in a year or so either got a dud or else has some sort of electrical problem.

I'm curious, do you have, like, an RSS feed set up with a filter to only grab Volt-related stories so that you can post the same cars.com search three or four different times in it?